Dog buying advice plse

merlin

merlin

merlin

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I've just been suckered into buying a puppy, he's a 3 month old black Lab.

Had first injection so he can go outside but apparently he needs another jab soon.

He's KC Reg, last of a litter and the owners are moving home so the little fella has to go quick - hence £300.

What do I need to look out for with Labs & a pup in general? I've kept dogs before but I've never actually ever bought one!

How much will the dog eat btw? £1 a day?

Tia :)
 
Labs will steal food from anywhere they can get it. You need to keep an eye on them. Ours knocked the Christmas tree over in the middle of the night the first year we had him, so he could eat all the chocolates off it. He's calmed down a lot now hes older, but he will still try it on.

Brilliant dogs though, really affectionate and great with kids. Find out from the breeder what hes on at the moment, and keep him on that while he gets settled in, then if you want to change it you can.
 
Our black lab is 11 months old now and food was initially costly as we only bought him the best. I switched him over to adult food when he was about 8 months old and he's fed on Skinners Field and Trial which is VAT free. There are various types and it costs around £16-£17 for a 15kg bag which lasts around a month.:cool: I'd urge you to have a look around Labrador Forums, you'll find lots of advice on there.:cool:
 
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I seem to recall they can suffer from hip/elbow dysplasia so I don't know if they need the parents hip scored to give you an idea of the likelihood of problems but in general they are a lovely breed, very even tempered normally and affectionate.
 
I grew up with two golden and I own two black labs.

Labs are very focussed on a routine. Walk around the same times every day, food at same time etc. but they do get bored of this so a variation or a day out walking on the weekend keeps them from boredom.

The best way to train them as a pup is to buy a cage as their bed. You need to buy one that they can turn around in but no bigger to start with. The idea is they don't like to mess their own beds so they learn to do it outside. You leave them in there when you're out and use it as an open bed the rest of the time. This way your house is protected from being chewed and pooped in.

Training wise they respond to a firm manly voice. Trained mine to come back on two short whistles and I just use hand gestures for the rest really. Just repetition does it for labs. Not as perceptive as border collies but they respond well quickly enough.

I currently feed mine on Bakers Complete. 15KG back for £20 and it lasts a month for both dogs. If you remove his bits, he will need to be either exercised more or fed less as they can get overweight easily. Labs are very food orientated. I keep mine quite lean as they are of a gun dog breed but there's nothing wrong with letting them wear a little podge if the lean look concerns you.

Overall they're very loyal and loving dogs and kid friendly. Old age kicks in about 8-10 years old where rheumatism etc kicks in. My parents first dog when I was a kid lasted till 18 despite this, just got to keep them active.

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Dup said:
The best way to train them as a pup is to buy a cage as their bed. You need to buy one that they can turn around in but no bigger to start with. The idea is they don't like to mess their own beds so they learn to do it outside. You leave them in there when you're out and use it as an open bed the rest of the time. This way your house is protected from being chewed and pooped in.
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Very good advice.:) We were reluctant to buy a cage but after speaking to several owners they convinced us that it was the way to go. It has made things much easier and he used it until a month ago. We still have it though as it's useful when going on holiday etc.:cool:
 
Dup said:
This way your house is protected from being chewed
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My bosses Lab costs him £1000's because it chewed everything (sette, chairs, shoes ,car seats, car steering wheel etc)..

I couldn't help laughing went my boss left his dog in his car at work one day and it chewed up the indicator & wiper stalks and all big chunks missing out of the steering wheel in his car..
 
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I have a very small dog already - a 16 year old Yorkie.

She's only a dot but she's absolutely fearless, however, being 16 she's got a short temper and won't take any messing about. She's fine with my 3 year old daughter and will take her ears being pulled etc but as far as other dogs are concerned there's absolutely zero tollerance.

Will the Lab bother her do you think? Can I leave them together or should I separate them?
 
You've just got to introduce them to eachother every so often and if one gets aggressive you have to discipline them. Eventually they'll just get used to each other and be fine.
 
If he's had his 1st injection he'll need his 2nd 2 weeks after his 1st, then your supposed to leave it a week before you take him out for a walk.

We had a golden lab when I was a child and he was very destructive if left alone and bored, so if you have to leave him for any length of time get a Kong and put treats in it, you could also use empty plastic bottles with the labels taken off with treats inside.
 
merlin said:
I have a very small dog already - a 16 year old Yorkie.

She's only a dot but she's absolutely fearless, however, being 16 she's got a short temper and won't take any messing about. She's fine with my 3 year old daughter and will take her ears being pulled etc but as far as other dogs are concerned there's absolutely zero tollerance.

Will the Lab bother her do you think? Can I leave them together or should I separate them?
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The key thing here is to establish top dog which is you then your Yorkie, then the pup. Separate when left alone but spend time with them both together, the first few time on neutral ground before taking the pup home. The Yorkie will put the pup right, a little bark and nip isn't the end of the world. Eventually they will know their place and should live comfortably.

I sometimes go for walk with 3 different families of dogs. Mine, my parents and a friends totaling 9 dogs, sometimes more. They quickly resolve any issues with a bit of noise and a kick up the backside if it goes too far. This is all on neutral ground however, in the home it can take a little bit of work.
 
Ok, saw the pup today, looked bright, intelligent, bit of a character.

Anyway - perhaps someone can help me decipher the hip and eye scores?

Dam: Hip shown as 14/19
Sire: Hip shown as 2/2

Only the Sire had the eye test which is shown as unaffected by TRD, GPRA, CPRA, HC.

This is the 2nd litter for the Dam.
 
I don't know a terrible amount about hip scoring, I was just aware that it was a good idea to have it done, however I think that lower is better here. Having just done a very quick search it appears that 8:8 is about average with the range going from 0:0 to 52:52 (worst possible case) so the Dam is a bit on the high side perhaps but it hopefully won't matter.
 
After eating a the best part of a Nike trainer, several sheets of newspaper and the cover of Hello magazine - he's soundly asleep on my legs and snoring quite loudly.

We've called him Pickle.

:)
 
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