the other day, just on a whim i decided to buy a labrador puppy from a guy on the side of the road. i really have never owned a dog, or any pets for that matter, and am kinda struggling with trying to figure out how to handle this pup. he is 6 weeks old my questions are: how often do i feed him water and food? how often do i have to walk him? should i keep him on a leash? is it good to take him to an obediance school and at what age? how often do i have to check up on him? i have a fairly large backyard, but i keep him in the garage at nights to keep the racoons and coyotes away from him. any advice is appreciated. i searched a bunch on google, and really didnt find much help there. thanks
Oh, boy. First, not a good idea to buy a dog on a whim. These are living, breathing creatures that need care and attention. They are a BIG responsibility. But, to answer... He needs to be fed and watered EVERY DAY. A can of dry or wet food twice each day (puppy food ONLY right now) and LOTS of water - he should have a full water dish 24/7. Dogs get dehydrated easily. He will need to go out often. The best recommendation would be to crate train him. Put him in his own crate (a large pet carrier works best) with a food and water dish at night and let him stay there except when you play with him (which should be often) and walk him. If you have a yard, he can go in the yard, but make sure you keep an eye on him until he gets used to it. ALWAYS keep him on a leash if he isn't in an enclosed, fenced area and under supervision. It is dangerous for him and others. You can take him for training beginning at around 12 weeks and it is a good idea. It is also important that you get him fixed. Dogs and cats, when domesticated, live longer, healthier lives when they are spayed and/or neutered. For that matter, you need to take him to the vet IMMEDIATELY if you haven't already to get his shots and a general check up. The vet will give you a recomendation as to things like heartworm medication and how often he should come in for a regular exam. Most of all, dogs are social. They need to be with you to play and just to sleep around you. They need the companionship of humans so they should NOT be left alone for long periods of time and you should NEVER leave home for more than just the day without someone to watch him or boarding him with a vet or kennel. Best of luck.
The best thing you can do is get yourself a crate. I think the wire ones are the best because they can still look outside. It will make him more secure and he will be house broken much sooner. It also reduces behavioral problems when you are not there such as him eating through your couch and drywall.
Wow that looks just like my dog from home... now I wanna get a dog at my apartment next year even more...
Jeff and Rockbox are right on in regards to crate training, and I'm sure you can find books on this at your local petstore. You have to understand that the more time you put into your dog the more you're gonna get out of your dog. Neglect is the worst thing EVER you could do to a dog. First and foremost I would take the dog into the vet and get the appropiate shots and vaccinations. Then a couple of weeks after the shots, you should be able to take the dog into a training class (you can check with your vet when is the right time to socialize your pup). If you socialize your pup too soon he may not be immune to all the diseases as such. Socialization, IMO, is very important, unless you are in it to raise a guard dog. Socialize your pup with other dogs and with all different kinds of people if possible. The more social your dog is, the easier time you'll have walking him/her down the street as such. A good book for raising your pup is superpuppy. Go to google and type superpuppy and I think you can order their small pamphlet/book for like 12 bucks or something. It's a great book that give training techniques and talks about the importance of establishing yourself as the dominant alpha in the pack, which is important for a dog to understand. There's a lot of stuff as you can tell. We did a lot of research before we got our dog, and I hope the little advice I give you helps. Good luck and don't be timid to post anymore questions.
in specific regards to your question, as a puppy, we gave April (our dog) 1 and 1/2 cups of food in the morning and 1 and 1/2 cups in the evening a total of 3 cups then. Right now, as an adult she get 2 cups, one in the morning and one at night. I walk April twice a day even to this day, once in the morning before work and once in the evening after work. When she was a puppy, since we live in a condo with no backyard, I would have to comeback home during lunchtime to give her a bathroom break. Here's a general rule of thumb my breeder gave us. The number of months old your dog is, is approximatley how many hours he/she can hold it. April is always with me when I am home, so I really don't check on her in that regard. Here's April if anyone is interested: http://www.dogster.com/pet_page.php?i=65648&PHPSESSID=70bc478b9b34646cb80d5e53f491c4a1
Cute Cute puppy. Make sure you play with it a lot. Make sure water dish ALWAYS has water in it, and that it is clean. Feed twice daily. (puppy food) Make sure not to leave it out if it's too cold. Good Luck, that's a really cute puppy.
Get some Apple Bitter spray for when the dog starts messing with stuff you don't want it to. For example, if you don't want it going in your closet, spray your closet floor. My family used the spray when we were trying to house train Emily, our oldest dog. Whenever she did her business inside, we'd spray the spot where she did it... Eventually she ran out of spaces to do it, and that's when she really started to 'go' outside. Then we trained her to bark when she needs outside. Other than that and what everyone else has said; lots and lots of love.
I dunno if labradors have any genetic predispositions, but I would think about getting health insurance for the dog just to be on the safe side. If anything did happen to the dog (hopefully not), it could be very costly.
