New Puppy

JJJJNR

Ok picking up my new 2 month old Chocolate Lab today, have been putting off getting a new dog for about 5 years now and decided we have the time now, so I've to get the puppy to meet my miniature Jack Russell first and get them hooked up! then introduce her to the kids, and house. I have some space cleared for her and am going to put a good few hours in this weekend with the kids and the puppy its going to be fun.

I'm going to start toilet training asap also, could any other lab owners share their methods of toilet training.

tk123

JJJJNR wrote: »

I'm going to start toilet training asap also, could any other lab owners share their methods of toilet training.

For quick results follow the the 30 min rule. ie bring them out every 30 mins lol!!:P Crate at night and if you can hear them at night take them out when they wake up and cry telling you they need to go out...or set your alarm clock. I only had to take my retriever out once a night (he cried and woke me up) - we started at 3-4am and it got later every few days. He was trained in a few weeks :cool:

JustAThought

So excited for you : ) lodes of love & fussing!

I would bring her out if i thought she was going to the loo & I chanted loo loo when she went to the loo in the garden so that she would associate it with the act - rather than just being in the garden playing around . Mine would never go if she was on the lead ( bit prissy that way!- and still won't!) .

I also bought a crate for her & left the door open during the day & soft super fluffy blanket in half with toys & treats & a bowl of water on paper in the other half . Apparently dogs won't toilet in their den. At night I would pop her in after having taken her out to the garden & chanted loo loo at her to try & make her go & then into the crate, lodes of pets, light out & bedtime!! For the first week I made an effort to listen out from upstairs & if I heard something I would go down & lead her out to the garden & off while chanting loo loo & when she went chant loo loo good loo like a lunatic. She was easy to train & still almost almost never had an accident.

I found that her learning the word " loo" was a huge help - even now sometimesy dog will be standing at the back door. & I will say. " loo" and she will turn away & stroll back to the couch. Shell be just wanting to investigate the cat!!!

I choose the word loo rather than toilet or business that books recommend because I wanted a command I could use anywhere ( including at my horrified patents house!) and didn't want to imagine being somewhere posh or at a cafe & having to be using " do your business" or " TOILEAt" and giving the people around me heart attacks!!! Loo has been kind to me in subtle situations!

Every time I put the dog in her crate I gave her two or three of her absolute favourite rabbit flavoured coachies; saved them for the crate only & she LOVED going in & getting them & snuggling down in her warm nest. Happy puppy days!!
( now she takes up half the couch but still trots off to her crate at night : )

JJJJNR

Wow what an emotional roller coaster! she is a beauty and has adapted well, even on the first day didn't have any accidents in the house and waited till she was brought out, having a couple of issues with teething but have got some play rope for her, she playfully nips your hand but we gave her a t-bone bone yesterday and she has razor blades in her mouth now!! .. getting a outside enclosure built and a all weather kennel is on the way.!

The Jack Russell is being a little bully to her though, he's muzzled up when she is about but he has made some runs at her, hopefully he can adjust.

tk123

Just be careful leaving a young pup out - so many dogs getting stolen atm

JJJJNR

Yah someone up the road from us had a pup stolen from the back yard, in fairness you've got to ask why a small pup is left out.

She is 10 wks old and has had her first set of shots, when is the best time to bring her to the vet, I was going to bring her for a checkup tomorrow.?

Cherry Blossom

JJJJNR wrote: »

Yah someone up the road from us had a pup stolen from the back yard, in fairness you've got to ask why a small pup is left out.

She is 10 wks old and has had her first set of shots, when is the best time to bring her to the vet, I was going to bring her for a checkup tomorrow.?

When I got my pup the contract I signed stipulated that I must bring him to the vet within 7 days in case I had reason to return him.

A quick check over will do no harm and will be an opportunity to introduce her to the vets before she is due to go for her vaccinations.

When did she have the first set of shots? They need to be between 2 and 4 weeks apart.

tk123

The breeder should have told you when to get the second shot - do you have the vaccination card? If you leave it too late or don't have the card the vet might want to start over with the shots.

