Some Questions Before Getting A Puppy (in The Distant Future)

[luvsdogs]

A labrador needs more than 30 mins of walking/exercise a day. Initially as a puppy, home play in the yard is fine, but by a year they will be needing at least an hour of fairly strenous exercise- like running around at a park or at the beach or a jog or fast walk.

This confuses me a bit, because I was looking at the Labrador Retriever thread under Dog Breeds 101 as Persephone suggested, and a number of posters said 30 minutes was a good amount! Either way, I would definitely want to aim for 30-60 minutes + play time/obedience training. Maybe my parents can take it for a walk during the day, and I can take it again in the evening...

Large breed puppies should be grown slowly & not over exercised until they reach maturity to protect their growing bones & joints. Also mental stimulation is just as important, if not more so, as physical exercise.

Can I ask why you specifically want a labrador (apart from the fact they are the best dogs in the world ) ?

I think the main reasons were because of their good, friendly temperament and intelligence and how their eager to please. And our neighbours have/had labradors which were very well behaved! My brother and I also prefer bigger dogs.

Like all breeds of dogs they need lots of socialisation & training to achieve these goals.

[JB1824]

My question too is, why a labrador. I personally would never have one, too strong a dog for me as I'm getting older & I prefer long haired dogs. Short coated dogs shed a real lot, while the long haired dogs shed in tumble weeds, easy to vaccuum or pick up. I only notice dirty floors from the dogs coming inside during times of rain when they carry in mud from the holes they've dug.

My dogs are inside/outside dogs. As someone already said they are easy to train if they are with you inside, getting in some short training sessions throughout the day you're home with them.

I highly recommend you read these 2 books, before & after you get your puppy.

http://www.dogstardaily.com/free-downloads

Also have you done one of those on line "pick a breed'' that's right for you?

http://www.petnet.com.au/selectapet/choose-a-pet

Thanks for the books, I'll definitely be reading them. I just did the selectapet thing (I've done them before when I was younger) and I got Labrador, Golden Retriever, and Corgies multiple times (as the four choices).

[raineth]

its good you are putting so much thought into it

I think Labradors a great. Ofcourse you just need to realise, that like any dog, they are not born with good manners etc.

One of that hardest things with having many people in the household, is that you really all need to be consistent with the dog.

You need to discuss and agree on how you will deal with everything.

such as what will you do when the puppy jumps on people

how will you feed the puppy

how will you train bite inhibition

how will you discipline puppy

what will puppy be rewarded for

even if you change these things a little later you will always need to be consistent between you.

I definitely reccommend your labrador being allowed inside. Think about your climate all year round. If its rteally cold in winter or really hot in summer, do you think that means you will end up spending less time out there, and as such the dog gets less interaction.

What about when you are sick? At least if the dog is inside you can spend some time with it

I'm doing uni too and when I'm at my desk both dogs come and curl up around me. One squeezes himself under the desk and the other lies next to my chair sometimes its these little things that are so nice about dog ownership

[aussielover]

This confuses me a bit, because I was looking at the Labrador Retriever thread under Dog Breeds 101 as Persephone suggested, and a number of posters said 30 minutes was a good amount! Either way, I would definitely want to aim for 30-60 minutes + play time/obedience training. Maybe my parents can take it for a walk during the day, and I can take it again in the evening...

In my experience, they can do ok on a 30 min walk once day, but ideally need at least an hour (as adults- puppies should not be pushed to exercise). Labs are highly adaptable and will tolerate 30 mins or even no walk but in this case I would def recommend that the dog be allowed inside with the family where they can receive stimulation and interaction by following family members around and a bit of training here and there every day.

Personally I feel 30 mins exercise and training per day is the absolute minimum for any dog, but that is just me...

I also feel an outside only dog should be getting 2hrs + of walking and training as well as other interaction with the owners, but other I'm sure will disagree.

[KateAndDuke]

Our pup was allowed everywhere inside except for the carpeted bedrooms. If he went in there we would say "ah ah" and shoo him out or put him in a sit or down stay near the entrance. He learnt that is was floorboards=yes and carpet=no. But they're cheeky. He would test the boundaries and lay his head or one paw on the carpet. They're not stupid and will pick up on the rules quick enough and then try and get around them. The trick is to be consistent. Or employ a handy water squirter for stubborn dogs

Exercise wise I believe it depends on the individual dog. All dogs need exercise, but some seem to require more than others. I got a bit of a lounge lizard despite his breed tendency to want heaps of exercise (Weimaraner). I don't have to worry about him going nuts if we miss a walk one day, but I'll make up for it in mental stimulation. A good game of hide-and-seek with a toy in the house, or tug-of-war or some obedience work. You'll get to know your own dogs requirements pretty quick. If he/she is being destructive in the yard and is pent up with energy, more exercise is needed. If you go out for a 30 minute walk and he/she is quite tired then that's fine. 30 minutes is a good starting point to see if he/she needs more or less. Of course, as a pup it won't need to be much, but would increase the older it gets.

[Sandra777]

Before OH was OH he had an adult dog and bought a pup (co-incidentally off me but OT there ). She was a pest of a pup and the adult dog was a gentleman who would never tell her off. OH lived in a small one bedroom house, everything opened off the lounge room, and trained her that she was not allowed in the bedroom, adult dog was. When he got sick of her the older dog would go lie in the bedroom, right in the doorway and they would end up lying virtually nose to nose but he would lie just far enough back that she couldn't touch his nose without going in to the forbidden bedroom.

They're smart sometimes, and can be trained to do all sorts of things!