Man, what a cute puppy! Jeff pretty much answered your questions, synergy. I will add though that buying from a guy on the side of the road was probably not the greatest thing. The reason being is that you have no idea (normally) if the puppy you are getting is going to be littered with health problems. If you are wanting a dog, always buy from a reputable breeder and demand (that's right demand) to see the puppy's parents, especially its mother. If the breeder is reputable, they will have at least the mother on their premises. I like you synergy so please don't take this the wrong way, but you have got to ask yourself this question, "Are you going to have the time and dedication to be a good owner to this puppy?" Taking care of a dog, especially a puppy is a very tough and demanding thing to do. But it is WORTH it, if you are responsible enough. I almost didn't make it with Jake. The first 2 weeks I had him, I seriously thought about giving him away to a more experienced dog owner. But somehow (a lot of it due to the great help and support of my parents) I was able to survive. Now, I can't even imagine what my life would be like without him. Good luck.
labs biggest problem is hip dysplasia. If they don't have it by year 2, there's a good/high chance that your dog won't develop it. Other problems are eye problems, but the main thing labs get is the hip dysplasia. Out of most pure breeds, labs and goldens tend to be the most robust (that why my girlfriend and I chose the lab breed). But that doesn't negate the fact that as Manny Ramierez says that a reputable breeder that can provide you lineage documentation is the way to go. Also, dog health insurance, as far as I know via research, doesn't cover genetic predisposition health issues. BTW, Synergy, I'm no expert, but from taking a look at the pics, I'm not quite sure that your puppy is pure lab. This may be a good thing cause Mixed puppies tend to have less health issues than pure breeds. When you take your dog in, be sure to ask the vet.
I disagree. The points you make are all valid, but that is no reason to only buy dogs from reputable breeders, etc. There are so many stray animals out there. There's really no reason to "buy" at all.
Or go to Petfinder.com if your local SPCA doesn't have what you're looking for (breeds, size, etc.)... I found two amazing kittens that were being foster-homed through them... one with HPPL and one with HOPE.
Ya. That's how I got my kitten. Quesion, do kittens need play mates or are they pretty good by themselves during the day while we are off at work? I am thinking maybe I will adopt another kitty. Mark
Puppies are a lot of work, but they are worth it. I have 2 beagles; bought one as a 6 week old pup, and got the other from a rescue group (Houston Beagle Rescue) when he was 3 years old. There were a couple times we considered giving Sampson to someone else, because we just didn't think we could handle it anymore. We were in an apartment at the time though, and I always try to talk anyone out of getting a pup that lives in an apartment. We got him some obedience training and that did help some, it's expensive but worth it. If you spend some time each day playing with your dogs, you'd be amazed how much more well behaved they are when you're away. Looking back on it, I think those tough times helped us to develop a strange bond with him, and now he's the perfect dog. Well except for all of the howling and barking, but hey...he's a beagle, they like to talk . For anyone else though, I highly reccomend adopting a dog unless you are just dead set on a puppy. Adopted dogs just seem thankful to be placed in a good home, and it really shows.
They can handly being alone easier than dogs can. We got the first kitten at 10 weeks old back in January... she didn't have anyone at home during the day for the first 2 months... I'd go home at lunch to check up on her and play some. It seemed like she was always sleeping during the day, and really hyper at night. Then we picked up another one at 8 weeks old in April, and it was tough getting them used to one another. It took about 2 months before the older one stopped picking on the younger one. The spray-bottle helped to keep them apart though. All in all, I'm glad we got a second one... she keeps the first one company now. They eat and play together, but they have totally different personalities... lots of fun.
I agree with much of what's been said already. About food, canned dog food is fine but dry dog food is more convenient. It is better for their teeth and if it isn't eaten within a few hours it won't attract flies. It will attract ants in some seasons. Definately train your puppy and socialize it!! This is the perfect age to introduce your puppy to friendly dogs and people. Especially your mailman (our mailman doesn't even want to approach the fence to deliver our mail if our dog is outside). If you live in the Houston area I would strongly recommend taking a class from Abby at the PetSmart at Westheimer and Voss. Especially with large dogs, if they aren't trained well they are often given away, abandoned or otherwise gotten rid of as they grow bigger. Large breed dogs can be absolutely wonderful but behavioural problems are as big as they are. For example, a small dog that jumps up on people may be annoying but a 70 lb lab that does that can easily knock over a child. If you walk your dog rather than letting him out to poop, it will give you bonding time with your puppy, it will give you an opportunity to train your dog to walk on a leash properly (without pulling, which is another problem with a very large dog) and it will mean that when your dog gets sick, you will notice the first symptoms which are often loose stools. You won't have to wait until your dog is throwing up blood before you take him to the vet. If you can manage to crate train your dog, congratulations. We started with that intent with our Great Pyranees puppy and just couldn't manage to stick with it.
