We are collecting our black lab pup in 2 weeks and was hoping to pick your experienced brains. What one piece of advice would you give for first week with puppy? Also can I start socialisation (obviously being carried) straight away or wait a few days? Same with small amounts of training should that be started right away? Any tips/advice welcome. I have children aged 5 and half and 7 so we want to do this right to hopefully have a lovely family dog.
Hi there, and welcome to the forum. You must be so excited about your impending arrival Here's an article on the first few days with a new puppy. I hope you find it helpful. I usually start socializing on the second day, as long as the puppy doesn't seem too overwhelmed. It's a good idea to make a list of places you are going to go with the pup. The more you can pack in (within reason) to those first few weeks the better. And yes, you can start training right away provided you use force free training methods.
The best piece of advise I could give you right now is to talk to your kids a LOT about how much the puppy will bite. Maybe not the first couple of days but soon after. I found that the hardest thing when we got our first Lab and my two oldest sons were young. They struggle a lot with the fact that the puppy can hurt with those sharp teeth but that it doesn't mean to. Also the more you talk to the kids about being very calm around the puppy the better. Lastly, definitely read all you can about crate training and go that route. It will be very important for you and the kids and the puppy! With all that said, enjoy enjoy enjoy.....I am so so glad that all of my children got to grow up with wonderful Lab's in their lives. My kids (now 28, 26 and 18) are too
Just like having a new baby and sleep deprivation can take its toll ! The biggest gain we had in the first week or two was crating Dexter next to the bed in our spare downstairs bedroom and we slept with him night about. Meant he had someone there, we were close to the back door and let him out on a schedule through the night in seconds, which we kept stretching a little longer and then going out less. One of us got a better night's sleep and he toilet trained very, very quickly sleeping longer through the night and combined with it being the summer with doors open into a small fenced area he had so few accidents indoors during the day (no more than 5). We quite quickly moved to not sleeping with him and took turns with the early morning alarm call and gradually moved that as he managed through the night. We are still working on everything else but surprisingly this was the easiest part for us. Good luck and enjoy !
Hello, I never had a crate for any of my dogs but it has been brilliant for our pup who is in it at night in our room. Yes it means frequent toilet trips for a few weeks. Get lOts and lots of toys. Find a good puppy school, our Gwenni loved it. When she was 4 months we added chews which was a god send and she is very very bitey with us and hurt. Bitter apple spray helps deter her from chewing things like our sofa, rug, my shoes, garden furniture, you have to reapply frequently but it works as our pup does not like the taste. I’m sure you will work out what your pup and family need to work through the first few months - all the best.
oh And one of the best pieces of advice they gave us puppy school was to exchange anything she has of your with a treat. Better than playing tug or making chase game out of it.
