Lyla

Get well soon Yogi.

How disgusting. There are some very sick people in this world. RIP poor Imi.

Cat poo is a normal delicacy for dogs, try a baby gate across the doorway to the room the litter tray is in. It's the only guaranteed way to ensure it doesn't happen in my experience. Most cats can fit between the bars, or jump over the gate. I also agree that crate training may be your best bet for the toilet training, and pup learning to not be with you every second. I also agree that you need to get rid of doggy toilet smells. I have used the pet deodoriser / antibacterial sprays from the supermarket after scrubbing to help with this. When you put pup outside, do you ever go with him? He may see it as a punishment, so maybe you could go out with him and play his favourite game, or give him his favourite treat. This game / treat only ever gets done outside with you, so he starts to see outside as something fun / to look forward to. When he is comfortable with that, try leaving for 30 seconds while he is occupied with a bone etc, then quietly return, and just sit there. Then go praise, so the big deal isn't you returning, but that he has chewed his bone on his own. Gradually make the time longer. Anything you do will be hard work to start with, but the rewards in the long run will be worth it. It will take perserverence. Dogs will be dogs unless shown otherwise. I think the first step is proving your authority / pack leader status, even if that is just making pup sit and wait for a few seconds 30 times a day. Once you have pup looking at you for direction, then it will be easier to start with the other stuff. Dog manners only happen from us teaching them. If you are not confident in any of this yourself, get someone qualified to come and help you. The initial cost of consultation / training will be well worth it in comparison to long term destruction and cleaning from a naughty dog, not to mention the stress to both of you. Good Luck!

They looked to be no older than a couple of weeks, they wouldn't be able to swim. One looked like its back would have been broken by the way it was thrown. Looks to me like she is just trying to cash in on it. I also hope that $6500 fine is PER PUP.

I have a bit of a similar situation here with my boy, and I think it is definately related to affection. He is now 2, but I've only owned him for 7 months. When he first came to live here, I had no trust in him behaviour wise (running away, not listening or taking notice of me). Temperament wise he was fine, just a typical Lab, but I had no connection with him, and I don't think he had ever had a connection with anyone either. After a couple of months I really started to become very fond of this big boofa, and I think it changed the way I interacted with him. He changed in his behaviour with me too. I could not even walk him before because he was so big, strong, and uncaring of what I wanted, now I spend my days tripping over him because he is always walking on my feet, looking into my eyes! I have also discovered that this boy would prefer cuddles over food (and this is a LAB!!), so I am not sure if he was just so starved of love and attention, that this is now his motivator. I can definately understand your thinking, it's like something has clicked, and you are both on a new level of trust and understanding with each other. ETA: it may be different with each dog, because I have one who nomatter how happy / cranky I am with her she will still be standing there wagging and smiling. She is perfectly behaved when there is food on offer, but has selective hearing when you don't. She has always been like this, it seems that the more "loving" I am with her, the more she thinks she can do what she wants, the tougher I am, the better behaved she is. Strangely she is a dog that thrives on being patted. I can't figure her out.

Oh, hope it's not too bad.

That's what my yellow lab looks like at the moment!!

Response more on the emotional side in addition to the obvious betterment side of things: I tend to get very attached to my puppies, and their new owners before puppies leave. It's so exciting taking pics, sending them, and getting all their lovely replies. I've made a couple of good friends from my puppy buyers too. I am even "friends" with 2 of my puppies on facebook!!! It's so funny to see a very professional couple (a doctor and an editor/journalist) write posts as if the dogs are talking. It is also really satisfying for me when people are already in love with their pups before they have gone home, and when these people finally get to meet their new babies, it is really lovely. I kept my first home bred pup from my litter last year, so it is really interesting to watch her development. You do so much research into the mating, and then to watch it all unfold month after month is really interesting, albeit a bit stressful! My pup went through a serious case of the "uglies", and I was becoming really disappointed, but at 10 months old she is really starting to blossom. There is something a bit more special about a pup you have birthed and kept. :p I have had 3 trouble free litters, which were wonderful experiences. This year though, I lost the whole litter 1 week before due date. It was devastating, very heartwrenching. Makes you think twice about if you are strong enough to keep going. While the first 3 litters were "easy", ie: all pups were healthy, there were also some negatives such as poor health test results, and having to rehome loved pets, a bitch who we discovered hated being a mum, so all the hard work associated with making sure the pups were cared for etc. I had to do mouth to mouth with one pup to get him going, so the whole family had a soft spot for him. It's quite amazing to see some of the smaller, struggling ones really thrive and become so full of life. Yes, there are plenty of disaster stories with breeding, but when it goes well, there are lots of warm and fuzzies to make it all worthwhile.

He's just gorgeous.

Awwwww. Sweet.

OMG, if that girl is happily doing shit like that at her age what the hell will she be like as an adult?? DISGUSTING.

