labsrule

In one session, we do the sits, drops, stands, spins, crawls, roll overs, high fives and in the other session we do stays with variations like staying whilst I walk out a distance in front of him, also I get him to stay whilst I walk around him as well as stay whilst I place treats out in front of him. His stays are actually very good, even better at home as I can disappear around a corner of the yard and then walk around the entire yard and he won't break his stay. However, when we are out at a park, he will break his stay sometimes, if I walk out too far into the distance, so I am working on this area more. I do mix up the 2 x training sessions during our walks, so that the stays session may be either the 1st or 2nd session and vice versa for the other session with the other commands (sits, drops, spins etc). During our walks, I try to give him some offleash time in a safe area and I work on his recall which is actually very good and has been since I gave him his first off leash time The first time he didn't actually come when I called him was a few months ago when he found a dead rat (or killed it as it was freshly dead) and he was running around with it hanging out of his mouth After some cajoling he did come and I got him to drop his prize and the 2nd time he didn't come straight away was about a week ago, when we encountered another dog, but I was really proud of him as we had turned around to walk back the way we had just come and didn't know that a woman with her dog on a leash was following at a discreet distance behind us. Anyway, when Tana saw the dog he started running over to it and I was calling him and he kept on going then just stopped and when into a sit position at a discreet distance from the dog and I called him some more and he looked back at me and then the dog and continued sitting there and I called out the woman who had stopped with her dog and asked her to please stay there until I got my dog to come back to me. I called him again and this time he came running back to me Obviously I want him to come back the first time I call him, not when he is ready but I was very pleased with the fact that he didn't rush right up to the dog and try to play with it, he just sat and waited a discreet distance away from the dog With the recall training during our walks, I let him run off into the distance to have a run around and then call him back and reward him with a treat when he comes back and then let him run off again and call him back again and reward and repeat these steps throughout the duration of his offlead time. This way he knows he can't just run off and not come back and now quite often he just comes back on his own accord without me even calling him so I reward him and let him run off again I did purchase a couple of long leads/lines which I was going to use for the recall training, but he surprised me with such good recall the first time I let him off and then consistently time and time again during subsequent offleash time, so I haven't used these long leads/lines on him yet. I am working on giving him more recall training with distractions and took him to a dog park today, where we got to practice his recall with the distractions of two other dogs and he didn't do too badly at all. Definitely room for improvement, so I will expose him more and more to recalls with distractions. Goodluck with Charlie and he is still a youngster so there is hope I know full well how frustrating it must be to walk him. Let us know how you go.

Here is my thread re this company - first few orders received goods on time, last order took weeks, no response to my emails and phone no. was disconnected, however I finally did receive my goods but I will not place any more orders with them. http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?show...=195249&hl=

