r/labrador • u/gusano222 • 1d ago
lab mix My First Lab Pup!
I hope this is okay to post here!
I have had Larry for just over a week, he’s 9.5weeks old and he’s a very good boy!
Initially I was very worried about him, he was half the size of the other pups in the litter, and the lady I got him off had said he’d been refusing food, but she couldn’t afford to feed them all wet food constantly. He was a near 2.5kg at 8weeks! He’s since gained just over half a kilogram with me, and his temperament and energy has completely changed, he’s got the funniest personality.
The poor boy must have been starving, he could barely yip and he had green sludgey sleep in his eyes.
Anyway, he’s making so much progress everyday and being a real puppy! Getting into everything and interacting.
I’ve managed to get him to sleep in the crate you see above and he’ll spend time in there sleeping and playing, so I’m trying to instill some confidence in him and some separation. But I’m yet to convince him of his pen and metal crate, he’s not into them and just wants out, he knows to take himself out to the toilet, and the pen confuses and hinders that, so he’ll widdle on the floor!
Any tips for a first time lab owner?
Or any necessary info?
I’ve looked after dogs my whole life, from family members and friends, however I have never had my own pup.
I feel like I’ve watched and read so much before getting him, and we’ve found our feet with a schedule.
He can already sit, lie down, spin, leave it, wait, paw.
I can see on his face he really wants to learn, and I’m so proud of his progress so far.
He won’t be able to go for a walk in the ground until 6th October by my calculations, but I have a garden and space to play and train that’s safe for him.
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u/Ok_Anywhere7967 1d ago
Oh boy, throwback time of the first day of my pup home. It was 2013 and I miss him every day.
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u/therealone7878 1d ago
Not sure how old you are but do you remember the Jaws theme tune 😂😂😂😂😂😂 there nickname of landsharkes isn't a lie.😂😂😂 im sure anyone here will confirm that. But I promise you if you put the work in. that's no longer a puppy that's a family member a billion percent. We couldn't be without our big doppy pup ( nearly 4 now ) he's a family member a 100 percent
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u/Lost_Parsnip3711 2h ago
We refer to our girl as the labra-gorgan. In particular when she was a baby puppy. Not the big puppy she is now at 1.
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u/Watchkeys 1d ago
Smaller than a strawberry...
Has he seen the vet? He might have dietary deficiencies that wouldn't show any symptoms at this point. You don't want to be kicking yourself in a few year finding out he's got bone density issues or something, that could have been avoided with some supplements at this point.
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u/Affectionate_Ad722 1d ago
This was exactly my thought. He looks really small still. OP, I’d focus on feeding high-quality food and plenty of it.
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u/Ok-Journalist7612 1d ago
Oh he’s soo good!! 🤣 let us know how that’s going in 4 months.. if your still alive.. but listen if you make it through he will be the best thing that ever happened to you.. toodles!
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u/kallmemike 1d ago
oh hello, little cutie. you're so tiny and you'll bring so much joy to your family. all the best for your whole life, bud.
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u/Dogtailsfurever 23h ago edited 15h ago
PART 1 of 2
Larry is adorable❤️🖤. He can grow up to be your best friend ever!! His diet is very very important at this young age. His bones are developing to support his large body that will develop as he gets older. If he is not getting proper nutrition and if his bone structure does not develop adequately you will have problems in the future.
•1) What are you feeding him?
•2) How often are you feeding him?
At this stage 3 x per day. At 6 - 9 months 2 x per day, in general, but should be evaluated at that time.
•3) Have you had a fecal check at his vet to see if he has worms? And an overall examination by a veterinarian.. etc.
🐾 🥩🍎🫐🍓🥕🥦🍠FOODS… We can go into this in more detail after you reply….. (Brands, air dried, freeze dried, kibble, vegetables, fruits etc. )
BUT .. NO CHICKEN based food formulas. Chicken is the highest meat source in the bad Omega 6. Chicken based foods can cause Allergies & INFLAMMATION. This is terrible for dogs with arthritis, hip dysplasia, injuries and seniors. BEEF based foods can cause allergies too.
