What have I let myself in for? - Also in NL

[kal40]

Well after 4 years of OH nagging/begging/bribing etc, I have finally given in a said we can get a puppy.

I have never had anything to do with dogs and am now nervous about how I will cope. OH has had dogs before and loves them. My niece will be getting our puppy's sister at the same time (hers is black) and that will be her first ever dog too.

We will be getting a chocolate lab bitch in 6 weeks and the other thing is we can't agree on a name. I know this has been done to death but does anyone have any suggestions?

I'm looking forward to it but worried at the same time

 

[mattilda]

Have replied to you in NL. You will find yourself in love within minutes. Although, there will also be the times you are tearing you hair out/swearing never again/ threatening her with the dogs home too!!
Firm but fair does it every time. Have lots of toys for her, she will. of course, prefer to eat your house, shoes and anything of value you may leave within her doggy grasp!!
I couldn't be without mine.

 

[sloulou]

How exciting! I love labs...

find thinking of names v. hard! Would recommend you don't pick a name that is also a food (eg. biscuit) as have heard sad story about dog grabbing a biscuit offered to children cos the person said biscuit and accidentally catching the child... dog being rehomed etc. That prob sounds random but is true!

I knew a choc lab called Cadbury... And one called Pepita. Think if you google dog names there are lots of sites with suggestions!

Would also recommend a book called the perfect puppy by Gwen Bailey (I think!) which is good!

The dog behaviourist always said to me - with puppies 'ignore the bad and reward the good'.

Also remember not to walk them too much when they young - the rule is 5 mins per month of age until 1 yr old - so a 3 month puppy should only have 15 mins at a time.

You will have lots of fun!

edited to add - choose a good food for her too - eg. burns, naturediet, natures harvest.

 

[Cliqmo]

Okay some names:
NB dogs find it easiest to recognise a name with 2 syllables

Gundog: (names of guns)
Purdey
Beretta (Berry?)
Arietta
Miroku
Rizzini

Natural names: (flowers, wildlife etc)
Fern
Poppy
Willow
Daisy

Brown/Chocolate names:
Coco
Mrs Brown?
Darci (irish for dark)

Girly names:
Bella
Bonny
Molly
Tilly

 

[Spudlet]

How exciting!
My top tips are:
get a fridge lock - when our old lab was 9 weeks old he broke into the fridge and ate half a pound of lard and a load of bacon (it was just after Christmas!).

Get plenty of nasty tasting stuff to stop chewing - with Barney (said recalcitrant lab) English mustard was the only thing that stopped him eating all the way through a door!

Get a really good camera because you are going to have lots of photos to take!

Labs really are fab dogs (on a par with Spaniel IMO), Barney was the first dog any of my family had had and he was brilliant family friend for 16 years.

Enjoy the pup!

 

[FinnishLapphund]

[ QUOTE ]
Well after 4 years of OH nagging/begging/bribing etc, I have finally given in a said we can get a puppy.

I have never had anything to do with dogs and am now nervous about how I will cope. OH has had dogs before and loves them. My niece will be getting our puppy's sister at the same time (hers is black) and that will be her first ever dog too.

We will be getting a chocolate lab bitch in 6 weeks and the other thing is we can't agree on a name. I know this has been done to death but does anyone have any suggestions?

I'm looking forward to it but worried at the same time

[/ QUOTE ]

There's really not much difference between Supernanny and It’s Me or the Dog, it's always the parents/owners behaviour that needs changing. And to some degree there's many similarities, like f. ex. if one parent/owner allows something and the other one doesn't, it usually creates problem. Don't say "No" unless you mean it, if you have said "No" and then give up and say "Okay then, just this once" and that happens enough times, you learn your child/dog that "No" only means it needs to persevere before it gets its way...

Young puppies have lots of energy, just take deep breaths and make the most out of the moments when they're asleep. Check up the closest dog clubs and sign up for a puppy class at the one you like the most.
Remember to teach the puppy that not everything you do together equals activity of some sort, f. ex. on some short "puppy-walks" stop and/or sit down for a while, until the puppy calms down and stand/sit/lay and wait together with you. Then you reward its calmness with continuing the walk.

