Hi everyone, I am new to the forum and also new to the world of puppy-ownership. We are getting our first Labrador puppy in a month when she is 8 weeks old, and my brain is erupting with new questions each & every minute! I have been reading a lot, and we will be doing classes with her, however I wondered if I might post a few of my questions here as I think some personal advice before she arrives would be invaluable too. Please excuse the naïve beginner’s questions though – we all have to start somewhere, and I want to make sure we know all this before she gets here! 1. I think we are leaning towards crate training just while the puppy is young, to help with toileting mainly, though we are still not 100% sure. I don’t think we will still be using the crate when she is an adult so I would rather buy a smaller one than a big one with a divider. Firstly, what size would you buy (given that I won’t have her measurements until after I’ve ordered it)? Secondly, if she is going to need to pee-poop every 30-60 minutes at first (is that right?), how does this work with crate training? As we don’t want to have her in there all day or anything. Please feel free to recommend any alternatives. Also, should we be getting up throughout the night to let her out, and if so how often and when should we phase this out? 2. I have read and been told conflicting things regarding when to start taking puppy out for walks, ranging from “immediately and often in order to socialise her properly”, to “not until she’s had her final vaccination”, to “not for the first few months due to the risk of hip dysplasia”. Can anyone clear this up for me? If we are waiting for a few months then how do we ensure she gets adequately socialised, and/or if we are starting right away, how do minimise risks, how often/long should we go for, and do we start letting her sniff and interact with other dogs from early on, even before she’s had her final vac? 3. Can anyone recommend what type of lead/leads is/are best to start out with, and also how many toys & chewies should we start out with and what type? 4. Longer term… I am a full time mum at the moment so other than the occasional short trip out, I will always be available to look after the puppy. I would like to find some part time work eventually however (perhaps for three 6-hour shifts a week or something along those lines) - what age do you recommend we let our lab get to before I can start seriously looking into this? 5. Lastly (for now!), how do labs – both puppy and adult – typically fare with long car journeys, or does it vary from dog-to-dog? Most of our family live about 3 hours away and we go down to visit a few times a year. I’m hoping we will be able to take her with us, but want to prepare alternative arrangements if people don’t think this is realistic. Sorry for the huge list – if anyone can help with any of those questions I would really appreciate it!
Hi, and welcome to the Forum from Holly and me in Wales. These are great questions. I think the first thing I'd suggest is that you get a copy of the Happy Puppy Handbook. Its the essential guide to giving your pup the best start. Most people nowadays use crates, but we never have. I have no problem with using them, its just that my wife and I have always been at home with our puppies so we've never found the need for a crate. Others can probably advise you on crates. Walks: Don't put your puppy on the ground until its vaccinations are complete, typically about 14 weeks, and keep it away from other dogs until then. You can socialise the puppy by carrying it around. We took Holly to the local supermarket and sat outside with her on our knees. Other places like railway stations, school gates, town centers can expose the puppy to lots of different experiences. They can take lots of play but let them sleep when they tire. When the vaccinations are complete then start taking the puppy out, but be very careful about overdoing it. Puppies generally don't need walks up to about three months. Lots of play and gentle training in the garden is quite enough. After three months they can manage short walks. A common 'rule of thumb' is that the length of the walk should be five minutes for every month of age, so a three month puppy should get 15 minutes, four months it should be 20 etc. After about 15 months the bones will be fully formed and your Lab will take as much exercise as you can give it. Holly is quite happy to go out for an all-day walk in the hills and still has the energy to pull us to the pub afterwards! A nice soft nylon puppy lead and collar are OK. Don't use choke chains or collars that constrict as they can do a lot of damage to the delicate neck. We found some good puppy leads at our local pet shop. Lots of people work and have dogs. Get your puppy accustomed to short absences starting with just a few seconds, and build it up over time. For a 6-hour shift it might be useful to have someone who can drop in on the dog and play with it & let it out for a poop. Some people use dog sitters, or a doggy day care center. All of our dogs have been different on car journeys. Holly likes to sit in the tailgate and watch the world go by. Cocoa and Tammy would just crash out and sleep. Gypsy would pace backwards and forwards and get excited whenever she saw some woods. You can influence how the dog behaves by introducing it to the car in a controlled way. For example, start with very short journeys to nice places so the dog associates the car with nice things. This is not always easy as some of the first journeys will be to the vet! Two bits of advice I'd give: Firstly, take lots of pictures of your young puppy because they grow up so fast (and share the pictures with us because the forum members love puppy pictures). Secondly, before the puppy arrives crawl around the house at puppy level to make sure that you identify and remove hazards such as cables that a puppy might find interesting. I hope that you have many happy years together.
We have used crates with our puppies, and older adult foster dogs, most of them anyway. You can just pick up a cheap small crate from your local ads, usually around £10 - £25 as a rough estimate of price. As long as the pup can stretch out and turn around comfortably they are fine. We used a smaller crate then invested in a bigger one when our puppy was a bit older. Some pups can be decrated quite young, some are happy to have a crate for longer, particularly useful if you have a chewer, or Dora the Explorer! Dividers are absolutely fine. Some members find a crate within a playpen is a good idea. Puppies don't stay in a crate for long stretches of time, just for resting/sleeping purposes, they do spend most of their time sleeping anyway . Wrt to toilet training and the crate, what we did is before and after activity, they were taken out for a wee. When puppies are awake and playful, they have less control over their small bladders, until around 13 weeks or so. When quiet and relaxing, they are less likely to wee, you just have to be vigilant and catch the moment they start to wake up!
We got Coco when he was 16 months old - He has always been left alone in the afternoon for about 5 hours - I leave for work at 12:30, OH is home around 5:30. With a young pup you have a great opportunity to train it/accustomise it to coping alone for very short periods initially, and build it up. I never leave my dog with toys or anything to "keep him occupied", I am so paranoid about him choking. He just snoozes the afternoon away. As for long car journeys ? Your pup should be fine. Coco is a terrible whiner in the car, but when we have t travel to see relatives he is just fine.