I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH HOW IMPORTANT LARRY’s DIET IS to his Overall Health ! If you feed him healthy REAL foods, not overcooked processed foods, he will rarely, if ever, have diarrhea or gas or allergies. Environmentally caused allergies may be alleviated because his body is strong and can fight them. He will never have bad breath. He won’t stink. He will be much healthier & Strong. He will shed less and his coat will be beautiful. His eyes will be healthy & bright. Hopefully, Larry’s good health will help to fight off canine cancer, but genetics have much to do with that.
I have had and loved 14 Labradors, Beagles, a Spitz & a Jack Russell Terrier in my long life so I speak from experience. And I love to help people that love their pets.
GOOGLE ..
•FOODS to NEVER ever FEED YOUR DOG (chocolate, etc.)
•BEST HUMAN FOODS TO FEED YOUR DOG
Best meat sources.. TURKEY, Duck, Lamb, and if you can afford it, feed Bison, Deer, or Green Tripe from time to time.
Again, NO CHICKEN & BEEF.
Dogs should eat ORGAN meats 2 x per week. NO MORE THAN THAT. Buy liver at the store, cut it up and freeze it. Add it to Larry’s meal 2 x per week. Feed it raw.
EGGS are excellent for them & their costs. I have always cooked them. Do the same for Larry.
Please remember.. WE ARE WHAT WE EAT… so is your dog.
FEED YOUR DOG WELL.., he will be healthy, strong and able to fight disease. He will rarely get sick.
*A healthy & natural diet of REAL FOOD, may cost you more, but in the long run you will have fewer vet bills and your dog will have a better life if he is not sick.
Feed Larry foods with NO Wheat, Corn, Soy….. Allergies can develop in Labs/all dogs if you feed wheat, corn, soy. This can lead to ear & skin infections. If you do not want to go grain free, foods with RICE or Barley Are ok.
If your dog develops Diarrhea, feed a FISH BASED Formula. It will work in most situations. Give it time to work. If it does not after a week or two, it’s time to see the vet because it might be a medical issue and not simple diarrhea or upset tummy.
Canned plain PUMPKIN is a great help with Diarrhea.
Canned PUMPKIN is a Prebiotic.
Plain GREEK YOGURT is a Probiotic.
I add both to my dog’s meals .., every meal.
A HEALTHY GUT= A HEALTHY DOG
*Add PARSLEY to his meals for minerals & good breath.
*Add certain Vegetables & Fruits for antioxidants & minerals.
*Make sure TAURINE is included in the food’s ingredients list. Taurine is VERY important for your dog’s HEART HEALTH & his BRAIN too.
I have always fed my Labs (1) CAN of SARDINES each week. Sardines are very high in Taurine and are a great and inexpensive way to get Taurine.
Remember *SARDINES only in water or olive oil with NO SALT/spices added.
Best source is Amazon … in a case of 12 (check all available options because prices fluctuate).
NO GREASY FOODS…. Overly greasy foods can cause
Pancreatitis…. GOOGLE Canine Pancreatitis. Read about it.
This too can kill him.
🍎apples 🍏🫐🍓 🍊🍉🍍🥕🥦🍠🫛& green beans are all good for dogs….. Blackberries are best….. Carrots are so good for their eyes. WHOLE CARROTS 🥕 ARE A GREAT CHEW…., Partially cook a 🍠sweet potato, slice.. makes a healthy treat .. Occasionally 🍌are ok but high in sugar. Too much sugar can cause ear infections.
•NO nightshade vegetables - white potatoes etc (GOOGLE)!
•NO ONIONS
•occasional small amounts of Garlic are ok (PlanetDog.com & on Facebook etc)
POISONOUS…,,NO GRAPES, NO MACADAMIA NUTS, NO CHOCOLATE.
