Puppy Advice

disgruntledgoat

Me and herself are bringing Oscar, our 10 week old Black Labrador home in a couple of weeks, when she starts her summer holidays. We've done as much research and reading and talking ot mates with dogs as possible, like everyone does... But you can never know too much!

Some of you on here must have dogs so do you have any sage advice to impart?

skyd0g

Everything is seen as potentially edible to a puppy.

Splottboy

We got 3 dogs. After our last one we said "Never Again", broke our hearts...

But, kids wanted a dog, went to see a collie cross, but came back with...
Collie Cross, and two "Jack Russell" pus, which turned out to be Lurcher crosses.

They RUN the house, I'm on the floor watching TV, all the chairs are full of dogs!
First few months, house training a bit messy, but the Mrs has got hang of it now, lol.

They are a bind if you wanna go anywhere, like abroad, or weekend races etc.
BUT...They are the most FANTASTIC Characters to have around, great company, funny, bright, clever and they don't keep bringing their tarty girlfriends to stay, as per my sons...

Great for letting you know visitors arriving, or chasing cyclists along our fencing.

Wouldn't sell em for a Multi Million Dollar deal. They are our Life, but share it with us.

seward4or5

Don't tell my Mrs that you are getting a labrador puppy - or the green eyed monster will emerge.
The puppy will wan't to chew everything, so have plenty of toys for it to get stuck into. Having one knaw on your hand is fun at first but their teeth are shaaarrp!
Labradors have a reputation of being naughty puppies but turn out to be great dogs, but then I'm sure you already know all of this!

taz3611

We've had Labs for years, because of their temperament with kids and other people/dogs. True about everything being edible. Our 7 y.o. female was no bother at all. House trained really easy, didn't chew anything. Our 18month Dog was another matter, and still is. If a cupboard is left open, he's in there. The bin gets attacked, his bed has been chewed, the toilets been drunk out of. He's very loving though and is getting better.
My advice is to integrate the pup into life with other people/dogs as much as possible. Be firm and consistent with discipline and keep a sense of humour. You'll be rewarded with lots of affection and faithful love. Wouldn't have any other breed. Enjoy!!!

Splottboy

Our last pup, Marley - no, not the famous one, we had the name in the 80's - chewed:

Bookcase - es, table, chairs, shoes, skirting board, plastic dog bed, underwear, door frames, his toys...anything lying around in fact.

Didn't last forever, but as we both worked, it was boredom that set him off.
When we were there, he didn't chew anything, not even the Mother-in-Law. Pity...

mroli

Hey - we're currently a week and a half into life with Hobbs our black flat coated retriever pup. In a week he has made us laugh more than the whole last year put together and he is absolutely lovely. Though he does give a sharp nip when he gets carried away and also seems to like the chewing (although plenty of toys have been getting it so far). So here are my tips so far:

1) Picking him up from the breeder - is he kennel club registered? If so, you should have insurance in place, you will need to get his notes and probably sign a standard form contract. The breeder should let you know what vaccinations he has already had. Be good to get some food from the breeder or at least know what food the puppy is on as they are going to have enough change without messing up their diet. On food - a "premium" brand like James Wellbeloved puppy food is advisable if a bit more expensive.

If you are picking him up in the car, I would advise getting a cage (you can pick this up on ebay for not a lot), putting him on the back seat and someone sitting alongside with him. You may get some howling as they leave, car sickness and fretting, but the person sitting there can help calm the dog - much less stressful than worrying about it as you drive.

Try and get the breeder to give you a piece of rag/fleece with the smells of puppy's mum and bros/sis on it - it will prove to be a comforter for the dog.

2) Taking him to the vets - getting him checked over and any further vaccinations required. You should do this asap - but generally you probably won't be able to take the puppy out until its vaccinations are effective. Vet will advise on this (and other stuff like nail clipping, teeth brushing, worming, flea treatment etc).

3) Home - be prepared. "dog proof" the garden - if there are any holes in or under fences the dog will find them. We found this out straight away! They will go for wires and things like tea towels or oven gloves that are accessible. Hobbs will occasionally lick the telly, but thankfully we used chicken wire to protect the DVD etc. He has nicked a couple of cushions of the sofa though. We used a baby gate to stop him getting up the stairs as he's just staying downstairs. We used a bigger dog grate to provide his "home", he doesn't really use it that much - but it is "his" space and we'll keep it as such. You'll need lots of newspaper - Hobbs has been pretty good about going to the loo outside, but in 5 days we've had a couple of wees and a poo. Advisable to keep puppy to easy clean flooring I reckon!

