Guest Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 We are beside ourselves with worry at the moment, every time we let Oscar outside he has to go and find either a stone or a twig to chew up, we are so worried that he might choke on something, I have gone around the yard and have picked up just about every single thing that I can think of that he might chew on,our Daughter had a dog who sadly has passed on now, had to have an operation to remove an icecream stick which cost her $800 at the time,the op was successful and he lived to a good age. I know we could never afford that much for an op so that is why we are so concerned. Oscar has plenty of toys to chew on, and we play with him as much as possible, are we being overly concerned do you think? and do Labs grow out of that stage pretty quickly?he's eight months, now. He is very good at a lot of things now, will do his toileting outside, and sits and waits for his food before he is allowed to have it, and will let us go near his food, without any aggression. still has a fwew more thing to learn, but not to bad now. lablove Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magstar Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 I am having the exact same problem with my Oscar (16wk GR)! I never feel like I can leave him outside unsupervised because he finds all sorts of things to chew on. We have a large yard with lots of different gardens and lots of bush (so its almost impossible to avoid having sticks aound). We have blocked of some of the garden that seemed to have a lot of rocks in it, but he still manages to dig things up. It is a constant worry! I would love to be able to leave him outside and not worry, but I can't. Never had this problem when my other dog was a puppy. She ate food and that was it! Sorry Lablove, I am no help to you, but I am hoping that the replies you get will help me out also :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 (edited) The only thing I can suggest is that the gundog instinct to have things in their mouths be channelled into teaching them to retrieve and leaving items around that they can direct the instinct onto. Are you obedience training this pup? If you can't afford the op, pet insurance would be a wise thing to have. Edited July 15, 2010 by poodlefan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 Magstar I hope so too, we have also blocked off most of the yard that has plant's in,Ive heard that if you bury there poop where they dig it's supposed to help stop digging, I wonder if there is any truth in this? lablove Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 Thanks poodlefan for you input I will look into that. lablove Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 I know we could never afford that much for an op so that is why we are so concerned. If you can't afford that much- what happens if he breaks a leg, or gets a bad case of gastro or something? May I suggest you take out pet insurance now- so that , if something awful happens- you don't have the worries! :p Re the chewing - providing he USES his toys- and they are what HE wants/likes - perhaps then give him some things to interact with- like soccer balls and a KONG, stuffed with his dinner and frozen ? maybe make him iceblocks ? put kibble/ small pieces of meat/fruit in an icecream container- fill with water.. freeze solid- then tip out on teh concrete/grass for him Make sure his walks everyday are long enough, and that his daily training sessions are full of new things! Long walks and busy training sessions exercise body and brain . Playing is ok- but doesn't really work brain or body ... Labs are striong and energetic dogs - and need lots to do to satisfy this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussielover Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 That is why I don't leave my pup in the yard :p You have to be quite careful with labs, they will put anything into their mouths! My pup doesn't actually swallow anything inedilble, but I do worryabout stuff becoming stuck in her mouth. Obedience and retrieving training will help I'm sure, but when you can't watch them, its probably safer to leave them somewhere else. My puppy is good with "leave it" and has a lot of toys, but these are useless if I am not there to watch her. I'm thinking about getting her some of those interactive toys though, they might occupy her better Agree with poodlefan about insurance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 Persephone, and aussielover, thanks for advice, and dont worry we wouldn't let our dog suffer we would find the money somehow, we had a horse for 13 years, and he was always cared for when he needed a vet, and probably better than the breeder's that were going to send him to the doggers because he couldn't race anymore because they had buggered up his legs trying to race him to young. I guess i was just so frustrated, with Oscar that that is how My post turned out. We take him for long walks daily depending on the weather. Does anybody have any experience with pet insurance ? and can you recommend a good one. I do the kong thing, and he has fun with that. lablove Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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