Niques

James has a penchant for stockings. Also socks, but primarily stockings. And he won't shred them, he just likes to carry them around. If there's a pile of clothes on the floor he will leave everything untouched except for a stocking which will be peeking out of his mouth as he bolts away. He stuck his head in the bin the other day and emerged with a stocking (binned because it tore trying to pull it out of his mouth previously!) that had been buried somewhere in the middle of the bin. Bloody dog has a foot fetish.

J. had a cardboard box and towels until I was sure he wasn't excessively destructive. When he actually got his big boy bed () it was left upstairs for a day or two so he could be observed using it - if he attempted to shred it, it was going to be put away. As it is, he chewed off the straps that secure the mattress to the base, but has otherwise left it alone. Which means he graduates to blankets rather than towels Still frequently prefers to just sleep on his picnic rug though. The threat remains though - if he ever starts to tear his bed up, it will be taken off him, pronto.

I've bathed my 5 1/2 month old labrador once. And that was to get him used to it...which didn't go so well He really does not get dirty. He regularly swims in a grubby creek, likes to eat and paw through any mud he finds and climbs under the deck each night after his bone to dig in the dirt and bark mulch - he doesn't smell and it all just falls off him.

Emmy loves chomping on them but she doesn't really eat them... so carrots is strictly an outside food now. Mmm, carrots are very much a sometimes food here as James also enjoys the "chomp on the carrot and spit out little pieces around the living room" game. He doesn't really like them all that much past the intial couple of minutes of chewing so bones are the preferred option. When he does get one, I've always just snapped it in half so it's too ungainly to swallow easily and it's fun for him to push around the floor.

Will be starting him on Sentinel Spectrum this month for worms - previously he's been using what his breeder sent along with him and then whatever it was that the vet gave him. Tick collar and Frontline for the blasted ticks. Yet I still found another one on him today

James used to chew pebbles. I think he's grown out of it - haven't seen him at it in a while. I stopped being too concerned when I realised that he had no intention of eating them and instead just preferred to crunch them up and spit them out. He's moved on to eating mud instead Give him actual bones rather than just minced frames and such - J. gets lamb off-cuts, soup bones, lamb shanks, chicken frames etc. Good for the teeth.

Aw, just look at that soft belly of Porthos'! There's a tummy you could spend ages rubbing. And Atticus has the most beautiful eyes! I'm very amazed at how quickly James has picked up on this "Inside" business. I went to call him in from the other side of the yard earlier and started just asking him to "Come". I was completely ignored. So I told him it was time to go "Inside" and he came racing out of the garden to sit by the gate. My boy is so clever I think he's hoping he'll get a brussell sprout each time he does it

Aww, all the puppies sound so adorable!! I completely gave up on the toiletting on command business. I just got stared at like I was a nutter everytime I prompted him to "toilet". I second the plea for helpful hints! I'm not particularly bothered as I roughly know when the boy will go throughout the day, but I'm sure it would be quite useful at some point for him to know.

I didn't use treats for J.'s toilet training. Really couldn't be bothered remembering to grab one everytime we went out. The boy had to make do with verbal praise. Have you tried cheese? J.'ll do anything for cheese. Are you taking him outside or do you wait for him to take himself out? Taking him out very regularly so he doesn't have the opportunity to toilet inside is the way to go. At his age, immediately after every meal and immediately after every nap, take him out and don't let him back in until he's done a wee And again if he's been awake quite a while since his last wee/been drinking lots of water, etc. If he'd been awake for ages but wouldn't do a wee, he was put into his pen for a nap as I know he won't urinate in his pen and would be ready to do one when he woke up - eliminates potential for an accident in the house. As for how long it will take, I think J.'s last accident was at 18 weeks or so, and in the couple of weeks prior, he'd only had the odd one when I misinterpreted his hovering around the laundry door and unintentionally ignored him. Could be faster or slower for you though... Good luck

James is 22 weeks. His recall is becoming quite good. He has learnt to make his way to the gate when we're in the backyard and I tell him that it's time to go "Inside", which is very cute. His loose-leash walking has improved in leaps and bounds. He actually started off as a brilliant walker, but at around 4 months, decided that it was fun to walk slightly too fast He had a great session at his basic puppy obedience class on Sunday arvo and has just been really great since. He has most of his tricks down pat (really must get onto teaching him more). And it occured to me the other day that he's actually toilet trained! I don't think he's had an accident in probably a month. There was a period there where I'd resigned myself to having a puppy with the occasional accident for god knows how long. And a feel good story - He and I had a little tiff yesterday afternoon. I'm his personal chew toy now that he's teething, not to mention that he seemed to be in particular pain yesterday arvo and kept moaning. I wasn't feeling too crash hot myself and he just chewed me one time too many - I was not happy and put him downstairs by himself until his dinner. Skip ahead, at 9pmish I woke him up as he falls asleep at night and wakes up in the morning too early and I want him a bit more tired before he's down for the night. Sleepy puppy and I played for a bit until he hopped up onto the couch, kissed (slobbered on) me a few times, lay down on my lap and fell asleep. It was such an "Awww!!" moment to finish a crap day and makes me so proud of what a lovely, affectionate little pup he is.

