Incoming lab. Please share your dog wisdom.

[Clyde]

Leerburg has a lot of experience. Using his methods have worked out well for me, and we've had multiple dogs in the household for 30+ years, generally 2 sometimes 3 that have all gotten along well and kept each other company. There are lots of training philosophies out there, and dismissing others ideas is not really in the spirit of "please share your dog wisdom".

I really don't want to get into it with anyone on the forum and I'm not going any further but the whole "pack leader" and "alpha" is old fashioned. A good place to start a search for a more modern trainer: https://karenpryoracademy.com/find-a...!directory/map

We had 2 dogs for 10 years and they were roommates at best. They didn't fight but never really cared about the other one. Getting that second one wasn't a great idea.

[ides1056]

I really don't want to get into it with anyone on the forum and I'm not going any further but the whole "pack leader" and "alpha" is old fashioned. A good place to start a search for a more modern trainer: https://karenpryoracademy.com/find-a...!directory/map

We had 2 dogs for 10 years and they were roommates at best. They didn't fight but never really cared about the other one. Getting that second one wasn't a great idea.

We- I use the term loosely- have seven. They do just fine. ( We are blessed with more than enough space for all, though.)

At my grandparents' ranch we had more than twenty. They worked it out. Take them out while you go for a five hour ride on horseback, et voila: peace.

I recall holding one Chow that was latched onto another as I swung the two of them trying to get dog one to let go of dog two. They loved each other, some of the time. Never had a trainer. Ever. If you can't manage a dog and don't have the space for them or the ability to prioritize their needs, don't get one.

At this point I would not take on a dog that did not come from a rescue. Mutts rule.

I don't have a dog in this discussion, though.

[holliscx]

Great quote:

If you want to train a dog fast, go slow.

[Too Tall]

We lost uber Standard Poodle Sully a couple months ago. Once the uncontrollable crying stopped we made a good connection with a breeder. Our puppy was born last week. Pickup day is June 4. This is making us extremely happy.

As far as training goes, I train dogs with positive reinforcement 1000%. Very slow all the time, lots and lots of rinse and repeat. It all starts with follow the leader and we go from there.

[holliscx]

Make haste slowly, Josh

Was your SP named after Captain Sullenberger who knows a thing or two about water landings?

Empty collar to Sully: a lot of people don't know that poodles are hunting dogs

[vertical_doug]

A standard Poodle crossed with a German Shepard is a great dog.

For that matter, a standard poodle crossed with anything is a pretty much a great dog...

[ides1056]

Standard Poodle x Chow is an amazing cross. I used to see one in Central Park. Smart and protective: would let you approach the man who walked it, but not the woman.

Konrad Lorenz wrote a beautiful book on the subject: Man Meets Dog.

[Too Tall]

Make haste slowly, Josh

Was your SP named after Captain Sullenberger who knows a thing or two about water landings?

Empty collar to Sully: a lot of people don't know that poodles are hunting dogs

He was named after Capt. S. He had an incredible nose. Watched him track and find thrown objects was fascinating. Great retriever too even in the ocean. Definitely one in million.

I like to teach all my dogs at least one incredibly stupid trick. The prior dog Beau would sneeze on command. Sully's stupid trick was to bark on command but only if you said his name and touched your right ear. Left ear was a non-starter...drove the neighborhood kids nuts.

[Saab2000]

He was named after Capt. S. He had an incredible nose. Watched him track and find thrown objects was fascinating. Great retriever too even in the ocean. Definitely one in million.

I like to teach all my dogs at least one incredibly stupid trick. The prior dog Beau would sneeze on command. Sully's stupid trick was to bark on command but only if you said his name and touched your right ear. Left ear was a non-starter...drove the neighborhood kids nuts.

Sorry to hear of the loss of Sully.

As to the other dogs, I’m not a dog guy. But I do like them when they’re well socialized and not aggressive or “(s)he’s OK, (s)he loves everyone”. Too many folks think it’s funny or cute when their dogs jump and bark and run wild when a stranger is around. Not everyone loves it.

Train and teach your dogs. Don’t let them train you. Because if you don’t do the former it’ll surely be the latter that occurs.

[zachateseverything]

I almost forgot, I have a wisdom.

"If your ball is too big for your mouth, it's not yours."

[Chad]

Many have said it but I'll repeat, socialize, introduce it to everything and everyone. Be careful taking them out and meeting other dogs until they have all their shots and until you are certain the other dog is friendly.

Hips, eyes, elbows, EIC. Good breeders can answer all your questions on what they have tested for. If they cannot, they are not good breeders.

