hello i’m so glad to have found your forum and happy to meet all of you. My story, currently waiting on a puppy to be born then the long 8 week wait til I can take him home, can’t wait! This is torture Still in mourning over my last Labs death(my avatar) he was wonderful, the best dog I ever owned and his death left me and my family devasted. Tuesday marks his 1 year anniversary of his death. He was like a child to us, not a day goes by that I still don’t cry over his death due to gastric torsion. I immediately took him to the Vet who worked all night long with him(wasn’t an emergency vet but as a favor agreed to work after hours to try to save his life. Sadly nothing he tried worked and my beloved dog was lost. Ok I’ll stop now, I’m starting to cry again and I want this to be happy. Anyway, Since it’s been a while since I had a puppy, i’ll Have plenty of questions and I need you all to help me during this wonderful time once I get him. and in the meanwhile, I’ll reminisce the wonderful times I had with my last one while I’ll live vicariously though all your adventures with your pups if you don’t mind. I promise to post pics of him once I get him!!!
So sorry to hear about your beloved dog, there is no pain like it. Enjoy the new pupster! I highly recommend the Happy Puppy Handbook, I read it once a year! Welcome to you from Mags, Tatze and Keir from Manchester UK Tatze is my pet dog, a black Lab and she's four years old. Tatze means 'paw' in German. Keir is my fifth Guide Dog puppy, a yellow Golden Retriever/Flatcoat cross and he's eight months old.
Welcome from me and Lilly. Although Lilly is just my first dog, from reading others experiences, prepare for your puppy being the devil incarnate and constant comparisons to your angelic and perfect lost little one. I do joke a bit here. Puppies can be tough. But just like with human babies you tend to forget all the awful bits and just remember the good bits. Best preparation is definitely reading and absorbing the Happy Puppy Handbook and doing so as a family. Making sure you all know what to do and are using the same owners manual rules But seriously, enjoy your puppy and take loads of photos, and if you really are finding the puppy bit tough, know it WILL get better.
Thank you very much for the warm welcome! Just ordered the puppy book from Amazon, thank you! Your pups are so cute❤️ I love looking at pics! My last dog’s puppyhood was easy if I can remember correctly (probably completely wrong, but as you said, time makes you forget) I know once he hit 4 months and after he had all his vaccinations, the local Dog park was a godsend. He had another puppy to play with(a chocolate lab) and the 2 played so much together that he slept the whole night without any problems. Hopefully I’ll get lucky this time again and get the same results . It was a very nice dog park with strict rules so there was no worries regarding aggressive dogs(they were asked to leave quickly) that I felt completely safe bringing my young pup there. I think the hardest part is the wait, first waiting for him to be born(same breeder as the last one, he’ll be my last dog’s nephew) then the waiting the long 8 weeks til I can bring him home. She posts pics but as you all know, it’s never enough. Not sure what’ll i’ll feed this one, lots say online to make your own, others say the raw diet. I just want him to be healthy and live a long time so i’m willing to try anything to ensure that. Any suggestions are very welcome
Hi @Chaunceysmom, I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your dog in such sad circumstances. I've never thought of gastric torsion being much of a risk in labs, that must have been awful. Can't wait to hear about your new little dude. Enjoy the calm before the storm! And welcome from me and Xena in Wellington, NZ.
Thanks Xena , I didn’t think so either , but now that it has happened (exactly a year ago today) I will always use a slow feeder from now on. Already I have 3 such bowls on amazon that i’m Ordering. It’s funny, I had forgotten all about all the trails he put me through(his barking, pulling jumping) but as read this forum I’m like “oh yeah, now I remember”. I also had forgotten him peeling off some wall paper from the walls and his chewing on our kicked table chair legs. I wonder how the family will feel about using metal fold up chairs til he’s done with teething? New Zealand, wow, it’s such a beautiful country, if it wasn’t such a long plane trip I’d love to visit it some day. You’re so lucky
Hello and welcome from me too . I am sorry to hear of your loss and can truly empathise with you . Looking forward to hearing all about your new addition when he arrives !
Hello and welcome from me and my two in Germany... My sister's dog died from gastric torsion, aged six. He hadn't been eating, but drank a whole bowlful of water and then ran around. He was a great big lab, the brother of my old dog Bones. It was such a shock, I can really understand how you must feel. It'll be so exciting waiting for your new puppy!!! With my pup, Merlin, I also went through the whole wait with the breeder I'd chosen - gave advice on the stud dog, waited with bated breath for the mating, then for the ultrasound scan, then when it was clear she was pregnant the wait to see if there was a yellow male puppy for us... Then we visited, and I said which was my favourite puppy, and right in the last week the breeder decided which pup would go to which family, and we could take our first choice home... Ooh, what a thrilling time it was! Looking forward to hearing more about your story!
Thank you Karen! I’ve been to your country, had the best time ever! One day when I stop fivolously spending all my money, I’d love to return. The waiting is the worst! What concerns me is all the what if’s. I looked at her litter history and the most puppies she ever had was 6. Other litters she’s had we’re a singleton, 4 and 5. I’m third on the list for a yellow male puppy. If she doesn’t have at least 3 males, i’m screwed. I signed a contract and sent a deposit for that litter, will I automatically be put on the list for the next yellows that are coming??? The other yellow dog just went into heat. This dog has large litters. Hopefully, she doesn’t have lots of deposits already on this one. It’s so nerve racking, I only hope i’m oblivious during her labor and only find out after she has them, otherwise, I won’t be able to concentrate on anything else besides that and would suck big time if I’m at work. Saying this, I’m so happy and excited beyond belief for this puppy, once again, i’ve researched and bought all the best supplies needed for this pup(still buying cuz you never can have enough toys, lol)so all I need now is the puppy. Come on puppy, be born already. So hoping this dog is as easy to potty train as my last. He took hardly no time at all to learn.
Thank you Kate! Will post the news as soon as possible! Praying I don’t annoy you all with my gushing. I’m going to be 7th heaven then!
Hi and welcome from Maxx and I in Sydney, Australia. We lost our first dog, a lab, 7 years ago and while you never forget them time does help. We swore never to get another one but now that we have Maxx we are just so happy and in love with him....well most of the time, he is a lab puppy after all and naughty/cheeky as heck of course! Maxx is 17 weeks old today. We had a haunting experience just before we picked him up. We're not on Facebook but my good friend who is suddenly had a 'memory' photo post up and it was of Benson (our first boy) when they were dog-sitting for us. The photo is face-on and he has the biggest goofy grin on his face and he is starting straight at the camera. The strange thing is apparently on Facebook you should receive a memory from that day...however this was November last year and the memory was from a random date in January 2010! We were due to pick Maxx up from the Breeder in 2 days and we believe it was Benson telling us that he was happy we were finally getting another dog. [cue goosebumps] Can't wait to hear more about your little bundle of joyful fur Chaunceysmom
