Seven

Don't know if these work and it is things I have heard. Never been in a situation where I have had to try anything, so hope this might give you some ideas and would be interested if they are what you can do if. If another dog is attacking and you cant just remove your dog from the situation. Water pistol to the face of other dog Throw a rock or dirt / sand Grab back legs and yank back other dog off Kick to side of attacking dog I would say these are all last resort and I guess we would do anything to protect our animals anyway. (Would say always chance for dog to turn on to us with these methods)

Didn't read all the posts and I would next time maybe be there while being done. Sounds like too much excitement and maybe a little scared at the same time. Maybe with you there things may of been a little different and the job may of been a bit better. Maybe next time it will be a bit better and sounds like some training needed, but you can do alot of it at home. Not an expert in this as only just started out teaching Rusti and first obedience lessons are about 2 months away due to xmas. Fingers crossed what I have been training is the right way and the excitement bit is alot of training as a pup let me tell you. Good luck and aren't labs the best!

Haven't clipped Rusti's nails yet and are there any tips on the best way?

Rusti is going to be in a crate as long as I can

Yep thats a toilet call, Rusti does the same thing but around 6:45am and he is generally awake after that!

:D :D :D Too right. We set the alarm for twice a nite for about the first two weeks, then once a night, for maybe two more weeks. All pups are different in terms of how long they take to toilet train .... but ALL pups have small bladders that need to be emptied more regularly than dogs. Just like babies. :D That's funny - Crate training Rusti took around 2-3weeks to get him used to it correctly. By the first week he was letting us know when he needed to go and we were getting up 2-3 times a night. But by the end of week 2 roughly it went to all night. Had a few accidents in week 2-3, but that was my mistake I think re not taking water out etc and maybe feeding times not the same. Now 4-5 weeks on he holds on til he is taken out pretty well all the time

Our lab pup does this and with time out etc he learnt very quickly. Yet still makes a few mistakes and so far a good solid "No" has worked. Funny thing is when you think it wont stop all of a sudden it does, if that makes sense.

Just tried driving around in the car with my pup and I used a harness thingy. It sort of worked and I think that was due to me having some liver treats. I think a dog should get used to driving around in the car and great to start young. As for the first ride home a crate will work best or someone to hold pup and that way the driver wont be distracted while pup will feel better being held on the way home. Have fun and enjoy the week or 2 of sleepless nights.

Just had 12 weeks vacs and the vet said it is ok to take around the house and during daylight hours on paved areas. She said puppys need it at this age, but said never on parks etc where you cannot see other dog stools. Also mentioned its ok with other dogs as long as you know have been vaccinated. She just said dont go crazy and use common sense. Also thinks a few rides in the car are a good way for a dog to see the world, but in a controlled environment.

Been reading through this topic and I am a little confused. Our lab has had c3 at 6 weeks and is of to the vet this week for a c5 at 12 weeks. I have been told that is all he will need for 12 months. They are doing a heart worm and said that will need boosting at 6months. Is this right as I notice people saying I think getting another c5 at 16 weeks

Would suggest but by now might not be needed. Get to a phone and phone a vet to discuss it over the phone of what you could or should be doing. Good Luck and hopefully everything is ok. Sometimes we never know how good we have it here is Aus

No worries and I thought of a couple of other things you might find handy. Take out for first few days every hour if possible and he/she should get used to what you are saying. Work out what works best for you as far as last feed of the day and maybe make small adjustments so the time slightly changes when he/she needs to go in the morning. We feed around 5pm and remove his water bowl around 630pm. The final stop outside will be very interesting and hopefully you can get him used to having a final no 2 just before bed. Took me alot of circling around to get him to go late at night, but think it is paying off. Good luck and by no way means am I an expert, but just my experience so far. Good Luck!!!

Just been through this with our dog a lab and he is now 11 weeks, here is what I had happen. Week 1 - well he slept most of the time, but when awake whined to he fell asleep again. We are crate training and it has been so much more than we expected. Rusti quickly learnt to let us know when he needed to go and it also was a great place to ensure he didn't get into anything he shouldn't Well the first week we were up 3 times a night and this is based on him going to bed around 10pm. 1230am - 230am - 5am and then when we all would get up around 7am. Week 2 - He changed to about 2 times 230am and 5am. At the end of the week he changed to 1 time at around 5am. I think it was around the end on week 2 he would sleep through the night and had 3 nights with a surprise left for us. I would suggest have a few towels handy for bedding in the crate and don't use anything else til you know he really is holding on all night. 3 weeks on he is sleeping through the night with no accidents apart from those 3 smelly nights and its not nice early in the morning. I should add he never slept in our room and was in the family room in his crate. By the way the whining changes to a quick couple of barks now to go to the toilet. Hope this gives you an idea of what to expect and remember no playtime at 230 in the morning as they seem to think is ok when your eyes are about to drop out.

Maybe getting a little ahead of myself in the previous post. Got bit fairly hard last night and have a cut to prove it with lots of blood. I think my finger got caught in his pointy sharp teeth and yes he was a bit excited at the time. Oh well back to teaching him again.

Thanks everyone for the replys and I enjoyed the links as well. I never thought to teach him first how hard he should bite and it is amazing how quickly he learnt. He still is trying to get away with things, but have noticed he is listening more now and is settling down alot quicker. Since teaching him not to bite as hard it is a lot easier to teach him when not to bite as well. Mind you it is all a work in progress and I am just being a nagging dad at the moment. Even the grabbing the lead is not as bad now and I only have to tell him when he forgets. I think the thing I mainly was doing wrong seemed to be not being firm enough and the listening to my commands when excited is a remarkable improvement.