littlelabrador

Again this morning, same thing, no growling. Think i will stick with this and see how she goes. Poor puppy, just keeps sitting and looking at me for more, lol. I was patting her both times, when she sat, i said 'good girl' and patted, and when she ate. Didnt growl either time. When she is eating i guess she is relaxed. She's not looking at me, shes eating, gorging should i say, and tail wagging. Then sits and waits for more. Looks at the empty bowl, looks at me expectantly. Our only issue today, is that i started adding optimum back in with the hills food to try to switch her over. First day i added just a tablespoon, yesterday 1/4cup with 3/4 cup hills, and darn it, shes done 8-10 poos in the last 24 hours. So now i guess thats supercoat and optimum that are no-goes. Guess we are going to have to use a more expensive one, cant really afford to but looks like i will have to find the $$. Putting her back on straight hills prescription, with chicken/rice again. omg, a leash, der. of course. silly me. ok. Ours isnt long though, probably only 120cm, so will have to get a longer one. We will use a longer one when shes older anyway. No havent contacted K9 yet. As it would take a while to get in, i will keep going with everything we are doing so far, and wait till after christmas and see if we still need it. She has settled down. Even at night, we only had 2 jump ups, and one bark, then she stopped after being disciplined. She got swiped again by the cat, and last night when the cat came in, Molly came and sat on my feet and wouldnt budge, poor baby must have been a bit scared of the cat !

Well i havent had a chance yet to do the TOT, haven't been able to get any rope. So, i have tried the bit of food at a time into the bowl. Did it at lunchtime and dinner tonight, and no growling ! I make her sit first, give a handful, she tries to go for it, but i say uh uh, then 'go' and she does, then she automatically sits again. quite funny to see. Only took the lunchtime meal for her to learn she had to sit to get more. I patted her during it and she just wagged her tail more. Hope thats a good sign.- Tehan family, i dont know, but im sure the others will advise you on the puppy's diet. I dont think the toast and cereal are good things. I dont think cereal and water for breakfast would have anywhere near the amount of nutrition the puppy needs in the right proportions, probably too much sugar, not enough protein etc. And cabbage ? wont that give him/her gas ??

ok, yep, i could try that. another question. WHY oh WHY, do they eat their own poo ???? !!!! it is disgusting.

i do think its hunger related. The meal she is most likely to growl with is breakfast. Doesn't happen much at lunch, does happen at dinner. Yes, im still feeding her a lunch meal as i think hunger is part of the problem. She has a kong, which i fill with puppy kibble, and she loves that game, and i can take it off her without any growling. Also, if one of us drops food on the floor, and she gets to it first, i can take that off her too, no problem. she is fed in the laundry, no distractions, no kids, no cats, etc, has been from the start. I stand in there talking to her and telling her she's a good girl etc. always have.

She's still growling around the food bowl. I'm wondering if its also partly because the breeder only uses one bowl. Might make it hard for so many puppies to get their fair share. I just say this because if i fill the puppy kong with food, and let her play with it, she love it, but i can pick it up and move it, or put more in it, etc, without any problem. It just seems to be the feeding bowl thats a problem.

I guess. It's only been a few days, maybe they are away and not checking emails. They do take a while to respond usually. They had a lot of puppies, 3 litters at once. Makes me wonder what happens to the puppies that do not sell (and i dont want to know the answer if its horrible). anyway, i was just checking out the Driftway dog that fathered Molly, and he is quite impressive ! Hes only 2.5 years old though, is that young to be a father ? Or do they always breed from dogs that age ? Hes got quite a few awards. His name is Special Envoy, he's on the driftway site. The mum, the doribank one, i dont know much about. She is a smallish labrador, which is why we picked from that litter, and seemed very calm and sweet.

Molly came from Doribank Labradors at Raymond Tce, they are in the puppy listings on DOL, thats how we found them. Her mother is a Doribank dog and her father is a Driftway. Sorry, i know i havent used the proper terminology there, dog, etc, im not up with all of that. And no, havent heard a word from them since i let them know about our behaviour issues. They did know she was unwell the first few weeks.

