Just won a choclate lab female 7 wk old pup at a conservation banquet. She may be my new horn hunter/ tracker dog.
Talked to the local pet center women about food. So many choices. I also hope to get some elk antler and whitetail horn for chews at this point. ANY body have some they do not want?
Been 7 yrs since training the last. Big learning curve.
Wife and daughter could not be happier!!!
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I love my chocolate lab! She is 6 now and is an amazing dog.mi also have a black lab (male) they are great dogs for outdoors. I take mine fishing and hiking all the time. My black lab is getting old and doesn't go out as much because he feels it a couple hours later and I feel bad. My chlt has an amazing nose! She has saved me quive a few lost arrows in the tall grass while shooting.
I feed my labs infinia salmon and rice and haven't had any issues.
Sorry I can't help with horns I chop them up into 6-9" sections and let the dogs have them.
Enjoy the new pup!
I love Labs, we have a 10 year old black lab, we got her when she was 12 weeks old, they are one of the best dog to own!
Too cute! Always wanted a chocolate. My last was a yellow. Great dogs.
Congrats on the little girl! We feed our two Iams with no problems at all.
She is beautiful........
Awesome@! Very cute dog! You will have a great hunting buddy for a long time!
I always wanted a chocolate lab ... a real hunting dog. Then somehow this year Dana and I ended up with a Border Collie/Maremma mix. Imagine a border collie that's 60lbs and 24-25" at the shoulder .... bad idea for an apartment.
Maybe I can trade her? lol
I've been feeding my collie and my pug 'natural balance'. It's kinda pricery, but if youre int eh city like me and you have to pick up your dogs **** then your happiness hinges on your dogs digestive health. Nuff said
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What a beautiful little pup. We feed 4 health brand to all of our dogs and we have a team of sled dogs, a GSP a border collie and a black lab. Pound for pound it's one of the better brands as far as whats in it and it doesn't break the bank also.
:jumper: Love a chocolate lab! :jumper:
Our Moose is 5, we love him to pieces. He grew too big too fast (135!), and has suffered joint issues since he was a puppy unfortunately, but that's nothing compared to the love he's give us and how great he's been with two kids under 3yo - even letting them ride him on occasion.
We tried a lot of foods, most disagreed with him except Science Diet so that's where we stayed. We average a 40# bag every 2.5 weeks and two can's of tennis balls... :D Anything with a squeaker is gutted in short order.
Thanks for all the compliments. We have a 9 yr old fox red lab and her daughter a 7 yr old black. Love the labs. Looked for one for about 6 months now but $1500 is over priced with limited registration.
When the wife loves animals like I do, a guy can come home with a pup and not be yelled at.
Lots of learning for all of us.
Sweet, just use Purina puppy chow, no need to go crazy about food. I was just at a Pet Store today, not to shop but to kill time!! I was amazed at what some people will buy for thier dogs. I love mine all like family and mine are all very healthy with no issues(my last Beagle was 18 when he died)but remember they are dogs and have been around over a couple hundred thousand years in one form or another. Give them their shots, treat them like family and make sure they get to run and exercise alot and find what they like and feed them. Remember coyotes and wolves eat carion and what they kill plus fruits, veggies and the occasional family pet. Sorry but spending $45 on a 15 pound of dog food is not right!! I have had dogs and lots of them since the day I was born!! Just raise them to mind you and love them and treat them with respect. Remember exercise, love and the great outdoors is what leads to a healthy and happy dog. Good Luck with the new family member!! Shawn
My chocolate has has one hip surgery and due another. At 11 we may just retire her. They are furry people, mine can even spell, as she knows p.a.r.k! And gets her leash
I would offer this. Teach her to allow you to brush her teeth
She will not have dog breath
Funny how something so cute can be so destructive. My lab will be 5 this fall. Seems like yesterday I was bringing her home and she was that size. Check out Dogbonehunter.com for a training aid. They have soft antlers. Safer for the pup and a lot easier on your feet when your walking around the house in the dark. Here she is this spring with one side of a set she found. She found the other side a couple minutes later.
(http://i.imgur.com/cThecOl.jpg?1) (http://imgur.com/cThecOl)
Tim the price for puppies is off the charts. Thats why I won't fix my dogs. When I want more dogs I'll breed the ones I've got. Stud fee is a heck of alot less than a $1500 puppy, might find someone who'll do it for half the litter or something too.
Beautiful pup. Being a newer breeder, I am picky about food, and found that my labs couldn't handle the grains so we switched a grain free diet using Blue Buffalo grain free. It is a bit more expensive BUT we don't serve exclusively that which allows the food to stretch longer. If you are interested in our recipe PM me and I'd be happy to share.
Love mine! Good choice!
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Here we get pick of liter or cost of one pup for a stud fee. Lab pups here run around $700. I agree about brushing their teeth, but not for bad breath just to make them last. Shawn
Going to try the crate training with her. Any tips to crate work?