4) they do sleep a lot puppies - they bound around and then just seem to "crash out" for periods of time - which is great because you can get things done.

Enjoy it - we are very much besotted with our puppy! Any other questions - just PM me. Not that we're sure we're doing everything right, but it may be reassuring to you on occassion!

disgruntledgoat

Thanks guys, good stuff!

It's good to see from the last post that we're following a similar tack! We have his crate for a bed/den for him inside the house, he'll be spending a few minutes a day, gradually building up for when Herself goes back to work after the summer (she's a teacher) in a big run in the back garden with his kennel and toys. The breeder tells us that's how she keeps his mother whilst she's at work, so that's a reassurance too.

Think we're on top of all the jabs stuff (our friend is a nurse at the vets so she's been badgered by us the last month or so), as for food, she's providing us with a big bag of his usual fare which is from the local farmers store (a 5 min walk from the house!).

All in I'm really excited!

re-cycles

We've had our Rhodesian Ridgeback for the past 18 months, and we've loved almost every minute! The best bit of advice I can think of is get the puppy to some training sessions as soon as possible. The dogs really seem to enjoy the socialising aspect of the training, and its made it so much easier to take her anywhere knowing that shes happy around other dogs and occasionally she will do as shes told!

MJackson

When disciplining a dog i've always been told to never hit it on the nose. Best way to lose the trust apparently.

Enjoy the unconditional love from your new friend, potentially the only thing that will always be happy to see you no matter what.

Make sure you treat it well.

guinea

Give it a good smack early on. Seriously.

Discipline is the most important thing the dog needs. The dog needs to know who's boss and you don't want a disruptive dog in the house.

A few smacks early on and then one or two throughout its life will leave you sorted. Don't put up with _any_ crap.

If it barks at the postie, neighbours, random people walking by, smack it. If it steals food, smack it. If it jumps up and damages things smack it. This is what happens in the wild for dogs, so it's no problem. If you are consistent and firm the dog will be well behaved and respect you.

If it think it's the boss of your house you'll have a problem.

mroli

Yeah - I forgot about the socialisation bit - we're trying to make sure our puppy sees lots of people which is good for them.

The other thing that I would say is that if you are both going to be at work (and I know teachers have "shorter" hours (sometimes)) is that if the dog is being left all day, you might want to consider whether a neighbour or someone else can pop in during the day.

Gundogs are very sociable dogs (one of the reasons why we got our dog) and I've had a lab before and they really like social contact. So if you're going to be out - it might be worth thinking about whether you can get back in a lunch break or get someone else to.

I think I'm right in saying Labs and Retrievers mature a little slower than other dogs, so it will still be pretty "young at heart" at the end of the summer.

Soreknees

MJackson wrote:

When disciplining a dog i've always been told to never hit it on the nose. Best way to lose the trust apparently.

Enjoy the unconditional love from your new friend, potentially the only thing that will always be happy to see you no matter what.

Make sure you treat it well.

A dog is a man's best friend. If you don't believe me try locking your wife and your dog in the boot of the car for a couple of hours and see which one is pleased to see you when you let them out.

disgruntledgoat

That was the big worry for us, leaving him for the day... However, She goes out at 8 and somebody is always in by 1630, it's not ideal but, as I said, that's how teh dog's mother has been living for most of her life and she seems perfectly happy. The books we've got have told us that if he has toys and stuff to occupy him, and knows he's below us in the pecking order (and therefore not responsible for us and our whereabouts!), he ought to be pretty relaxed about it (especially with Labs being as easy going as they are). Our vetinary friend reckons he'll be fine as long as we don't give him too much too soon.

As you say, there's a neighbour over the road who's in all day with a 5 year old Golden Retriever, so we're hopeful he'll look in on Oscar a couple of days a week.

Splottboy

GUINEA: Where the HELL were you the day I got married?

You are 27yrs too late.

I hope you're happy with yourself...

dennisn

skyd0g wrote:

Everything is seen as potentially edible to a puppy.

Ya got that right. Man was my wife p*ssed off when she saw what our Dachshund
did to her leather foot stool.

jrduquemin

Quite surprised no one has mentioned pet insurance. Better safe than sorry, dogs cost more to fix than people do...

