Hello everyone. My name is Nick and live in Cardiff. Myself, my wife and my 10 year old son have decided that we will get our first puppy and what better breed than that of my childhood dog. I was looking for some honest friendly advice. We live in a large 2 bed flat and are on the first floor. It's an old house converted to 2flats. We defo have enough room for a lab as its a big living space but we have to walk a standard staircase into our flat. I know that I will be getting plenty of exercise going up and down carrying him outside as he grows but I'm just thinking long term when he gets older would walking up and down to get outside daily be an issue with hips. Any advice greatly recieved Thanks Nick
Hi Nick, great news about getting a Lab! We were faced with the same query when we got our puppy in August. We are in a flat with 2 flights of stairs up, our property is plenty big enough to for her also. We spoke to the vets in depth and done our research and they confirmed that you should avoid stairs until 6 months old. Luna is currently 5 1/2 months and 21kgs, I am still able to carry her up and down (just) but when I can't my husband is there to help. We have started to let her walk either up or down one flight twice a week so that she can get used to them and not fall over herself when she can use them. Luna has been trained to walk slowly on the stairs so that she doesn't run and cause any shock on her joints.
Hi thanks so much for sharing. It's great to know this. Makes me feel alot better. With regards to toilet training how did you find that being in a flat?
Hi Nick, and welcome to the forum. The concerns about stairs were raised by a Norwegian study that showed puppies exposed to stairs during the first three months of life were at increased risk of hip dysplasia. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22620698. It's worth making contact with your local vet and discussing it with them in case there is any newer evidence. Three and six months make a big difference in the weight of a Labrador puppy, depending on how strong / free from back problems you are.
Hi Nick, You will need to toilet train your pup twice. Start in the house with puppy pads until they have had their injections and able to go outside. We were able to use a spare room for this that we had - we took her there whenever she woke up, had food and after play time. You will also get to know your pup and the signs they need to pee. We also had a mat in each room so that if she got the sudden urge she was always next to one. After about a week we started to take away mats and she started heading to her room for them. When she had an accident at the start we never treated her just pointed to the pee 'pee pee' then the mat. When she hit the mat we made a massive fuss of her and gave her a treat. Never tell them off for having an accident as it will happen daily to start with just praise them when they do it in the right place. We also didn't rub her face in it, it was only so she could understand 'pee on mat' Once we could take her outside we did the same, after playtime, when she wakes up and after food. Also every 20-30 mins she was awake. By using one room we were able to shut the door to this and when she went to try get in we knew she needed out and able to get lead on and go! Remember puppies do not get very much warning before needing to pee 'now' so it would be best to have shoes/lead/jacket near your allocated spot so you can get out quick. You might consider maybe a hanging bell at the front door that you ring when they pee. This way they start to associate the noise with toileting. When she starts going out she would ideally walk to the bell and ring it. This will take some training but do-able. You would also move the mats to the front door so that if your puppy gets there and realises they aren't going to make it out then they have a mat to use. Sorry for the long post! It is do-able and yes they do get heavy but train from the start to sit at the top and bottom of the stairs before lifting them. Always have a hand under their bum and then front legs 'hooked' over your other arm. This will seem pointless at the start since they are so small but trust me will be so beneficial when they get bigger as Luna doesn't wriggle at all when on the stairs and never has because we set the routine out from the start. Good Luck! It is harder in a flat but 100% worth it!
Hi Christina Dont apologise for the long post. It is a great help and great to see how youve made flat living work. My wife loved it when I told her you were training to ring the bell. Time to get the gym and grow more muscles lol NIck
We feel in love with our pup from the start - our friends had a litter and we met them when they were 3 days old and she feel asleep in my hands! We knew then that we wanted her and would have to make it work. It is hard but Labs love to learn and will do anything for a treat! Lol I am not that strong and able to still lift her. Thankfully I only have to go until 11th Dec now as she is 21.8kgs and growing!
