Читать книгу Training Your Labrador Retriever - September Morn - Страница 11

Pup, adult, or senior Lab—what age is best to adopt? The answer depends on your plans for the dog and how much energy and time you can devote. In general, the younger the dog, the more time and energy are required of owners for training, care, and exercise.

Puppies are the most labor-intensive choice. To teach confidence and good manners, considerable time must be spent training and socializing a pup. At seven or eight weeks, little Buddy needs to urinate about once an hour, although it may seem more frequent to harried new owners. If someone is home to let Buddy out when he needs to go, house-training will be more quickly accomplished. The more time a pup is left alone, the longer it will take him to learn clean habits.

The younger your pup, the more influence you’ll have on his attitude and behavior, but the more time and attention you’ll need to lavish on him. If you are short on time, patience, or paper towels, do yourself a big favor and don’t adopt a young pup.