Put yourself in the poor pup's place - he has been taken away from where he was born and raised away from mum and the people that cared for him and he finds himself in a strange house with strange people who seem to be in a "heightened state of stress". He had no choice in this arrangement and is unsure of what is expected of him and is bewildered, confused, unwell and unhappy in his new strange surroundings with people that are already regretting their decision in taking him on I am not sure what you expected when taking on this pup, but I think you are being pretty unfair on this poor little guy in expecting too much after only 3 days and I can assure you he will be picking up on your stress and it will be impacting on him. Pups like babies are hardwork and the first few weeks of settling a pup in and sorting out toilet training will result in sleep deprivation and tiredness, but also great joy if you learn to relax and enjoy your pup instead of continually being stressed out by him . Insofar as toilet training goes, you are far better off to put in the hard yards upfront by taking him during the night to the toilet, instead of expecting him to use the mat and then getting stressed about the stench in the morning. This teaches him to "hold" until you take him out and sure there will be the odd accident where he hasn't be able to hold, but as he grows he will be able to hold for longer periods and you won't have the stress of waking up to the stench every morning, which will happen if he thinks he is to toilet on the mat. Where is he sleeping at night and does he get any outside time to explore his surroundings/yard, apart from going to the toilet. I wouldn't recommend you take him to obedience whilst he is not well and also whilst you are "stressed" as you are liable to get even more frustrated with him if he doesn't perform his tasks correctly. You need to start enjoying your pup, relax and play with him, start training him in the basic (sit, drop etc) with short training sessions, start with say 5min training sessions, twice a day, laugh at his silly antics, love him and build that bond with him. He should be fully vaccinated by now at his age, so you can also take him out for walks, say 15-20mins duration to start with. With the diarrhea, try feeding him small meals (say 5 meals every 2-3 hrs) throughout the day from morning to night of grilled/boiled chicken and rice. Feeding him small frequent meals will not overload his already compromised system and the rice and chicken is bland so will help him. You should hopefully see an improvement within 24 hrs of feeding the chicken and rice, but if the diarrhea continues I would be taking him to the vet. Yes it will get better, but you need to be more patient and give it time and also you have to put in the hard yards, as with most things in life "you get out of it, what you put into it". ;) Do you have a good rapport with your breeder so that when you do get overwhelmed you can discuss your concerns with your breeder? Go hug and enjoy your adorable new boy.

Yep, towels, sheets, trousers and dog blankets that I air on the clothesline are his favourites. Being a retriever, I think my boy thinks I put these "retrieval" items on the clothesline just for him He doesn't actually chew or destroy them, just drags them off the clothesline and sometimes around the yard thru the dirt of course other times he just drags them off and leaves them where they fell He takes retrieving to the enth degree as he also loves to drag both the inside and outside dog beds (both metal frame type and plush mattress type) around, even when my other boys are lying on them and then to add insult to injury he drags the big fleecy blankets and snooza out from under them as well and sometimes will drag one of the blankets outside and around the yard He's a determined little bugger and I have sometimes hidden around the corner just watching him do this and the look of determination on his face is a sight to behold , particularly when my big boofa boy is lying on the bed he is dragging around and pulling the blanket and snooza out from under him ;) My big boy doesn't bother trying to get off the bed, he goes along for the ride My pup doesn't chew/destroy the beds/blankets/snooza, he just loves to drag them around all over the place. Insofar as the water ballons go, there is no way I would try that with him as being a Labrador he would think he was in 7th heaven with not only washing being available on the clothesline but also water It would probably encourage him more than deter him ;)

Not necessarily :rolleyes: My little bugger (my 9mth old Lab) loves to pull clothes off the line, even when I am home and sometimes in front of me when I have been playing with him outside or even when I am in the middle of hanging the clothes He also loves the clothesline handle and pulls this off constantly to chew on so I didn't bother reattaching it last time he did it and will only reattach when I need to put clothes on and or clothes off. Sometimes I forget to detach when I have finished and the little bugger is running around the yard doing zoomies with it in his mouth :D I have to wind my clothesline to maximum height and double over any washing like towels that are a particular temptation to him. He doesn't pull washing off everytime I hang washing on the line, but it is still bloody annoying anytime he does it :D Since he started this behaviour, I won't leave clothes on the clothesline if I have to go out, although sometimes I have forgotten and lo behold he has behaved himself and hasn't removed anything from the line :D

