chugo101

Some British back packers said that to my hubby when he was walking him home one day "Nice guinea pig mate". Hubby = "His name is Timmy and he's a miniature fox terrier thank you." Hubby calls Timmy his "best mate" too, he's not a "pet". Thats fantastic!!!

Terrified indeed, my husband has bigger shoes than Timmy (he's 6'4 and 120kg), I'm small in stature but very clumsy. So he was doing the shuffle without lifting his feet, whilst I developed the grace of a ballerina (almost .... ). When we first started to have him sleep with us I was constantly cecking his heartbeat (ok I still do occassionally) and I lost him under the covers once (he was lying on his side all flattened out like a cat!). He seems enormous at 28cm long and 22cm high and 2.6kg .... until I took him to the dog park I have a guinea pig thats nearly that size!!!

As long as she is health checked and deemed to be fit and well, there should be no worries at all. In our case though having a dog the size of a coke can in the house proved for some interesting changes to our way of walking, sitting, opening doors, manouvering chairs etc. The day I found him crying behind the couch was the most heart thumping of my life! Squeak, squeak, squeak I hear, I had turned my back for 30 seconds!!! Our labrador certainly won't be the size of a coke can, but cute all the same! You must have felt really nervous handling such a tiny being! I would be petrified of hurting it or worse still, sitting on him by accident!

All this positiveness is great! I'm feeling so excited about bringing her home!

Thanks for all these replies I'm reassured that my Daphne will be just fine. We pick her up on Wednesday so are just counting the days now. I was spending a great deal of time worrying she may be weaker than the other pups but she certainly didn't look weaker - just smaller. I think when you are spending $1000 on a pup you want her to be perfect, it seems odd paying top price for what people class as the 'runt' of the litter. She won't be the runt in my eyes, but my new baby!! Just need to start the endless task of buying everything we need now. What size collar do you think I'll need to get?

Thanks for all the replies, its great news, all positive so far which is great! I can now start to relax and look forward to bringing her home. I'll be sure to post some piccy's when she arrives, I only have this one for now which we took yesterday - She's munching on a chicken wing!

Thanks for that, yes our little one seems to be quite spunky too, and she loves the kids, she holds her own well and doesn't let her littermates boss her around which is good.

Thanks for the quick reply, its nice to get some reassurance!

Hi, we selected our Labrador Puppy yesterday and she comes home in 10 days when she'll be 8 weeks old. My question is that she is the smallest puppy in a litter of 11 (well 12 but 1 was stillborn) so should I be worried? When we saw her at 3 weeks she seemed lots smaller than her litter mates but now she's 6+weeks she seems to have caught up a bit. She had the nicest temperement out of the females and the breeders really encouraged us to have her saying that her personality best suited our young family. I guess I'm just a bit concerned that being the smallest of the litter she may have future health problems. Can anyone offer any words of advice/assurance regarding this. Thanks Oh, and all of the pups were vet checked last week and are all fine. I also phoned my local vets to ask them and the receptionist said it should be fine too.

Can't remember where but someone had told me that Eagle Pack Holistic was better than this? Think it had something to do with the ingredients as the Royal Canin Lab Junior just said Poultry meat so could therefore be anything and that the Eagle Pack Holisitic Large & Giant Breed Puppy formula states Lamb Meal & Chicken Meal plus it has the addition 'holisitc' bits?? To be honest its all a blur to me but I'm trying to summise which is the better product as if I'm paying top dollar for my pup I want it to eat well.

Thanks for the reply, we have friends with a 9 year old lab and she has a lovely temprement however they have warned us of the initial few years being hard work. I think it seems that as long we give her lots of metal stimulation and training things should go ok. We are from the UK, just moved here 2 years ago and have family there with labs too; they have all warned us that it is going to be a long hard road! I'm hoping that as I'm around alot I'll be able to steer our pup in the right direction (fingers crossed). If its anything like bringing up my children (now aged 5 & 3) I'll need buckets of patience and even bigger buckets of wine to see me through! :D

I have been looking into the raw food diet and thats what the pup is on at the moment with the breeder, I'm just concerned having small children if the pup has its meal then licks the kids isn't that like them handling raw food? I know my kids and they won't be organised enough to wash their hands everytime. We will start on the raw diet though, to gradually swap the pup over; or at least to have a mix. We're looking at Eagle Pack Holistic at the mo for our dry food. Thanks for the advice.

