Tips for Labrador Puppy
Discussion
Please don't castrate him unless you need to. Our Retriever is 6 now still fully equipped with (huge) nads. He never tries to shag anything or anyone, has never done a bunk after a b
h and lays out the front if I am messing with a car etc. He isnt really greedy just if he has had a swim. See pic. Buy good food though. there was a quality chart on here a while ago.
My top tip is to teach him to sit at kerbs early on. Be very thorough about it. I he does scarper, sitting at the kerb will give him a fighting chance amongst the traffic.
h and lays out the front if I am messing with a car etc. He isnt really greedy just if he has had a swim. See pic. Buy good food though. there was a quality chart on here a while ago. My top tip is to teach him to sit at kerbs early on. Be very thorough about it. I he does scarper, sitting at the kerb will give him a fighting chance amongst the traffic.
Big_Dog said:
Please don't castrate him unless you need to. Our Retriever is 6 now still fully equipped with (huge) nads. He never tries to shag anything or anyone, has never done a bunk after a bh and lays out the front if I am messing with a car etc. He isnt really greedy just if he has had a swim. See pic. Buy good food though. there was a quality chart on here a while ago.
My top tip is to teach him to sit at kerbs early on. Be very thorough about it. I he does scarper, sitting at the kerb will give him a fighting chance amongst the traffic.
That's great )lovely photo) and I do think it is easier to keep them slim if not neutered but please keep a close check on him for any probs urinating (prostate), testicular cancer or anal adenomas, unfortunately very common in the uneutered older male dog any time from now.h and lays out the front if I am messing with a car etc. He isnt really greedy just if he has had a swim. See pic. Buy good food though. there was a quality chart on here a while ago. My top tip is to teach him to sit at kerbs early on. Be very thorough about it. I he does scarper, sitting at the kerb will give him a fighting chance amongst the traffic.
I once had a labrador puppy and once he was 12 months old he could turn solid mahogany chairs into sawdust in under 2 hours. Oh and a sofa into fluff in under 1 hour.Big_Dog said:
Thank you for that I will do. We have a great vet. Who must be living very well. He is currently having his anal glands squeezed every 2 weeks in an effort to shrink them.(the dog not the vet, although...) Just too much fun at once for him.
Lovely!!! hope it resolves quickly, not great having to do glands that often!Awww he looks sweet
If they start randomly chewing stuff, leave lots of cardboard boxes about, one of ours was a rescue who ate everything in sight which included the house fixings, this sorted the issue out within a week. Though even now at 8 years old she'll destroy a cardboard box (any size!) in a few mins but only if you give her one to chew.
If they start randomly chewing stuff, leave lots of cardboard boxes about, one of ours was a rescue who ate everything in sight which included the house fixings, this sorted the issue out within a week. Though even now at 8 years old she'll destroy a cardboard box (any size!) in a few mins but only if you give her one to chew.
Don't know if anyone has suggested it, but KONG's are fabulous things.
If you get one of these http://www.dog-toy.co.uk/dogproducts/?product=28, you can stuff it with dog biscuits and it can keep them entertained for ages. We do it with our 23mth old Boxer, and seal it in with smooth peanut butter, and she loves it. YOu really have to cram the biscuits in - it makes them work for the treat.
If you get one of these http://www.dog-toy.co.uk/dogproducts/?product=28, you can stuff it with dog biscuits and it can keep them entertained for ages. We do it with our 23mth old Boxer, and seal it in with smooth peanut butter, and she loves it. YOu really have to cram the biscuits in - it makes them work for the treat.
No worries, chap. I love dogs - and yours is gorgeous.
My parents' long-haired Weimeraner is old now, and I fear she's not long for this world. She used to sit on my shoulder while I drove my old MGB when she was a pup.
and I know this. My parents' dog in the passenger seat of my Morgan has never failed. Ever.
My parents' long-haired Weimeraner is old now, and I fear she's not long for this world. She used to sit on my shoulder while I drove my old MGB when she was a pup.
and I know this. My parents' dog in the passenger seat of my Morgan has never failed. Ever.
