any LAB owners out there?

[goober_hunter]

just wanting to know your experiance with them. i recently got a three month old chocolate male lab. and hes already a hand full. hes pretty much potty trained already , which is a blessing. but cries all night long. very smart for a puppy.
any advise would be great.. thanks GH

 

[bigarn]

Is he caged at night?

 

[flower]

I have had about 4 chocolate labs over the years...they are the most destructive dogs I ever owned...every one of them. They eat carpets and chew EVERYTHING. They are smart idiots.
They are sweet and loving, and seem prone to separation anxiety. The best purchase you can make is a dog kennel..it will keep puppy safe from eating bleach and destroying your home if you are out. It is not a doggy prison. They feel more secure in a kennel, they will consider it their den.
Put him in there at night in your room with you so you can sooth him with your voice...all babies cry he will eventually stop. If you can't sleep...put him in the hall close by..he can smell you and hear your movements.
Puppy class will help allot for training...he needs lots of exercise(mind and body) puppy class will teach you so much. They are a handful as pups but make great pets if you train them from day 1.
Seems folks seem to not be able to get past the destroy stage and get rid of them. Our pounds are full of labs and half labs. A puppy sitter will help lots if you work and he is alone for too long.
Also get the wellness program for insurance...these dogs have a tendency to eat rocks and plastic, and you may land up with a $2000.00 vet bill...with puppy insurance you won't have to pay..it costs about $21.50 a month and well worth it until he is past the chew/eat everything stage (3 years)
Good luck, and congratulations on your new puppy.

 

[goober_hunter]

yes he is caged at night. keep him in the next room over from ours.
flower ; thanks. a lot of info. ill try it out and let you all knows how things work out.

 

[crypt keeper]

Labs need a job. They are working/hunting dog. They will go crazy and tear up your house out of bordem. Get him into retrieving classes. I had a friend who hunted ducks. His dog loved nothing more than to sit still and wait. he would shoot a duck and that dog would tear off into the water and snatch the duck.
You can look up local hunting places. Some places have meets and contests with their dogs. Daily walks to get rid of energy.
Give them a task or job and they are amazing dogs.

 

[aw2x3]

You don't really have to give them a "job", but you certainly have to spends lots of time with them, running them out. It's not that they're stupid or are bad dogs...they're a high energy dog, that you have to work with. You can't treat these dogs like any other house dog. They need interaction, excitement and room to run.
My Choc. male is the grandson of the Field and Stream Choc. He'll be 15, next month and still acts like he's two years old. He's never once torn anything up. Even as a puppy, he never chewed on anything, other than his training aides.
With the right work, they're absolutely amazing dogs and great family dogs.

 

[dragonzim]

If you have a dog park near you, take him there! Its great excersize and will work wonders for socializing him with other dogs and people.

 

[fishtaco]

Anybody else noticed that labs as a breed seem to have changed over the years. I grew up with two female labs, one black and one gold. Both where smaller and compact, both where excellent hunting dogs, both would just hang around without the need for a fenced yard and neither where destructive or hyper. The labs I see now just seem to be big and hyper, not the smart quiet dogs I was used to.
As far as crating at night, I never have. My current dogs have slept with us on a blanket on the bed with us since one was 8 weeks and the other was a absolutely crazy rescue dog that we saved. Even though it is just sleeping, I feel like dogs benefit from spending this time in direct contact with their owners. Neither have ever got in a bit of trouble at night either and are calm in the morning when they wake up.
Now for a real sore subject and that is training your puppy, that all comes down to if you really want to put in the work, your dogs will, but most people I know with dogs lose interest or are too busy in their lives to put the time in that is needed. Actual classes also vary greatly, the smaller the class the better, if you take a class with 30 other dogs, your pup is going to get bored very quickly. Take your time and find an instructor you are comfortable with. We have two instructors around here that are terrible, yet hundreds of owners a year take the class and get off on the wrong foot. I would recommend buying a book on clicker training, that is what I used and had decent results.
Good luck with your pupl
Fishtaco