CW EW - I note you are in Sydney, so I presume your friend is also in Sydney as you mention about her not wanting to visit you because of your small dogs are allowed inside :D I think what we need to do here is change tack as there is the danger that despite your best attempts to try and dissuade your friends from getting a Lab puppy, they will probably end up buying one from a pet shop/BYB/Puppy Farmer due to ease of getting one from these types of places. What we need to do is show your friend what an adolescent Lab is like :D , as most people that want Labs can't get over how cute they are as puppies and how wonderfully behaved "guide dogs" are and they never think past this. I think your friend needs to met a lunatic adolescent Labrador :D and I have one of these, my 9mth old boy who is your typical over the top, full of exhuberance, full of confidence and full of himself, challenging adolescent Lab :D He goes beserk meeting new people or dogs, jumping and bouncing around like a "jumping jack" and can be a real handful, even for an experienced Labrador owner like myself :D. I train him every single day and walk him every single day and do retreiving exercises with him every single day and take him to Obedience every week where he does wonderfully with all his tasks in class, but is a shocker when we arrive at Obedience and leave Obedience as he just gets so over-excited at the sight of all the other dogs there that he wants to meet and greet and just goes into overdrive with pulling and lunging on the lead and is such a handful when this happens I work from home so am home with him every day and he has a couple of mates with my two older Lab boys and they are all inside dogs. He gets more attention, exercise and stimulation than your typical family Labrador does, but he is still a handful, so imagine what an adolescent Lab who finds itself in the hands of a Labrador/dog novice and who is relegated to outside with minimal contact, interaction, training and necessary stimulation will be like :rolleyes: Even people who have owned other breeds before and then get a Lab pup get quite a shock at how challenging they can be :D , so imagine the shock for a family who has never owned a dog before, letalone a Labrador :D Don't even get me started on the amount of shedding that Labradors do ALL YEAR ROUND The dog hair will find itself inside, even if the Lab is kept outside and of course the kids clothes will be covered in dog hair and have that doggy smell that your friends so detest :D Anyway I am happy to meet with your friends and introduce them to my boy Tana, say in a park close to them so they can get a first hand demonstration on what they will be in for in a few months when the pup hits adolescents around the 6mth mark :D I can also advise them of all things Labrador, :D so they are fully informed and know what to expect and hopefully reconsider going down this path after I present the facts. Of course this will be done in a friendly courteous manner PM me if you/they would like to take me up on my offer.

I think you need to ask yourself why you chose the local breeder in the first place. It also seems that you were happy to wait for a pup from your local breeder, now you are looking at getting one earlier than planned, so what has changed? For my current Lab pup, it was always about the breeder, I wanted the best, so went to the top Labrador breeder who luckily for me is local and I was prepared to wait and was also prepared to be knocked back as well not because I couldn't provide the best home, but because of the breeder's awesome reputation and demand for his pups. As it turned out due to a sequence of events, I ended up getting my pup sooner than expected from this awesome breeder

OMG this is a recipe for DISASTER - please please try to talk some sense into your friend . Any decent reputable Labrador breeder will NOT sell a pup to this family . Poor dog relegated to outside and it will be neglected and starved of attention, trust me on this account , young kid with possibly another one on the way in about a year doesn't like doggy smell - the writing is on the wall for this one Please do your utmost to dissuade them from going ahead with this as whatever Labrador they get, will ultimately end up in the Pound or Rescue. I am so sick of seeing my beautiful breed end up with families like this who do not and cannot meet a Labrador's needs and the poor dogs suffer immeasurably and end up being abandoned This thread saddens me greatly :rofl:

thats O.K. But if a breeder has - lets say- a thousand dogs and they regard the health and welfare of their dogs,breed them in good conditions with human interaction is that O.K.? No it isn't and I would also regard a "breeder" with a 1000 dogs or huge numbers of dogs as a puppy farmer :D I know what you are getting at, so I will remove the "emotive" parts and I will redefine my definition of a puppy farmer: A puppy farmer mass produces puppies purely for commercial gain and is about maximizing profit and minimizing costs at the expense of the dogs and puppies and treating their dogs and puppies as livestock. New definition is now under 50 words

My definition of a puppy farmer: A puppy farmer mass produces puppies purely for commercial gain with scant disregard for both pups and parent’s health and welfare. This is done by breeding pups in more often than not atrocious conditions with minimal human intervention and exposure to any stimulation outside the confines of their appalling conditions, for both parents for the remainder of their lives and for pups up until and if they leave the puppy farm. Everything that is done at a puppy farm is about maximizing profit and minimizing costs at the expense of the parents and puppies including limited or no veterinary care or necessary health checks. Sorry I exceeded the 50 word limit

