puppy tips?

[drclark]

Nice looking pup! If you don't know already, Labs tend to be very puppy-ish til they are about 4 or 5 before they settle down.

I've never had a pup that exhibited the level of separation anxiety you describe. You resuced him from a shelter... did they have any information as to how old he was when they took him in? Puppies are usually weened from the litter/mother between 6-9 weeks old though I've heard that 8 weeks or older is better. If he was younger than 6 weeks when the shelter took him in, that might explain some of the "emotional" problems he is having.

We brought our chocolate lab home when she was 8 wks old. The first 2 weeks of crate training at night were absolute hell. That dog would whine and cry and howl for a good 2 hours before she finally fell asleep. She had this howl that would pierce the night almost like nails on a chalk board... I put a small clock radio outside the crate tuned to a talk radio station. That seemed to help a bit. I have read that an old-fashioned wind up alarm clock that "ticks" can also be soothing.

We would make sure she did her business before going in the crate and then toss 2-3 treats in. She'd hop in and then we'd close the door. If she started whimpering in the middle of the night we would get up and take her out to go potty and then right back in the crate. 3 hours was about the maximum amount of time we would keep her in her crate until she got older.

I would be hesitant to keep him outside unless you can fence in a smaller dog run. There are a lot of things in the yard that a puppy might get into that you wouldn't think of. In the heat it is very important that they have access to plenty of water and an area that is shaded from the sun.

drc

[davemw]

Be sure to post a lot of pictures please.. i miss my lab puppy, now he's a big butthead

This is when you know its time to do away with the crate!

[newpos]

just picked up an 11 week puppy too... french bulldog named Gabby

as recommended earlier, petsmart has really great training programs. might want to talk about the pee/poo thing with an expert (vet, trainer, etc..)

[sandblast]

Good luck with your Puppy, I have a huge soft spot for labs. I am fostering a 4 year old Husky if anyone reading this thread is getting the doggie itch- totally potty trained and great on the leash, super sweet and Beautiful. I've paid for his Microchip and all shots and etc. already so if money is tight no worries here, he just needs a good home and love. http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...n/DSC02069.jpg

[BFloFoxRider.]

Originally Posted by davemw

OK, Having a yellow lab going on 3 years now I think I can help you out, the key is consistency and routine for dogs and crate training.

Before leaving your puppy in the crate, you must walk him and make sure he goes, use key words like "go potty" so he can associate a word with bowel movements. When he does go, it needs to be a big deal! lots of praise and hi pitched voices, you look crazy but he poops where you want him to.

After the walk, ts strait into the crate. with something to keep him busy. We used to pack carrot sticks and a little peanut butter into a kong and freeze it.
Start of with short amounts of time, right now the longest he can hold it is about 2 hours, anything more than that and it is torture for the little guy.

The crate needs to be small, only large enough for him to lay down comfortably and stand without crouching.

Start by putting him in the crate when you are home doing things around the house, 10- 20 minutes at a time. Then for short trips to the store.

When he comes out of the crate he needs to go strait outside to go to the bathroom, 10 minutes or two hours, do it every time!

With our lab we used to put a blanket over the crate so it felt more like a cave for him. he came to love it after a few months and would sleep in it with the door open when we were home too.

Just remember to make the crate a good thing, no punishment in the crate.
Also if this is your first puppy I have some books you are welcome to borrow about clicker training and puppy training

Gotta be careful with the peanut butter and kong thing.. if the dog doesnt eat it the FIRST day, they have a tendancy to get maggots and weird wormy bugs in them

Originally Posted by sandblast

Good luck with your Puppy, I have a huge soft spot for labs. I am fostering a 4 year old Husky if anyone reading this thread is getting the doggie itch- totally potty trained and great on the leash, super sweet and Beautiful. I've paid for his Microchip and all shots and etc. already so if money is tight no worries here, he just needs a good home and love. http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...n/DSC02069.jpg

How does he do with other doggies?

[FoShizzle]

kewl thread....

we lost one of our dogs (old age) couple weeks ago...kids still devestated. have hit now 2 shelters looking for dog and have found a couple, 2 of em puppies and while i dread the thought of housebreaking, it may be best

[BFloFoxRider.]

Originally Posted by FoShizzle

kewl thread....

we lost one of our dogs (old age) couple weeks ago...kids still devestated. have hit now 2 shelters looking for dog and have found a couple, 2 of em puppies and while i dread the thought of housebreaking, it may be best

When we taught out puppy, we kept him in the room and put down those pee pads that have sticky around the outside to stay down, and put them in the small area with him,... we also took him out every 30 mins or so.. in a few nights he started pooping on the pads we left, and after he did that consistently for a few days, we kept the pads inside but also put on or two outside also, so when we put him out, he could associate that pad with potty time. We also said Good Potty in a Happy voice ALOT. Its all about "Throwing Verbal Parties" with puppies. Also, i've been told dog names with a single syllable are harder for them to learn.

[FoShizzle]

Originally Posted by BFloFoxRider.

When we taught out puppy, we kept him in the room and put down those pee pads that have sticky around the outside to stay down, and put them in the small area with him,... we also took him out every 30 mins or so.. in a few nights he started pooping on the pads we left, and after he did that consistently for a few days, we kept the pads inside but also put on or two outside also, so when we put him out, he could associate that pad with potty time. We also said Good Potty in a Happy voice ALOT. Its all about "Throwing Verbal Parties" with puppies. Also, i've been told dog names with a single syllable are harder for them to learn.

i hear yuh...have had many a puppy and while certain things work for certain puppies, its work, period. with limited time on our hands we are leaning towards a little guy (or girl) already past that stage but who knows....

cheers

[BFloFoxRider.]

