Training Labrador Retrievers

Have you ever heard of “blocking”? If you haven’t, don’t feel bad. Most people don’t know what the term refers to, and more importantly, the effect it has on the training success you can achieve with your lab. But before I tell you what it means to “block”, let me ask a question: How many times have you told your Labrador to sit, and he/she merely stares at you? In other words, how long does your dog take to obey you under normal conditions– several seconds? Three or four repetitions of the same command? Of course, it shouldn’t be this way, and I’m sure you are all working hard with your labs to achieve snappy, obedient responses to your commands.

So back to “blocking”: This term refers to sending your dog more than one cue, or using more than one command, at once. This doesn’t just refer to saying different things. This means that when you say “stay” and also raise your hand or point at the floor at the same time, you are blocking. This practice isn’t necessarily a problem, but it tends to lead to more inconsistency in your commands. And inconsistency in training will inevitably lead to a confused dog and a frustrated owner. A good rule of thumb for using the blocking technique is always pausing for a second before using the second command. This gives your dog time to comprehend your first signal and then link the second signal to it. And remember, CONSISTENCY! If you sometimes lead with one signal for a certain action but sometimes do it the opposite way and expect the same result, think again. While you point and holler, your lab will be just as confused as to what your signals mean as you are concerning why they didn’t work.