THE Large Dog Thread.. (I hope)

[Bastiansmom]

Last night we bought (cheaply) a 10 week old Golden Labmaraner (1/2 Golden Retriever 1/4 Labrador 1/4 Weimaraner). He is very smart and sweet and absolutely adorable. (Sorry, I have no idea how to post pics)

I have a few questions about large dog ownership, especially aboout keeping them in the house. I have done A LOT of research on the subject, but I really want to get some fellow Diser's opinions.

1. He has a mild case of fleas. I would like any advise on what is the best course of action on preventing them from spreading and what I should do in regards to treating him/ my carpet. (He isn't allowed on the furniture)

2. A good budget-friendly dog food. I have seriously considered feeding him homemade food, but am afraid "people food" doesn't have all the nutrition a dog needs.

3. Dog toys your dog loves.. I know puppies love to (need to) chew, and I don't want him to chew on my furniture or shoes!

Shockingly, he is already crate-trained. He slept in his crate last night with very little whining. He only had one accident and I blame myself for that one. I made the mistake of not taking him right outside when I got him out of the crate. He even whined really loud before he started to go on the carpet, like he REALLY wanted to go outside. This makes me very happy.

I really would like any advise anyone can give on this and any other dog related subject.. Let me know what you think you did to make your dog a "good" dog. TEACH ME!!!

TIA!

 

[pansmermaidzlagoon]

congrats!

I can answer the first - Borax!, works like a charm. I got one of those sugar duster containers to dust the carpet and then worked it in by sweeping with a clean broom, let it sit 5 to 10 minutes and vacuum. It does make a light dust that will settle on your furntiure and is time consuming, but is better than more toxic chemicals for a light to moderate infestation.

the one other thing we learned about large dogs (and seems to be true from what we can tell): they take longer - a good 2+ years to settle down out of "puppy hood" and start to mellow at all!

have fun with your new family member!

 

[Mel6197]

We want a PHOTO!!

Congrats on the new family member!

 

[fakereadhed]

Check out Cesar Milan's website. I just read his newest puppy book at the library and it's what we do with our big dogs. His tips are spot on.

Just got back from the vet and my 5mo old black lab mix weighs 50#. And he's slender. I think we're in trouble!

My #1 rule with larger dogs is don't treat them like babies. They will be huge soon enough so command respect, don't carry them around, and don't let them on the furniture.

 

[Bastiansmom]

congrats!

I can answer the first - Borax!, works like a charm. I got one of those sugar duster containers to dust the carpet and then worked it in by sweeping with a clean broom, let it sit 5 to 10 minutes and vacuum. It does make a light dust that will settle on your furntiure and is time consuming, but is better than more toxic chemicals for a light to moderate infestation.

the one other thing we learned about large dogs (and seems to be true from what we can tell): they take longer - a good 2+ years to settle down out of "puppy hood" and start to mellow at all!

have fun with your new family member!

My first reply.. you will always hold a special place in my heart
So far, he is a pretty mellow puppy. Not un-active or un-curious, just melllow. We played fetch with him for quite a while last night and he really liked that. He listens really well for a 10 week old puppy.

BTW, his name is Dallas.. my DS7's idea. If we had gotten a girl, it would have been Harriet (maybe)

 

[denise5374]

We feed our 1 year old Purina Pro Plan Lamb and rice formula. It sells for about $35 for a 30lb(?) bag. This was recommended by our vet and trainer.

His favorite toy is a tennis ball, he loves to play catch/fetch. He also has nylabones and (what we call) calf bones, I am not sure of their real name but thay ar hard brown bones, not rawhide.

Enjoy your puppy!

 

[mantaz]

Congrats on the new puppy and that he his crate trained. I would head to the vet immediately for some K9 Advantix. If you want to treat the carpet, I think a powder that you can vacuum up should work. Its not like you are over run with them yet. Also the vet will probably tell you to give him a good bath first before you put treatment on him.

Dogs do LOVE to chew. They like the stuffed animal to snuggle with but need lots of things to chew. Don't buy anything that resembles something he is not supposed to chew such as the shoes. Also a teething puppy will love ice cubes. Carrots are good for them too.

We feed our dogs purina one. It's not too pricey but sometimes the cheap food will not agree with the dog. The ol'Roy brand gave our dogs bad dry skin. It was missing a nutrient they needed. So that may be a trial and error type to see what fits him. Never up and change a brand, always work new food in with old if you are changing his diet.

Obiedence training is a HUGE key. You want to be able to walk him without him dragging you or you choking him. Learning to sit and not jump are also very important.

But above all that just make sure you show him the unconditional love he gives you. And if on occasion he runs off, don't scold him harshly but reward him for coming back!

Good luck with your new family member and remember this too, they are just like children!!

 

[Bastiansmom]

I can't get Photobucket to work for me right now, but if someone wants to PM me their e-mail, I will send them a pic.

 

[Bastiansmom]

I can answer the first - Borax!, works like a charm. I got one of those sugar duster containers to dust the carpet and then worked it in by sweeping with a clean broom, let it sit 5 to 10 minutes and vacuum. It does make a light dust that will settle on your furntiure and is time consuming, but is better than more toxic chemicals for a light to moderate infestation.


Is Borax toxic to puppies? Also, I read you need to leave it on for about 2 weeks to kill the eggs and larva. Would leaving it on for 5-10 minutes but doing it every couple days do the trick? I would just be afraid of leaving it on the carpet and Dallas licking it and getting sick.