Not so hard for me, as i have to discipline my daughter too. Hubby is the non disciplinarian and has a lot of difficulty lowering his tone of voice and sounding serious. Also, forgot to mention, we have 2 cats, who are none too pleased at Molly's presence. One goes nowhere near her, the other gets within a couple metres, and Molly usually hangs back at that distance. But Saturday night, and again this morning, decided to chase the cat and get too close and got swiped twice. How long does it take them to learn so they dont get swiped, it must have hurt as she yelped both times. But yes, she is behaving better.

Touch wood, but she has actually been better behaved the last 24 hrs. Must be the extra plays, and last night i gave her a puppy kong with some of her puppy kibble inside it, to keep her doing something else when we were watching tv. She went nuts over that, got all of it out, then played with it for a while, i guess because it still had the food scent in it, then went to sleep. She only jumped up on hubby twice, and both times got down when he growled 'no' at her. Lets hope it continues !

yeah, i was thinking definitely outside for the bone. I said yesterday too, that the labs we had as kids, never growled around food, but i was thinking about this last night, and i do remember they did, and it was only with bones ! If you came near when they had their new bone (old ones didnt get the reaction) you got growled at. So maybe i will give the bone a miss for now then. Will wait until we have better control of her. The tot thing and all. Ok might buy the liver treats. The ones i saw were just what looked like pieces of dried up strap looking stuff ? At puppy preschool we were shown to teach them to 'sit' by placing the treat near their nose and then moving it back over their head and they naturally sat. Then to get them to drop, to put it near the nose but then lower it to the floor and say 'drop'. I have been doing this for days and Molly doesnt seem to get 'drop' at all. She will sit with just the word, but when i try to move the treat down and say 'drop' she just looks at me like im loony or something. Any suggestions ? Sheree, the dry food she is on, well her only food really, is Hills Prescription I/D. Its not really for puppies either, but what we have to use for now. I do sometimes worry that those couple weeks without adequate nutrition, well, chicken and rice isnt adequate, no calcium for a start, etc, have done something to her.

One other question Molly has not yet had any bones. Do you think if i introduced a bone now, the food aggressiveness would increase, or would it give her something to do for an hour or so ??

Well i've read through the TOT and think i understand it, but i dont know what a 'tieback' is, and we dont have any rope at all ! So, i will have to get some rope tomorrow or monday, and go from there. I've tried to keep things very calm around here today, and hubby has been out three times with her for ball sessions, to expend the puppy energy, and she is actually behaving okay today. I've tried to keep my daughter away from her other than playing ball, but she snuck in when i went to the toilet and i came back to find them having a cuddle. It is really hard to have 100% supervision of the two of them, but am really trying to do that. (not that we weren't before, but am being more cautious now) One or two little jumps at my daughter's clothes, when outside,but has stopped when scolded. We are out tonight for dinner (first time since we got her), so not sure what will happen when we get home. One question, if anyone knows the answer.... with Molly being on the prescription food, i have not used anything other than that as reward treats. Is there something i can buy to use that will be gentle on her tummy, i'm thinking that using her normal food, the novelty will wear off quickly. Everything i looked at in the supermarket seems to have the byproducts and fillers etc. Would those liver type treats be suitable, or do they cause diarrhoea in susceptible dogs ?? anyone ? thanks.

ok, big breath here. Yes, a LOT of different advice. Sheree, I can understand what you are saying. Molly does not seem to be aggressive when eating from my hand at all. I'm assuming this is because she has done this for the rewards with training. In terms of 'health', we think she has an allergy/intolerance to something, something that was in the supercoat. SHe was on that from the breeders. 1 weeks on that here, then because the antibiotics did nothing, and she'd been on chicken/rice for too long, the vet then changed her to hills prescription i/d, for gut problems. Her bowel actions are completely different on this, formed and only a few times a day, and she is now gaining weight well. I think she would be close to 8kg now. The first couple weeks we had her, she was practically inhaling her food, because she wasnt well, we had her on plain cooked chicken and rice, probably 12 days in total, with nothing else. In the time she was on the chicken and rice, i kept saying to the vet i was concerned she wasn't getting enough nutrition and that she seemed very very hungry. I do think that is what has caused the problem around food. Last night and this morning, she ate so fast that she was heaving after it, almost making herself sick. Last night when the barking/jumping/biting at my husband started, we said 'no' very gruffly firmly, and put her in the wood playpen. She whined and barked for a while, then lay down with a defeated look on her face. When she was quiet we let her out. We had to do this twice, then she calmed down and went to sleep on the rug ! I am going to read the TOT today, and i think i will enquire about the K9 force on monday.

