labadore

New Muppet Character, Brandeis the Service Dog

Well regarded Lab Rescue who have gorgeous labs looking for homes and they do interstate adoptions Rescue A Labrador

My favourite breed, my favourite colour and my favourite gender - black lab boys are the best he will worship the ground you walk on and the feeling will be mutual - enjoy your new bundle of cuteness when he arrives - your life will never be the same :) so happy for you.

Yes did the same to my black labs as well as gunky ears. Like all dog foods whether they be the supermarket variety or super premiums, not all agree with all dogs. I have just come back from the dog park with my lab boy youngster who was playing with a gorgeous choccy kelpie who had a beautiful shiny glossy coat and looked the picture of health and I asked his owner what she was feeding her girl and she told me Supercoat. :D

I had my blacks labs, an oldie and a youngster on it and had problems with their coats also, very dull and lots of dandruff. I switched them back to Nutro after 12 months of persevering with this food and within a month their coats were back in top condition, very shiny and no dandruff. A few months ago, I decided to try Royal Canin for Labs just to see what that was like to give a bit of variety and same result as Black Hawk within a couple of weeks, so took them off it, didn't even finish the bag. Went back to Nutro and will stay on this as is the only dry food that all my black labs, past and present have done very well on as being black you can see very quickly the change in coat condition. Over the years I have tried a range of other premium/super premium brands all with same negative impact on my labs coat conditions and I have to keep going back to Nutro. My labs also get fed raw food as well, but I am done experimenting with changing their dry food. Out of all the various brands I have tried, Black Hawk and Royal Canin have had the worst impact on my labs coat condition .

Way too sensitive You should walk your senior with pride and take all the comments as compliments like I do :) . For the last few years I have had senior black labs up to 15 years of age who get way more attention and comments than my youngsters when we are out on walks/outings. My current senior lab boy is just over 14 years old and he gets lots of attention from kids and adults alike with kids screaming out (as kids do :laugh: ) to their mum or dad about the "old dog" (very recognisable with a black lab with greying muzzle :) ) and then either running over to pat the "old dog" or asking their mum or dad if they can pat the "old dog" or just making a comment about the "old dog" not in a derogatory sense, just stating facts as kids do as they are so honest. I have no issue with anyone, kids or adults calling him what he is, as most call him an old dog, an oldie or old boy as a term of endearment, as I have met so many kids and adults who have a great respect for the oldies and my oldies have always loved the extra attention they get. Majority of the adults strike up a conversation with me asking about him, how old he is?, how is he doing?, what do I feed him?, does he have any health problems? etc ewtc and give him numerous compliments about his longevity and ability to be able to still enjoy walks and swims etc and they all make a fuss over him, pat him and he just loves all the attention. I have met so many people who just love the oldies and aren't afraid to show it or tell you and quite often they tell me about their current or past dogs and some make the comment that they hope their dogs are as lucky as my dogs (past and present) and get to live to the same age in good health. With the adults that have stopped to talk to me over the years when I have been out and about with my seniors, I have found the age groups span all generations and the gender split is very equal. :) Enjoy your walks with your "oldie" and just lighten up on taking any comments to heart as majority of people who make them are actually not making them in a derogatory sense. :)

What an absolute tragedy that a beautiful, highly skilled and trained seeing eye dog has lost her life in such tragic circumstances and her poor owner, god he must be beside himself with grief at her loss this is beyond sad For those of us that have lost dog(s) we all know how how extremely difficult and devastating that time is, but try to imagine how Matilda's poor owner must be feeling it must be an unimaginable horror for him to not only lose his best friend, his most devoted companion in such terrible circumstances, but he has lost his eyes as well. Just awful Run free sweetheart with all the other Labbies at the you will be missed more than you could ever know. My thoughts are with Matilda's owner and family they must be going through hell Hope the other poor dog fully recovers but I suspect his owner will carry this trauma for the rest of his life, knowing how much Matilda meant to his brother Terribly sad story