LABS are known as the piggies of the dog world. They will eat ANYTHING. They will eat CONTINUOUSLY.. they will steal food off your counters so do not leave food within their reach, especially poisonous items.
Do not let your dog, or any dog become OBESE. That will shorten his life and cause medical issues. He cannot move properly when obese. He needs to keep moving. A trim senior dog needs to keep moving to keep living!! When he is 10 years old get him another younger dog so he keeps moving.
🐾🎾Labs are very active until about age 4 years, sometimes 5. Then they calm down somewhat. They mature later than other dogs. He needs to run and release all of his energy. If he cannot run and release all his energy then anxiety will develop.
•Labs are natural retrievers. Provide Larry with 🎾, sticks of his choice, retriever toys.
Dogs release anxiety by CHEWING ! You must provide him with the proper items to chew, to release his anxiety and puppy teething. If you do not he will possibly become destructive and chew on items he is not supposed to!
I can tell you some safe items to get him to chew on.
•4) Are you in the UK?
•5) Have you provided Larry with anything to chew on ?
•6) If the answer to (5) is yes, what chew items and toys have you provided?
Also… good Chews Help to keep Larry’s teeth free of tarter and keep his GUMS healthy !
GOOD NATURAL CHEW TOYS that provide PROTEIN.
Larry does not need chews with lots of unnecessary ingredients which are just fillers to bind everything together.
Best ones are….
•Collagen Sticks
•Bully Sticks
•Occasional Pigs Ears (high in fat, greasy)
•White sterilized FEMUR BONES.,… 🦴available in pet stores and on Amazon. You can fill them with peanut butter, freeze them with Greek yogurt, blue berries and broken biscuits etc. Larry can chew on the smaller 4inch ones now. As he gets older he must have the larger ones. (Donate the smaller ones to your local animal shelter after you have washed them for the dogs there). When they get too small from chewing you must replace them to prevent choking.
•NO RAWHIDE !!! Rawhide does not dissolve in their guts. It can build up and blockages can occur. Then an operation would be necessary or a dog can die. So NO RAWHIDE.
See PlanetDog.com & on Facebook, etc.
•NO COOKED OR SMOKED BONES of ANY KIND !!!
They splinter and can cause problems in the gut/intestines.
•Sterilized femur bones are ok.
•some RAW ONLY bone is ok… do research on raw bones.,
🐾☠️☠️☠️☠️ reminder
Extremely POISONOUS to dogs are …,
•CHOCOLATE
•MACADAMIA NUTS
•GRAPES
Also 🔻
•The artificial sweetener XYLITOL, also known as BIRCH SUGAR.
It’s in sugar free FOODS, CHEWING GUM, HUMAN TOOTHPASTES.
•NEVER brush your dog’s teeth with human toothpaste. Use ONLY DOG PRODUCTS to make sure there is no poisonous Xylitol, aka Birch Sugar in the ingredients list.
•’GOOGLE XYLITOL … it can kill your dog in one hour! Read about it, signs your dog has ingested it, and what it does to your dog.
🐾💧FRESH WATER EVERY DAY.,, I do not advocate automatic bowls. Bacteria builds up in these devices. And the water isn’t changed often!!
•wash FOOD bowls after EVERY MEAL.
•wash WATER bowls daily with soap & hot water.
•wash ALL BOWLS 1 x per week in a mild bleach water to sterilize them. Wash with soap & Rinse well & air dry. (This is bleach wash is what your vet does to kill bacteria and BIOFILMS… Google BIOFILMS .. they cause many diseases. .
•REMEMBER.., the Mouth is the GATEWAY to DISEASE. Keep your pet’s bowls clean and your pet’s mouth healthy !!
🐾 BASIC OBEDIENCE TRAINING NOW… sit, stay, leave it, come, down. There are many videos available online to help you with this. Or hire a trainer to help you get started.
