Hey everyone I'm Emma and in 4 weeks time we will be picking up our black lab boy who we have named Arlo. Arlo will be just over 8 weeks old when we bring him home and I'm excited and terrified in equal measure. Neither me or my husband has ever had a dog so we are trying to do as much research as possible. We have a 4yr old son called Henry who is bursting with excitement. Any advice you can give would be great but my main concern at the moment is the car ride home. It will be just over an hour, do we bring a carrier or hold Arlo. What do we do if he needs a wee? Haha feeling clueless! Thanks x
Hi Emma and welcome to the forum! How exciting! Just a month to go.... Good that you are thinking ahead, there are lot of great resources you can read here: 8-week-old-puppy With such a young child, I really consider crate training your puppy, to make sure everyone gets some peace and quiet, plus puppy has somewhere cosy to call his own away from an excited little one! crate-training-your-labrador-puppy In this case, just encourage puppy to have a wee before you leave, you should be OK for an hour. Best just to pop puppy in something like a large cat carrier, and have someone sit in the back with the puppy. We just lined at the cat carrier with puppy pads and a fluffy towel with mum's scent on.
Welcome and how exciting, be sure to post some pictures as soon as possible. As a mum of small kids and lab owner make sure you read plenty on here about labs biting and not really being kid friendly till they have gone through that phase. It’s normal and your son and pup will be best pals eventually. Just don’t expect the perfect relationship to start off with. Lab pups are fondly known as crocopups and that’s hard for you children to understand. My sons are now 10 and Meg is 4 and they are the best friends ever. However I kept them apart for quite some time so they were not nipped and fearful . Definitely look into crate training as mentioned in the last post
Congratulations! Bringing Ziggy home in April was a 3 hour journey. We stopped a few times on the way but he wasn’t interested in peeing and just sat in the footwell looking sheepish the rest of the time. One thing we did forget was food/chews but not sure he’d have been interested in them. He was our first dog too and the first couple of months were very challenging indeed. We got through it though and, whilst not perfect, he’s a fantastic little guy and we’re very glad to have him as part of our family. Just back from a week’s holiday near Loch Ness and he was really great fun. My advice would be to get as much sleep as possible and, when he comes home, keep your expectations flexible. I had high hopes and plans that were soon dashed against the rocks because they were unrealistic and no fault of the dog’s. Be consistent, be kind and enjoy the early weeks/months. They go quickly (doesn’t feel like it sometimes) and you don’t get them back. Use this forum as much as possible. I don’t post a lot but it was of tremendous help to me and provided light at the end of the tunnel on the dark days. There’s loads of really great information and helpful people that will pitch in if you have a problem. We don’t have kids and I’m sure you’ve already done this, but I’d be very clear with Henry on what he should expect. Puppies pee everywhere, bark, steal things and bite, hard! Hard enough to draw blood, my hands were a wreck for a while and he even managed to get my ear at one point. It varies by dog but again, consistent treatment can make all the difference as well as a time-out area when crocopup is on the loose. Our pup was a medium biter I’d say but just stopped doing it around 16 weeks and will only gently mouth my hand on rare occasions now. I wish you the best of luck and look forward to hearing about Arlo’s adventures.
Thank you the plan is to crate train with the idea that he eventually sleeps in his crate through the night and then use a combination of crate and playpen in the day. I'm also investigating Doggy Day Care for 2 days a week when I'm at work. My mum brings my little boy home from school on these days and I don't think it's fair to get her to referree a 4 yr old and a puppy!
Thanks for the advice it's good to think about expectations now Henry was actually having his jeans pulled at already the other day so I'll just have to be really mindful of that and use the crate to help both of them have a bit of space
Thanks so much Stew - nice to hear it from the viewpoint of a newbie, the more I read the more I can't help but think I need to adjust my expectations, i guess everyone thinks that they will raise the perfect well behaved pup who doesn't bite and doesn't bark haha People we know who have had pups say it's like having a newborm baby again so I just have to remember how tiring that was!!
I would really at this point have a rethink regarding doggy daycare. The reasons are several. 1. Firstly it is hard to find a good one, that offers personal 1-1 care, and a puppy creche somewhere quiet and calm for your puppy to sleep, away from the hustle and bustle. An over tired puppy is NOT a good puppy.... 2. The first weeks your puppy is home (certainly up to around the 4 month mark..) are important to ensure your puppy learns good behaviours and is rewarded for them, teaching to be happy in the crate, being calm...etc. It should be you or another family caregiver managing this. 3. Accidents happen...maybe not seem like much, for example, another dog is a bit too boisterous. BUT these early weeks are crucial for your puppy to build confidence through positive and carefully managed interactions with other dogs/people. 4. Socialisation. I hear this a lot, coupled with "but your dog needs to play with other dogs..." No, they don't. Yes, they need to be habituated carefully to new sounds, textures and environments, but gently does it! Labradors on the whole, tend to love to play with other dogs, especially youngsters. BUT you really don't want your puppy to think it's OK to play/engage with every dog they meet, because believe me this will bite you in the bum later! Of course you also get the more timid labs, and over exposure to other dogs, where they can't get away easily may actually predispose them to reactive tendencies. Alternatives...work with your mum with training your puppy. Maybe have a good puppy sitter to come round a couple of times a day to help out for an hour or two. Of course there are very good doggy day care centres. Just be mindful of the risks, and don't be afraid to ask lots of questions! Article on doggy day care you might find helpful day-care-for-labradors