Good on you for the doing the right thing by your adorable pup and so pleased he is doing very well I have pretty strong feelings and views on the issue of people being advised "to return a defective puppy" and whilst I can understand people's concerns, they are not emotionally invested in the pups they are advising to be returned . Best wishes for Winston and hope he continues to go from strength to strength :D

Yeah I expect (hope) that he will grow out of it as funnily enough all my other Lab pups have been the same they were very confident outgoing pups, Fitzy more so than any of them, but they were all scared of the vacuum cleaner initially, but over time they got over it, so hopefully Tana will do the same. He is really funny with motorbikes, not so much scared, but gets really excited and actually stops when he hears one and when it comes into view he wants to run after it when we are on our walks :D and starts jumping around in a highly excited state in the car if a motorbike pulls up beside us or behind us .

Jed it is great to hear your recovery is going well and you are up and about Must have been an incredibly difficult visit to your property, the place of so much sadness and heartache , but your visit so soon is a real testament to your courageous character and this strength will help both your physical and mental recovery. So pleased that you will get to see your beloved pooches very soon and that you were able to visit yur ponies :D Also very pleased that you found the silver lining in your visit and I am sure you will treasure those sneakers Take care and best wishes for continued improvements in your recovery. You are very fortunate to have such great people in your life taking such good care of you and your animals.

Not sure what you mean by asking "is this a labrador thing I wonder" - hope you don't mean "not being dog friendly" as this is simply not the case with Labradors. Labradors are extremely dog friendly, sure there are rascals out there that are not and it could be due to a number of reasons, but overall Labradors are extremely dog friendly. Insofar as the original question for this thread goes, my Lab pup is scared of the vacuum cleaner - I only have to pull it out and he is off outside, but if backdoor is closed he will hide behind he couch until I let him out. My oldest boy is scared of thunder and gets very stressed by it and similar loud noises like fireworks, but doesn't give too hoots about the vacuum cleaner and I can vacuum so close to him and he doesn't even move My other boy is not phased by anything at all, he is our protector :D

Sickens and saddens me to the core when I hear of our Senior Canine Citizens being abandoned/dumped and it makes me extremely angry when they are being abandoned/dumped to make way for a younger dog. Callous, heartless owners who are just oxygen thieves and Karma will bite them on the bum one day I have adopted two senior labs, both of whom were 10 yrs old at the time and they each had different reasons for being available for adoption, one was a private rehoming and the other was abandoned in the pound :D The oldest boy I have now had for 4 years and he turned 14 in March and the other one I have had for two years and he will be 12 at the end of this month. They are both doing extremely well and I love them dearly and they so easily slotted into my family, it was like they have lived their whole lives with me :D I so hope this lovely elderstateman can find himself a loving forever home where he can live out his remaining time in comfort and surrounded with lots and lots of love and attention.

I believe you are doing the right thing by not sending you puppy back to the breeder, despite her problems I can't understand people advising you to send her back when it is not their puppy and they have no emotional investment in her :D IMO puppies/dogs should not be treated like "goods" to be returned because they may be "damaged/defective" in some way and particularly when they have been living with their new owner for a number of months :D I have never understood how people can think like this :D . I know there can be a huge amount of stress and angst when problems occur with puppies as we just want them to be happy and healthy and well loved and protect them, but this also includes taking full responsbiliity for them when you take them on. If a major problem is diagnosed in a pup that requires treatment and the breeder will not/cannot help out financially for the treatment and the new owner does not have pet insurance or the problem is not covered by the pet insurance or the new owner is not in a financial position to cover this treatment, then it is the owner's responsibility to provide the level of care to keep the pup as comfortable and happy as can be and when their quality of life is severely affected, then do the right thing and PTS. I am so sorry you are having health problems with your puppy and I so feel for you. :D I have a 9mth old pup and I would be completely and absolutely shattered if I was faced with any major health problem with him, but he is MY responsibility and has been since he came to live with at 10 weeks of age. I personally don't know how people could send their "damaged/defective" pups back to a breeder, I could never live with myself and I don't say this to make you feel guilty for considering this, it is just how I feel and I take my responsiblity to my pup and dogs very seriously which includes caring for them when or if they are faced with any major health issues during their life and making that heartbreaking decision to end their life if their quality of life is seriously affected. :D Good luck with getting a definitive diagnosis on your girl and I hope you receive positive news and she gets to lead a long and good quality life

