Hi all, Me and my partner are getting our 2 black labs on the 8th of September. We are getting married on the 12th then moving into our new home. We're both just curious as to what food to put them on? Or is it best to ask the current owner what she is feeding them and keep them on that? Thanks
Hello and welcome to the forum. I'm assuming they will be 8-week-old puppies (judging from the puppies in your avatar!). You should keep them on the same food that the breeder is feeding them whilst they settle in. Most people recommend buying a big bag of whatever that food is and not changing until you're getting to the end. If you decide you want to change away from it, then you need to make the change gradually over a week to ten days. New puppies often have delicate tummies form the upheaval of moving anyway, and it sounds like their little lives are going to be less than peaceful for the first couple of weeks, so best to keep everything you can as constant as possible until you're in a regular routine. You're very brave, by the way - two puppies before getting married and moving home! Very, very, very good luck! And congratulations! By the way, I also have litter mates (although I didn't get mine until a year after we were married ) and they can have some specific needs in that you need to make sure they get plenty of time away from each other, so they don't grow up too reliant on one another. Any questions, just ask
That's a big help thanks so much, my fiancé is in the army so it's army housing we move into and luckily I'll have 2 gorgeous amigos haha what sort of needs do the 2 have and what can we do to help that? Thanks
The main thing is giving them lots (and I mean, lots) of time away from one another. Have a read up about littermate syndrome - it can be very scary and lead to you ultimately having to give one up. So, you obviously want to avoid that at all costs. Make sure you get out with them individually every day; this gives them the chance to bond with you as well as each other. If you can, have them sleep separately, at least some of the time. Make sure they have their own space for eating, and let them know that they won't be bothered by the other (I just stood between mine at first, until they got the idea that they couldn't just to the other's bowl once they'd finished their own). They need to be able to be independent, because there will undoubtedly be times when they have to be apart - emergency vets visits, for example, as well as end of life (although you don't want to be thinking about that now, it's better to get them prepared as best you can). As much as it's easy to think that they'll entertain each other, and so won't suffer from any anxiety when you have to go out, this can mean they get more anxious when they're separated. Be prepared for some rough play! My two play very hard with one another. A friend has another from the same litter and she is the same with them; they've grown up together and so they trust each other in a way they would never do with other dogs. But, you need to become a master of canine body language so you can understand the signals that say it is just play and nothing more. These include sneezing (my two sneeze all the time when playing), wide open mouths without snapping, relaxed tails and ears and, maybe most importantly, that they take turns of being "top dog". If you see one always "winning", then it crosses over into bullying and you need to interject. In play, you should also see them very easily distracted from the game (eg if you make a silly noise, or they see a butterfly...) and they will regularly end the game with a quick shake. You'll get used to the signs Make sure you socialise them well, individually and together, with other dogs. This is something I didn't do well enough at, and I have a boy that's reactive to male dogs, more so when his sister is also around. You didn't say whether yours are both the same sex or different? I guess maybe two females (Bella and Daisy?)? I've heard that two girls can be the most challenging combination for litter mate syndrome. But, note this is only anecdotal, not scientific, so don't get too worried! Read the bad stories, by all means, but take them with a pinch of salt, because for every bad story, there are many more where the litter mates got on perfectly well and had such normal lives, it wasn't worth writing about. I think it's always a good idea to be well informed of the possible worst case, though, so you can do as much as you can to prevent it, and to watch out for the signs. You don't say where you are in the world, so I won't go on too much about the challenges of walking them together if you're never going to be somewhere you can let them off the lead. Keep in touch. It's a hugely exciting time getting ready for puppies, and not long to wait now!
That's a great help were in Lancaster, England but moving to tidworth down south. With me in the army I work 8-5 but will take on an hour work in morning, home 10-10:30 have an hour for lunch then finished at 5 so would you reccomend getting 2 seperatly play pens. Also we are wanting to train them to sleep in a bed instead of crates from what we've read so should they be in separate rooms or can they be in same rooms just different bed?
I would recommend keeping them as separate as you can, especially until they've gone through adolescence. So separate pens or crates and preferably i separate rooms. I know it sounds mean, but I think it's best to take every precaution you can to avoid the worst case scenario, especially with them being the same sex. I didn't have the luxury of a big enough house to have my two separated in different rooms (it's open plan with two bedrooms, but my ferrets live loose in one of the bedrooms, so I couldn't put a puppy in there (poor puppy would be eaten alive ). So I just made sure they had a lot of time apart with trips out etc, and my husband would sometimes take one or other to work with him. They're two now and they get a lot more together time, but they both absolutely adore one-on-one time with me. They've both bonded very closely to me, which is lovely - I think I'd be upset if they weren't interested in me, like you hear of some litter mates - and I'm sure a lot to do with the time I put in in the early days. It may be that it's all unnecessary and you wouldn't have any problems bringing them up together. But my worry would be, if something did go wrong, I'd always be wondering "what if I'd just tried...", you know?
Fiona has given some great advice on dealing with two puppies You might find this article of use regarding your feeding question: http://www.thelabradorsite.com/feeding-your-labrador-puppy/