Nope, would never crate train a dog, how would you like to put in a cage and not let out until someone cam e home or decided to let you out. It may just be me but I think doing that to any dog is atrocious. My daughter is trainging a new pitbull pup, it is now 11 weeks and no accidents in the house, whines to go out and has actually learned to use the doggie door they installed. Broke it from chewing real quick too and only chews its own chew toys now. Shawn
Labs around here with good breading are also 1500-1700. Crazy. The last lab pup we bought was only around 500, but that was 14 years ago. I expected some inflation, but not triple the cost. We are going to get a Springer this time.
I love crate training. Worked very well on the last two. We will be doing it again soon with a new one coming this summer. Crate training is a good thing all around if done correctly. Just use the crate for sleeping and for when you can't monitor the pup directly. It is no different than putting your baby in a crib or playpen when you have things to do and can't keep an eye on them to keep them out of trouble. Make sure they get a little treat and praise for going in easily, that they have things to chew on, and it is comfortable.
My dogs loved their crates. It was their personal place and they never had a problem getting in when needed for something going on in the house, when we were out and they were not yet trustworthy to not get into something, or when traveling. The crate should be a safe place and not where they go when punished. Don't leave them in the crate a lot and make sure they go outside as soon as you let them out of the crate and before they go in for an extended period. Don't get such a big crate that they have a place to relieve themselves. It should be their bed area. We also didn't feed them in the crate other than a treat.
One of my favorite things for them during crate time was to put a treat in a kong. Peanut butter or a dog treat in one will keep them busy a while and it will be something they look forward to.
We rescued a 2 year old yellow lab just before Christmas and she is a real sweetie. She has some "issues" but is shaping up pretty well.
She does appear to be of the "Lap-rador" side of the breed tho...
We crate every pup we bring home. Like I said above, we have a team of sled dogs and the crate training comes in handy when one of the team has to come into the house for any reason. Canines dig dens and the "crate" was designed to mimic a den. Here is one of my wife's videos from our youtube channel where she talks a little about canine nutrition.
http://youtu.be/_vvuH6Kb1uE
I miss those puppy days and look forward to them again! Just a little .02cents here. I personally trained my own lab up through the AKC Master Hunt Tests for him to earn the coveted Master Title. So in short he's exceptional and great duck hunter. But an exceptional lab deer trailing dog and waterfowl dog dont always geehaw. Labs wind with their nose up, deer dogs trail with nose down. if you waterfowl hunt then your lab will try to "wind" a downed deer and pick up off blood trail and "grid hunt" ..Unless you train him from the start to trail with nose. "Tracking Wounded Deer " is an excellant book and goes into detail on how to keep a canine's nose down on the trail with treat rewards.....IMO ...i would not try to demand both from him..pick your poison......However my Master Lab is so so when finding wounded or dead deer because he "winds" and will not keep his nose down due to years and years of genetics.. So i simply put him down wind of the trail to wind....he does alright but a ground sniffer is the way to go though..Any lab will can blood trail but start them off young....So GET HIS NOSE ON THE GROUND! good luck
Congrats on the new dog.
A blood tracking dog is the best piece of equipment a fellow can own
(http://images.imagelinky.com/1365450645.jpg) (http://images.imagelinky.com/1365450645.jpg)
My chocolate girl is 6, and if your dog is anything like her, you've got a great future! Enjoy!
Extrema312 you have said it perfect why you DO want to crate train. Dogs are den animals and this is there den when done right.
Timberking that is a good information on food. Just found out about the cooking down to kibbles and now less than next ingredients. So many tricks out there.
I love that new puppy smell, will be getting my self a retriever soon.
Take my advice and go with the crate. I know it seems mean but everybody needs their own bedroom and safe place, even dogs.
My Lucy races to her crate every night, she gets a kong with treat every evening and goes to crate with entheusiasm. (I have no idea how to spell entheusiasm)
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One last thing, Anyone find a good book or DVD on new training that they have found helpful?
Wife is checking on puppy training classes.
Feed the best you can afford, my 4 beagles eat purina one, they work hard for me & deserve the best I can give them so they are at thier best. Also dont worry about crate training, dogs have no sense of time & it doesnt bother them to be in thee for long periods. Mike
After a lot of research (10 minutes on the Web) I found that Tractor Supply's brand, "4 health" is virtually identical to BLUE, at 1/2 the price. My dogs love it.
That's a fine looking pup.
Have heard lots of good about the 4 health
Thanks for the compliments on the pup. We sure do love her. Just like having a child in the house with the puppy proofing and potty times. The weather has been horrible but we are working with it.
Crate training is going great. Come home and she just looks at you like "I was sleeping do I have to come out?"
Thanks again for the compliments.