Good luck with the puppy and the name choice.

 

[kal40]

Thanks for the replies folks. After reading them I am coming up with more questions. Think I will have to do some research and get a book.

I really hope she doesn't chew everything. We have only been in this house for a couple of years and everything is new. Before we moved here I lived alone in a chic pad. Everything was cream/comtemporary and looked like a well organised show home Along came OH, then I started riding again now pup. Think my 'show home' has now gone forever.

Like I said, this is my first one so forgive me for the thick Qs. At what age will she be up and on her feet. She is 12 days old now? Do we have to do anything special for her first night home?

God its a minefield!

Horses are much easier.

We are making a list of names and going to narrow them down once we have been back for another visit.

Cant wait to show horsey the new pup. He is 16.3 and I know he will be nervous of this little bundle.

I'm sure I will be back with more Qs so please bear with me.

Bye for now
K

 

[Oneofthepack]

I can't imagine getting my first dog in adulthood with no concept of what's coming! I hope for yours and the pups sake you don't find it too traumatic because lovable though they are it can be a bit hellish with the mess, chewing, noise, work etc. But of course we wouldn't all be on here if it wasn't also great fun, very rewarding and enjoyable. And you will fall in love of course which makes it all so much easier

She will be stressed and unsettled for the first few days so bear with it. Get her somehwere cosy to sleep, with some toys all for her so she knows from the start these are hers, shoes are not! How you do everything else depends on how you want her to live in the house, upstairs or not, on the furniture or not, in a crate or not? As long as you start as you mean to go on she'll get used to it and know where she stands.

Looking forward to pics

 

[LiberationSquare]

you will be a hapopy stressed mummy. Be firm, try getting a cage - helps majorly with toilet training and obedience.

Take her to training calsses as soon as she has had her jags and you'll be on to a winner!!!
Good luck and cant wait to see piccies!

 

[Spudlet]

There are some good books out there, with sensible advice. You could also get one specific to Labs which will tell you more about the breed traits. You can get a series on most breed, they have black covers with yellow writing - can't remember the publisher but most pet shops seem to have them. When I got Henry I had the black and yellow book on English Cocker Spaniels and a Dogs Trust book on settling a rescue dog and both were very helpful. (I know you're getting a puppy, but just pointing out the usefulness of books generally!)

And got to be honest - yes, the show home is a thing of the past methinks... but they make up for it in many ways! My house looks like a furry bomb hit it since Henry came into it, but he makes me chuckle constantly and I have never had such warm feet

 

[Goya]

Unfortunately methinks you will have some chewing--puppy + lab==chewy!
Also hairs! I seem to have a constant black carpet!!!! I am forever hoovering!
But I wouldn't change my lab for the world.

 

[FinnishLapphund]

About the walking, they mostly crawl until around two weeks of age, between week two and four their mobility starts to develop rather quickly.

About the chewing, just a little thinking ahead will make your and the puppies life easier. They tend to explore the world with their teeth, plus their teeth get itchy when they change them to their adult teeth (usually happens between 4 to 6 months of age) and you don't want your first time together to be spent saying "No, don't chew on that" and "No, don't chew on this".

Get lots of allowed gnaw bones, keep them easily accessible so it's easier for the puppy to be successful. It will still probably happen that she lies next to a pile of gnaw bones chewing on a table leg, then you can chose to not say anything and just move it away, you can choose to say "No" before perhaps starting to pretend to gnaw on one of the bones to make the puppy interested in gnawing on that instead, sometimes maybe let a bone roll away on the floor...

If you have some furnitures or similar that you really doesn't want any chewing on at all, if you can't temporarily remove them, fence them in, maybe put all shoes on the hatrack etc. It's just a temporary solution and it helps making your first time together more relaxed.

Also if you have pot plants, remember to check so no one is dangerous for pets.



And last, remember when you get her home, she leaves x number of litter-siblings, also known as 24/7 available play-mates, behind but she takes her energy-level with her to your home. She will need a lot of your and your OH's time in the beginning, again take deep breaths and make the most out of the time when she does rest. When awake, do both things that allows her to get some of the energy out of her "system" and when possible encourage her to do calm things with you, maybe sit and watch ants walking by.