Originally Posted by FoShizzle

i hear yuh...have had many a puppy and while certain things work for certain puppies, its work, period. with limited time on our hands we are leaning towards a little guy (or girl) already past that stage but who knows....

cheers

Little girl puppies are NO fun once they hit that age and get their monthly business. Its really gross. We had a Wiener that went through that before we got her fixed. My geez that was not a nice thing to witness. We got her diapers, and she always ripped them off lol

[drclark]

Originally Posted by FoShizzle

kewl thread....

we lost one of our dogs (old age) couple weeks ago...kids still devestated. have hit now 2 shelters looking for dog and have found a couple, 2 of em puppies and while i dread the thought of housebreaking, it may be best

I'll throw in my obligatory plug for the southern california labrador retriever rescue organization (http://sclrr.org/) I got my older dog through them (and met my fiancee through them as well). If you are worried about housebreaking a puppy, adopting an adult dog can be the way to go.

Originally Posted by BFloFoxRider.

Little girl puppies are NO fun once they hit that age and get their monthly business. Its really gross. We had a Wiener that went through that before we got her fixed. My geez that was not a nice thing to witness. We got her diapers, and she always ripped them off lol

You can get a female puppy fixed before their first estrus cycle. My vet recomendeds it unless you plan to breed them later since it significantly reduces the chances of the dog getting mammary gland cancer later on.

And since we are posting pictures, we were lucky enough to know the family we got our chocolate from. We were able to see them the day after they were born and then went to see them every weekend. It continues to amaze me to this day that my 80 lb baby was small enough to fit into the palm of my hand. Here are a couple of pictures:

@4 weeks


@6 weeks


and my two girls this past christmas (the black one is the one we got through the rescue)


Plenty more pictures here for anyone who wants to look:
http://www.majhost.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=110415
http://www.majhost.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=110956
http://www.majhost.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=111470
http://www.majhost.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=112675


drc

[scottay]

Originally Posted by davemw

i miss my lab puppy, now he's a big butthead

LOL! They do grow fast. Mine was growing 8lbs every three weeks, weighed her every time she got shots. Be sure to switch to large breed puppy food, a lil less protien I think so they dont grow too fast for the bones/muscle developement to keep up.

.
.

[FoShizzle]

Originally Posted by drclark

I'll throw in my obligatory plug for the southern california labrador retriever rescue organization (http://sclrr.org/) I got my older dog through them (and met my fiancee through them as well). If you are worried about housebreaking a puppy, adopting an adult dog can be the way to go.



You can get a female puppy fixed before their first estrus cycle. My vet recomendeds it unless you plan to breed them later since it significantly reduces the chances of the dog getting mammary gland cancer later on.

And since we are posting pictures, we were lucky enough to know the family we got our chocolate from. We were able to see them the day after they were born and then went to see them every weekend. It continues to amaze me to this day that my 80 lb baby was small enough to fit into the palm of my hand. Here are a couple of pictures:


drc

very kewl...definitely great dogs! but we would rather literally rescue a dog by adopting from the pound...

[drclark]

Originally Posted by FoShizzle

very kewl...definitely great dogs! but we would rather literally rescue a dog by adopting from the pound...

Here is a listing of Lab/Lab mixes currently available at shelters.

http://sclrr.org/available/show_shelter_entries.cgi

The group tries to rescue dogs from a shelter to get them into foster care until they can be adopted out. They also try to take in dogs into foster care before they endup in the pound. So if you do adopt one of their foster dogs, it helps to get another dog out of the pound or keep one from ending up there. Its a good option for people with children since the foster'ed dogs are typically evaluated for health and personality/temperment before being adopted out.

drc

[FoShizzle]

Originally Posted by drclark

Here is a listing of Lab/Lab mixes currently available at shelters.

http://sclrr.org/available/show_shelter_entries.cgi

The group tries to rescue dogs from a shelter to get them into foster care until they can be adopted out. They also try to take in dogs into foster care before they endup in the pound. So if you do adopt one of their foster dogs, it helps to get another dog out of the pound or keep one from ending up there. Its a good option for people with children since the foster'ed dogs are typically evaluated for health and personality/temperment before being adopted out.

drc

thanks for your help! your points are well taken

i wish i could swap 2 dogs in the pound for DeeZee and Burner

[DeeZee]

Originally Posted by FoShizzle

kewl thread....

we lost one of our dogs (old age) couple weeks ago...kids still devestated. have hit now 2 shelters looking for dog and have found a couple, 2 of em puppies and while i dread the thought of housebreaking, it may be best

someone contact PETA before he is allowed to own a pet

[FyrFytrRyn]

thats for all the replies guys. little update. i left him @ home with other people and the other dog wed-saturday morning when i was @ work. he was good, but peed in the house like 6 times. he doesnt pee @ night when hes with me, only others. also, i put him in the crate for like an hour today, he didnt deficate all over, but he did destroy his little blankie, and his stuffed giraffe. hes a real handful, but hes alot of fun. cant wait to get all of his shots so i can take him for walks and burn off some of his insane energy.

[davemw]

you can walk him without them just don't take him to the dog park or the beach yet... get him out and excersize him or he will drive you crazy! If you have friends with dogs, you can set up play dates too. don't let his lack of shots keep him from meeting other (healthy) dogs. The best thing you can do for your dog is socialize him.. it makes a much more polite pet.

[scottay]

thats the cool thing about PetSmart puppy skool, you can take pups there before they have all the shots (at least mine did).
I carried her from the car directly to the training area, so no danger of picking up any bad germs in the store. And all the dogs in the training area are supposedly vacinated. Its real important to get them socialized at an early age.
.

[Laggdawg]

Originally Posted by BrewMaster