Hello, my name is Mike. My wife Erin and I have two labs from the same litter. (Sheba & Fionn) They are 11 months old. We've had them since they were 8 weeks old. We had very few problems, nothing beyond the normal puppy stuff. I know some people don't recommend litter mates but these two have been nothing but a joy. Yep, there were some long nights and sometimes quite difficult in the beginning but now we are reaping the rewards of having a great pair. My wife and I are both retired and waited until we retired to acquire our pups. There were many hours spent with these guys, NO became our second language. We knew it would require lot of time with them. They were constantly wrestling all the time. We hired a trainer when they were 4 months old and they are now in group training. It was explained to our trainer that we would use only a regular collar and no others training tools that would cause discomfort to our babies. At first he was a little skeptical but decided he would take us in his training program. It seems most trainers in this area want to use choke collars or shock collar. Nope, not for us, we wanted dogs that would obey because of bonding and not fear, worked out very well so far. They are not perfect but that’s OK. They are so loving and fun to be with. Sheba actually take her Good Citizen Test on Friday. Sorry for such along fist post but just wanted to update our journey almost to their first birthday. It’s been quite a ride!!! Mike & Erin
Welcome to the forum I bet you've had many adventurous times with the two of them! Good on you for insisting on only using kind methods in your training - I'm sure this has been really important in building a great relationship with your two. Hope you enjoy being part of the forum.
Hi and welcome from me and 3 year old girl, Harley. So glad you insisted on kind methods to train, I believe it makes a huge difference to the dogs and really helps with the bonding. My girl isn't perfectly trained, but is more then good enough for me. Good luck for Sheba on Friday. Look forward to hearing more about your adventures.
Hi from me and Molly and well done on refusing to use choke and shock collars - you can definitely have a well behaved dog without using these.
Hello and welcome to the forum from my two Fred, Annie and me. Well done Sheba for taking your Good Citizen Test on Friday and Good luck. Please can we have some photo of your dogs, we love photos
Welcome from me and my crowd. I also have litter mates, Willow (black girl) and Shadow (yellow boy) who are nearly three. They were hard work, but thankfully both quite good puppies. It could have been a lot worse! Luna is my 8-month old chocolate girl.
Hello & welcome from Coco & me on the Isle of Man. Glad it's working out for you with litter mates. It's great that your trainer is respecting your wishes, ours is the same - he's a bit half and half - uses lots of treats & praise, but will force dogs into position and stuff (no nasty collars though), but he completely respects our need to use kindness only.
Thanks for the warm welcome. I have learned a lot from lurking on the forum. I have also learned a lot from experience over the past 11 months. Some times have been great, others not so great. Update: Sheba passed her AKC Good Citizen Test with flying colors on Friday. She passed all ten test on the first time. I am so proud of her. Now comes a real challenge, we are have trouble with Fionn's focus. He is very smart but seems to have a mind of his own, he almost seems defiant. He is also very jealous of his sister. When she is rewarded for doing something good, he pushes her away from whatever she is praised for. He does exhibit dominance over her so she'll just walk away and let him have his way. He is not close to being as obedient as Sheba. Anyway, I guess it wouldn't be interesting if not for challenges.
Welcome from Holly and me in Wales. Well done in only using positive training methods. My wife and I have raised Holly the same way and she's grown into a gentle and playful dog. Maybe a bit of one-on-one training with Fionn will help him along?
