mrs tornsocks

Thanks folks ! Storing that advice away

Thanks gundog. We won't try that again at home. Any advice for dogs ?

Not sure if this has been posted already but what's the best thing to do if your dog has something caught in his throat ? We supervise any bones or chewsbut you just never know. Never had a problem but he sometimes gags. Ironically my OH had to "heimlich" me this morning when I got a big dissolvable panadol caught. Idiot me didn't dissolve it and thought I could swallow the horse tablet whole.

Yes, definintely more like Mum than Dad at this point, although archie's nose doesn't have the cute turned up feature of his mum, it's more elongated. But Lucca (mummy) has the most adorable face, esp in that pic when she's with her bubbas.

These are great before and afters BL. Can you tell us what the ages are in the two pics ? I would love to know how much more our boy might fill out. Here is our teenage fella at about 9 months (now one), he's choc in the foreground beachcombing with his girlfriend Scout ;) Here is Dad And Mum ... I don't have a better pic of Mum, obviously she's not in absolute top nick with all the babies, but dad has certainly got some bulk to him.

Henk fit for show (37 kilos - 81.5 lbs) Henk fit for field trial (28 kilos - 61.7 lbs) WOOOAAHHH That's a whole debate that you don't even want to start on this forum. I am sure you can find some shitfights if you do a search on Show Vs Working dogs. It applies in many breeds - either different condition of the same dog or a different build of dog in the same breed used for working Vs showing. Border Collies, Kelpies, GSDs to name a few. Not looking for a debate -- I have no clue re show v working dogs in terms of types. Just saying my own personal preference is for the look of the leaner labbie.

Macka, in the one on one session I had with a trainer, we went back to basics with focus/click/reward, just sitting down and in a controlled environment. We practice this heaps now even though it feels 'easy' when we're not outside. My problem is that he will sit when someone's coming, but sometimes I feel that actually heightens his sense of anticipation. I need to 'shovel' food like jeanne says. Archie is still out of control with his lungeing so I feel your pain. Only other thing to suggest if you're not already is that you are taking him for walks when he's a bit peckish, so the reward holds extra value.

Henk fit for show (37 kilos - 81.5 lbs) Henk fit for field trial (28 kilos - 61.7 lbs) Sounds like henk had to lose 9 kilos and 9 additional syllables from his name ! Personally I like the way he looks for field trials but that's just taste. When we first started researching getting a dog, we liked the look of the German SH Pointer, and Weimies, just becuase they're a little leaner and (to a novice like me) less susceptible to weight gain. But once you go lab, you never go back.

show us yours !!! Here's my boy, sometimes I do think he looks a little skinny, but he's only just turned one so prob got a bit more growing/filling out. I would really rather have him a bit lean than have joint problems. Archie is about the same size as Mason, have u weighed him lately?? Yes, I meant to post in labs -- he is 31.5kgs too !!

It is quite simple, food control.

show us yours !!! Here's my boy, sometimes I do think he looks a little skinny, but he's only just turned one so prob got a bit more growing/filling out. I would really rather have him a bit lean than have joint problems.

OMG, when the shots of the poor puppies came up, my 1yo lab Archie went up to the tv cabinet (about a foot higher than him), jumped up, and started crying at the screen. (Archie and) I thought it was just great to get more mainstream coverage of this.

Not sure if I missed this but what breed is the pup ?

And if you're not already a member of the anti puppy mill facebook page ... oops, wrong linky....

8/8 does seem very high, check out the lab forum under breed sub forums or the breeders forum of course

nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Awwww how sweet that his tail was wagging madly while he was having a lovely dream :-). As others have said it is quite normal. A lot of boy dogs I know have a special 'friend' for special 'loving' time - a stuffed toy or cushion. If you train them that this is their one and only special friend, they can go to it when required, and avoid using things you'd rather not be humped Red pillow is the special friend in our house and gets humped to within inch of its life. But have never seen him, er, finishing the job with the red pillow.

Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww, sound effects ??!?!!?!? At least Archie was asleep, I probably would not have figured what it was if we hadn't heard his tail wagging for no apparent reason whatsoever. Thanks for the reassurances that it's normal. This is the only time we've known him to do it but maybe he has his own little times away from us. Has definitely made OH get over his silly little protests about having Archie desexed (acts like it's his OWN being snipped)

He has the occasional desposits too .... :rolleyes: I did ask the vet about that and he said normal.