Looking forward to it, I have booked my spot for my Lab boy, so see you on Wednesday. PS I am taking a long line to attach myself to the platform so I don't inadvertently throw myself off the platform when I throw my boy's retrieving toy Hopefully I don't embarrass my boy on the day :laugh:

hope you do, I have secured a spot for my boy

I think that with any dog sport there is a potential risk of injury, so we need to educate ourselves and take preventative measures to minimise the risk of injury. I did some research awhile back on potential injuries with dock diving and this is a link to one of the articles I found. If my boy takes to dock diving and we pursue it as a sport, then I will be increasing our activities to increase his level of fitness to build more muscle tone and probably drop some weight at the same time to keep him in peak condition as he is a very solid, well built Lab (not fat) and increased activity levels will also do me good as well as I need to increase my fitness and drop weight, so we will both be "in training" :D http://www.examiner.com/article/dock-dogs-preventing-injuries

glitch with duplicate post

Thought about trying retrieving trials? You can really watch him do what he was bred to do there Dock diving is great fun for the water loving dogs too :) Yes I have thought about trying Retrieving with him and in fact checked out the Retrieving demo at the Dogs NSW open day when my boy was about 8 months and they gave him a trial run which he did really well at and I got all the contact details form the Retrieving people and was going to follow up once my boy had matured a bit more, both in body and mind :D I am still waiting for his mind to mature :laugh: Life got a little crazy and I never followed up on it and it is still on my "todo list". I am not sure about retrieving trials though, more for my sake than his. I want to do something more informal where he could indulge his love of retrieving in the water, swimming, and having lots of fun, hence my interest in dock diving for him. The only impediment to his success, will probably be me :laugh: - I have visions of throwing myself off the platform into the water inadvertently, when I throw his retrieving toy

Thanks so much to everybody who has posted info regarding the Terry Road, Box Hill location and open day on Anzac Day it is much appreciated. How exciting that this open day is next week can't believe it is actually happening now. The day before I started this thread I had taken my two lab boys out to the Hawkesbury River at Windsor which is where I normally take them for a swim and my youngster never fails to make me laugh with his enthusiasm for retrieving in the water and whilst we were at the river I started thinking about Dock Diving and how I really would love to get him involved with something he does so naturally and with such enthusiasm and just loves it so much. It makes me so happy watching him do what he was bred to do and enjoys so much - retrieving in the water. I have sent an email to Kelly to book a spot, so we get a spot. If we secure a jumping spot, will be very interesting to see how he will handle jumping into the water from a height :) hopefully he won't be let down by his inexperienced handler :laugh:

OK thanks - hopefully their plans will be announced on DOL closer to it happening :) - do you think it will be in the next 12 months?

Thank you - that is close to me so here's hoping

Goodness me what a thread I am very sorry for the OP's loss, but the most disturbing part is that the OP calls into question the vet's treatment of their poor dog and wants to "discuss how uncaring vets are", yet OP has their dog PTS without any attempt to fully investigate what is wrong with the poor dog either with the current vet or another vet at another veterinary practice. Seems pretty extreme to me to just PTS the poor dog, that should not have been the first option "because they did not know what to do" - sorry but that seems pretty "uncaring" to me. So much more should have been done for this poor baby and the OP has to take responsibility for that rather than blame it on the "uncaring vet" and laying the blame on the whole vet industry is just outrageous

Does anyone know if there is a Dock Diving Club or similar for dogs in Sydney? I have a fantastic Lab youngster who is not only a fabulous retriever in both water and on land but he just loves retrieving in the water, his most favourite activity and he launches himself into the water with great gusto everytime :laugh: whenever I throw one of his retrieving objects into the water. He never tires of retrieving in the water and has never ever failed to retrieve an object thrown into the water time after time after time and would retrieve all day in the water if I let him, he absolutely loves it. I belong to a US Lab forum and Dock Diving is a big sport over there and of course lots of labs participate, so just wondering if it has ever got off the ground here in Australia, and Sydney in particular since they had those world championships (think that is what they were??) a couple of years back?

