Hi, my name is Vik and I was wondering if anybody could help please: I have a three cat household and we are thinking about getting a new Labrador pup as our first dog. Done lots of reading, just a few questions. 1. We are going to see a litter at the weekend, the breeder seems fantastic and has said this is the mothers second litter. The puppy is KC registered, but the owner is saying the mother has no hip score. Should that ring alarm bells or not? As the father has a low hip score? 2. And is there any tips on introducing a Labrador puppy to a three mature cat household? Any advice would be appreciated: Thanks: Vikesh
Hi welcome to the site. I wouldn't buy a puppy if the parents gave not been hip scored. I would consider it very risky.
Hi Vik and welcome to the forum. Definitely walk away from any litter where both parents haven't been hip scored. One parent having good scores is meaningless without the other. As for the cats, it really depends on their personalities. Some take it in their stride, some take great offence! I'd start them off with the puppy barricaded where it can't get to the cats, so they can smell each other without pup chasing them. Don't let the cats "sort the puppy out", because it's very easy for them to scratch a puppy in the eye - plus, you don't want to be stressing your cats enough that they feel they have to strike out at the puppy anyway. Just make sure the cats can always get away from the puppy if they want to. Baby gates are really useful for this, as well as raised beds for the cats. Keep the cats away from the puppy at feeding time, so that none of the animals feel they have to protect their food from the other. But, basically, suck it and see. There may be no issue at all
The parents have X-rays taken of their hips and elbows and a score is given to say how well formed they are. In Labradors this is very important because they often get hip and elbow dysplasia, which can be very painful and costs you a lot of money, time and worry. Low hip scores in the parents will lower the risk of the puppies having bad hips. You should always demand that both parents have elbow scores of zero (otherwise they should not be bred from) and as low hip scores as possible. Could someone please link to the articles on the main site for Vik to read? Thanks!
I've always had cats with dogs, here's what I do. Even my cats, used to my polite, gentle, older Lab girl, were horrified when we brought home a puppy described by my Mum as a "Holy Terror." We kept the cat claws trimmed short. We built gates with cat sized escape holes in them so puppy could have a room and the cats could visit if they wanted. I have no idea what impact it made on cats or puppy but it consoled me to attend to the cats before the puppy. I pet them, spoke to them, fed them, played with them first. Except for puppy toilet needs of course. Cats were here first, they get me first. ONe cat, the one devoted to the previous dog, hid for nearly a year. Now they are friends. The other two cats would put in an appearance and get treats with the puppy. Every now and then they would give him a whack on the nose but I was always supervising and they did not use their claws on him. I did make sure they all met right away while he was still small. ONe thing I think really helped with puppy's view of the cats is a training trick our instructor said to try. If puppy is slow to comply treat your other dog for free. I don't have another dog, I used Sadie Cat. "Oban SIT" Too slow, Sadie gets a treat and you don't. I tell you, his little bum went SMACK the next time he sat so fast it made a noise hitting the floor. AND, he seemed to regard Sadie with Awe, as if she somehow had the magic touch that controlled the treats. For her part I'm sure Sadie smirked. WE no longer have two of those cats, old age took them. The one who hid is nearly 19 and very frail. We have 5 and a half new cats as well. All six cats in the house get along with Oban, who seems now to regard them as they should be, superior beings. The two male cats, both formerly feral actually have a strong friendship with the dog and will curl up and cuddle with him. When it works cats and dogs can be very good friends and it's lovely to see.
Hi Vikesh, This article gives lots of advice on finding the right breeder and links to articles on the relevant health tests too: http://www.thelabradorsite.com/labrador-breeders-how-to-find-a-good-one/ Best of luck with your puppy search!
This is the article specifically about hips scores, but do read all the information and links on the page Lucy posted above: http://www.thelabradorsite.com/labrador-hip-scores-faq-2/
Thanks a lot for all your help, it is really appreciated. We are getting our pup by the end of February from an asssured breeder with hip scores for both parents. Will let you know how it goes .......
