we recently lost our lab age 11 and have a new pup, my partner has left it to me basically, this may seem a strange question but is anyone else kind of relieved when there lab falls asleep for a bit, I feel exhausted
I used to when he was a bit younger. He's 8 months now and still sleeps through the day - but with the nice weather and the back door almost always open, he is pretty independent now. But I do remember everyone in the house walking about on tip toes once he nodded off for an hour or two lol.
haha exactly that, but do feel guilty for loving the peace and being able to get some housework done while he sleeps.
Maslow is 11 weeks old now and I spend a significant portion of my life hissing ‘shush the puppy is asleep’ just because that is literally the only Time I can get anything done. I’m currently sitting in my car on the driveway with the AC on because he is absolutely exhausted and is sound asleep and I really don’t want to wake him!!
He crashed so quickly I didn’t even get a chance to untangle his leg from his seatbelt! So now I’m just sitting here waiting for him to wake up lol
Hehe, bless his little heart! Just a quick "eek", though - is he attached by his collar? You might not have thought about it, but that's extremely dangerous. Even braking relatively hard could do serious damage to his neck, or worse...
haha he is adorable, so I guess its a bit normal then how am feeling right now, my george just woke up so its here we go !
Make the most of every nap or quiet time ! But also , make the most of this puppyhood, it goes so quickly , one day you turn around and they are all grown up , bless them x
Absoflippinlutely! Totally normal, I used to dread my pup waking up coz it was all so exhausting. Don't feel guilty, it soon passes.
Haha I’m happy when my adult lab finally goes to sleep! He’s a lot easier than a busy puppy, but sometimes I really don’t feel like playing after dinner, but I feel terribly guilty. Still wondering if it would be easier for us and happier for him if he had a doggy mate.
oh thanks so much guys love him asleep when he wakes its all go ! I did wonder have we done the right thing.
I don't play with mine!!! He has his dinner, goes to sleep all evening He goes for a good walk in the afternoon and that seems to settle him down. I do feel guilty because I never play with my dog; we do some retrieving or hunting for the tennis ball when out but that is all. He is peaceful all the time. I did have another Lab, but they never played together, but obviously were friends and Rourke missed him dreadfully when he died.
Snowie has two good walks every day. The last one is before dinner. But after dinner he brings his ball and throws it at me. I often wonder if it’s the ball he wants to play with or if he just wants to engage with me. So I start begging my husband - “You play with him, I’m tired.” In the end we both play with him, which can include ball retrieves inside, or some arbitrary training, or find it, or just lying on the carpet with him and tickling him, or throwing the ball up the stairs and Snowie waits for it to bounce bounce bounce down the stairs while I’m lying down on the carpet (yes, I’m tired!). 5-10-15 mins later Snowie is settled enough to go to sleep. He’s become far more playful and perky, and I wonder if it’s because he’s being weaned off the epilepsy meds and perhaps the brain fog is lifting.
Many of us here have had the exact same thoughts. It's very hard and stressful, exhausting and overwhelming. When I was in the throes of "have I done the right thing?" someone told me things would start to change at 16 weeks and this was true for me. Not huge changes, small, sometimes almost imperceptible changes, but enough to be able to take a breath every now and then and to be able to see the wood for the trees.
I think it is the habit! My friend had a Flatcoat and she always played with him in the evening, so he always expected it. Rourke also has a shorter walk in the morning as well as his long one mid to late afternoon. His evening habit is to have a Denta Stick and Bonio at about 9.30pm
Yes! My husband blames me for it!! Says I’ve made Snowie expect all this activity. I just feel sorry for him - life must be so boring otherwise. On weekends when we’re out all day he is so rested that night, actually conked out! Like on Saturday, he did the Parkrun with me early morning, then long drive at midday on an errand, then another long drive to a lovely town and a stroll around the historic streets (lots of sniffing and marking) and we were even allowed into an art gallery and a posh hotel (got lovely comments “so we’ll behaved”!), long drive home, then evening walk when we got home (gotta poo!), followed by dinner and passed out for the night (no demands to play ball). I wish I could do this amount of activity with him every day, I’d feel less guilty and we’d all sleep better!
