suziwong66

I'd be more inclined to consult a reputable behaviourist to modify her behaviour...we've been working to try and desensitise her but it's been a bit hit and miss. It's difficult to control the environment when out and about and i'm always on the look out for other dogs so we can avoid. Even if she hears another dog barking and can't see the dog, she'll bark. In the car today, she was standing between the back seats and looking through the front windscreen while we were at the stop lights at an intersection. A man with a guide dog crossed the road at the other side of the intersection opposite us; she had a bit of a bark but didn't go over thresh-hold. A little later, she saw a dog at the other end of the aisle at Petstock and went over thresh hold immediately; she settled down quickly when out of sight of the dog. I use treats in two ways; first to reward a marked behaviour (in this case, quiet and calm) and to distract her by throwing repeated pieces on the ground. Anyone know of a reputable behaviourist in Adelaide?

i bought a Thundershirt about 6 weeks ago...my girl still barks at other dogs like a nutter and carries on like a goose if i leave the car no matter who is left with her. She hasn't gotten any better. I was thinking o trying the Adaptil collar but i'm apprehensive about spending yet more dollars on solutions that don't work.

I know some of you already use a squeegee for picking up dog fur from the carpet but I thought i'd share a particular brand that i came across today. It's commercial grade and the screw on head and handle are sold separately. It's Vikan brand. I go through a lot of domestic squeegees; they've usually been bought from Woolies, Big W, Kmart and the like. They just don't stand up to the rigours of de-fur-ing the carpet of fur from two labs, and wear out or break pretty quick. Today, I was in a commercial food supply store (mostly butchering industry supply - MBL Food Service on Hanson Rd, Athol Park) here in Adelaide I came across the squeegee heads - there were a number of sizes to choose from; i chose one that's about double the length of the domestic ones i've had before; the rubber part is much much thicker and wider than the domestic ones. The handle is aluminium but with a wide diameter so it's sturdy and won't bend. It wasn't cheap...$40 each for the two pieces (handle and head) BUT if it means that I'm not replacing a squeegee every month or two i figure it's worth it.

keep feeding the non-weight bearing bones but go bigger for large breed puppies. Our lab pups never started on chicken necks as we had the same issue as you. We start them on half chicken frames and then as they get bigger we expand to lamb necks and turkey necks. Be persistent with the bones; it's worth the effort.

We rent and i have a moveable pen for the back yard - i didn't seek permission as it's not a permanent structure. It simply pegs into the grass from the long pins/pegs that join each wire section together. When i was using it, i merely moved it regularly to make sure there was no damage to the grass in one area.

is there a trusted family friend etc to dog sit her at home that way no one will have access to her? Otherwise, i'd go with the car option if the weather is cool enough. I try to be gentle with visitors when explaining my expectations of them with my dogs, but sometimes it hits on deaf ears; those people either don't get an invite back and we meet up elsewhere or i keep the dogs confined away from them.

Susan Garrett's dvd, Crate Games is an awesome resource to teach crate training; i've used it for both of my two labbies and they both love their crates.