Crestwood Reserve in Baulkham Hills

MY older labs don't care and don't want to play with other dogs, they are passed all that at their age My pup just LOVES ALLl dogs and plays with any of them irrespective of breed or size My local dog park has a separate area for small dogs, so when we go to this park, I don't have to worry about him getting too rough or over excited with any littlies as they are nextdoor. I prefer him to play with dogs more his size and similar play styles - I just love seeing him play with other labs as there is just such an understanding between them ;)

Update story - so sad how this poor dog is pining for his deceased owner, RIP Trevor - I so hope Trim's new home provides the love and support this poor boy will need to get him thru this traumatic experience http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw-...i-1225883410561 Trevor Breen died for his best friend, Trim * By Edith Bevin * From: The Daily Telegraph * June 24, 2010 12:00AM TREVOR Breen and his eight-year-old whippet Trim were "devoted" to each other. It was that devotion that cost the 64-year-old his life when he tried to rescue Trim from a fire that engulfed their Lithgow home last Saturday. And it is that devotion that is obvious in Trim's eyes as he pines for the friend he will never see again. The traumatised "one-man dog" is now under round-the-clock supervision and veterinary care until he moves in with his new adopted family. Lithgow Council ranger Chris Neades said Trim was clearly pining for Mr Breen, who had owned him since he was a pup, and who went back to save him despite using a walking frame. "They were devoted to each other. That poor man went back in for Trim and you can see Trim is really traumatised and in shock and missing his owner," Mr Neades said. The bond was so strong that police at the burnt-out house felt compelled to let Trim say a last goodbye. "He was in the corner when police got there and one of the police said to me it was clear he wanted to get to his owner ... so they let him go," Mr Neades said. "He got a chance to say a proper goodbye." Mr Breen, a former De La Salle brother and school teacher, had taught in Papua New Guinea and in Sydney. He had returned to his hometown of Lithgow about 15 years ago. Friend Mary White said Mr Breen had continued to tutor disadvantaged youths in his own time and had refused to accept any payment for it. "He was just a very generous soul," she said. Helen Roberts, owner of Lithgow Bizzi Paws, used to help groom Trim. "He was 100 per cent dedicated to Trim," Ms Roberts said. "Trim adored his owner. You can see the fear in Trim's eyes now Trevor is gone."

Thank God none of my labs have ever been poo eaters Irrespective of whether your dog eats the poo, have you ever said anything to the other owners about picking up their dogs poo? I am sorry, but I couldn't just not say anything if I am in a dog park and a dog poos and the owners sees it poo and does nothing to pick it up . Its gives me the shits (excuse the pun ) with all the dog shit on the footpaths and walkways we encounter during our walks, but it makes me extremely mad when I encounter poo in a dog park and more so when Council provide poo pags and rubbish bins If an offender offers a "sorry I don't have a bag" and there are no poo bags offered by Council, I give them one of mine as I always carry a few with me . Also point to any Council signs as most dog parks have signs about dogs being in effective control by their owners and picking up poo etc I know your dog could eat poo he finds anywhere, but given that he is eating fresh poo in a dog park you witness the offending dog first hand with an irresponsible dog owner who just contributes to people being more anti dogs, and given these dog parks are provided by Council who have certain rules pertaining to dogs using these dog parks, then I urge you to not sit idly by and let these people/person get away with shirking their responsibilties night after night and thereby putting your dog at risk by eating this poo which should be picked up bythe owner :D

