First-time Labrador owner

Labradors are fabulous dogs though. Very prone to hip and elbow issues so a breeder who scores both of those in the parents is highly recommended.
And strong recommend pet insurance for the first year or two as eating things and having foreign body removal surgery is very common in the young lab!
Socialisation advise etc will depend on your local parvo risk...best chat to your vet on that one.

Can highly recommend Sophia yins puppy book on training and socialisation. Perfect puppy in 7 days or the how to behave so your dog behaves books. She was a vet behaviourist and very sensible easy to follow advise (now RIPUnfortunately- another great vet lost to suicide)
 
Feeding the dog vegetarian food isn't a must, I wouldn't be that selfish to impose that diet on a dog just asking the question

Thanks for the book recommendations, the more I can get the better, sad to hear about the vet suicide, is veterinary known for high suicide rate?
 
Sukhpreet Aujla said:
Feeding the dog vegetarian food isn't a must, I wouldn't be that selfish to impose that diet on a dog just asking the question

Thanks for the book recommendations, the more I can get the better, sad to hear about the vet suicide, is veterinary known for high suicide rate?
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As CC said earlier, kibbles are generally inoffensive in their smell, so as a veggie you should be OK handling them.
Vets have a very high suicide rate, sadly.
Good luck with your pup, TBH a good breeder is likely to have a waiting list and I would strongly recommend you get a show bred lab rather than a working one. The workers are very active indeed, we shoot with ours and tbh they exhaust me!
If you can find a good breeder that you like and in an ideal world is not too far away they will help you with any queries you have as the pup grows. If you look now you may be able to reserve a pup for next spring/summer. Be prepared for an interview, it is a sign of responsible breeding.
 
I've been looking mainly on the pets4homes website and most of the Labs on there are from working dogs, the kennel club website doesn't have any available matching my wishes near me sadly.

I'm was thinking about having the dog in a pen/den area at night, with pee pads out so its not confined to its crate, if I do this should I have a lamp on so it can see but the light isn't too bright?
 
Sukhpreet Aujla said:
I've been looking mainly on the pets4homes website and most of the Labs on there are from working dogs, the kennel club website doesn't have any available matching my wishes near me sadly.
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Are you an active person? There are loads of things you can do nowadays with dogs to entertain them and use them in ways that they were bred to do. (But without shooting anything, in a lab's case). My lab's sister is in a pet home but does flyball, for instance. They love sniffing and finding games. When they are young it is wearing them out mentally while not overdoing their joints, once they are adult (over a year) you can do loads of things.
 
Yes I'm an active person, I would have more than enough time for the puppy tbh I'd have to pay attention more to not over-doing things in terms of wearing the dog out
 
Oh fair enough! Glad your open to a non veg diet.your dog will thnak you for it!

veterinary has a suicide rate 4 times the national average in the uk...and in multiple countries across the world its scarily high. One every 12 weeks here in oz....bit grim :( Not currently a mentally healthy profession at all but no obvious solutions on how to fix it either... when your depressed and things look bleak the euthanasia solution begins to look like a really peaceful way to end your suffering it seems...
Sophia Yins was tragic as she was an incredibly successful vet behavourist whos way of doing things was inspiring,had a big online presence and who seemed to be incredibly sucessful and well adjusted. Theres been a lot of shocking ones recently....

Anyhow depression session over!
Back to the much more enjoyable puppy chat!
Op what sort of lab are you looking for?working or show type...are you prepared to wait for the right dog(will likey need to for a good breeder)
What sort of exercise level are you prepared for?
Has anyone warned you about the shedding lol!
I love labs and also goldens. Clever easy to please dogs who thrive on having a job... but occasionaly somewhat bonkers as youngsters
 
I must admit to being very ignorant about vet suicide rates, I never knew it was that high worldwide.

I'm looking for a female yellow Labrador Retriever.
Based on some of the comments above I think a show dog would be easier for me.
I am prepared to wait, I've no intention of rushing into it, not fair to the dog or myself
Exercise level isn't really a concern, the more the better my only worry is about the dogs next door being a problem, but if I can train my dog to not be bothered by this than even better, although I'd mainly prefer to take the dog outside for walks etc rather than limit its exercising to the garden
I've heard lots about the shedding but its natural for this type of dog so not much I would want to do other than clean it up!
 
Sukhpreet Aujla said:
I've been looking mainly on the pets4homes website and most of the Labs on there are from working dogs, the kennel club website doesn't have any available matching my wishes near me sadly.

