LozaBalgo Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 Hi All I am new here and just have a few questions. We are about to go on holiday (at Cabarita Beach) and while we are there we are picking up our two baby boys (Paddy a yellow boy is 4 weeks in this pic and Roland a big black boy this is his pic from Good Friday) from Warramundi Labradors in NSW. The two pics are from Emily the breeder, they are so adorable!!! We will be picking them up at around 8/9 weeks and I was just wondering about a couple of things: We start our new job in a community called Balgo Hills on June the 6th and we were thinking instead of driving straight home (3100kms), we would travel up and around through Cairns, Darwin, Kununurra, Broome and then home (230kms from Halls Creek). Does anyone have any advice on whether it will be ok to start our lives with the puppies on the road for 10-14 days, or should we just bee line it straight home and start training? The next question when is the best time to get your puppies desexed? Toadie our CKCS (who crossed the rainbow bridge at the age of 13) was an entire male and peed EVERYWHERE so we are definitely going to get the boys done as soon as it is safe. Thirdly, will we have to feed the boys at different times or will they be ok to be fed together? Has anyone raised and trained two brothers at the same time? Any info would be awesome. We are getting two pups at the same time as we have a very active lifestyle with 3 kids (aged 11, 12 and 13) and live in a VERY remote area and need the companionship while the kids are in boarding school in Alice Springs. Thanks for any advice in advance, Laura. PS. Any advice on which size Furminator to get while the puppies are still young? Also any good online dog supply shops you would recommend. PPS. I don't ask for much do I!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmkelpie Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 (edited) Hi All I am new here and just have a few questions. We are about to go on holiday (at Cabarita Beach) and while we are there we are picking up our two baby boys (Paddy a yellow boy is 4 weeks in this pic and Roland a big black boy this is his pic from Good Friday) from Warramundi Labradors in NSW. The two pics are from Emily the breeder, they are so adorable!!! We will be picking them up at around 8/9 weeks and I was just wondering about a couple of things: We start our new job in a community called Balgo Hills on June the 6th and we were thinking instead of driving straight home (3100kms), we would travel up and around through Cairns, Darwin, Kununurra, Broome and then home (230kms from Halls Creek). Does anyone have any advice on whether it will be ok to start our lives with the puppies on the road for 10-14 days, or should we just bee line it straight home and start training? Congrats on the puppies! Traveling with 2 pups would be very challenging to say the least! The first 2wks or so you have them you are really aiming to get them into a routine and also start getting toilet training underway. The biggest problem however is that these pups are not vaccinated and protected against all the nasties! You will have them out and about in areas that may be contaminated. Even if you keep them away from other dogs, parvovirus for example can remain in soil for well over a year. You do not want these littlies ending up with parvo! Edited April 25, 2011 by cmkelpie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miranda Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 (edited) I usually keep a dog and a bitch from each litter which is a lot of work, but manageable, however I kept two brothers from the last litter and it was much harder. Whereas a brother and sister generally get along well there was a lot of sibling rivalry between the two brothers and they had quite a few scraps. I would be taking your two puppies straight home, as another poster said they are not fully vaccinated and you certainly don't want to expose them to parvo. As you are probably going to be travelling through remote areas where there may be quite a few unvaccinated dogs the risk of them coming into contact with the virus is probably reasonably high. Regarding desexing, I wouldn't recommend desexing a large breed until at least one year of age, I know that some people have them done earlier, but I would be waiting until at least 9/10 months at the earliest. Peeing everywhere is a training problem, I have entire males here and none of them pee inside the house, sure they mark on walks, but they never, ever mark inside the house. I would recommend that you purchase two crates to help with toilet training and you can also use them to feed your puppies. It is much easier to feed dogs separately in my experience, then you know who eats how much and there won't be any altercations over food. Having two puppies of the same age is a lot of work, make sure that each puppy has some one on one time with you and train each puppy separately. If you leave the two puppies together all the time they may tend to bond to each other too strongly and you may have problems if a situation arises where they have to be separated. Also be aware that you have two puppies of the same sex and age and that sibling rivalry may become a problem when they get older, they'll probably be ok but do keep an eye on their body language. It is quite possible that one pup will become 'the boss' and sometimes this means that the other puppy may be constantly bullied by the other, there is also a risk of fights. Personally I would never sell two littermates of the same sex to one household, but that's just me. Anyway enjoy your puppies, they'll certainly keep you on your toes! Edited April 25, 2011 by Miranda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LozaBalgo Posted April 25, 2011 Author Share Posted April 25, 2011 Thanks, for the advice so far. Am definitely taking everything into consideration. Laura. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
all4addy Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 They usually won't need a furminator whilst they are that young, and in some breeds,even not when they are older. I wouldn't suggest using it that much, as well, as puppies usually dont shed much so if you are being really technical then for the moment they would be counted in the nonsheeding veriety, which you shouldn't use on that type, as you can shed out hairs they actually need. Also don't use it in the same spot, as it can create baldness over time. We have one, the purple one meant for cats, and use it every so often on our birmans, especially their darn tails, they have monkey tails that wrap around you and leave this ivy trail of hair lol. The lady at the petshop said if I purchased this one brush I wouldn't need to use anything else, which is another lot of phooey, luckily I knew that at the time, so just ignored her. I always have a slicker brush, one with the needles as close together as possible and with the little plastic knobs on the end (like hairbrishes sometimes have on the end of their needles) I use this as my main brush, also for my cats (since my dogs are both shorter haired) I have a pair of mainure scissors (meant for humans) these are small delicate, and have a bulbous circle/rounded end, I use this for snipping any mats/poo off and generally todying up. The de-shedder is for shedding, not for brushing, which is why, when you open their packet, you will see something that says similar to "do not use this if your animls has matts, burrs, dermatitis, sensitive skin, blah blah blah, instead they pretty much