I think a lot of differences are shaped by environment as well as individual personality. I think while there are guidelines that may encompass a breed, all dogs are very much individuals. In total I have had 7 Labs live with me, and they were all different and individual. Every trait a dog has isn't necessarily a breed trait. On the whole no one would say a Lab is a guard dog, even though they may bark at strangers. Our first Lab was the most gentle and mature minded girl, never really had a stupid puppy stage, really the perfect pet except she was a real puller to walk. In the yard if a stranger walked up she would have run up wagging her tail and licked you to death. If she was inside NOONE could come in that she didn't know, she would bark and growl until I told her to stop it. Very much the protector. As the first dog she took on the role of boss and protector, and also wanted to be pack leader in doggy situations. My current dogs would have their stupid happy faces on if someone broke in, and couldn't care less about pack hierarchy. Our friends have a GR. She probably doesn't fit typical breed trait description, but I've never owned one to make a comparison. She is a complete dog snob, is not interested ever in playing with other dogs, totally ignores them. She is great with kids, but not real active. Throw a toy for her, she will wander after it in her own time, pick it up, lay down and go to sleep with it in her mouth. This is a reasonably young dog too! In regards to goldies greeting you with something intheir mouth, I think Labs usually have that intention, but it has been chewed into microscopic pieces by the time they get to you.

I think Goldies are a bit more independent than Labs. Most labs will happily superglue themselves to you if you let them. Labs are food hogs, no such thing as coming back for the rest later. They tend to put on weight easily if you are careless with food / exercise. They love water. They will be in and out of a clamshell pool winter and summer. (though they don't necessarily like to be hosed) While Labs are great with kids in terms of temperament, they are big excitable dogs with waggy tails that can and do accidently knock small kids over. They don't even realise they've done it. My labs are generally not too full on with exercise requirements. They more seem to like walks for the scenery / smells, rather than burning off energy. I do have 4 though, so they spend a lot of time playing with each other as well. My male would rather spend an hour sniffing new stuff than walking. Labs can be quite destructive (digging, chewing) if not disciplined early, but as they are so food motivated, in a lot of cases training / suitable entertainment can minimise this. From my experience, my girls have matured mentally from about 14 - 16 months, males 18 - 24 months. And males are much more affectionate than females. Thats all I've got for now.

I don't think birth weight is a guide to adult size. I had a bitch puppy who was 2nd biggest in the litter up until 8 weeks when she left, and did not grow to be an especially large adult. 8 weeks is such a short time with such a huge amount of growth, and I have found that every few days the heirarchy of puppy size changes. Some pups mature a lot slower than others too. I kept a pup from my last litter, and I was pretty disappointed with her development in regards to conformation and size, but now at 10 months old, she has really started to come together. She's very much the Ugly Duckling to Swan scenario.

Great pics!! I love the second one, and the one peaking around the tree. :D

I sent a pup with Jetpets from Newcastle to Tassie, which required a change of flights at Melbourne. As dogs are lowest priority, they booked the Melbourne to Tassie leg with other freight, and made the pup stay overnight in Melbourne because "they had no room for it". Apparently this is standard practice that standard freight takes precedence over animals. They were nice enough to give "free" boarding for the overnight stay.

Is that a cat or a LION???

You're pretty tough when you can attack a 17 yo cat

I saw an ad on a certain website that has lots of BYB's, and one person was advertising blue amstaff pups, no papers, from BY breeder, asking $1700 :p per pup. That is more than a lot of quality pedigree pups of many breeds sell for.

Garbage. Plenty of scammer sites rite here in Australia. People get sucked in by crap every day of the week. If that site is for real and the 'breeder' is offering lifetime guarantee, good on them in this litigious society. Saying that though - its probably nigerian. Those pesky little buggers are getting pretty creative. Exactly - I get a bit sick of this "USA bashing" Wasn't referring to the scamming. Was referring to the $1M for a dog.

I don't know what to say??? Apart from What The?????? (and it could only happen in America )

What a freaky photo!!

Yes, they are the poor "feed me" eyes that suck so many people into feeding them too much!!! Choccy labs don't seem to have as sad eyes as the other colours IMO.

Vadars mum I think the awful feeling in your gut is grief and shock rather than being the victim of another scam. I can understand that you feel like you do though. Even though puppy wasn't home yet you would have felt like you knew him and that he was already part of the family. Hopefully the initial shock will pass in a few days and you will feel better able to decide what is best for you to do. Being a regular DOL reader and having read many posts by your breeder, I would say that your situation is purely as a result from a tragic accident. Your breeder, from what I have read, does a lot to help people, and would be the last person I would think would do the wrong thing by a buyer. I would take up the offer of pick pup from her other litter. He wont be Vadar, but I'm sure he will be just as perfect a fit for your family with much love to give you. 2 months may feel like a long time now, but it will be the time you need to grieve for Vadar and be ready to accept a new baby. I hope everyone starts to feel a little better soon.