Thanks for the info, are the eggs and sardines additional to their biscuits or instead of? and can you feed these from 8 weeks? Oh additional sorry I didnt make that very clear and like j76 I also use chicken necks but not all the time. Only because I use them to vary the diet a little so this week they might get a little bit of mince for a couple of days if I buy it and next week chicken necks. As you can see there is no hard and fast rule. Just remember that Labs do tend to chock on the weight so if you add one thing you might need to eliminate or lighten another. And whole eggs, raw, shells and all, in the wild no one supplied the bitch or her pups with an egg separator and a pan to cook them. As for crate training make it fun for him. So the first time he goes in the crate he gets a treat, now he might need the treat to tempt him to even enter the crate. But use the treat as a reward and eventually you should be able to say "in your bed" or similar and he sill just go to his crate. But it does take time and patience and what he gets right today he might forget tomorrow. Thanks again I really appreciate all this advice!

Thanks for the info, are the eggs and sardines additional to their biscuits or instead of? and can you feed these from 8 weeks?

Thanks for all this advice; I'm making notes so I have it all to refer to when the pup arrives!! Looks like I'll be investing in a crate, is it best to put the pup in this when I'm out for an hour in the day or best to use the laundry with a baby gate on the door? I've read some things about crate training but its all very confusing.

We visited the pups last week at 3.5weeks and they were so cute! Thanks for the advice, I'll have to make a note of the good food brands and check out my local stores to see which is easy to buy. I do plan on getting loads of toys, I've heard so many horror stories about bored pups destroying houses! Yes, my husband keeps telling me I'm going to need to set rules and stick to them and not let the dog rule the house (as indeed my small children do!) its alright for him he'll be at work all day and I'll be the one having to set the rules!! I've already said it will be sleeping in my bedroom (but in its own bed on the floor hopefully ). I'll have to get to puppy school as soon as I can for helpful tips! And I'll keep an eye out for the book you mentioned too. My 5 year old son has chosen the name Daphne (the girl out of Scooby Doo) as I said we couldn't call a girl dog Scooby. Daphne is a nice name though so I'm pleased with his choice. Thanks again for the advice!

Thanks for your advice. I plan to give the puppy a complete dry food with bones as extras. The breeder recommends a natural rearing diet of bones & raw food. I feel this may take alot of time to prepare and I'm not really a fan of raw food. Regarding the walks its good to get the reassurance, I planned on the 10 minute walk with gradually working it up to the 30min walk at 9-12 months so its good to know that would be right for a Labrador pup. Also, I spend most of my time in the house just popping out for school runs, swimming lessons and exercise classes. I'd planned to put the pup in the laundry room with lots of toys initially while I'm not around (generally I'm out for an hour or so each time) and then progress to putting her outside in a kennel when she's a bit older; do you know at what age I can do this? Friends have said as soon as she is used to the garden but I felt maybe they needed to be a bit older? Obviously when I'm in she'd be able to come indoors and I plan on her staying indoors overnight with us too. I'll speak with the vet regarding vaccinations, I know she'll have her first at 8 weeks before I collect her. Thanks again.

Hi, I'm new to the forum and have never before had a dog....... We are getting a female Labrador puppy which will be coming home in around 4 weeks. As I want to be prepared for its arrival I just have a few queries. Which food do other Labrador owners consider to be a good quality food without all the rubbish ingredients in. What is the 'right' amount of exercise for a Labrador? I have a Collins library book 'Labrador an Owners Guide' which suggests 3 daily walks of 30 mins each for a 4 month old, rising to 2-3hrs of walks when six months. However when I've looked on the internet it says that as their bones are not fully developed until they are 12-18months they should only have one 10 min walk per day rising to 30-40 mins when they are 9-12 months?? Lastly, I am buying from a reputable breeder and the puppy will come home having had its initial vaccination; how many more vaccinations will it need before it can go for a walk in public places and at what age, and can I take it to meet my friends Labrador whom I know is fully vaccinated (and puppy school) before this time? Any advice is gratefully received! (additional advice other than my queries would be great too! ) Thanks Again!