Hah, you're doing better than me - I didn't even notice J.'s little front teeth come through. And I only just realised today that he lacks both canines on one side of his mouth I wish his other top canine would fall out. My philosophy has thus far been to just leave him to it unless things start looking/smelling funny in there and if he's doing more than the odd screeching about it, ie. having trouble eating/long-term pain.

Looks like a bit of rottweiler, to my inexperienced eye.

My puppy can't jump. Cracks me up everytime he tries. This morning I was in a fit of laughter when he attempted to leap onto a bed - he managed to splat, splayed out, half-on/half-off the bed for a couple of seconds until he just slid right off Poor thing is forever whining because he can't get his back-half onto something he wants to climb on - fat lug

I've never actually noticed J. shedding until he was up on the white vet's table this arvo - he was there for only a few minutes before I noted him lying on a light carpet of black hair. Peculiarly, have never noticed his hair around the house - even on carpet! Just reading all the other labrador hair woes in this thread has me veeeery worried for as he gets older

I prefer warm unless it's a particularly stinky one. Or if he's pooed on sticks or leaves or something - they are just far too hard to pick up and inevitably some will fall off or a pooey leaf will drop off and you've got to try and grab that as well. Warm poos are a pleasant balance between firm and malleable and are much easier to get in the bag. They're too ungainly to wriggle into the bag when they're cold.

Time flies! My little puppy is already 5 months old! Verdant - What an adorable little guy! My vote (not that it counts ) is for Bjorn. Oreo with the Oreo box is very cute! And oh, my, god, Bailey is to die for! I love the second photo - incredibly photogenic dog you're getting there! How old is he at the moment?

That is very cool! Will definitely be trying that - thanks for sharing the link. Handsome little puppy you've got there!

See, another opinion! Did they say why 9 months? Feel free to share please! Primarily so he's closer to full maturity. She was more than happy for us to put it off even further if we saw fit - he'll probably be done somewhere between 9-12 months.

My labrador won't be getting done until at least 9 months, as per his breeder's advice.

I've been contemplating this for ages We have a fairly great house in that the central living area/kitchen can be completely closed off from everywhere else, so no need to fret about destroyed beds, etc., but I still have the nightmare that he'll pull the television/wii/dvd/dvd stand over if he's left alone. As it is, J. is about 20 weeks and all I've ever done is left him upstairs by himself whilst I was downstairs (in earshot) doing something for about 30 minutes - I came back upstairs to find him curled in a box, fast asleep Good sign! I do very much worry about what he'd do when he got bored though - he does love to pull the cushions off the couch and I'm sure the couch could end up eaten as well. Will be doing longer and longer trials periods with someone hidden elsewhere in the house to see how he goes in coming months.

I have a lab pup who becomes intent on biting when he goes into what you call, "hyper mode" He also throws himself onto the couch (lazy sod can barely climb on when he's behaving normally). What I've found working the past few days, is holding onto him tight (gripping his mouth shut if he's still trying to bite) until he calms. Generally a minute of that and he snaps out of it and is as normal. If he doesn't, then we go into training overdrive. Lots of commands and rewards for things he knows how to do very well - sit, down, shake, jump, etc. All done in quick succession with a treat you know he'll work for - he doesn't have time to continue his biting and it distracts him/tires him back to calmness.

How is the average pet buyer to know that, though, unless they ask? There's quite a range of prices mentioned on general information sites online and many are international or out of date - seems sensible to me, to go straight to breeder and ask! I asked, out of curiosity, after a labrador in a petshop a year or two ago and was told $600. Paid double that for my boy earlier this year. Someone who didn't ask would have been in for quite a shock and may have pulled out of the sale after wasting the breeder's time, not knowing that they should have been prepared to outlay that amount. What on earth is wrong with wanting to know how much you'll be paying for something? Yes, it is a living thing, but it is also a financial transaction!

Australian Shepherd Border Collie Kangal They're the only three that strongly spring to mind. Maybe, German Shepherd English or Welsh Springer Spaniel Could see myself staying with a Labrador for life though.

BF, I'm glad to hear Zoe's sleeping through the night! And well done to her behaving so well whilst you were out - is that the first time you've left her for such a length of time? Michelle, that's such a cute photo. Wonderful to hear that she's fully settled. They very quickly make it feel like they've been here forever, don't they? Magstar, there were only two black boys in James' litter and the breeder was to make the decision. I'd grown quite fond of James for the trivial reason that he had a scab on the back of his neck. The last two times we visited before picking him up I spent a lot of time playing with him specifically, to the point where he eventually started falling asleep on me instead of getting up and falling on the mountain of puppies to nap. And it turns out his breeder had picked him out for us anyway It's amazing how fast he's changing! One week he'll have some terrible habit that you can't seem to shake, the next it's completely gone! And he's become so reliable, as well! He's getting very good at entertaining himself so I don't need to play with him all the time. And I can confidently leave him alone, not in his pen, when I go to have a shower or do something downstairs for a bit, without fear of destruction. ...well, with only small fear I came out to find that the monster had pinched one of the cushions of the couch, had dragged it over to the door and was resting his head on it while he napped Perhaps a not so subtle hint that we need to get him a bed for upstairs.

Breeders, do you actually notice a decrease in "time wasters" when you put the comment on your websites? As I struggle to believe that the people in these cases many of you have described, would have the insight to realise that applies to them. Edit: Was thinking of the wrong word.