Anonymous

Say goodbye to your carpets as dog urine stains. We now have oak flooring.

keef66

Don't overfeed it.

Labs are greedy buggers and will wolf their food in seconds. Don't make the mistake of thinking that means he needs some more.

You'd think they were meant to be barrel shaped, the number of overweight labradors I see. And given they are prone to arthritis, excess weight is doing them no favours at all.


And please clean up after it. Yes, that means carrying little bags everywhere you go, and having to bend down to pick up warm and smelly turds, but it's the public spirited thing to do.

fizz

Pet Insurance

Get a crate for the puppy and put it to bed at night in the crate, sounds cruel, but its not, it gives the puppy a safe / secure place where it can go to get away from kids or you when it wants some space. Also it wont poo in a place where it sleeps so it will help with house training to and start as you mean to go on. I.e. if you put them in it, dont let them straight out again if they start barking / crying otherwise, they will learn that if they bark, they get attention and then you'll end up with an adult dog that barks all the time when you are not about etc etc. Ours stayed in the crate till they got to big for it and now they sleep on a bed on the kitchen floor.

Remember puppies only have small tummies so dont feed them to much and remember that they'll need to go the loo frequently as they'll have no bladder control.

Dont walk them to much, Labs can be suspectable to hip joint problems, you dont want to be walking them miles and miles when they are still puppies, they need time and rest so that their bones / joints have time to grow and develop.

Labs are so food orientated its very easy to over feed and then you'll have a fat dog. They will eat and eat and eat, and then keep eating. Ours are always on the scrounge for food even if they have just been fed.

They are chewers but ours havent been to bad, they have chewed their dog toys, and a couple of cheap beds they have pulled the stuffing out of, oh and they did chew the plaster of the wall in the kitchen. So dog proof your house would be my advice.

Vet bed is genius stuff, you can get it off ebay or pet shops. They dont tend to chew it and you can put it in the washing machine on a hot wash to get stains / poo or wee off of it

Ours get left from 8:15 when I got to work till lunchtime when I go home, then again all afternoon till either myself or the girl friend get home at tea time to be let out. We've done that with them since we got them home and they are used to being left and basically sleep. This is the other bonus with the crate, i.e. it stops them destroying the house whilst you are out.

A decent walk and some play with a ball or a frisbee to keep them entertained will mean that they sleep or want to rest anyway, if you make sure your puppy has plenty of stimulation it will keep them entertained. I found with ours they were more likely to chew if they had got bored or hadnt had a decent enough walk.

Dont be afraid to let it off the lead when its young still as it wont be confident so it will stick near you and then you can teach it recall, remember labs will do anything for food so keep some treats in your pocket and then reward it when it comes back. If you start it in the routine of this when its young then it'll learn to recall very quickly. I'd much rather let ours off the lead in the park etc so they can play or sniff about rather then being to scared to let it off the lead in case they dont come back.

Anyways I'm no expert, but this is what I leanred and it works for us. Theres a labrador forum you can have a read of here, plenty of good advice on there.

Dont forget about puppy classes or socialisation sessions with other dogs once they have had their jabs, dont leave it to late do it soon whilst they are young so you and they dont pick up bad habbits.

http://www.labradorforums.co.uk/forums.html

Heres a pic of our two, I love them to bits, yes having a dog involves some compromise, but they are fantastic, friendly and very loving and I'd not be without ours now.

mroli

Guinea - I'm not sure about the hitting thing. Most dog books (and for some strange reason, we have millions of the bloody things :roll: ) say that that is not the best way of asserting dominance over a dog and suggest other methods.

Also dog insurance - people have suggested that you should pay the money you would have spent on dog insurance into a separate "rainy day" account and that is a "better" use of money.

Oh and apparently the other thing about dog wee is that it kills grass - my mate has solved that problem by slowly decking over his entire garden! We're using a watering can to water down the wee - see how long we keep that up for!

disgruntledgoat

Thanks again guys

Insurance is on the list, I've had quotes sat abot waiting for him to come home for the last 4 weeks, so will action one of those.

We are going down the crate route for his bed and to stop him wrecking the place should we need to pop out for a brief period, he'll have a big run in the yard with a kennel for during the working day, as mentioned above.

