Hello my family is expecting our first Labrador in April. I have has two Labs in my younger days living with my parents. This will be the first dog that I've paid a good amount of money for. I have a family of my own with 2 daughters 6 and 10 and they have wanted a dog for years now. I plan on taking on the role of the dogs sole proprietor cause ya know the kids say they will take care of it lol.. I can't wait and trying to gather as much info as I can. Just trolling through the site I have picked up a lot of info. Thanks and looking forward to learning more.
Welcome! The advice and support or sometimes just a place to vent your frustrations here is invaluable.
Welcome to you from Mags, Tatze and Mollie Tatze is my pet dog, a black Lab three years old. Mollie is my fourth Guide Dog puppy, a black Lab and she's fifteen weeks old. I strongly recommend the Happy Puppy Handbook ...
Hi and welcome from me and my 7yr old Lucan. I have a new addition, another black Lab, coming home on 9th Feb, I also can't wait!
Hello and welcome from me and Lilly! I can second the value of The Happy Puppy Handbook. Really wish I had had it when Lilly was a Puppy, would have prevented a lot of angst I know for sure! jac
Welcome to the forum! Yes, read 'The Happy Puppy Handbook' lots of times before April and keep us posted about your puppy's progress.
A very warm welcome to the forum from me and my two year old choccie girl Mabel. I'd recommend Total Recall also by Pippa, I found it invaluable along with The Puppy Handbook. It's a very exciting time for you, please post some photos. We love puppy photos on the forum.
Hi and welcome from me and 3 year old girl, Harley Might be worth teaching your children how to stand still like a tree for when pup is going through the bitey stage, and also teach them some basic commands they can do when pup arrives.
Wow thanks for the welcome everyone. I will check out the handbook, I can't even explain how excited and nervous I've been I don't think April can get here sooner.. The kids are excited to but I don't think they realize this is not tv or a game and the work that I'm sure is going to be involved but if my new pup is anything like my last we'll be fine. I took me 10 years since my last dog past just so hard to get over loosing your companion..
Hi & welcome from Coco & me - just want to wish you good luck with your new pup, and may April soon be here
Hello and welcome Jay to the forum. Lots of information on this site to help you with your new pup. This is an exciting time for you and your family. Can't wait to hear about you new puppy when you get him.
Hi. My black lab is Pepper and she is now 19months. I have found this site very useful for advice. She is my first Labrador as I had a Jack Russell for 17 years. I too found 'The Happy Puppy Handbook' extremely useful and read after 1st selecting her at 2 weeks old.
No Karen pup has not been born. The litter is expected Late February or early March. So I probably won't get him home till late April but more likely May. Now this decision to pick this breeder was well thought out I think. I looked at another breeder but didn't care for the conditions nor the owners demeanor. My pups parents and background is excellent and are the working dog line that I'm looking for. Now I put down the deposit already but if the litter is not to my liking I can wait for the next. I'm on the list for 2nd choice male. My concerns are this- Is having a working male Chocolate lab going to just destroy this house? I am self employed so he will be with me a lot during the day ( Shop dog) so will this be fine and chill or is he just going to tear it up? You mention the handbook is this something to look at before picking out my pup? My last dog was a Black female English, a great dog but a little timid when in the duck blind that's but a fantastic house dog. I hope the new one is like her. Thanks Jay
I have two working line dogs, and they are completely chilled out at home. They spend the day snoozing. As puppies, they could be destructive, sure, but that's your responsibility to make sure he can't. Use a crate, a pen, baby gates. Pick things up and clear things away. Once he reaches adulthood, he'll be fine. Before that, it's not much difference working or show bred (I have a new show bred chocolate puppy, who is far more interested in destroying things than my working lines black girl was at the same age). They're all puppies with puppy teeth and the puppy desire to explore everything by reducing it to confetti
Hi Jay, Welcome to the Forum,yup Fiona has basically told it how it is....Dexter is our first dog ,we had family dogs as I was an older teenager but I didn't take much notice of their care....my parents took responsibility ,we kids just did the odd walk. My parents have had a very different ( much more traditional dominance based ) approach to training but one of the things my Mum said to me that was good advice was keep everything as tidy and clear as you can .....you then limit the chances of the dog finding things to eat or destroy ...this helps you with training them not to jump up on counters ...they are less likely to do it if they never find anything up there.....Note I said it HELPS you with TRAINING tidiness alone won't stop the desire to jump, your puppy is definately going to try it on counter surfing,they all do! Maybe it was coincidence but my dog was really easy to train not to counter surf because he never found anything worth nicking! I second Fiona's advice ,management is crucial in the early months ,invest in baby gates ,pens and have a safe secure area that puppy can be placed if you can't supervise or you need a break...because you will! Crate training is so valuable too,it takes time,like everything else, but it can be a lifeline and When it is done property your dog will come to love his crate and be very comfortable and content during the times he is contained. I'd start talking to your girls now about puppy biting too,not to scare them or put them off but the 'crocopup' teething stage can be quite brutal ,even on adults.From posts I've read on the Forum ,the children in the family can come off the worst at times ...probably because they are easier to jump up on,lots of fun :: and tend to run away if a crocopup attack is launched.....the most exciting thing for a puppy ever,excitement can crank up the biting massively.It's not forever it's only teething and learning but it can really put some children off....you've got time on your side to prepare them for this.Please don't think I'm being negative,my niece and nephew were very little when Dexter came to us and it took some management and they did get knocked over a couple of times and there were a few toy casualties but very soon they adored him Best Wishes Angela
Hi Jay, Welcome to the forum. I'm a newbie too. Having pets can be very grounding for children. We had Mose when my oldest boy was 5. He is now 18 and Mose is 13 and they are still have a very special bond. It is hard work but the benefits outweigh the challenges. Good luck with the pup. I look forward to seeing your pics when it arrives!
I'm in a similar situation, but I work from home. My advice is after the initial puppy stage and once he becomes a teenager (around 6 months old for ours). I suppose every dog is different, and this is my first experience with a Lab, but it will be very important that you exercise him if you want to avoid him destroying your shop/home in boredom. The length will be determined by his age at the time (5 mins per month of age, up to 2x a day). I don't crate ours as our situation with the neighbours is already tenuous and I can't afford to leave him barking in there til he gets used to it, so I have to manage him in other ways. I walk him in the morning on the way to the post, which leaves him conked out and happy for several hours, then I take him out again mid afternoon, which again leaves him conked out and happy for hours! I also frequently give him access to the garden. I'm not sure what your shop experience is like but it may be that he gets so much stimulation if you have customers coming through that he may not become that bored. But anyways, those two walks + garden time covers my work day. If I don't do this, what ends up happening is he pesters me for attention constantly, and if I don't give it to him because I'm in the middle of something, then that's when he can become destructive (he tore up a rug, tore up the carpet, chewed through shoes...all before I learned what I needed to do to keep him happy xD Not his fault at all, mine for not managing his boredom needs better. Now he isn't destructive at all, because he isn't bored). Hope this helps