Our almost 1 year lab was sleeping next to the lounge the other night, hubby and I were playing Xbox (yes we are adults). We heard Archie wagging his tail for no apparent reason, thumping on the floorboards, and I made some comment like 'awww, Archie, are you having a lovely dream running through the meadows ??' When we got up, he'd had a dream alright, but it wasn't especially lovely for our floorboards. Nor for OH, I told him he had to clean it up because he's the boy. :rolleyes: I'm pretty sure it was normal but I have never heard of a dog having a wet dream !??? But we are novice dog owners. He is is not desexed but we ARE having him desexed, just waiting a tiny bit longer in hopes his overbite might improve (school of thought that inhibition of testosterone may inhibit growth slightly)

Hey guys what happened to the overbite bit of the thread ??

If he's only 12 months, you might get a bit more growth from the lower jaw.. jaws still tend to be developing after 12 months. Correct ... hopefully it will continue to improve, which is why we're

Hi there, totally understand your situation, we were first time puppy buyers and found ourselves in this situation but AFTER he came home. It's great the breeder forewarned you. Our lab boy has / had an overbite. His story:- - we got him at 8 weeks, went to puppy school at 9 weeks and the instructor noticed his overbite. We hadn't, we're novice owners. It was at least 15-20mm. We contacted the breeder, she claimed she didn't know about it (she was also inexperienced), litter had had vet checks at 7 weeks, he /she apparently didn't notice it. - obviously we found it very hard to believe that it would grow quickly in a short period of time (ie from vet check to puupy school, 3 weeks or so), even though puppies do grow quickly - spoke to our vet, he told us to keep an eye on it, but to wait until his adult teeth came in ... and that corrective surgery is available (involves breaking the dogs jaw under anesthetic apparently ) - breeder offered to take him back, which of course we could not do as we'd already fallen head over heels. We agreed together that she would pay for any surgery or vet bills that were required to get him HEALTHY or to ensure he had no problems down the track, and we got this in writing. He was never going to be a show dog and was / is on limited register so we're totally cool with that. - the OB has never given him any problems. He is just about to turn one, his teeth are great, it has self corrected quite a bit (probably now around 8mm), but we are not desexing him until around 14-18 months to give him a little more time to grow and hopefully correct more. He loves his bones and chicken frames and of course, being a lab, pretty much any food on offer Are you set on this particular pup ? Is there another you can pick ? If you really want this one, I would ask the breeder for written committment that any vet procedures associated directly with correcting the overbite, or problems associated be covered by her/him. Even though, if push came to shove, it may be hard to get the money out of them, at least they know you're serious and concerned about the potential problems down the track. If you're not set on the pup .. honestly ? I would wait for another litter that has no obvious problems. Of course you can never predict what will happen, and clearly I would never EVER give back my beautiful Archie of the Overbite, but it it's something you could avoid, I would. And it also gives you time to do some more hunting around and research; as you've probably discovered there is so much to learn about the world of purebred pups and breeding. Good luck !!! edited to add a couple of recent shots of my boy ... and that you cannot notice it at all unless you pry his mouth open

Ignoring when we first see Archie after waking up, getting home etc. I think is one of the best doggie rules we use. He still gets excited easily but it's a good way of keeping things under control. He will still wag his whole body and occasionally attempt to jump, but he now knows that when he's calm (even if it takes 10 to 15 minutes), he'll get his lovin'. Means he doesn't go crazy when others come over as well or try to jump on visitors. If he's outside and we come home, we don't always let him in straight away -- he sees us through the window, chatting, talking about our day and then it's like 'oh there's archie, will we see if he wants to come inside ?'

Is there a officially-determined age that a puppy is technically no longer a puppy ? No real reason except out of interest. I am sure there's an age in showing where a pup is no longer eligible, not sure if there's any other standards on this issue. (and thinking about when I might stop calling out 'pup pup' to my 30kg lab in the park - and yes, I know the lab will probably be still a pup at 3)