Hi All, I have found this forum very useful and learnt lots already! We pick our little bentley up in less than 4 weeks nowe and are very excited! Just a few questions from me. How do I post pictures on here? I am not "Techi" at all so am struggling. Also, just wanted to get your view on something. We have a fairly big space under our stairs and so we plan for this to be bentley's area, so we will have a crate for him so that he has a safe den but within a pen so he has his own area during the day if he wants to in there but mostly for at night. We are planning on leaving the crate door open for him, as he is in the pen so he cant go far and at least then he can leave his crate at night and come out to go to the toilet. Thats the plan for the moment but we will see how we get on!! So, we are buying a Divider so that he cant leave his area, but the one we are looking at is more for Babies I think, Im sure they all do the same thing and act as a divider/gate but I'm worried that he might get his head stuck between the bars??!! My Boyfriend thinks Im being a bit OTT as the gap between the bars is actually quite small and Im sure by 8 weeks old, his head will be quite big but I just wanted to check if anyone else has used something like this before?? Also, with regards to chewy toys etc, is he Ok to have stuffed teddy at such a young age? he will have chewy ones too but a friend has bought him a small stuffed teddy but want to check its Ok and whatever is inside it, (Once he rips it apart I'm sure)wont harm him? Thanks in advance for all of your help/advice. Laura
Re: New Little Choc Lab Bentley We use a babydan room divider, and for Alfie, who's now 9, in our other house, it was under the stairs too! Will try to find a pic. Here's a thread mentioning them. It has some pics of ours used various different ways too. http://www.thelabradorsite.com/forums/index.php/topic,1874.msg15060.html#msg15060
Re: New Little Choc Lab Bentley How exciting! Planning for THE ARRIVAL! Fab. I think it's sensible to have a "short term confinement" (bed = crate) and "long term confinement" (pen = bed, water, emergency toilet space). But views on that might differ. I bought Margothedog Modular Pen System, which I think is really wonderful. I've just upgraded to the taller one (90cm), with extra panels, which is now bolted to the floor and is his permanent pen space for keeps. I looked at a lot, and in the end was happier going for something designed for dogs rather than babies. Soft toys worked for us at the start - he slept with a stuffed duck and loved it - but he rapidly got strong enough to rip them up, then I was too worried about choke hazards so that was the end of soft toys (he gets ruff tuff ones now which he does not rip up). I would say if you want to use them, supervise him.
Re: New Little Choc Lab Bentley Hi! You're in a very similar situation to myself. We're pickig up our first labrador, Monty in 4 weeks so all these questions have come up here. As far as I've been made aware, baby gates are fine...we intend on getting one. As for photo's click "Home" above, scroll down to "Technical Help" and on that page you will find lot's of different ways to upload photos. Hope this helps
Re: New Little Choc Lab Bentley In terms of a pen I can't comment sorry. We bought a baby gate after Dexter came home as the living room was full of distractions and its been a sanity saver!! Have I mentioned this before? As for toys, we bought Dexter a teddy from Pets at Home but I think a teddy in general is fine but things like buttons and eyes on them, I'd take off and sew the holes up well. Just do there is no choking hazards His teddy acts as his chew toy as it has arms made of rope plus its his friend when he's asleep. He likes to use it as a head rest : For Dexter we bought him a few toys. Mostly Kong Puppy (wubba, toy to stuff his treats in, tennis balls). He loves his Wubba and we've got him the Nylabone Puppy Starter Kit. Some of my family and friends seem to have mixed reviews about Nylabone's but Dexter seems to enjoy them and they help with his teething and chewing Just seen your photo's before I posted. He is a gorgeous puppy! I think I'll cry when Dexter is fully grown. I can see him filling out now every few days
Re: New Little Choc Lab Bentley OMG ! I have just died and gone to puppy heaven ! gorgeous puppies!!!!
Re: New Little Choc Lab Bentley Thanks for all of your lovely comments and advice! he is very cute if I do say so myself ;-)
Re: New Little Choc Lab Bentley Puppy overload! 2 new ones in the same day....*swoons into her lunch* How gorgeous are they!!! ;D ;D ;D My tip would be....try not to make it too easy to use the playpen area as even an emergency toilet. I think that might encourage a habit. Maybe better make it a bit of the crate/bed area which should be easier to stop in the medium term. (I think ??? ) Loving the pup pics Good luck!
Re: New Little Choc Lab Bentley I have to really steel myself to look at photos like these , gulp , no I cant have another dog Beautiful gorgeous babies ;D
Re: New Little Choc Lab Bentley Oh they are so scrumptious when they are that small,I missed that part....but I'm glad we chose to get Dexter the way we did,we wouldn't have got Dexter otherwise!
Re: New Little Choc Lab Bentley Little bundles of adorableness.....I know that's not a word but my brain is on puppy overload....
Re: New Little Choc Lab Bentley hi laura, welcome to the forum from me and jasper 8 month old,........regarding toys i never left jasper unsupervised with any toys,......when he was only weeks old, he was under my feet with a ball, is little needle teeth got stuck on the material of the ball, if i had not been supervising him the ball would have been stuck to his top and bottom needles, eventually he would not of been able to breath so from that day i have always had fear of toys getting stuck in his mouth,
Re: New Little Choc Lab Bentley Hello Laura. Zoe has been with us for 5 weeks as of yesterday and was exactly 8 weeks old when we picked her up. We use a baby gate to keep her out of the areas of the house where the nice furniture and carpets are. The one we chose is metal with the thought being a wooden one would just be something else to eat. As for the playpen type of enclosure, I completely agree with one of the previous posts that suggested that may lead to accidents. I am sure it does work well for some folks though. We have a large crate with a divider that we can adjust as Zoe grows and we have not had any accidents in the crate to this point. The idea being they won't go to the bathroom where they sleep if they can at all help it. As for toys, we have an assortment. The Kongs are essential. We have two so that one is always in the freezer. Banana with peanut butter is her favorite. We also have a rope toy, a soft animal toy (surviving nicely so far), and the Nylabone puppy starter pack. Zoe does not seem to have much interest in the Nylabone but once she is full on teething I suspect that will change. Anyway, welcome to the forum. Time sure does slow down while you wait to bring your new puppy home. All the best!