I'm was thinking about having the dog in a pen/den area at night, with pee pads out so its not confined to its crate, if I do this should I have a lamp on so it can see but the light isn't too bright?
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No need for a light, in fact black out blinds are your friend unless you like dawn. Our youngest still gets us up at 5.30 every day. (She is 8 months)
Some working labs are calmer than others, if you look at their pedigree you don't want loads of red type which shows Field Trial winners, as they are very fast and flashy. If you like horses they are the purpose bred racehorses. A show type is more like (hopefully) a nice ploddy cob. Some breeders aim for both the pet and working market. I
 
Barton Bounty said:
I wouldnt wait to start toilet training, its best to do it while they are really young so you start when you pick up the puppy and youll really need a large or xl crate
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Why on earth would any-one suggest waiting to start house-training a pup? Whether you realise it or not, you are training a pup from the second you collect it from the breeder, you just might not be training it to be well-mannered and nice to be around
 
Clodagh said:
No need for a light, in fact black out blinds are your friend unless you like dawn. Our youngest still gets us up at 5.30 every day. (She is 8 months)
Some working labs are calmer than others, if you look at their pedigree you don't want loads of red type which shows Field Trial winners, as they are very fast and flashy. If you like horses they are the purpose bred racehorses. A show type is more like (hopefully) a nice ploddy cob. Some breeders aim for both the pet and working market. I
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We have 2 Lab pups who have been the easiest to house-train that I have ever known. They have a crate together and are reliably dry and clean overnight, from 11.00 pm until 7 .30 am, with no noise. They did have puppy pads but just ate them so we don't use them any more. They need darkness to encourage them to rest but do actually have rather good night vision. Ours are litter sisters but one is more show type and the other more working type by build, with different personalities but neither is particularly quiet.
 
Pearlsasinger said:
Why on earth would any-one suggest waiting to start house-training a pup? Whether you realise it or not, you are training a pup from the second you collect it from the breeder, you just might not be training it to be well-mannered and nice to be around
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Ah hum!!!! I did not suggest that!!!!! 😡
 
I don't think anyone suggested waiting on toilet-training, the question I asked was should I wait until February next year if I haven't found a dog I like by October because I wondered if toilet-training a puppy would be harder in the winter months, especially for a first-time owner
 
Sukhpreet Aujla said:
I don't think anyone suggested waiting on toilet-training, the question I asked was should I wait until February next year if I haven't found a dog I like by October because I wondered if toilet-training a puppy would be harder in the winter months, especially for a first-time owner
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The advantage of house training in winter is you are not tempted to leave the door open and hope it teaches itself. (They don't). It focusses the mind freezing your butt off and getting soaking wet slippers in January! Seriously I am sure it would be easier in the warm months but our last four were all born in Novemer - January so we have housetrained in the dark and the wet.
 
I have set myself a deadline of start of October, otherwise I'll wait until Feb. I know puppy training is obviously possible in the winter months but it feels like I'd be making it harder for myself whereas I can wait, carry on doing research and slowly buying some of the stuff I'll need
 
When you phone about a dog always ask the hip and elbow scores.
Elbows should be 00, and hips can be a combined maximum of 15, the lower the better. Personally I would want scores from each parent of no higher than 4 for each hip, preferably lower. They also have their eyes tested and these should be clear.
But I'm not a veterinary professional so I'd be interested in whst others guys of hip scores.
 
The parents of the dog I have found in questions are clear in terms of eyes, the father has elbow score of 1 and hip of 0-1, the mother has elbow score of 0 and hip score of 3-0. Everything else tested for is clear or unaffected.
 
wren123 said:
When you phone about a dog always ask the hip and elbow scores.
Elbows should be 00, and hips can be a combined maximum of 15, the lower the better. Personally I would want scores from each parent of no higher than 4 for each hip, preferably lower. They also have their eyes tested and these should be clear.
But I'm not a veterinary professional so I'd be interested in whst others guys of hip scores.
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The median scores vary between breeds. KC/BVA recommendation for mine, last time I looked, was not to breed from dogs of over 0:0 total of 0 for elbows and total of 11 for hips, with no higher than a score of 4 on either of the hips. 15 would be too high for me and I also place huge importance on elbows. Having said that, I use a completely different system which is slightly easier to understand IMO, it gives grades and a cut off point where you can't breed or compete.
 
The elbow score of 1 is giving me some pause for thought, I do not want to make things harder for myself by getting a puppy that might have problems simply because I want it now.
 
If you look back through both parents pedigrees you can look up every elbow score that has been recorded with the KC. It is a long and boring job but I did it for my latest. Her grandfather on one side had a 1 for elbows but I decided to go with it as I like everything else about her breeding. Only time will tell me if that is a gamble I shouldn't have taken.
 
wren123 said:
+1
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Clodagh said:
If you look back through both parents pedigrees you can look up every elbow score that has been recorded with the KC. It is a long and boring job but I did it for my latest. Her grandfather on one side had a 1 for elbows but I decided to go with it as I like everything else about her breeding. Only time will tell me if that is a gamble I shouldn't have taken.
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I think you'll find that a score of 1 is excellent, and that very few will have zero scores. A score of 1 wouldn't bother me at all......I'd be delighted with it.
 
CorvusCorax said:
The median scores vary between breeds. KC/BVA recommendation for mine, last time I looked, was not to breed from dogs of over 0:0 total of 0 for elbows and total of 11 for hips, with no higher than a score of 4 on either of the hips. 15 would be too high for me and I also place huge importance on elbows. Having said that, I use a completely different system which is slightly easier to understand IMO, it gives grades and a cut off point where you can't breed or compete.
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I would be very interested to know how many dog have a 0/0 score for elbows. Please let me know?
 
dree said:
I would be very interested to know how many dog have a 0/0 score for elbows. Please let me know?
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As you have suggested to another user on another thread, why should we do your donkey work for you? The info is all there on the KC website 😊😊

“Join the group yourself, I’m not your lacky” (sic)
 
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