Has anyone here used Barkbusters ?? They have been recommended, and they do come to your house, which is what i would like, so the trainer can see how she behaves here, as it isnt the same as at puppy school. alanglen - yes i am upset ! I dont want to get rid of this dog. Aside from the exhorbitant amount she cost just to buy, and what we've paid in vet bills so far, we love her already. When she is settled , she is adorable ! I really am interested in getting someone here to sort her out. She was such a timid little thing 3 weeks ago, and the first week she was very quiet, none of this biting, but we didn't realise she wasn't well. Now shes well, and is gaining a lot of weight, her personality seems to have changed, so im not sure which is the real personality. Anyway, rehoming would be the absolute last resort, only if nothing else worked. My daughter would be absolutely distraught if we had to give her away. I should say too, someone suggested hand feeding her, sorry cant remember who, but i did that at lunch time today, with no problem, she was quite calm about it. But yet, i put her bowl down and she gets aggro . So, if time out has to be boring, then the laundry would be the best place, theres absolutely nothing in there for her to do. Outside, she ran go and run around, play with sticks etc. So if im going to use the laundry as the place for time out, then i should not feed her in there should i ? And i did email the breeder, and have not had any response.

Very interesting , thanks. I am having lots of problems, or what i perceive as problems, with our 11 wk old lab. She is so sweet during the day, with me alone, but with daughter and husband around, seems aggressive, with barking, biting/nipping ( i dont know the difference), jumping etc. Can i ask, as i looked at your website, do you have people trained in your methods, who work on the NSW Central Coast ?? Or does everyone have to come to your for your services ?? I'm sort of looking for someone who will come to our home and see the behaviour in action. cheers.

okay, this is getting so confusing with so many opinions, but i am glad of the advice offered. I cant tell then, if she is biting or nipping. With my daughter yesterday, she was skipping towards the house, Molly ran after her and jumped at nipped/bit at her clothes. What is that then ? With my husband, he is sitting on the lounge, she jumps up towards him, front legs on the lounge, and tries to bite/nip his legs. When he says 'NO', she then tries again, and barks several times at him. If he pushes her down, and says 'SIT', she will try to jump back up at him, barks again, or tries to bite/nip at his feet, lower legs, etc. So what would you call that behaviour ?? I cant buy a crate. I have a wooden playpen, about 120x120cm, will that do for timeouts, or should i put her in the laundry with the door shut ? With the food, this morning i made her sit before feeding, went to pat and she growled, so i just left her, went back in 30 seconds later and she growled when i came back in. She obviously thinks her food is going to be taken away. I dont know why she'd think that as it never has been. FYI, my daughter has never been anywhere near her when Molly is eating either. Hubby feeds her in the mornings usually. I am going to go through the TOT thing, just dont have time today, will try and look at it tonight. How on earth do i find someone who will come to our house and assess her ? I did look at the K9 site, but it seemed that you go to them, its a long way to drive, probably 3 hours for us, (Molly got carsick on our 1.5hr drive home from the breeders). I looked in the phone book but how do you know who is reputable and who isnt. There weren't a lot of them in there either. The central coast dog obedience club had no help to offer btw. It is pouring rain here today, is supposed to be for days, so puppy preschool wont be on tomorrow either. To be honest, i must admit, that she is so darn lovable during the day with me, we just had a lovely cuddle not long ago, she sat on my lap for ages lapping up the stroking, lol, BUT, when she acts like this at night, she does scare me, and i am worried she will bite and scare my daughter.