Find a training program and follow it. Short training sessions that are fun.

Set a standard and maintain it. "Well he does that because (enter poor excuse)". He does it because you let him. You are training them or they are training you.

I may get flamed for this, but all positive isn't realistic, and I don't mean to strike your dog. Poor behavior needs to have negative consequences. Let her make the mistake and make a correction then, immediately. Teach acceptable behavior and reward constantly.

Don't even think of taking him hunting until you have properly introduced him to gunfire. Dogs aren't born gun shy, it is due to a poor introduction to the experience.

Lastly, those look like show dogs, very thick. Be careful getting a big working dog and making it your running partner, you have to get them and keep them in shape. Torn CCLs are common, roughly $3 - $4K to repair. Slim dogs are healthy dogs, they have less problems and live longer.

Labs are awesome dogs, enjoy!

[gregl]

Lastly, those look like show dogs, very thick. Be careful getting a big working dog and making it your running partner, you have to get them and keep them in shape. Torn CCLs are common, roughly $3 - $4K to repair. Slim dogs are healthy dogs, they have less problems and live longer.

I don't believe it's been mentioned in this thread, but I suggest considering veterinary pet insurance. We have had health insurance for our Wheaten since we took him home as a puppy. We've only had one significant claim, but it nearly paid for all premiums since he was a pup. Max ruptured his left CCL at age ten. Our vet has lots of experience with the various CCL procedures and performed an extracapsular stabilization at their office. Post-surgery, we worked with a veterinary physical therapist to gradually strengthen the repaired joint. Max recovered 100%. His injury is completely unnoticeable and his quality of life (pain-free and active) is wonderful. The veterinary pet insurance made the entire process much less stressful since cost was never an issue.

Greg

[Too Tall]

I don't believe it's been mentioned in this thread, but I suggest considering veterinary pet insurance. We have had health insurance for our Wheaten since we took him home as a puppy. We've only had one significant claim, but it nearly paid for all premiums since he was a pup. Max ruptured his left CCL at age ten. Our vet has lots of experience with the various CCL procedures and performed an extracapsular stabilization at their office. Post-surgery, we worked with a veterinary physical therapist to gradually strengthen the repaired joint. Max recovered 100%. His injury is completely unnoticeable and his quality of life (pain-free and active) is wonderful. The veterinary pet insurance made the entire process much less stressful since cost was never an issue.

Greg

Greg can you share some specifics?

[gregl]

Greg can you share some specifics?

Certainly! Max ruptured his left hindleg CCL one morning while chasing squirrels in the back yard. His symptoms were weakness and limping on the injured leg. It was clear within a day or two that his injury was more than just a pulled muscle. We visited the vet who diagnosed a ruptured CCL. They provided recommendations for surgery including extracapsular stabilization done at their facility as well as other options at a veterinary surgery center or at the Cornell veterinary college in Ithaca. Based on the vet's advice, our research, and experiences from various friends, we elected to go the extracapsular stabilization route. Surgery took place first thing on a Friday morning and we brought Max home 24 hours later. Our vet provided very thorough, written guidance for Max's recovery. The entire process, including physical therapy, took about four months. I can't imagine a better outcome. Max turns twelve in a few weeks and still acts like a knuckleheaded puppy. Long walks, playing in the yard, and swims in the lake are all part of his regular routine.

Regarding the insurance: we use Nationwide (formerly VPI). Their service has been excellent. We have the major medical coverage and pay for regular, preventive care ourselves, out-of-pocket. The major medical coverage pays for the big, unexpected issues. In the case of Max's CCL surgery/therapy, the policy limits were sufficient to cover everything above the deductible (I believe $500, but would have to re-read the policy to be sure). We called Nationwide in advance of the surgery to verify our interpretation of the policy. They were very helpful and assured us that our claims would be honored. I wish all my human healthcare needs were handled so effectively!

The attached picture was taken during his recovery. We warmed his leg with a heated corn bag before starting any PT exercises. The problem was that the warm corn bag quickly put Max to sleep! We had to postpone several rehab sessions because the patient was snoring...

Greg

[BBB]

Can I ask lab owners one thing: will a heavy dog like these labs run alongside me at a moderate pace on the bike? I've never owned a lab and don't see them running like a German shorthair. Does anyone have a lab with a similar build who can comment as to how much they will or won't run? I know you're not supposed to exercise them properly until a year and a half but just curious. I posted a thread about a bike trailer. I would like to take the dog to the beach to fetch a dummy in the water and also on a gravel road overlooking the city to run through the woods.