I too had a bad experience with my Vet and xrays on my 2 year old Lab youngster when he was around 9-10months old. When he was a pup he pulled up lame a few times on different legs and took him to vet each time and he was checked out for signs of HD/ED, Pano etc and all was OK, so was given anti-inflammatories and after the 3rd time, Vet said we need to consider getting xrays if it happens again. Sure enough it happened again about 6 weeks later, so he did xrays and rang me to say my boy had pretty bad HD and I just about fell off the chair with shock as I was not expecting that. Whilst there are no guarantees with any Lab pup that they will be HD or ED free, I got my boy from a well reknowned, very experienced long term Lab breeder who does all the tests and produces beautiful structurally sound Labs and I knew it couldn't be environmental as I am extra cautious with my Lab pup's nutrition, exercise, preventing them jumping on and off furniture or heights of any desciption etc. My vet advised that he could refer me to a specialist, so I actually made an appointment with a well renowned Specialist and then I contacted my boy's Breeder who was equally shocked and asked me to take my boy and the xrays over to him to check. I advised him that I had an appointment with the Specialist and he said he would be interested in what the Specialist had to say, so we arranged that I would take my boy and xrays over a couple of days after the Specialist visit. The Specialist advised that the Xrays were not good as my boy had not been positioned correctly and he would like to do more xrays that showed the femurs more parallel and hyperxtended. He checked my boy out thorughly and said he thinks he has mild hip incongruence, but needed the new xrays done, but said there is no way my boy has bad HD like my Vet said he did based on the xrays (non digital) he took which were not good. I told the Specialist I didn't want to do any xrays that day, so soon after he had the xrays taken by the Vet and coupled with the fact that my boy was still developing and that I was taking him over to the Breeder first to be checked out by the Breeder and then the Breeder's vet and see what they have to say first before I make a decision on getting new xrays done. I then took my boy and xrays over to see the Breeder and gave him the Specialist report and he checked the xrays and agreed that they were useless and was very annoyed with my Vet upsetting both me and him with the news that my boy had bad HD based on these useless xrays. He then checked my boy over thoroughly made me walk and run him around so he could observe his gait etc and told me that he also doesn't agree with what the Specialist's report and said he would like to make an appointment with the Vet he uses that is very experienced and knowledgeable with Labs but also more importantly, he is a well renowned Vet who does the Hip and Elbow xrays for Breeders of large dogs for hip scoring and has a lot of experience in reading xrays and diagnosing HD & ED. The Breeder makes an appointment with his Vet whilst I was there for a few days after and he met me over there with my boy. I took along the xrays and Specialist report as well and the Vet checked the xrays and said that they were useless as well and he said at first glance at my boy when we walked in the door that there was no way my boy had HD. He checked him out thoroughly then took us outside to the back lawn area and made me run my boy around, like my Breeder did when I visited him, and he also got my Breeder to run my boy arond and do different things with him and told me categorically that he believed my boy did not have HD. He said however, for my peace of mind and confirmation that I should get new xrays (digital) done when my boy was around the 18month mark, when he was more developed and his growth plates would have closed as my boy was still entire. I took his and the Breeders advice and I then scheduled my boy for hip and elbow xrays when he was 18months old and these xrays (digital) confirmed my boy did not have HD or ED and I decided to send them to get scored and the results were perfect elbows and great hips. Since that last lameness episode at around 8-9months old which tiggered the need for the first xrays, my boy has never had any lameness since and has developed beautifully. I have actually taken to the Breeder's vet a couple of times since, and each time he tells me he is such a stunning boy and asks me if the Breeder has seen my boy lately as the Vet says that I should show him as he actually judges Labs at shows and said my boy would do very well, and is a beautiful example of his pedigree and breed, but the show world is not for me. :) Hugs to all the beautiful Labs who have undergone surgery/having joint issues, poor things :hug:, I feel for them and their owners :hug: , must be such a worrying and scary time as I was beside myself with worry when I was first given the news (albeit incorrect news) by my Vet. I am so thankful that I had such a supportive and experienced and knowledgeable Breeder, to help me during my dilemna and it all ended so well for my beautiful boy, and I am so grateful for that .

