pawpaw

My girl is crate trained and was able to hold on the whole night at six months old. However, if your pup is used to having free roam of the backyard during the night, it's hard to say whether they are used to sleeping through. You could always put some newspaper down inside so they have a spot to go in case you don't hear cries during the night. Hope all goes well.....it is getting chilly ;)

Hi Paw Paw, What are your thoughts on exercise. Did you walk your lab prior to 12 months old?? Thanks for the weight advice. i will give her a feel over tonight too. Hi Kylie and the black lab, Here is what exercise we do with our lab. (This is not necessarily correct but what suits our family best). We started this at approximately 9 months old. 4-5 times per week she goes to the dog park for 1-1/2 hours. It is not constant play as she is more than happy to go off by herself to chew grass and make it look like she never gets fed Once a week my OH takes her for a half hour walk through the local streets and on the weekend we go for a walk through the Botanical Gardens. Stop to get a coffee by the river and then walk back to the car. This breaks the longer weekend walk up by resting for approx. 15 minutes. Hope this helps. Each dog is so different, but if we didn't do this amount of exercise with her we would have one very destructive dog.

Having a one year old lab girl myself, I know of the worry of them being overweight. Recently an obedience trainer told my OH that she was looking pudgy. I took her to the vet, they weighed her, checked her ribs etc and told me she was just perfect for her height. They also gave me a sheet which explained what underweight, healthy, obese looks like from the airial view, side on etc. Very helpful. Maybe see the vet to put your mind at ease.

Two books that I have found useful are Before You Get Your Puppy and After You get Your Puppy by Dr Ian Dunbar. These were recommended to me by our breeder and have relevant information. You can buy them from pet suppliers etc, but are at the higher price end. I don't know if your local library would have them or maybe you could borrow them from someone who already has them as they cost between $27-35. Hope this helps!

Your pup is beautiful. Don't know much about GSD but our labby has Eukenuba 5 days per week and the other 2 days gets a mixture of pure chicken breast mince, pureed fruit and veges (I blend them myself so I know what's in them), half a can of sardines and a raw egg on top!! These two days are her favourite but being a lab will eat anything at anytime so just be careful when you get you lab X. There eyes make you feel guilty if you're not sharing but don't give in. There slim frame for life is worth it!!

Forgot to mention that there should definately be enough room for a water bowl and one or two toys to stop the boredom. The water bowl can be either on the floor of the crate or you can buy stainless steel ones that attach to the side and are up a little of the ground. Good particularly for those pups who love water. My lab sleeps in her water bowl and wakes up with one side of her face wet and one ear. :nahnah: And then as soon as she is let out of the crate, jumps into her clam shell and gets totally saturated :nahnah:

I have a wire crate and it's fantastic. Easy to clean if there are little accidents as you can just hose it (bare in mind the water restrictions in Qld) and provides excellent ventilation. We cover ours with an old quilt cover with no quilt inside in summer. Just enough to stop light shining through and for pup to feel safe. Also good if you decide later to get another pup as you can put the crates together and they can still see each other and be together. We didn't start crate training until our pup was nine months old (long story) but we took her into the pet supply store to be sized up. They need when fully grown to be able to stand up, turnaround and lie down without touching the crate. If you know what is the expected size of the pug you should be able to get the perfect size crate. The wire ones are definately heavier but I just figure are a good workout for those biceps All the best with your crate training. My OH and I were sceptical at first but have seen nothing but good results. Don't know if you know much about it but the author Dr Ian Dunbar has some great advice. P.s I'm not an expert!

Don't know if this works or is dangerous, but one of the ladies at the dog park said she sprinkled cayeene pepper on the furniture and other valuable things. It has worked and all it does is give them a very peppery taste in their mouth. Might be worth a go.

The breeder who we got our lab puppy from gave me the name of a book which thought you might be interested in. The only thing is the bookshop may have to order it in as it sells quite quickly. It is After you get your puppy by Dr Ian Dunbar. He has also written various other dog training books. Happy training.

Thought I'd let you know as you are from Brisbane, there is a Puppy Preschool-Dog Obedience 4 being held as recommended by the Canine Control Council at Souths United Soccor Club. Their program seems well organised and is being run by proffessional trainers and as it is not at a pet store, does not promote specific products, rather the time is spent focused on the puppy training. My husband and I have enrolled our new little girl (a chocolate lab) for next months start date. We have already gone to check out the classes as our little boy (Boston) was stolen. He was also enrolled to start in January. It only costs $15 to become a member and the classes are $4 per night. Held on Mondays. Certainly a lot cheaper than the $100-120 most other places charge for 4-5 weeks of puppy preschool. The owners are more than happy for you to go and see what they do before you enrol and make a decision which I think is great. We actually went to the Christmas break up and the pups all had their photos taken with Santa. Too cute!! So if you live near the southside it may be what you are looking for.