Labrador Retriever Puppy tips?

[stitchntiggertoo]

Congrates and Good Luck!!!! You will love you puppy. I have 2 puppies one a pure bred and the other a lab mix. Like every one said crate them, but do it properly. We didn't with Molly and she hates the kennel. oh another thing no clothes on the kennels either lost alot of clothes that way. Lots of toys Lots of chew toys. Kongs are great but mine only liked the stuffed (yes I messed up again) another thing Molly and Turner loved was something called a chilly bone. You soak it in water freeze it then it cold. Especially good for teething pups-that's when the real chewing starts. Puppy kindegarten is a wonderful thing. DH & I have been wondering if we shouldn't do it with Turner. oh and water. Molly LOVES water we have a tiny baby pool for her but Turner hates it. Please keep us all posted with stories when you get your pup. We all love animal stories.

I second the motion for advice on digging and excessive barking. Any suggestions?

 

[JVL1018]

I will chime in with the chewing issues.
Crating the dog when you're nto home takes care of any not so pleasant surprises.
Our black lab was 2 in April and she's been calm and non-chewy(LOL) for well over a year, she's the best. We've left her out of her crate sinec she was about 9 months old, I would guess and we've never had a problem.

No digging, no chewing, no barking except when people come up to the door(but then it is REALLY annoying, I hate that sound), she loves her crate, she still sleeps in there, but we don't close it.
She is so smart that if she gets in trouble and I say JASMINE! Go to your room! She slinks down the hallway into my bedroom and into her crate and sits there with the door open looking pathetic until I tell her she can come out.

Actually about her being calm, I should say she's calm with us, a perfect dog.

But she's a jumper with anyone other than us, which means I put her in my room when people come over so she doesn't bother them, which means she never gets used to people, which means if she is out when people come over she is so excited she jumps on them, which means I have to put her in our room..
You get the idea. A no win situation.

 

[Diznotyzed]

We've had our black lab for six years now. My daughters raised him as a puppy for Guide Dogs for the Blind based in San Rafael, CA, with a campus near us in Boring, OR. (How would you like to live in a place called Boring? ) He had lots of training and is a great dog. No barking, no digging, no jumping up on people. Due to then chronic ear infections, which he's still prone to, and rashes from food allergies (needs lamb and rice formulas), he didn't complete training as a guide dog and we were given first chance to adopt him. Other than loving Nylabones, he doesn't seem to know he's a lab. Hates water, doesn't fetch and we have to take him for "drags" rather than walks. He's a great big brother to our two and the neighbor's three cats. Since our daughters have moved off to college and jobs, my husband has spoiled him rotten, but he's still a great dog. A big bed hog, but worth it!

 

[luvmy2sams]

I just glanced over the previous posts, so forgive me if this has been mentioned. Buy stock in your favorite brand of lint brushes, because you'll need one on hand at all times. Labs shed like crazy! We've got a 2.5 year old fox red lab, and I swear we could make another one with all the fur that ends up floating through the air.

Labs are fantastic family dogs! Our Zoe's finally coming out of the chewing phase, which seemed to last forever. If they've got something solid to chew on, you should be fine.

Make sure that your crate is the highest quality possible. DH bought what we thought was a good one, but we ended up having to use cable fasteners to keep the back side closed. Zoe was notorious for busting out the backside and greeting us with a chewed-up roll of toilet paper.

Enjoy your new puppy!

 

[Hixski]

Molly, the day we brought her home

I just love puppy pictures. We have a golden retriever which to me is just a long haired lab. They are all smart and goofy at the same time. Friends of ours had a litter of 10 lab puppies in November. We went over to their house to see the puppies when they were 5 wks old. I kept holding 2 or 3 at a time. They were just SOOOO cute.

To the OP: Something I would suggest with the crate at first. Someone told us to wear an old sweatshirt for a couple of hours and then put it in the crate with the puppy. It helps with them crying at night till they get used to the different environment. It worked great with our golden Duncan. He never tore it up or chewed it.

 

[Karibeth19]

I second everything everyone's said so far about the crate training, shedding, and especially the chewing (We lost baseboards, wallpaper, a bulletin board full of mementos from off the wall, and numerous Strawberry Shortcake dolls!). When our yellow Lab, Maddie, was a puppy, a woman at the vet who used to breed Labs said to us, "They don't even START growing brain cells until they're two!" And she was right! At around two years old, the chewing and the digging started to taper off, and now she is a very sweet and well-behaved dog. She still has occasional lapses back to bad behavior, and we have never been able to train her not to jump on people, but she is really the best dog in the world. I call her my "furry ball of love" and I can almost imagine her looking like this when she looks at us!

Here she is with a "present" for us:

And snuggling with DH (His lap is her favorite seat in the house!)

:

 

[CJMickeyMouse]

We have a black and a chocolate that are brothers. We got them when they were 6 weeks old. We started crate training immediately - and if we let them they would often crawl into one crate together.

I spent a couple of nights sleeping on the floor in front of their crates, and they quickly adjusted. Put a couple of pennies in a pop can and shake it out of sight when they whine. They will quiet down in a hurry. Ours are not scared of thunder and such - not sure how we got lucky there.

We have never had a big problem with chewing, but ours are either outside in a fenced in yard - in their crates, or supervised in the house. That is just what works for us.

The interesting thing to see is how their personality develops. We have a chocolate that is a big baby - lap dog all the way (all 110 lbs. of him), slow eater, loves to be petted, and is content just to lay at your feet. He spends about 80% of his time in his kennel laying on his back. He would be a great hunter as he points and can smell/see a small animal several blocks away.

The black one is always wanting to fight. He will throw toys at you, head-butt you, paw at you.... whatever it takes to get you to play tug of war or fetch. He wolfs his food and will do anything for something to eat. This is definitely the dog that would be a terror if we left him in the house alone unsupervised. There would be nothing left.

The one regret that we have is that we cannot use a self feeder, as we fear the black one would eat the entire supply and the brown one would starve.

Good luck with your pup and feel free to PM me if you have any questions!

 

[nephthys43]

definately crate train. also try to get them used to loud noises. i took zara to as many parades as possible. and fireworks. just don't console them during. act like nothing's wrong. if you pet and comfort, it teaches them that it's the right response. this is the book i picked up when i got my babyhead.

http://www.amazon.com/Simple-Guide-...009663?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1184293929&sr=1-26

i'd post a link to her pics, but apparently yahoo photos is dying.

 

[nephthys43]

i think i fugred out how to do pics... here's zara as a baby...

they chew everything...

and here's her being her sometimes lazy self...

 

[L107ANGEL]

I second everything everyone's said so far about the crate training, shedding, and especially the chewing (We lost baseboards, wallpaper, a bulletin board full of mementos from off the wall, and numerous Strawberry Shortcake dolls!). When our yellow Lab, Maddie, was a puppy, a woman at the vet who used to breed Labs said to us, "They don't even START growing brain cells until they're two!" And she was right! At around two years old, the chewing and the digging started to taper off, and now she is a very sweet and well-behaved dog. She still has occasional lapses back to bad behavior, and we have never been able to train her not to jump on people, but she is really the best dog in the world. I call her my "furry ball of love" and I can almost imagine her looking like this when she looks at us!

Here she is with a "present" for us:

And snuggling with DH (His lap is her favorite seat in the house!)

:

Thats too cute!