To me there is nothing more beautiful than a Labrador which is my breed of choice and I just love the way they look. They are quite simply a stunningly beautiful looking dog, particularly an intact Black Lab male in his prime in great condition with impeccable pedigree (i.e. bred to standard and by Breeders who have been around for awhile who not only breed structurally sound healthy Labradors with beautiful temperaments, but Labradors who actually look like a Labrador should). I have always loved the look of the Labrador through all their life stages from the beautiful, gorgeous, adorable pups to the stunning developing youngsters (18months to 3 years old), the beautiful adults in their prime to the greying, dignified, gorgeous elderstatesmen (seniors). I never get tired of admiring my beautiful breed at any age, it gives me great pleasure just watching them :).

Whilst I too also find the Greyhound racing industry repulsive with so many dogs being bred and being put down or being treated badly when they don't measure up, I am actually more disgusted with pet owners who take their perfectly healthy, once loved and cherished dogs to the vet to be put down because they no longer want them. A few weeks back, I was told a very distressing story from a fellow Labrador owner who told me that one of her clients who had two beautiful labradors that were much loved and pampered pooches for 5 years from puppyhood and were treated by her client and her husband as substitute children as they couldn't have kids of their own and then out of the blue, despite medical advice to the contrary, she got pregnant and after she had the child, they took the Labs to the Vet to have them PTS as they wanted to devote all their time to their newly arrived child and they didn't want the dogs anymore. These poor dogs were once the centre of their owner's universe and they wanted for nothing and they lost their lives because of their heartless despicable owner's decision that they were "disposable" as they had fulfilled their purpose until the child came along Whilst the Greyhound racing industry has a lot to answer for, so do the heartless owners that so easily dispose of healthy dogs that are no longer wanted and won't even bother trying to rehome them and instead take them to the vet to be euthanised . As sad as it is that these beautiful greyhounds are losing their lives, many of them have never been raised as a beloved pet and then betrayed by their owners in the worst possible way because they are no longer wanted, just like these poor Labradors were. Apart from healthy dogs who have been dumped/surrendered to pounds that end up losing their lives, I bet there are many more instances of healthy, once beloved pets being taken to the vets by their owners and euthanised than we know about. It's crying shame that these healthy ex beloved pet dogs are continuing to be euthanised without their plights being given any visibiity or anyone from a Vet practice expressing outrage/sadness about their plight . Instead they have chosen to target the Greyhound racing industry by highlighting the plight of this poor unfortunate greyhound who was brought in to be euthanised. I know some healthy dogs that are brought in for euthanising by their owners are saved by some Vets and rehomed, but not all and it is impossible for them to try and save every dog. However, I would just like to say what about all the other poor healthy pet dogs who suffer the same fate as the poor Greyhound when they are brought in by their owners to be euthanised because they are no longer wanted - where is the visibility and outrage for these poor souls.

Yeah I am excited too that this food is now availabe in Australia as I also belong to a US Forum for my breed and so many positive threads/posts about TOTW. My delivery of the Salmon arrived last week and I am in the midst of swapping over my two Labs to it. They get fed 50/50 kibble and raw and I previously had them on Black Hawk Holistic for about 12months, but both my boys didn't do well on it, particularly my oldest boy as his coat continued to be dull with dandruff all the time he was on Black Hawk Holistic and my youngster's coat wasn't as shiny as it should have been but wasn't as bad as my oldest boys. Anyway hoping to see an improvement with TOTW and being black labs it will be pretty easy to see any improvement or degradation. They are still being fed a mixture of kibble, Nutro which I started them back on about a month ago until I found out about TOTW, so using up the last of the Nutro mixed with the TOTW, so in a few days it will be TOTW only along with their raw component. I also give Natural Pet Food store as their service is great as I have brought other food from them in the past so am very pleased they are now stocking this food, as get a double whammy of great food, great service

I also bought a few sets and I joined them together and attached them to my Lab pup's crate to give him quite a big play area outside his crate. I first attached to one end of the crate, then that spread the playpen out in a octagonal type shape around his playpen and attached to the other side of his crate. The crate acted as an anchor and one door of the crate opened into the playpen area. My pup who was 10 weeks when I got him was a large boy and never once jumped on/at the panels. I also used the panels as pseudo baby gates for wides areas that I wanted to block off to restrict my pup to the family area until he was toiled trained. I also used the panels outside to block off access to some areas I didn't want him to get into in the backyard and to also place over any holes he started to dig :D . These panels are a godsend, so many uses for them.