I always ask people buying a labrador puppy about their preferred characteristics in their dog. And almost always, they prefer things like, calm but enthusiastic, trainable, friendly, obedient. None of these characteristics are inherent traits. They are all trained into a dog. A labrador puppy becomes trainable by training. Labrador retrievers are considered by many as the most trainable of dog breeds.

High energy/drive labradors can be ‘capped’ by controlled mental stimulation activities. And low energy dogs can be elevated by active physical games & training.

Understanding your labradors ‘mind activity’ and ‘level of drive’ is essential to shaping the personality your puppy. Because high energy labradors have active minds. Games with mental stimulation activities are perfect for you and your labrador puppy.

Always reward your puppy when they offer you the behaviour that you are looking for. If you are calm, consistent & confident then you will have dog whose behaviour is equal to the environment in which they live. If you do this, after 12 mths your growing labrador puppy will be a ‘mirror image’ of their environment. Of course, we all make allowance for maturity & age appropriate development.