suziwong66

I'm happy to provide the missing smells When Wilbur has Sardines in tomato sauce with his RC biscuits he farts like no tomorrow and the smell could strip paint from the walls I'm more than happy to bottle it and send it up your way

Wilbur's breeder only breeds chocolate labradors not Samoyeds; sorry to disappoint Re communication, i spoke to our breeder about two weeks before the litter was born. I had a very long telephone conversation with her to try and get a feel for her. Just as she was looking for certain aspects for future puppy owners, i was searching for good open communication and a friendly personality from the breeder. I spoke to a few other breeders prior to finding Ruth, but i didn't get the feeling that they were right for me and thus didn't put my name on their lists. I didn't speak to another breeder after finding Ruth. I just put my name on her list for a boy and then just waited to see what happened. As it happened Wilbur was the only boy in the litter and Ruth was happy for him to come to us. We are so grateful. I gave her the link to my YouTube channel so she can watch regular updates on Wilbur's growth & development without having to email all the time. I keep her updated with the milestones etc and she emails when it suits to let me know if she's watched his videos etc. I really appreciate and value the relationship and i believe it's in Wilbur's best interest that we have an ongoing relationship. Good luck, i hope you find what you're looking for. :D

we have one...we've only had one large dog at a time. Just before getting Wilbur, OH said he'd like a second dog. All good and well since he's not the one that is the primary care giver & trainer Plus i told him when we updated his car he wouldn't be able to get the Toyota Sedan he wants he'd have to forego it and get something suitable for two large dogs. He promptly started looking at Nissan X-trails; go figure! I know i wouldn't get another dog in the next 18 months; i want to spend the time to develop Wilbur in terms of training before we get another puppy.

Here's Wilbur playing with two of his new Tuffy toys

We flew Wilbur from Ballarat to Adelaide back in August. We were purchasing a pet not a show quality dog so as long as there were no major health issues/temperament issues we weren't concerned. I chose our breeder for dog health screening results first and an ability to develop a relationship with me second. So, by the time Wilbur came home I 'knew' Wilbur reasonably well through the breeders continued emails and numerous weekly photos. The breeder was open about Wilbur's overshot jaw which was discovered at his 6 week vet check. We couldn't get over to Ballarat to meet the litter, but at the end of the day it wouldn't have made much difference. We wanted a boy and Wilbur ended up being the only boy in the litter...unless there was something dire that was wrong with him, we had committed to him from the night he was born when we got the email that we were 'proud parents to a little boy puppy'. had we been looking for a show quality dog, we may have gone about it a little differently; going to see the litter etc. We went and visited our last lab when he was still with the litter and then chose him. This was very different to the way it occurred with Wilbur. I don't think my bond with Casper ( or Keiran before Casper) was stronger than with Wilbur. I actually think my bond with Wilbur is the strongest I've ever had with a dog. I think it has to do with a few reasons. Firstly, I no longer have young children to compete for my time. Wilbur is the centre of our household I have spent way more time training Wilbur and i think our developing communication is better than i had with our previous dogs. I'm a lot older and wiser thanks to having raised children & studying child development etc and these skills are used constantly with raising Wilbur. Additionally I have spent a lot more time researching training methods and Wilbur and i are going to obedience which is something i didn't do with previous dogs. My experience leads me to believe that it is the environment in which you raise the dog that is the most important factor regarding bonding rather than a perhaps perceived connection with a pup. Puppies starting their lives with excellent breeders who deeply care about their physical and emotional well being are generally sound and happy. The environment that the forever owner provides is also important in the dogs willingness and ability to bond. Perhaps we were lucky in that we felt very connected to Wilbur from the moment he was born. We were very much kept informed about his progress etc. When we picked him up from the freight company I was already in love and that was enough for the bond to continue to develop. Every night after the family have gone to sleep, Wilbur gets to have a cuddle/snooze with me on the lounge; every night i look into his hazel eyes and tell him how much i love him. He has been the balm that soothed my very sad heavy heart after saying goodbye to Casper in May. For that alone, i love him beyond measure :love:

singleton's are one pup litters.