lol re the black lab comments ! I actually wanted a black one, not a yellow, but, we have cream carpet, as does my father, who spends forever vacuuming because of all the black hairs. I'm not biased because we have a yellow lab, i think the blacks are definitely more beautiful, something about the shiny coat. I also love the chocolate's but again, the dark hair would have driven me nuts. So yellow we have, and yellow we love now. Not quite sure how her coat will end up, it was very light at first, but the more mature hair is coming in on her back, and it's getting a darker strip along the top of her back, with some spots on top of her head that look like someone has dropped paint on her ! Well, like i said, we had a quiet day. When i brought my daughter home from preschool, Molly didnt seem that interested in her, and was well behaved until about an hour later. She came to life as such, outside, racing around after her, which is ok, but then she started chasing and biting at her clothes, and started jumping up on her. Twice she got put in a time out in the laundry, it didnt seem to do a lot of good. I've put my daughter to bed now, and i had about a 15 minute ball play outside with Molly. She seems totally stuffed now, and is lying quietly. I'm sure she'll be at it again when hubby gets home. Patch, no i think she doesn't listen to him because he doesn't discipline her. He tries and she ignores him and barks at him, so then i will tell her off, sometimes she will then calm down, sometimes not, if not, he then takes her to the laundry for time out. It can be hard to know if this is her personality, or puppy behaviour. We only met the mother, who seemed very sweet, but then, you only see them for a couple hours, not a long time to judge temperament. Molly's father is a Driftway dog, thats all i know about him. We dont yet have the pedigree papers. There were 10 pups in her litter, and it was the mother's first litter. Does any of that affect the temperament ?? I am looking forward to doing the obedience training. I'm a tad worried that waiting till february is too long, as she will be around 24 weeks by then, is that too late ?? They said they dont start up again until then, she's too young for the current group. Re the growling, its only with her bowl, when i pat her. She doesnt growl when im making her food. She does bark sometime when we are eating and she is not. I am thinking we should put her outside when we eat ?? Its all very hard to know, with so many different opinions.

I think she nips at my daughter because shes always moving, as kids are, running, or jumping, have clothes that are more flowing, like dresses. Whenever my daughter runs around outside, she chases her. As for my husband, i am hoping it is because he isn't the one doing any training with her. He takes her outside for a wee and feeds her when he gets up in the morning. He is gone from 6.45am to 7.15pm, so i am the one with her all the time. I am assuming its a similar thing to the discipline with my child, where he complains that she will listen to me, but not to him, but he rarely disciplines her as he just doesnt see her much during the week. I've wondered, with Molly, if its just that he gets home, has a little play with her, then we sit down for dinner, and she just wants to continue playing, as she tries to jump up on him while we eat, etc, but not on me. If she comes to me, i say 'no, sit', and she does ! Then runs around to him and jumps on him. Then we usually end up giving her a time out in the laundry, till she's quiet, then let her out. If she continues to jump, she goes back in the laundry till she's quiet again. Its usually only a couple minutes, and by the 3rd time she will usually just sigh and go and sit on her bed ! After dinner, when we go to sit and watch tv is when the increased antics start. I do think, well i am really hoping, a lot of it is she wants his attention, wants to play etc. She's been very relaxed today, so im almost expecting a rowdy evening. By the way, he is not an aggressive man in the least, and doesn't look aggressive, he's very mild mannered, as such, he's not encouraging any aggression at all. Out of curiosity, what time would you all put an 11wk old puppy to bed ??? Maybe we should be putting her to bed instead of letting her stay up with us ?