I couldn't agree more as up until a couple of weeks ago, my 8.5mth old Lab pup was a chronic puller on our walks. I enrolled him in Obedience last month and started making changes to the way I handled both myself and my dog on our walks as well as changing his home training session and also the type of treats I was using and the changes in him have been miraculous to say the least. I actually started the following thread in the training forum a couple of days ago about the overnight transformation my boy has undergone during our daily walks There has also been positive flow on affects to some other undesirable behaviour he started displaying when he hit adolescents http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=198787

thanks everyone I made the following changes: I changed his home daily training session to immediately prior to taking him on a walk and made sure I kept it at max 10mins - During our walk I also stop and give him one or two 5 minute training sessions so he has additional training with distractions I changed his treats to grilled chicken breast cut up into tiny treat size - being a Lab he loved all the treats I gave him but the chicken is his absolute favourite I modified the way I was actually walking to ensure that I was CONSISTENTLY walking with purpose and not looking down at him all the time. I have always been a fairly fast walker, but found found that the more he was pulling and stressing me and not improving when I either stopped or changed directions many times, the more I slowed down and spent more time focussing on him, insteading of head up and striding out and commanding the walk i.e being the Leader I improved my marking & feed treat responses to ensure I marked him verbally with "Yes" everytime he looked up at me or back at me or came back to me if I stopped or slowed down because he was pulling and I made sure the treat immediately followed the verbal marker. Interestingly enough, he virtually stopped pulling overnight, as one day he was pulling like a steam train for 80-90% of our walk, then next day he was loose lead walking for for 80% of our walk and he continued to improve in leaps and bounds from that day on . Not only has this transformation occurred in the pulling dept on walks, but also in his reaction to people we encounter on our walks, particularly kids who he just loves, as he would just be beside himself and lunging and jumping around like a maniac :D , but now he may have a look, may slow down and watch or slightly pull, but doesn't lunge or jump around and I can get his focus back very quickly Yesterday on his walk on the way home thru a park a couple of young kids came running in our direction calling out doggy, doggy and my boy kept on walking but watching them out of the corner of his eye and they then ran pretty close to him and I was so proud of his "non-reaction" to them and he kept looking up at me and of course I was marking him and rewarding him for his great behaviour . About a week after his greatly improved behaviour on our walks, I thought I would chop and change a couple of things to see if it made any difference to his behaviour. For a couple of days, I stopped the training session immediately prior to his walk and it made no difference I then changed his treats a couple of times and it made no difference :D, so at least if I run out of chicken, I know my dog won't run amok and turn back into a pulling steam train . I have also reduced the amount of marking and increased the time between the marking and feeding of treats and it made no difference He is still a lunatic when we arrive at Obedience with so many dogs and people to meet and greet but he does settle down for his class and does really well with his tasks and commands and I know the initial excitement will be around for awhile as he is still only a pup. This once a week lunatic behaviour pales into insignificance compared to the overnight transformation of his walking behaviour