Wow that site is cheap! Hey Su i love that polly pig its awsome, has it faired well with Wilbur? Wilbur belts Polly around; if she were his wife he'd be arrested for assault & battery/domestic violence The only part that has suffered is the nylon tail which he's chewed off. The pig itself is in one piece with no holes - she's one of his out side toys and gets dragged through the stones, grass & concrete and he chews the heck out of her. When we're inside and we hear growling and barking from outside we always know that Polly is getting a beating He grabs her by the ears and then throws her around. They have a few inner layers of suitcase material and then the patterned outer fabric. They aren't at all like softies; they're quite hard. I really like Tuffies. Haha, im hoping this new girl likes toys, Sheba only liked garden pots and things. I brought her toys she burried them, im still finding ones in the garden i brought her when she was 5! Wilbur's new Tuffies arrived just after 2pm. Howie the Horse is HUGE We also got him a tug & a fetch toy. They're all very sturdy. Wilbur like pots too. I've had to move all my still living pot plants (mainly food type plants curry leaf trees, rhubarb etc) up high...All of his outside toys are kept in a large clay garden pot so he can get to them easily and he probably won't chew it

Wait till he gives his bed a go, he must be maturing quick. Are you getting him desexed? Yes but not until he's over a year old. Probably around 18 months so that he develops the typical lab head & body.

Wow that site is cheap! Hey Su i love that polly pig its awsome, has it faired well with Wilbur? Yes they are cheap, but the tuffy animals are heavy and quite large so the US international postage would be considerable.

Wow that site is cheap! Hey Su i love that polly pig its awsome, has it faired well with Wilbur? Wilbur belts Polly around; if she were his wife he'd be arrested for assault & battery/domestic violence The only part that has suffered is the nylon tail which he's chewed off. The pig itself is in one piece with no holes - she's one of his out side toys and gets dragged through the stones, grass & concrete and he chews the heck out of her. When we're inside and we hear growling and barking from outside we always know that Polly is getting a beating He grabs her by the ears and then throws her around. They have a few inner layers of suitcase material and then the patterned outer fabric. They aren't at all like softies; they're quite hard. I really like Tuffies.

grew up with German Shepherds (and one poodle) and as an adult had one Shepherd. When he went to the rainbow bridge 14 years ago we tried a lab. Fell in love with the breed. Earlier this year our old boy went to the rainbow bridge and now 16 nearly 17 week old Wilbur our latest lab keeps us on our toes and fills our hearts with joy. Perhaps another lab in one to two years? :D

what a shame; the Tuffy's are way cheaper in the DOL marketplace. I went and got 3 more for Wilbur coz they're fabulous quality toys and the price was a steal :D

Cant all dogs be naughty when puppies when they get bored. Well i wuold of thought so quite right...but there's a whole world of difference in terms of the damage that a small breed puppy can do in comparison to a large breed.

I agree with poodlefan that it's important for a puppy to be socialised with kids if it's to be a family dog and i agree again on the point that many mature dogs have already had experience with children. I still wouldn't recommend a lab puppy for your family; i think the ages of your children (3 under 5 is a lot of work; kudos to you) requires a great deal of work which doesn't leave a great deal of time for the necessary ongoing training a lab puppy would require to turn into the family pet you would want around your children. A mature lab that illustrates child friendly socialisation behaviours would be the way to go if you were set on a lab.

Wilbur LOVES his tuffy pig, Polly. She is his friend with benefits; if you know what i mean ;)

for a lab i'd say, generally 4-5 years. Our last lab was 10 before he lost his puppy-like zest

unless you have the time to devote to training a lab puppy i wouldn't recommend one for your possibly increasing family. Yes, generally they are lovely dogs, and great with kids, but to get that sweet puppy to turn into a great family dog you will need to invest a great deal of time in training beyond the early puppy preschool stage. The idea that they are great family dogs is somewhat of a notion; they require firm leadership and training to develop into the great family dog. They are very much 'shadow' dogs and like to be with the family a lot of the time. They also shed a lot of hair. The average price for a registered lab is $1200-1400. Add desexing, worming, toys, training treats, collars/leads, council registration, high quality food etc and you are spending quite a bit of money both initially and after the purchase. Unless you have the time to develop the sweet looking puppy into the type of dog that will fit into your family, i wouldn't recommend the breed; you could very well end up with an large out of control dog around your children - never a good outcome. With four kids and possibly 2 more, I'm not sure your lifestyle will give you the time to raise a lab pup into a terrific family dog. I would agree with what has been previously mentioned and suggest a mature dog. JMHO