Socialising is a big one, but as his breeder has left jabs up to the new owners we'll have to bring other dogs (vaccinated!) and people to him for his first couple of weeks. Gives us plenty of time to teach him stuff in the house and its environs however...

I'm not a fan of hitting dogs either, i reckon that whilst it may bring obedience, it'll be based on fear rather than trust and that's not the relationship I would want. Sorry if that sounds "Disney" but that's what I was taught.

As for the books Mroli, she's bought me a bloody library on dogs. Plus sought the advice of strangers on the street she's sighted walking labs.

giant_man

guinea wrote:

Give it a good smack early on. Seriously.

Discipline is the most important thing the dog needs. The dog needs to know who's boss and you don't want a disruptive dog in the house.

A few smacks early on and then one or two throughout its life will leave you sorted. Don't put up with _any_ crap.

If it barks at the postie, neighbours, random people walking by, smack it. If it steals food, smack it. If it jumps up and damages things smack it. This is what happens in the wild for dogs, so it's no problem. If you are consistent and firm the dog will be well behaved and respect you.

If it think it's the boss of your house you'll have a problem.

What stupid comments. You don't need to hit a dog - any dog - to get the best out of it. Any responsible dog owner knows that. Resorting to voilence to any animal is a massive failure on the owner's part. Idiot.

jonnycon

Labradors are beautiful dogs, very well tempered, hardy and adventurous and will reward your commitment with brilliant memories and lots of love. They can be very destructive as pups, hopefully your dog has been hip scored, some labs can have some problems with their hips, so no matter how tempting don't overwork/excercise your dog as he develops and grows stronger as you may store up problems down the line. You are probably aware that they are the biggest thiefs ever, any food left out will be stolen, any bin's content will be rifled through and distributed throughout the house and garden and the content (no matter how unsavoury) will be wolfed down. When you get him home make sure you have his space allocated, try and settle him down well before you go to bed, he has just left his family and will be lonely, this means he will bark and yelp (unless you are really lucky) through the night initially, don't make the mistake of going to him, you are prolonging the problem and making a rod for your back, he has to get used to it. So ear plugs fo r you and the neighbours initially. Enoy, you are lucky.

Tom Butcher

Different people have different approaches but for me :

- Get a copy of Gwen Bailey's Perfect Puppy and enroll in some puppy classes which allow for controlled socialisation.

- INsurance - vets bills can be horrendous but good insurance isn't cheap - whether you get insurance, pay as you go along or put the insurance money into an account so it's there if you need it is really up to you - all approaches have their merits.

- If the puppy is going to be 12 weeks when you get it you've already missed a key socialisation stage - hopefully the breeder has been introducing it to new experiences in a controlled way. Still labs are rarely nervous or aggressive animals so not too much worry - I can think of some breeds where I would want to be in charge of socialising from 7/8 weeks.

- Hitting dogs - I'm not saying hitting dogs can't work, but it's unnecessary and try it on some breeds and they'll just shut down. Never had a lab but apparently they are fairly thick skinned as regards corrections but even so why would anyone want to get a dog as a friend and then hit it - I agree with you best to use positive methods wherever possible. If it did a wee in the house during the day don't rub its nose in it - instead reward it when it goes out or asks to go out for a wee - that kind of approach. Some trainers will say they only use positive methods - personally I think that's bull - do they not give a sharp "no" if the dog jumps up - but positive methods where possible and where you do correct the dog it should be done at the time of the negative behaviour and not excessive - voice is enough.

- When training it remember it doesn't know what you are thinking - if it takes 5 minutes to return to you reward it for returning rather than punishing for taking 5 minutes.

- If you've got water near you teach it to retrieve and you can use fetching a ball from a lake or river to exercise it - labs love swimming and it tires them out even in hot weather without putting too much stress on the joints. WIth a lab you are looking at maybe 15 months plus before most people would say you should do exercise like jumping or long runs with it just in case it damages the joints.

- Labs can be boisterous - don't reward it for jumping up you as it'll think it can jump up anyone. Make it sit and then greet it - so when it meets new people it naturally thinks sitting is the way to greet people. I don't believe in pack theory you'll see in some training books but a lot of the things pack theorists recommend are just good practice anyway - stuff like ignoring the dog if it greets you too boisterously - not letting it push through doors first - worth doing just to teach it good manners even if it doesn't think it's becoming your pack leader if you let it get away with stuff like that.

