Hi! I got my black Lab puppy (Blackie) a few months ago (on the 18th of May). I got him from a breeder and he was about 11 weeks old on the day that I went to fetch him had to drive a bit because the breeder is located a few towns away. I also got to see his mommy and daddy (both owned by the breeder) and they are both gorgeous healthy dogs (mom is a black Lab and dad is yellow). I had been looking for a Lab puppy for a while, and when I found this breeder and got the first photos of him, I fell in love immediately I grew up with our family dog being a yellow Labrador, and after he passed away at 14 years, my brother got a Lab x Staffie who unfortunately died young from complications after getting Billiary fever we took him to the vet as soon as he got sick, but it was an extremely severe case and nothing helped, he died within a few days after receiving treatment. It has been many years now since we have had a Lab in our home, with only small dogs being around the house, and I have always dreamed of having my own Lab companion. Also I realized that now is the perfect time for me to get a Lab puppy, as I am self-employed and work from home, so circumstances are ideal and I can be with him every day He is now 6 months old and fully house trained as well as leash trained and I have already taught him to 'sit' and 'lie down' on command, and have started to teach him to 'stay' and 'wait' as well - he is so smart and really catches on quickly! I would have taught him more commands by now, but he went through a very difficult teething phase which made it hard for him to focus at times, so I decided to rather be patient and let him get through the worst part of teething before starting more advanced lessons. He also got Billiary fever about a month ago, but we acted really quickly to get him to a vet, and it seems that he did not get the really severe strain, thankfully - he recovered within 24 hours of receiving treatment. I take a lot of measures to protect him from tick bites, but in South Africa Billiary is one of the most common illnesses amongst dogs, with no proven vaccine available unfortunately, and we live on a farm, so ticks are unavoidable. I am however being even more diligent now with tick prevention, started with a whole new treatment plan, so I believe he will be protected no matter the time of year - I haven't found any ticks on him in the past weeks, and I check him at least twice a day. And even though he can't be vaccinated against Billiary, he is fully vaccinated against all the other common illnesses, such as Distemper, Parvo, etc., so that gives me great peace of mind. I take him outside several times a day for walks and playtime, but he is mostly an indoors doggy and also sleeps in my room at night. I prefer to limit his time outside for now (always supervising him the whole time), since he still tries to eat or chew everything in sight and could endanger himself. He will probably get more free time outside once he matures a bit, but for now I cannot trust him to distinguish between food and non-food items at all haha I am thinking of building him a puppy agility course so that I can direct all his boundless energy towards something I know he will enjoy he is always jumping over and crawling under all kinds of things on his own. Looking forward to sharing in this amazing experience with other Labrador loving people and I hope to learn lots more!
Hi and welcome from me and 4 year old girl, Harley. She is my first ever dog and she has really enriched my life. We do agility and love it. I would advise against jumps until he's at least a year old as could damage his bones during his growth. It sounds like you have done everything possible to keep him safe from as many illnesses as possible. I love the fact that he sleeps with you - my girl sleeps with me and it's the best feeling ever. I look forward to reading more about you both. What's his name?
Hi from Holly and me in Wales. He sounds like a great character and I hope you'll be able to show us some pictures soon. Holly sleeps in our room, sometimes on the bottom of our bed. Its lovely on a cold night when she snuggles between us and keeps our feet warm.
Hi @Blackie's_Mom, I also live in South Africa but on the southeastern coast. And @AngelConradie is also a fellow South African. We are fortunate that Harley is tick and flea free but we have a suburban home and we have been paranoid about biliary since we got her so she has been on treatment from the day she arrived home. 6 months is an interesting age, they are starting to look like their adult versions but their brains are still absolute puppies and I found that Harley's attention span was nothing compared to now (she is 11 months now) so look forward to things only getting more fun and better. There is so much to do with them! Welcome to the forum!
Welcome to you and Blackie! I'd never heard of Billiary fever - it sounds very scary. Glad that Blackie made it through unscathed. Would love to see some photos of him if you are able.
Sorry for taking so long to reply to all of you The past week was really hectic, we celebrated both me and my brother's birthdays over the weekend and had family over for a few days, I barely touched my computer until now. Thanks for all the warm welcomes! And I am very happy to see other South Africans on here as well, I am from KZN Blackie mostly sleeps on my bed, but on 'warmer' evenings (even though we are barely done with winter) he likes to stretch out on the floor next to my bed to 'cool off'. It never ceases to amaze me how I can be snuggled up with a blanket, and he decides it is just too warm to sleep on top of the bed I get so jealous sometimes... He is so much fun right now, really getting into playing fetch with his favorite toy every day and there has definitely been a turn in his behavior where obedience is concerned, he seems to understand some commands and house rules a lot better (even though we still need to keep trash cans, socks and toilet rolls out of reach ). I uploaded some photos, hoping they will show up. Been a while since I last posted on a forum. Here are some of the photos I took the first week after I got him can't believe how small he was!! He grew so much in just a few months. Him at 3 to 4 months Growing like crazy at 5 to 6 months And I took these photos today Sorry for the photo overload hehe but I have taken so many photos of him, it was difficult to choose It is true how he is starting to look more and more grown-up, but still has those super cute puppy moments
No such thing! He's gorgeous and so much fun to see him grow. Thanks for taking the time to post all the great pics.
Hello there! Welcome to the forum from me and Lilly in Scotland. He is very cute. His ears particularly. Agility is great fun! Jac
Welcome from Hattie 10 years and our rescue boy Charlie 6 years. What a super adorable pup and the most gorgeous photos xx
What a lovely boy! It looks as if he's now grown into his legs, after going through a lanky stage at about four months (from the photo where he's stretched out, with his head on his toy)! Enjoy!
Hello and welcome to you and your lovely boy! I also have a half-grown puppy, Merlin, who is 5 1/2 months old. We say he's a baby in a big body...
Thanks for all the welcomes and compliments He is such a joy to have in my life and I love him to bits He is so full of energy it is hard to keep up haha but after the Billiary fever scare it is just amazing to see him so full of life again - and he is eating like crazy too!! I swear he thinks his meals are just appetizers I recently got him a slow feeder bowl, because he always had hiccups from eating too fast But once again, it just makes me unbelievably happy to see him enjoying his food that much. Him skipping a whole meal was the first thing back then that tipped me off that something was VERY wrong, because him leaving any type of food untouched is completely unheard of. If I didn't ration his food, he would look like a baby hippo by now Yes, he has definitely gone through some major changes, sometimes I can't believe he is the same puppy I brought home just barely 4 months ago I totally agree with that! They get bigger and bigger, but are really still just babies, so when he does something frustrating (like running off with a pillow, eating cat poo, or trying to eat my socks off my feet) I just remind myself of that fact it really helps put things in perspective lol! Nothing teaches patience like a Lab puppy...