My routine with my two labs has been/is to start them off in their travel crates at bed height next to my bed until they grow out of their travel crate. This is usually around the 12 week old range and then i move their large wire crate out in the lounge room. My last lab slept in the kitchen (you'll need lab proof bins) on a mat. I also train mine to evacuate on command so I need them to wake me up to take them out to evacuate at night on lead to establish the behaviour right from the start...and having them beside me allows for that. Plus you get waaaaay more sleep when they know you're right next to them My boy never made a whimper; first night included. My girl did whimper a bit the first night or two, but it wasn't howling or barking - she was just needy as she'd left a very large litter of her own, a small litter of cousins and a very large breeding pack; she was used to having lots of others from her pack around her. I was able to poke my fingers through the crate door in the middle of the night to assure her that she was okay...and that was enough for her. Ordinarily, after their dinner, they'd come into the house for the night. She would go into her crate in the lounge room and he'd sleep on his mat in the lounge room until we went to bed. He'd come with us and she'd stay in the lounge room. This routine changed in March when we had a house full and the lounge room couldn't accommodate a large crate and all of our house guests, so pup's crate was moved back into our room but this time at the end of the bed. It hasn't been moved out of our room again, but it will be pretty soon. From very early on, I keep pups in the house all the time. I set up a pen in the kitchen and pup learns to get used to the coming and goings/routines of the house. This is especially important with labs as they can suffer from separation anxiety; i make a fair bit of effort to come in and out of the kitchen (with lengthening times of separation once pup is settled into life with us) so that pup learns that i will go but i will always come back and i never greet pup as i come and go. When pup is in her pen, no one is allowed to engage with her; if you want to play with pup, you have to take her outside. When she was penned took her out to toilet hourly as i don't want her to make a mistake in the house - her accidents are MY mistakes since I obviously didn't take her out enough. When she was about 4-5 months old, she was tethered at the back door so she could still she inside the house but got to spend some time with our older boy outside. At 8.5 months old, she still doesn't have full back yard access because she's too rough with our older boy who is rather submissive. I did have an outdoor pen for pup but she really didn't like being left outside, even with her brother out there! She wanted me; so I listened as you tend to do when puppy tries to dig her way out of the pen every time you put her in it . When i was outside gardening etc i tethered her out on the grass with a long line and then she came back in with me when i was done - this way she had access to me while i was busy but she couldn't get into trouble when i was concentrating elsewhere. Labs are great dogs; but they're somewhat needy in terms of company within their human pack. If you think you might not be able to accommodate this need you might need to reconsider your breed choice. If you're willing to change your expectations and practice you will eventually end up with a wonderful dog that will stick to you like glue! I can't go to the loo without my two following me but i'm okay with that since I love that about labs. They're really not independent type dogs and if you ignore this you might find life not at all enjoyable with your pup. Invest in training with your lab; you'll all be the happier for it. Teach puppy to play; Labs love a job and if you don't give them one, they'll find one themselves and it may not be something you're happy about eg. back deck being eaten, garden demolished etc to be honest i've never had massive problems with destruction with any of my labs but i do invest in training both for good behaviour and trick training to keep them stimulated. An intellectually stimulated lab is a tired one! Invest in plenty of interactive and treat dispensing toys for inside when you can supervise; pup will love you for it. We have a plethora of Kongs to stuff and freeze, a bob a lot, a kong wobbler and lots of other treat dispensing toys that are frequently rotated. Outside our yard is littered with a range of toys: a sand pit is really great for pups as you can bury bones and toys and teach them to dig where you want instead of where they want. In summer you can fill up a plastic sand pit shell with water and pup will have a blast; take the time to introduce them to water incrementally and pup will be confident. Stuff a Hollee Mollee with fabric strips for pup to play with - my boy likes the hollee mollee but the pup girl LOVES it - she pulls out the fabric strips and has a ball. I like that i don't have to replace another dead stuffy toy as i just push the fabric strips back into the hollee mollee and off we go again the Kong stick (i think that's what it's called; it's green in this video) is a favourite with my two and anything is the Toughie Toy range (with a high destruction rating) is always received with glee; atm they have a very large dinosaur. if you want to see some of the toys that they have checkout my boy's facebook page Wilbur Langford. He'll friend you; he's not choosey Enjoy your new pup but you'll need to make some adjustments to really get the best out of having a lab in your life.

i'm with you WM; we're on our second lab puppy in three years and i gotta tell you I much prefer them older. They're cute and cuddly when they're little but i like it so much better when they've learned a little self control, have some understanding of the routine of behaviours that i expect and toilet training is well under way etc Puppies, in the early months just suck me dry That said, i do put a lot into them because I am very aware that the time and effort i invest now will be returned tenfold when they're a little older. Gotta say I'm happy that I really invested heavily in training the three year old because it has made training the pup soooo much easier; the big boy models exactly what i want for her to copy. You should see them at dinner and breakfast - they heel either side of me and wait for their individual release. Of course, i can't make them wait too long or i'd drown in the drool

as a long time lab owner (19 years now) i'd highly recommend you take heed of what is being said here; Lab pups need their human pack - there's time enough for your pup to learn to live outside when it's older. Labbies need their pack, whether it be human or dog - they are not an independent breed.

