The short term memory of a dog is estimated to be between 6 and 27 seconds. It is vitally important to understand this and particularly when correcting your dogs behaviours. And the same for training.

If your labrador puppy takes your shoe, you must only correct the behaviour within the scope of its short term memory. If you find your shoe in disrepair 2minutes after your labrador puppy retrieved it, don’t react. At best, you are wasting your time. At worst you are in danger of unhelpful harshness when you intervene after 27 seconds. A puppies behaviour can be very frustrating however you must take measures to keep them away from personal items. Put your shoes out of reach. Labradors are retrievers and will always stay true to this ‘inherent behaviour’.

My personal rule in dog training is firstly ‘teach’ my dog. I can indicate disapproval only when my puppy knows the rules. Until then, I keep teaching & training.