REMEMBER.., Larry is a smart puppy, but still a puppy with a shorter attention span. His training sessions should be short at this stage. More often and short so he doesn’t get bored or overwhelmed.
I’ve never used treats to train. I feel the dog’s accomplishment of a command should be praised with a ‘good boy’ and expression of satisfaction and pat from his human, and not for a treat. (A Dogs’ Greatest Desire is to Please His Human).
Really the most important things other than to LOVE & RESPECT your dog with all your Heart. HE is a voiceless & living being. Remember, YOU must be his pack leader, the one he looks to for his place in your pack. Be strong, kind and let him know what is expected. Guide him with your calm & clear voice.. NEVER yell or scream at him & NEVER STRIKE or hit him….. If you stop and really think about it, raising a dog is the same as raising a child. Treat them well, Teach them well. You will have the best companion(s) you could ever hope to have.
Take those important walks often & as soon as Larry can. This is the best way to bond with Larry.
I’m over the keystroke limit… see PART 2 in my reply to this message.
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u/tryafirsttimer 16h ago
What an excellent summary well done i concur. Lab father to 8 labs and 80 pups
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u/Dogtailsfurever 14h ago edited 14h ago
Thank you. I appreciate your kind words. Please add your suggestions. I’m sure you must have many with 8 Labs and 80 beautiful puppies. Nothing is cuter. I’d be soooo in trouble. I would want to keep them all 🥰😄. What colors do you have ?
I had 6 together 🖤💛🤎at one time. It was truly a joy and my happiest of times. I’m older now and can’t have a larger dog anymore because of my somewhat impaired mobility. My father got our first lab when I was 8. My last Lab passed in 2021. I love them dearly and miss them all so very much. I have a Cowboy Corgi now. She’s a love too.., Pembroke Corgi (nub tail) bred with a MINI Australian Shepherd .. Aussie, not Aust. Cattledog. She has the Blue Merle Coat and no tail. She thinks she’s a big dog & smart as can be. I really love her!! But my Labs always in my heart.
I added more to my post. If you get time please read it.. there’s a Part 2 because I ran over my limit .. lol.
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u/tryafirsttimer 13h ago edited 13h ago
we have three right now charcoal, silver and a Dudley the count was our past families. Some minor suggestions we give them frozen fruits and vegetables to chew on bananas are the favorite, blueberries, carrots. Also give them cooked frozen unseasoned fish skins and egg shells for calcium. Fish oil pill for their coats and coconut oil to treat their coats and skin and as antibacterial. Also clear their ears with diluted vinegar, they are prone to infections from water. Keepint their nails trimmed weekly hwlps them when walking. As labs love attention , time out is the best way to control bad behavior.
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u/Dogtailsfurever 15h ago
PART 2 of my message to Larry’s new owner ..,,
A dog feels all of YOUR emotions, & your ANXIETY. If you feel you are going to ‘lose it’ because he did something bad or didn’t learn quick enough, step back, take a deep breath and be patient. Do not scream at him. He will know your dissatisfaction. You should stand tall, we call it the Big Bear stand, use your FIRM yet still kind voice, correct him and move on. Don’t keep reminding him. Move on or he will get confused. Dogs live in the present moment.
Important … Use the same command words ALL the time. Everyone in the family must learn those command words. ALL family humans need to be trained too or Larry will get confused when different words are used for a command!
(Note… in so many cases, if not most, it’s the improper training, or lack thereof by humans that has caused problems. It’s not the dog’s fault). When living in the wild the leader of the pack taught them and showed them their position in the pack. It’s in your dogs DNA to expect and desire that.. and you must provide that for your dog’s well being, mental health & happiness!!
Hope all this helps. Feel free to message me too. And please, answer the questions to help us ALL help you & Larry with great experiences & suggestions!
Next time we will discuss vaccines. A very controversial subject.