 

[Hannathy]

A tired puppy is a well behaved puppy!!!!

Walk it, walk it, walk it!

We have a 8 month old big puppy who is a mix of everything, Golden, Lab, Germ. Shep.,Greyhound, and whatever else was in the neighborhood that night! Any how the best thing to do is tucker them out with a lot of exercise then they listen better, play nicer, chew less when they are tired.

Agree with the make sure they know they aren't the alpha member of the pack!
And sorry to tell you but Goldens chew forever! My sister's chewed 3 remotes before it settled down.

 

[robinb]

Don't skimp on your puppy's food. You can get a really cheap food but then your puppy eats and poops more of it than a good quality food. We are currently feeding a local food called Fromm's Gold but we have fed other foods in the past. You don't need to spend a fortune, but the garden variety grocery store/Walmart brand (like Old Roy mentioned above) will probably not be good enough. Heck, I'm not even a big fan of Purina One, but sometimes that's the best that can be bought depending on where you live. I would start feeding wahtever he was eating where you got him and transition to a new food.

As for the fleas, I personally don't think you need to treat anything for the fleas except for the dog since you just got him yesterday. We use Frontline but Advantix is good too. I assume that you are going to the vet soemtime this week for a check-up ... ask what your vet recommends while you are there and s/he should send you home with some.

 

[Bastiansmom]

A tired puppy is a well behaved puppy!!!!

Walk it, walk it, walk it!

We have a 8 month old big puppy who is a mix of everything, Golden, Lab, Germ. Shep.,Greyhound, and whatever else was in the neighborhood that night! Any how the best thing to do is tucker them out with a lot of exercise then they listen better, play nicer, chew less when they are tired.

Agree with the make sure they know they aren't the alpha member of the pack!
And sorry to tell you but Goldens chew forever! My sister's chewed 3 remotes before it settled down.

DS7 is very mild tempered, so we have been telling him for weeks that he has to be the puppy's boss, and that the puppy will want us him to be his "boss." We took him to Petsmart to pick up a few things on the way home and when someone stopped to look at him, DS7 told them "Be Dominant, but nice.. he might be scared of you."

 

[ceecee]

We treat our labs with Frontline and have never had a flea issue, since he already has fleas check with the vet at his puppy visit.
I feed my girls Wellness. One of them had ear infections two times a year until we switched food and she hasn't had one since. There is a website called dogfoodanalysis (?) that rates all the food.
You should put him on a large breed puppy food, Wellness makes one, but it isn't budget friendly (I fiqure I save two vet bills and antibiotics a year!).
Kongs are great toys for heavy chewers. Our youngest lab would carry around her "baby" all day if the other one didn't steal it, it's an unstuffed toy with squeakers in the head and paws. The older lab has to kill anything with a squeaker so it won't last long.
Crate training is the best way to potty and chew train a pup, so you're on the right path.

 

[Bastiansmom]

What do you stuff in your Kong?
I think the stuff they sell is gross and overpriced.... someone here called it $10 liver-flavored easy cheese

 

[jenlynn0808]

DS7 is very mild tempered, so we have been telling him for weeks that he has to be the puppy's boss, and that the puppy will want us him to be his "boss." We took him to Petsmart to pick up a few things on the way home and when someone stopped to look at him, DS7 told them "Be Dominant, but nice.. he might be scared of you."

Might help your son...when we got Star (boxer/lab mix), we made DD8 (at the time) take her through the PetSmart obedience class. To this day, Star listens to DD12 the best!

 

[Pirate Me]

What do you stuff in your Kong?
I think the stuff they sell is gross and overpriced.... someone here called it $10 liver-flavored easy cheese

We stuff the Kong with peanut butter, then freeze it. You can stuff it with egg, cream cheese, or pretty much anything they can eat that fits.

You can even go to Kong's official website. There are recipes for stuffing the Kong that are very simple to make.

 

[jenlynn0808]

What do you stuff in your Kong?
I think the stuff they sell is gross and overpriced.... someone here called it $10 liver-flavored easy cheese

Milk bones and peanut butter.

 

[Bastiansmom]

 

[kalliyan1]

We have a great dane and these are some things that worked for us:

1. Keep him crate trained.

2. SOCIALIZATION, with people, esp. kids, and other dogs. This is really important, especially with the big dogs.

3. Training trick: Our dane likes to "counter surf" It seemed like we were never going to get her cured of this until a trainer told us this trick....take an empty pop can and put a few pennies in it. cover the opening with tape, when the dog does something you don't want them to do, shake the can and at the same time tell the dog "no", "off", or whatever command word you want.....Worked Like a Charm. We can now put a plate of food on the floor, tell her "off" and she won't touch it

4. Of course as others have mentioned, obedience training.

Good Luck and Enjoy

 

[java]

OH MY GOSH! He is adorable!

We just switched our dogs over to Kirkland brand Lamb and rice. It is $25 for the BIG bag! And the dogs love it. I was buying them more expensive food but then thought if I am buying No name for my family my dogs can rough it too. I checked it out on the dog food rating site and it ranked well. (actually as good as the $50 a bag stuff I was buying)
So Kirkland it is(It's Costco)

My Lab was never into Kong. Not even with peanut butter ect. She likes these
http://www.jakesdoghouse.com/Dog-To...ctible/Toughstructables-Durable-p6768411.html

The toughstruckables are the ones that she plays with most often. Love to play fetch with them. And she also likes the frisbie shaped one too!
Congratulations on your new family member!