You don't need to do that with the labs - it doesn't matter how full they are they are still just as keen for the next morsel Though come to think of it....I recon my hands come out of the training sessions more intact when shes not so hungry :p Wilbur was born broken; he wasn't at all food motivated. We had to teach him to be food motivated and still doesn't 'perform' well unless partially hungry. He doesn't refuse food if it's on offer for free when he's full but won't 'perform' for it. I've heard about these broken labs - I thought they were an urban myth :p I have found that despite my dog being willing to work for anything there are definitely foods which are higher value for her (cheese, devon, roast chicken and frankfurters mostly) which produce a much more motivated response. She also likes a tennis ball but it is too much for her (her brain goes into overload and the system freezes) but only feigns a mild interest in a tug. You'll just have to play around until you can work out what he really wants. or....just keep starving him :D we had to teach Wilbur to play soccer; all he wanted to do was hump the ball Using a clicker i shaped him from touching his nose to the palm of my hand to pushing the ball with his nose. He likes tug, but we had to stop because he got out of control and would take a snap at anything nearby. we left it a few weeks and by that time had taught him 'give'. Then we incorporated 'give' and 'sit' into tug so that we can control the game. He's not a hard tugger now and can keep a sense of control about himself.

You don't need to do that with the labs - it doesn't matter how full they are they are still just as keen for the next morsel Though come to think of it....I recon my hands come out of the training sessions more intact when shes not so hungry :p Wilbur was born broken; he wasn't at all food motivated. We had to teach him to be food motivated and still doesn't 'perform' well unless partially hungry. He doesn't refuse food if it's on offer for free when he's full but won't 'perform' for it.

the head trainer mentioned how calm he was...she has choc labs too. i came clean and told her he'd only had half of his breakfast so he would be more focused on me with a pocket full of treats

We survived our first day of obedience...because we were new members we just had an orientation session; so no pics - i'll try for next week RubyBlue :D He managed to, fairly well, sit/lay while the head trainer did the orientation. First day was welcoming...I'm always a little leery of clubs and their cliques & hierarchies but first day was good :D

Wilbur is finally vaccination 'up to date' and we're off to our first obedience class tomorrow. He and i both need the support and direction; he's just lately decided that he doesn't have to obey my commands. At lunch today he refused to obey commands so i went back in the house with his frozen chicken frame we went through this motion about 3 more times till he got the message

we vaccinated c4 at 6 weeks, c5 at 10 weeks & booster at 14 weeks. We took Wilbur out and about (including puppy school), but carried him. Now at 16 weeks he's good to go out & about on all fours - thank gawd because he's way to heavy to carry now

i agree with previous responses. Wilbur slept in his crate beside my bed from 8 weeks old when we got him to about 11 weeks and has never even whined. I got up at intervals to toilet him during the night. at 12 or so weeks we moved the crate to the end of the bed and again no dramas. Then around 13 - 14 weeks he outgrew his puppy crate and moved into a 42" crate in the lounge room - again no problems. We have always taken him on lead out to the backyard at night time for wees. he's now 16 weeks and last loo break is around midnight; still on lead, no talking..straight out to do his business and then straight back into the crate for the night. we've been very methodical about our night time crate routine and Wilbur lets me know when he needs to go out to toilet. In the morning he has a little whine and if i don't hear him he will yelp a little louder to wake me up. I take him out to the loo and if it's too early (eg weekend and i want a little sleep in) we follow our night time routine and then he goes straight back into the crate and i go back to bed; he is so conditioned to this routine that he just follows it even if it's daylight outside. If it's getting up time, he gets breakfast after toileting. Wilbur now knows that crate is for sleeping and he settles almost instantly when he gets in it. Even during the day when he's playing outside he prefers to come inside to sleep in his crate rather than sleep on his outside bed. It took a lot of crate training to establish Wilbur's high value for his crate, but it has been worth the effort. good luck

we've always had big dogs and no one has ever assumed that they weren't mine. The one thing that has been consistent about having big dogs is that we've never had a break-in; no matter what state we've lived in. :D