JJJJNR

Got her shots today, she's a happy little thing.

JJJJNR

I'd like to know the best time to neuter my puppy, we've been told to get it done before she goes in season which is next month (six months) so looking for the best advice, shes a wonderful dog and we have been told that this procedure and the timing is very important, also there is a risk involved that means her personality might change if we dont do it now.

Kukey

I think 6 months is too young to be spayed especially with a large dog.I let my dog have her first heat,then got her spayed when she was over a year old.
None of my dogs ever had a personality change after being spayed/ neutered.
They did have a personality change when they were in heat though!

DBB

JJJJNR wrote: »

I'd like to know the best time to neuter my puppy, we've been told to get it done before she goes in season which is next month (six months) so looking for the best advice, shes a wonderful dog and we have been told that this procedure and the timing is very important, also there is a risk involved that means her personality might change if we dont do it now.

There are quite a few threads on here on the subject of when to neuter OP.. don't expect one hard and fast answer! Personally, I'm with Kukey on this one. Whilst I think neutering is really important, I've become really concerned about the implications of neutering dogs too early. The health risks thrown at puppy owners are virtually all completely exaggerated, and indeed the health implications we know about that are associated with early neutering are very real. Spay incontinence, for example, is a remarkably common possibility associated with early neutering, far more likely than mammarian cancer is in unspayed bitches.
But, like everything else, it's up to the owner, along with their (hopefully impartial) vet, to weigh up the pros and cons on both sides, and make their minds up then. If you decide to hold off and allow her to mature physically before you get her done (which would be my own very strong preference), then of course you need to commit to making damn, damn sure she's never vulnerable when she comes into heat!
The only timing considerations I would give to spaying would be to make sure she's done mid-cycle, that is, about 3 months after one heat (which should be able 3 months before the next too!)
Regarding personality change... no. This is not something you need to worry about! The one exception to this in females is that bitches who are nervous, twitchy types pre-spay, are more likely to become aggressive post-spay: this has been found via research into the effects of neutering on future behaviours of different types of dogs.
I'll see if I can find links to other discussions on this topic

Edited to add: Dang! All the threads I can find are to do with male dogs! However, this one I think covers a lot of the bases, though there is a male bias in it too: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056698503

tk123

OP have you asked the breeder about the dam's heat cycles? I know from reading golden retriever forums that they can go into heat anytime from 8-12 months (the odd few going earlier). I was aiming for 8 months or so to get our pup spayed...99% sure but may change my mind lol! Like everything there's conflicting advice so hard to make a decision. I don't really want to deal with a heat if I don't have to - there's 3 intact males on our side of the road for starters who'd be well able to get into the garden of they wanted to.

scarlet_mandy

I can't speak for the best time to get them spayed but we got our chocolate Lab spayed at about 6-7 months, can't remember now but I know it was before she had a chance to go into heat, and never had any problems, but I guess each dog matures differently, like people!

One thing I'd say bout Labs tho is good luck finding toys they won't destroy! Ours is a particular demon for stuffed toys, they never last more than minutes :rolleyes: and tennis balls are her fave things to shred. If she is ball obsessed I'd recommend a Boomer Ball, hard plastic and they cant pick it up so it drives them crazy (and wears them out more importantly!) Also, as with virtually every dog, Kongs are a Godsend in our house Labs are known for putting on weight extremely easily as they are so food-obsessed so it's easy to keep them entertained with some paste/peanut butter/treats shoved in a Kong.

We found pulling to be the hardest thing to train her with and now at 2.5 years old, even with consistent training, she is getting better but still has her bad days, so I'd say it's never too early to train her on the lead!

That's all I can think of at the moment, but I beg of you, post some pics?? I'm a sucker for a Lab puppy, but especially the chocolate ones!:D

tk123

scarlet_mandy wrote: »

I'm a sucker for a Lab puppy, but especially the chocolate ones!:D

+1

stoeger2000

I personally would wait until she has had at least one heat, so would wait until she is at least one or eighteen months.

As for toys, I've found the best ones to be those rope ones or the rubber rings, which seem to last longer than anything else.