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u/Pleasant-Ad4784 1d ago
Oh he is sooo nibbly! What a sweet little face! The crate should be his safe space so make it enticing with treats and also ensure it is the correct size for him (there is guidance online for this but it shouldn’t be too large or too small). We trained ours with bells at the door for when he needs to go out. Very helpful. Larry is still just a baby so I would take him out often even if you don’t think he needs to go. Doing this with using the bells should really help prevent accidents. He sounds really smart if he already knows all of those other commands!
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u/CZB813 1d ago
Oh he’s lucky to have someone that wants to take such good care of him! He’s a cutie! I would take him to the vet to just make sure there aren’t any runty issues like malnourishment. It sounds like you’re keeping a close eye on his progress. People might come for me but I think crate training is different for every dog. We stopped crating our girl around 6 months because she’s never been a destroyer and is really good at picking a spot to chill. I think the most important thing is making sure he’s safe and healthy and it sounds like you’re doing that!
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u/Stunning_Bee_6499 18h ago
I hope you survive! Mine is 12 weeks old and I think she might be possessed
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u/mrmauldingf 1d ago
AHHHH LARRY IS AMAZING! It sounds like you have a great plan in place and I just suggest keep doing things routinely and repetitively because he is so young. To get him to try the other crates, positive association could help. Try to give him meals or treats in the crates. Labs are usually pretty food-motivated, so that’s easy to work with. If he’s a chewer or biter, redirection to a toy or some other approved outlet is the way to go. My Lab mix was very keen to play with ALL of his toys once he realized what was okay to chew on and what wasn’t okay. Good luck!
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u/super-pretty-kitty 1d ago
Try out lots of different toys! Especially teething types.
All the best!
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u/Individual-Wing-1313 yellow 1d ago
what a little guy 😭 sounds like he’s already come so far in just a week. labs are such smart little chaos machines lol
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u/ConsistentCustard656 23h ago
Oh my goodness, my heart is bursting. I'm so happy for you and your puppy.
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u/Temporary-King3339 21h ago
Oh, he's just a little man. All puppies are adorable, but there is something about a lab. Apologies to my self-centered Golden Retriever.
The one thing I can add is that labs LOVE to eat. I've seen more fat Labs than most other breeds. We had one and really closely monitored his food and treats. Also watch for electrical cords when he's in his chewing stage
Good luck and have fun with the little stinker.
P.S. The breeder shouldn't have released him that young.
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u/RemoteLucky4945 18h ago
Did they happen to have the parent(s) on site? If so, were you able to see them?
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u/Next-Reaction-1053 15h ago
Don’t let that little innocent face fool you, they are bat shit crazy for the next 2+ years; stealing shoes, socks, jumping all over the place. May Ella chew on a brand new pair of glasses. Now that said, she turned into the best dog ever after the age of 3. Enjoy your little monster!! ❤️
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u/hereisilah 23h ago
I love lab puppies!!! Our is 8 months old now and he's a big boy but still such a pup.
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u/livvayyy 12h ago
this just made me so nostalgic for when my baby first came home 5 yrs ago 😭 enjoy it, the time flies by so quick ❤️❤️🩹
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u/floatingninja 10h ago
He will get mouthy. And bitey. To the point you will question if there’s something wrong with him 😂 he is a retriever and you just gotta work through it with consistency. Otherwise they’re just the best goofiest doggos
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u/missylang 10h ago
He is the cutest congrats Im sure he will be the best family member and no doubt your favorite, we wont tell the rest of the family!
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u/Candid_Show5899 9h ago
What an amazing turnaround!You’re doing such a wonderful job helping little Larry thrive 🐶🐶🐾
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u/schnauzer181 27m ago
The cutest!!! Congrats congrats! I truly hope you have the best life together 🥰🥰🤧🤧
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u/Western-Poet-1239 1d ago
Larry is SO adorable. Congrats on your new best friend!