sounds like they want you to see a professional groomer eahc time before using the de-shedder, so they can be professionally groomed....then you can use the de-shedder. ROFL. Instead, a good slicker brush (like I mentinoed above) and a pair of bulbous/rounded end scissors will do. The Slicker for general everyday grooming/dematting etc, and the de-shedder (once a week to once a month , depending on the type of breed you have) to take care of the extra hair. I would suggest googling the de-furminator and going to their main US? based site, theirs a bunch of videos on there, even inside the packaging it actually tells you to go to there for further manual/video. If you still want one, get the small blue one meant for small dogs/puppies/cats. The one I got from petstock cost somewhere round $55-60. I would suggest a slicker, and maybe something like a zoom groom or silicone glove thing would do for now though hun, once they get a little bigger and ther coats thicken up, then that would be a good time to purchase the furminator, they are very good quality and will last a long time. HTH xxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jumabaar Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 Regarding desexing I also generally recommend waiting till they are mature BUT having two male siblings there is no way I would recommend it in this situation. Being the same age, and breed there is a fair chance that their will be a fair amount of rivalry which will increase as they mature, so it may be necessary to desex earlier rather than later, unless you are willing to separate them if there are issues. I have raised male siblings together and they had to be separated at 5mths of age. They can mix now, but only when I am there to supervise. I spent a lot of time with them separately so that they would bond with me, and follow my direction rather than bonding to each other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LozaBalgo Posted April 25, 2011 Author Share Posted April 25, 2011 Oh no, what a sad day! I have just sat down with my kidlets and OH and discussed all your comments and we have decided (also after searching literature on the internet) that it will be in the puppys best interest to only have one. How will we decide???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RallyValley Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 Better to decide now then when it's to late As far as which pup maybe have a chat with the breeder to find out which has the better temprament for an only dog situation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mybilly Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 Maybe get 1 boy now, then later on get a girl lab they will be great company for each other down the track. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miranda Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 Maybe get 1 boy now, then later on get a girl lab they will be great company for each other down the track. Yes that would be my suggestion too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrs tornsocks Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 Laura, definitely a good decision to make now rather than later. I am sure the breeder, with good pups, will not have any trouble finding a lovely home for the second pup. First, let the breeder know of your decision. There may be other buyers that have a preference for colour; if you are literally on the fence, that could mean your decision is made for you. Alternatively, if you can visit the puppies at 6-7 weeks while you are on holidays and the breeder still hasn't found a home for the 'other' one, you may find meeting the pups helps make the decision for you (the right puppy may choose YOU). For your other questions, this is our experience:- - we had Archie desexed at 1yo, want to let his bones develop a little more - furminator they don't need until they get their adult coat, and then only once a month or so. I use a mitt with a soft rubber side with teeth to help get rid of his excess/coat coat. Rubber gloves will work fine too for more regular dead hair removal Our boy has recently turned two. We are now considering a second lab, haven't decided the sex yet. I have a hunch you are making the right decision for you, the pups, and your family. Good luck, keep us posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussielover Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 Hi All Does anyone have any advice on whether it will be ok to start our lives with the puppies on the road for 10-14 days, or should we just bee line it straight home and start training? The next question when is the best time to get your puppies desexed? Toadie our CKCS (who crossed the rainbow bridge at the age of 13) was an entire male and peed EVERYWHERE so we are definitely going to get the boys done as soon as it is safe. Thirdly, will we have to feed the boys at different times or will they be ok to be fed together? Has anyone raised and trained two brothers at the same time? Any info would be awesome. We are getting two pups at the same time as we have a very active lifestyle with 3 kids (aged 11, 12 and 13) and live in a VERY remote area and need the companionship while the kids are in boarding school in Alice Springs. Thanks for any advice in advance, Laura. PS. Any advice on which size Furminator to get while the puppies are still young? Also any good online dog supply shops you would recommend. PPS. I don't ask for much do I!!!!!!! Gorgeous pups! I think only getting one will help you bond better, otherwise they might bond to each other very strongly. I would desex after 18 months. Labs generally don't start shedding until a 9 month- a year, so i would wait to get any shedding equipment etc until the dog is older. You can use a soft brush for the puppy in the meantime to get them used to being groomed. i would be inclined to take the pup straight home rather than holidaying with it. 8 week old puppies have a very short attention span and I would find holidaying with one quite stressful. Good luck with your decision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 Living where you are - perhaps the yellow boy?... our black dogs seem to feel much hotter in Summer- as their coat absorbs more of the heat, I guess ... One pup is enough for anyone to handle at first Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussielover Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 Living where you are - perhaps the yellow boy?... our black dogs seem to feel much hotter in Summer- as their coat absorbs more of the heat, I guess ... One pup is enough for anyone to handle at first Yes i agree with this advice. My black girl suffers quite badly in the heat and has to spend all day submerged in water like a hippo lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raineth Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 Oh no, what a sad day! I have just sat down with my kidlets and OH and discussed all your comments and we have decided (also after searching literature on the internet) that it will be in the puppys best interest to only have one. How will we decide???? I think that is a wise decision regarding which one to choose, think about exactly what you want in a dog. Then get the breeder to chose the one whose temperament most fits that. maybe you want a really confident extravert...maybe you want a dog with a sweeter nature.. one less active or more active... you get the idea good luck with it all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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