- Keep it away from negative experiences when young - that might mean politely avoiding snappy or aggressive dogs, not walking it along narrow pavements with HGVs and buses too early - stuff like that - but if it does get nervous just try and ignore it rather than comforting it as that's like a reward for the behaviour.

Probably gone on too long !

Good luck

guinea

giant mancp wrote:

What stupid comments. You don't need to hit a dog - any dog - to get the best out of it. Any responsible dog owner knows that. Resorting to voilence to any animal is a massive failure on the owner's part. Idiot.

Balls.

I come from a farming background and surrounded by working dogs. Every one as sharp as a tack and very loyal.

I've never come accross a working sheepdog that hasn't had a slap. Are you saying every single shepherd in the country is an irresponsible owner or are you just talking crap?

Tom Butcher

And of course nobody has ever met an aggressive farm collie.

disgruntledgoat

Tom Butcher wrote:

Different people have different approaches but for me :

- Get a copy of Gwen Bailey's Perfect Puppy and enroll in some puppy classes which allow for controlled socialisation.

- INsurance - vets bills can be horrendous but good insurance isn't cheap - whether you get insurance, pay as you go along or put the insurance money into an account so it's there if you need it is really up to you - all approaches have their merits.

- If the puppy is going to be 12 weeks when you get it you've already missed a key socialisation stage - hopefully the breeder has been introducing it to new experiences in a controlled way. Still labs are rarely nervous or aggressive animals so not too much worry - I can think of some breeds where I would want to be in charge of socialising from 7/8 weeks.



- When training it remember it doesn't know what you are thinking - if it takes 5 minutes to return to you reward it for returning rather than punishing for taking 5 minutes.

Again, it's good to know the way we're plannign on dealing with him isn't completely off the wall! we've got that book as part of our ever burgeoning dog-literature collection...

we're getting him at 10 weeks, not 12, but the breeders family and friends have had plenty of contact with the dogs, he's been growing up in a litter of 9 and they have 3 other dogs so he has some experience with both small and adult dogs, they have a 7 year old child too, so he won't be completely unprepared for that (on the rare ocasion children come into our house!)

glauciaregina9

guinea wrote:

giant mancp wrote:

What stupid comments. You don't need to hit a dog - any dog - to get the best out of it. Any responsible dog owner knows that. Resorting to voilence to any animal is a massive failure on the owner's part. Idiot.

Balls.

I come from a farming background and surrounded by working dogs. Every one as sharp as a tack and very loyal.

I've never come accross a working sheepdog that hasn't had a slap. Are you saying every single shepherd in the country is an irresponsible owner or are you just talking crap?

They're just talking crap. Whilst also confusing 'violence' with 'discipline'.

Rooner

I'm sure others have said it, but using a cage (or crate as some pepole call it) is fantastic. Some people think its cruel, but the dogs love their own space, and it gives you the peace of mind that they aren't taking your house apart from th floor boards up!

Other doggy advice? Discipline from the start, nice and consistent so they now who is boss (often a harsh tone of voice is all that is needed). Plenty of exercise, you'll soon get to know what they need (I've got a lurcher, they need virtually no exercise she regularly comes running with me). Decent food, occassional healthy treat (like some nice offal!).

And very important I think, early socialising with people and other dogs. What I have found to be excellent is to go to the local supermarket on a saturday with your dog, even if they can't go on the floor before their jabs. They'll get masses of attention from people, hear loads of loud noises and probably meet other dogs - job done!

Enjoy your new family member!

godihatehills

we got a chocolate lab 4 years ago ....that was an error in itself....
although boisterous and nigh on untrainable hes settling down-
house training was fine just rewards for letting us know when he needed to go out etc, positive reinforcement ( although he started aking to go t out just to get a treat- who said chocolates are stupid)

he did and does destroy things occasionally, shoes glasses passports and the usual skirting boards carpets etc. but improving all the time.

the one thing I think Id recommned is be firm from the beginning , we were too soft and the little bugger got away with murder, this has led to a tendency to ignore me when he really is off on one
re hitting a dog - yes I have done when hes been truly stupid and nearly got himself killed- bur normally you can dominate a dog by your size and pitch of voice. height is a massive factor an early poster said hes on the floor and the dogs are all on the furniture and the run the house- VERY TRUE- most of the time dogs on a very basic level associate height and size with pack position ( unless they ahve small dog syndrome)