 

[deejeff442]

i grew up with chochalote labs.
my father trained one from a puppy to hunt ducks .he had him to the gun range to get used to the noise ,made floating toys with feathers on them,trained him to sit then fetch perfect.
well the first time out duck hunting my father shot a duck ,it fell to the ground,the lab sat there perfect,my father yelled fetch the lab took off just like a pro.well,when he got to the duck and went to pick it up the duck was still alive and scared the lab so bad he jumped 5 feet in the air and would never again fetch another duck.
awesome family dog ,labs have the highist tolarance of pain of any breed of dog.all puppies whine at night.my mastiff was the same way untill he was about 4 months old.
as for chewing the trick is to go to the dallor store and buy a couple dozen dog toys and lay them out everywhere.
i would neverget another puppy without kennel training.
once they get used to it they will call it home.
dont ever yell or scold the dog when he is in the kennel because you want him to think he is safe in there.
good luck and a pic would be nice

 

[goober_hunter]

ill post a pic soon. hes a great dog. so far so good. only cries for about 5-10 mins after we go to bed. very hyper.
been thinking about doing the classes. wife looked some up last night.
thanks ill keep ya'll posted

 

[hlcroghan]

Labs absolutely benefit from classes. I think everyone on here is right about that. They are task oriented dogs for sure. They also take a while to mature, some to almost 3 years old before they settle down. Most labs will be destructive before then unless they receive lots of care and attention and mental stimulus. Lots of tricks and fetch. They also usually LOVE the water. Sasha, our retriever, loved jumping in the water after her toys. She also would freak out if I was under the water too long and start trying to dive after me. Great dog for gentle protection. No way was someone coming into that house at night without losing some skin. Sounds like you are doing great with the crate training. I actually prefer my dogs to sleep with me but it's not for everyone. I like them to be out and aware for protection but it does save your possessions from ending up with teeth marks as they get older, lol.
Good luck!! Sounds like a winner.

 

[fishkid13]

Our lab was brillent(sp). She would escape all the time so, make sure you check that everything is shut or you have tall enough fences. Great dogs but have a super amount of energy. They perfer disco and long walks along the beach....

 

[crypt keeper]

Just get an invisible fence

 

[tank a holic]

I have a 3 yr old chocolate named fudge
She's the smartest dog I've ever owned. Just like any dog, the more time you spend with them the better they are.
She rides in the truck with me whenever I can take her. She doesn't chew things up because I taught her early on that she is only allowed to chew her toys and nothing else, she doesn't get on furniture because she has never been allowed.
She LOVES fetch, if im sitting in the house working on something or just hanging out, she'll go get her frisbee or tennis ball and hand it to me.
She really is a brilliant dog, she knows all the simple tricks like sit, lie down, shake, and obviously fetch
But I've taught her others too, if I say dead dog, she plays dead. This is really fun, you can use it so many ways, my uncle is a die hard democrat so I looked at Fudge and said "would you rather be a democrat or a dead dog?" and she fell to the ground dead lol
I've even taught her to "turn off the lights". In the living room she'll actually jump up and push the switch down. The best thing is it takes her no time at all to learn these tricks
the 3 biggest things you need to remember are
1. YOU are the boss, make sure you know it and THEY know it
2. Labs are high strung, they need exercise and attention. They are bread to fetch, so play it with them and incorporate it into their training
3. Consistancy!!!!!!! you do the same thing, every time they will learn FAST
try this.... get him to sit, make eye contact and say shake, pick up his paw and shake it. Good boy - treat ....... then
get him to sit, make eye contact and say shake, pick up his paw and shake it. Good boy - treat ....... then
get him to sit, make eye contact and say shake, pick up his paw and shake it. Good boy - treat ..... then
get him to sit, make eye contact and say shake. I almost garuntee he lifts his own paw after 3 times.
time to learn the next trick
the whining will go away with time, just dont play into it. If you keep going in and petting him or otherwise giving him attention (even negative) it'll take longer --- he's just lonley