I have been having a "Battle Royale" with my 8.5mth old Lab Pup Tana to stop him pulling like the proverbial steam train on our walks and to not be so reactive (terribly excited) to any human, irrespective of whether or not they have a dog, that we encounter along the way. From Day 1 when he came to live with me as a 10week old pup, I started training him in all the basics including loose lead walking and he was extremely responsive to the 2 x daily training sessions and picked things up very quickly . However, when it was safe enough after his last vaccination at 16 weeks to start taking him on walks, he got so excited from the time we stepped onto the driveway and started pulling and got so exciteable everytime he saw another human come into view and it got progressively worse, the older and bigger he got. As he is my 4th lab pup, I applied all my knowledge that I had learned over the years, along with new techniques, all to no avail and I was getting extremely frustrated with him on our walks as I spent at least 75-80% battling his pulling and excitedness and walking in the opposite direction or stopping still everytime he pulled. Treats or praise didn't seem to work and in fact, I found that praising in particular seemed to almost "give him permission" to start pulling again and rushing out the front As frustrated as I got, there was no way I was going to give up and stop taking him for his daily walks as I take my responsibility to my dogs seriously and Lab pups in particular, need lots of physical and mental stimulation. I was obviously doing some wrong and not getting thru to my boy the way I got thru to his predecessors at the same age. His direct predecessor, Fitzy my beautiful 10 year old boy who I lost to cancer last year , was my most challenging pup prior to Tana and when he was 6mths old, I actually got in a trainer to work with us on some of the issues I was having with him, including him pulling on our walks. Well after one session with this trainer, he was walking brilliantly on the lead at 6mths of age and continued to be a pleasure to take on walks for the rest of his life I thought about getting in a trainer for Tana like I did with Fitzy as I was so determined to get him loose lead walking on a flat collar as I didn't want to have to resort to a halti or harness as this doesn't correct the underlying problem. Despite having a bad experience with Fitzy at puppy school years ago which put me off obedience training, I started thinking about obedience training for Tana as we needed training with distractions as that was the biggest problem, as he does brilliantly with his home training but it all goes out the window the moment we leave our yard. I thought both of us could benefit from obedience training, so I enrolled him and off we went. He was beside himself with excitement when we arrived with all those other doggies to greet :D and he virtually dragged me around the ground like I was a light weight and I am not ;) and he was so hard to control in this exciteable state :D . Once class started though he was very good :p and I was very pleasantly surprised at his focus and he only got distracted when one of the other dogs in the class kept on barking or another one would wander over to him :D We have been going to Obedience for 5 weeks now, with week 1 being an assessment, then Tana couldn't attend in week2 due to a leg injury, so from week3 onwards we actually started in the class environment, so he has had 3 classes now and whilst his excitement level when we first arrive is still high as he gets to meet and greet the other dogs, he is doing really well in class I really enjoy going to obedience and updating my dog handling skills and what I find most beneficial is having a trainer critique your task performance and give you advice on ways to improve or correct anything you may be doing wrong or could do better Over the last few weeks I have been trying different approaches with Tana before and during our walks based on what I have been learning at obedience and about myself and about 9 days ago we finally had a break thru where he didn't pull for 35 out of the 45 minute walk . Since that day he has got better and better, not only with the pulling but with his reaction to other humans and dogs we encounter along the way and I feel like I am walking another dog I am so happy and so proud of my little man and our walks are now such a pleasure with this transformation in his behaviour He still gets beside himself with typical lab excitement meeting and greeting all the doggies at obedience, but hopefully :D that should improve over time, after all he is still a pup and a Labrador I am no spring chicken, in fact I am of the baby boomer generation and a grandmother, so there is hope out there for any one who has the fortitude to resolve issues they may have with their dog by trying new things and learning new skills. We are also getting involved in Retrieving as I have encouraged his retrieving skills from day 1 and I took him to watch the Retrieving Trials at the DogsNSW Public Open Day last Saturday and the Retrieving people gave us an opportunity to show his retrieving skills so they could assess him :p Sorry about the long post :D

Very cute Mrs T love his concentration Tana is the most TV reactive Lab I have had, not only to any dogs barking but TV in general. He seems fascinated by it and I catch him quite often watching it and when something really takes his fancy he goes right up to the screen for a close look and sometimes licks it

Morning Jed - so great to read about your ongoing recovery and having you back posting - yeah most state health systems are in chaos and patients being discharged prematurely to save bucks You are very lucky to have such a good friend as your full-time carer and I am sure you will go from strength to strength in your recovery. Wishing you much better and brighter days ahead