Edited by Harry Flashman on Friday 20th August 16:38
Fidgits said:
I would recommend not keeping the collar on him full time and only put it on when you need to as it will a) damage the coat around his neck (just a cosmetic thing) and b) he could get it caught on something and choke him. Small chance of that happening but it's not a risk worth taking.
Funny I would say do keep collar on all the time. If fitted correctly extremely unlikely to get it caught. More of a chance of pup escaping and having no id tag (which is a legal requirement, chips not recognised as legal identification!). Pups that wear collars all the time get used to them much more quickly.
toasty said:
Any updates on the pup?
Any more lessons learned?
We're thinking about getting a lab pup now and want to learn as much as possible before taking the plunge.
updates, yes, he's getting big, and starting to see what he can get away with...Any more lessons learned?
We're thinking about getting a lab pup now and want to learn as much as possible before taking the plunge.
very well behaved on the whole though... as for lessons learnt, i think i'll need more time for a much longer post...
Right, I have a bit more time now, so the pup is nearly 5 months old..
as for advice, the problem is, as this thread shows, you will get loads of advice from lots of different people, all of it different - it seems very difficult to get consistant advice at all.
What i will say is, puppys take a lot of time and attention - more than you realise - you need to puppy proof the house, decide on set rules and commands, and stick to them. Simple things like going out you need to think ahead, you cant leave them alone too long.
We found house training very easy - he got to grips in ours very quickly, though still had accidents in other peoples houses at first as he didnt know what to do.
Chewing hasnt been a problem so far - there is a detterent spray which works, and giving them enough toys seems to help.
Socialising is important too - make sure they get to meet and play with lots of other dogs.
What else? I dont know, but just ask..
as for advice, the problem is, as this thread shows, you will get loads of advice from lots of different people, all of it different - it seems very difficult to get consistant advice at all.
What i will say is, puppys take a lot of time and attention - more than you realise - you need to puppy proof the house, decide on set rules and commands, and stick to them. Simple things like going out you need to think ahead, you cant leave them alone too long.
We found house training very easy - he got to grips in ours very quickly, though still had accidents in other peoples houses at first as he didnt know what to do.
Chewing hasnt been a problem so far - there is a detterent spray which works, and giving them enough toys seems to help.
Socialising is important too - make sure they get to meet and play with lots of other dogs.
What else? I dont know, but just ask..
That's a lovely looking dog, Fidgits.
Our main concern is leaving the dog alone while we're at work.
My other half works locally so would be able to pop home some lunchtimes but not all the time.
We may need to get someone in to walk the dog during the day.
Everything else we could easily cope with.
Our main concern is leaving the dog alone while we're at work.
My other half works locally so would be able to pop home some lunchtimes but not all the time.
We may need to get someone in to walk the dog during the day.
Everything else we could easily cope with.
Yeah, that is a major concern, especially when they are young.
We were lucky, as my job meant I worked from home most days, and when I'm out, we have retired neighbours who are happy to walk and feed him - bear in mind up to 6 months old you need to feed them 3 times a day, but if your oh can get home at lunch, it shouldn't be a problem.
I'd be nervous about leaving him alone all day every day, but once they are older they should be okay for 4 hours straight without any problems, they do sleep an awful lot anyway!
As the post above says, you will find th biggest thing is time - we went out for a lovely romantic dinner, but then rushed home because we needed to get back for the dog.
It's a lot of hard work, takes a lot of time and consideration, it's a lovely thing though, to come home and be greeted by a dog that's so excited to see you, and most of the time I don't* regret it for a second.
We were lucky, as my job meant I worked from home most days, and when I'm out, we have retired neighbours who are happy to walk and feed him - bear in mind up to 6 months old you need to feed them 3 times a day, but if your oh can get home at lunch, it shouldn't be a problem.
I'd be nervous about leaving him alone all day every day, but once they are older they should be okay for 4 hours straight without any problems, they do sleep an awful lot anyway!
As the post above says, you will find th biggest thing is time - we went out for a lovely romantic dinner, but then rushed home because we needed to get back for the dog.
It's a lot of hard work, takes a lot of time and consideration, it's a lovely thing though, to come home and be greeted by a dog that's so excited to see you, and most of the time I don't* regret it for a second.
- except for last night when he decide to keep crying for no apparent reason!
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