We're really excited about whatever nature brings us. What do you wish you knew or wish you had done differently? As I said this will be my wife and kids' first dog. I think I'm putting them in a great place. I've been reading up on Ducks Unlimited a little bit for I want to train the dog to retrieve even though we won't be hunters. I may take the dog fly fishing occasionally but have no idea how that would work as fishing is hard enough on my own. Thanks for any lab wisdom.

Great thread!

We're currently on our second Labrador. They are wonderful dogs; excessively friendly, entertaining, happy and overly affectionate. They also can be frustrating, naughty and a handful!

Our first Labrador was happy to run as a younger dog and a five kilometer jog would pose no problems (though watch out if you get a black Lab as they get hot easily and exercise in summer had to be in the cool of the morning or once the sun went down). As he got older running with humans was something to pull a slightly hurt face about, but running with another dog was always something where reserves of energy could be found. Swimming is something Labs love and it is great exercise for them.

Our second Labrador is only seven months old and his running around has been limited to date given his age and has been contained to a dog park and at the neighbour's house with a Golden Retriever. I'm taking him on short walks at present and that seems to be enough. Not sure about his swimming ability and we'll test that out sooner or later.

A Labrador cannot run like a GSP. A GSP is built for it and as long as they are trained up, they can run and run and run. We had a GSP between Labrador 1 and Labrador 2 and she was indefatigable on a run. And she was fast. A Labrador could probably happily hike with you all day, but it can't run like a GSP or similar type of dog.

The first Lab used to go bananas over cats, small dogs and lizards. The cats thing was our youthful folly, the small dogs thing was their Napoleon syndrome (and their owner's willingness to let the little darlings run free) resulting in them getting in his face when he was young and lizards, well it moves so therefore I must kill it. He was a big dog (but not fat) and very strong and needed a halti to walk in public. He was great with sit and stay, in fact he was fantastic with both, but come was a take it or leave it proposition. Drop was much the same. He certainly needed more training on both those fronts. He wasn't a destructive Labrador. An apple tree, a hose and a pair of tracksuit pants was about it. And that was in the first two years. He was great with both our kids and my youngest loved him dearly (he was put down when the youngest was 18 months old) and was an affectionate and constant companion until the end and probably more so as he got older.

The second Lab is a work in progress. He has much the same sort of personality. I doubt he will be as big, but he is certainly strong. He is a bit more on the destructive side and sees pot plants as a challenge. So far so good on the cat front (owners are a bit older and wiser now) and he loves other dogs (big or small). He loves the kids, but the oldest is a bit more intolerant of his puppyish ways.

I think the key is training. While our first Labrador wasn't really a problem, he could have been better trained as a puppy. If we had the time, gun dog training would also be a good thing (they love it and it wears them out).

Best of luck.

[Chad]

My first lab Belle had the TPLO procedure for the same injury. A gentlemen I train with just had a TTA performed on his lab. All are expensive. I do not have pet insurance on my current chessie, but the more time I spend on this thread, the more I think I should.

One more fun fact, if your dog has the injury/procedure on one knee they are approximately 50% more likely to have it on the other knee.

All that being said, my next dog will be a shiny black duck fetching lab.

[holliscx]

All that being said, my next dog will be a shiny black duck fetching lab.

Stefanie Latham has a few duck dogs that fit that description. She's a fantastic breeder out of Franklin TN

Riverview Farm

[classtimesailer]

1. The Monks' books are the best. Get both of them. (maybe there are more than two now?)
2. Get Pet Health Insurance: Dogs get into stuff.
3. Hopefully your puppy stays with mom until at least 8 weeks (many pups are delivered before Mom has done her job.)
4. Use a crate.
5. Feed it good food minimal processing and additives (change the food before you treat ANY symptoms--GI or skin--with meds.)
6. Running your dog will not tire them out and make them more manageable. But do it anyway because they love it.


We've had lab mixes, two goldens, a poodle, and lately Portuguese water dogs. (Grooming is a PITA but I remain married.)

[j44ke]

#5 is key. If your dog has skin issues (more common evidently with pure-bred dogs,) take them to a vet who specializes in diet. Long ago I worked for a vet with that specialty, and it was uncanny how quickly she could get dog hair to grow back by switching up their diets. There was a fox terrier that obsessively pulled out its hair, and she put the dog on a rice, apple, cottage cheese and olive or fish oil (can't remember which) diet. Dog calmed down and hair grew back. Her Portuguese water dog was given to her by a client as a basket case. That dog ate only raw vegetables and you'd never know it once looked like a giant mole rat. She was a great vet.

[zachateseverything]

this isn't a tip. I just wanted to share a picture of my pup.

chips.jpg