Do yourself & pup a favour: crate him beside your bed at bed height at least for the first few months: you'll get way more sleep that way & pup will wake you up to take it out to toilet. These days my 3yo lab sleeps beside the bed on a mat & the new bitch pup is still in a crate but it has now moved to the end of the bed. We never hear a squeek from her!

i remember seeing a pic of TSD's rubber car mat for the back of her car - that might do the trick. Ince i get puppy bars installed, it's what i'm going to put in to contain the hair drop of my two

He'll let you know if he needs more i reckon...my labs do. Once Wilbur starts jumping on beds in the wee hours, i know it's time to drag out his winter bed (During the warmer months he has a Snooza futons and in winter he has a Snooza Jack bed. For the 'pup' whose still in a crate in our room, i add op shop woollen blankets so she can snuggle - she'll get her own Jack bed when she's no longer sleeping in a crate, but we're way off that time. For the record, i was told by Miss22 that Wilbur has been jumping on her bed in the wee hours this week So i'll be washing the winter bed ready for action.

gosh yes, i totally agree. We did this with each of our two and i still check in with the neighbours to make sure they're happy with the dogs. I dropped by one set of neighbours on Friday afternoon with a container of home made lentil soup for them and just checked that the dogs weren't annoying them. The puppy is much more vocal than our older boy and I don't want any unhappy neighbours.

Do you have a 1/2 shell filled with sand for him? We found it worked a treat with our two; we bury toys and dried bones for them to dig in and find. It didn't totally eliminate digging as we occasionally find a hole but it sure helped them control where they decided to dig.

many years ago, i got two large wooden Kiwi Fruit trays/pallets from the loading dock of a supermarket...i put lockable castors on them. They were used for under-bed toy storage for my children for ages. Then when the kids were grown, i put a dog bed in one and it became a patio dog bed for our lab. It was fabulous and was pretty much a wooden version of the pic you shared. There are cheaper versions/options for your friend if he's willing to look further.

we carried Wilbur but then resorted to a pet stroller carrier with Laiken when we had the two together...She walked when we took her out on her own; we avoided grassed areas, beaches etc and kept to urban concreted areas. Our biggest issue this time round, hasn't been avoiding disease exposure, it was trying to find well adjusted, known dogs for her to come in contact with. We inadvertently had two situations where Laiken was frightened by other dogs and it has made her reactive with dogs that she doesn't know so at 8 months old she still hasn't been to a training field. She trains at home and when we're out and about but I avoid other dogs like the plague because she goes nuts.

our vet loves our dogs' teeth: lovely pearly whites thanks to non-weight bearing bones every day or two. I have never wanted to resort to hand cleaning their teeth and raw meaty bones save me the bother. Norty Brown Dawg is nearly 4 and has teeth as clean as his 8 month old sister's teeth!

one of my 'behaviour/learning environment management' lecturers at uni called it "Grandma's Rule" - eat your vegetable and then you can have your dessert LOL

we have the same size as you CC and the shorter version of it too; they're both really good. The only time one of our labs has managed to pull rubbish out or even remotely get it open was when it was too full and paper was poking out. We got the first one on sale and paid considerably less than its retail price. The second one (the larger of the two) we bought as our recycle bin and didn't hesitate about the price tag since we knew they worked well.

Magnoplasm was my mum's most favourite first aid product when we were kids lol

we have two metal Simple Human. two-flap, centre opening bins. Unless something is poking out of the top (in which case it's too full & needs emptying) neither of my labs have ever gotten into them. They are stupid expensive but damn good quality.

yeah...i'm one of those people that finds themselves in 'that' place on YouTube....so my question is: why the hell didn't you video the extraction?!?!

i found even the wings of turkey to shard quite badly and stopped feeding them a few years back when my boy was throwing up the shards. Turkey necks however, have been successful for both of my labs.

I feed our dogs high quality kibble with a raw diet until they're over a year old; our breeder asks buyers to feed a puppy appropriate kibble for the first year. I know that her dogs are on a raw diet and the pups get kibble and raw from her and i continue that way. Once they're a year old, i swap them over to an entirely raw diet. so, currently in our home, we have a 3.5yo male lab on entirely raw (meaty bone in the morning and wet mix at night) and a 7.5 month old female lab also on 2 meals a day (one is a turkey neck in the morning and in the evening she gets kibble with the same wet mix our boy has: that has bone meal, turkey meat, offal, a small amount of veg, small amount of oats and fish).