She doesn't growl at me when i approach her when eating, she growls when i pat her while eating. If i just talk and say her name, she wags her tail while eating. If i touch, she will tolerate one or two pats, then will growl, and continue eating at the same time, her head doesnt leave the bowl. This puppy has had a food intolerance, has been very hungry and did not gain weight properly in the first 2 weeks we had her - we've only had her 3.5 weeks now. She is better ,seems less hungry, on the prescription food from the vet, and gained 1.2kg in the first week on that food. Today is the first day, ive been home all day with her while my daughter is at preschool, and she's been very mellow, quiet, and slept a lot of the day, no problems (except for the growl at lunchtime). How/why did we choose a lab ? Well, to be honest, because my husband did not want a small dog. He prefers big dogs. I actually wanted something small, like a beagle. Of all the large breeds, we chose a lab because thats what i grew up with and felt we'd be comfortable with. My child has mild autism, and i had also done some research into autistic kids and dogs, and the labs/retrievers seemed to do well with them, being the 'helping' dog that they are (ie deaf and blind guide dogs,etc). I rang the central coast dog obedience club, they said to turn our back on her, with the bad behaviour, and that she is too young for obedience classes, but can start in the next group in february. I looked at the k9 site (thanks), but we cant afford hundreds of dollars upfront, right now, unfortunately. I will speak to the vet nurse at puppy preschool this weekend and see what she recommends too. I might try and video the behaviour tonight, to show her. I think i have said, that she doesnt bite at me, its just my husband, and sometimes if my daughter is wearing a dress, she tries to nip at the dress, etc. If she has something she shouldn't, ie, a stone, a leaf, paper, etc, in her mouth, i can quite easily open her mouth and take it out with no problem.

Thanks will look into the book. What is TOT and NILIF ?? I've never heard of those. Miranda, i sort of agree re the food. I grew up with a yellow lab, a black lab, a golden retriever, then a black lab again, in that order. My parents never did puppy school, never did obedience training. I'm not saying that was right, but none of those dogs ever showed aggression, they were all beautiful family dogs, the last one is now 11, lives with my Dad, and has had the new grandkids all over him, and just lies there, hes just lovely. We were taught as kids not to go near the dog bowls when they were eating, so this 'put your hands in their food' is totally new to me. This is the first dog my husband has ever owned (he always wanted a dog as a kid), and first one i've owned as a married adult with my own child. Like i've said, we dont have a crate, and to be honest, cant really afford one, all the vet bills since we got her were expensive and unexpected (and yes of course we knew we'd have bills, we just didnt expect $500 odd in the first 3 weeks!). Do you think we should put her in the playpen we have, to eat her food ?? We are currently feeding her in the laundry, door open, but she's in there by herself. Okay, so my plan of attack tonight, is to feed us before we feed her. Not let her on the lounge to sit with us. When she starts biting and barking at my husband i will try the water bottle squirt and see what happens. I dont think she will like it, as so far she doesn't seem to like water - she hated having a bath, and didn't like being splashed by my daughter when she was in her little toddler pool. Failing that, i will give her 'time out' if the water bottle doesn't work. Tomorrow i will make some calls about obedience training. thanks.

what is a gundog ?? She is definitely very food oriented. I just spent 10 mins doing the 'sit' training with her, and i think we are well and truly beyond that now. As soon as she knows i have the food in my hand she sits, i dont even have to say it, lol. She doesnt jump at my hand etc either. I tried letting her smell my hand, with the food in it, to see what would happen, she had a sniff then sat quietly. Cant get her to 'drop' yet though, doesn't seem to understand that one yet. She's quite mellow this morning, in comparison to last night. So no one knows of trainers on the central coast who do house visits ?? thanks for all the advice.

I'll be back in a while to check any more advice. Just going to go and have a ball play with Molly.

sorry about the eye flash, i seem to get that every time i take an indoor pic. Now, about the crate issue, no as i said we dont have one. But i did buy a toddler type playpen for her, however, she still fits through the bars !! I even used shadecloth around it, but she pushed the cloth down and still got out. It will only be a couple more weeks i imagine before i can use the playpen with her.

not sure if the pic will work, this is Molly with my daughter yesterday. She can have her quiet moments, and she really is very lovable.

We are on the lower NSW Central Coast, near Gosford. Monah, yes a water spray bottle, i forgot that the vet nurse actually did say to try that when she jumps and nips at my husband at night, i forgot that, and haven't bought one yet. will do so today.