We are meeting the puppy we hope will be our new family member tomorrow night

[Missy Vixen]

We were both heartbroken over the issue with the neighbor and their dog, so we thought we'd look for one of our own. Little did we know that he would find us so soon. :woohoo:

He's a six-month-old Lab whose human is rehoming him due to the neighbors. We think he wasn't home much, so the puppy had separation anxiety. I'm home all day long, ;-) so hopefully, it will go well for us.

Got any advice? :rofl: We already know that if he comes home with us tomorrow, nobody'll get much sleep that first night.

[orleans]

1. show him his bed and water bowl and where the door is

have someone stay up and on puppy patrol with him in case he needs company.

have fun.

[Debi]

2. How exciting!

Agreed w/above. He needs to know where the essentials are and what the routine for his life will be right away.

Also play play play w/him to wear him out :7

Hope all goes well in his new home :bounce:

[backwoodsbob]

7. yep

puppies that size are FULL of energy.

I raise shepperds..trust me on that ;-)


Wear him out playing..let him play with toys or chewies you can play pull games with..just give as much energy as he wants...by the end of the night he will be curled up at your feet and will be yours

[Debi]

9. We just gave a nylon rope ball w/a throwing handle to a friend w/a

6-8 m/o Lab mix. All her dog wants to do is 'fetch'. Breakfast? Nah fetch! Lunch? Nah fetch! Dinner? Nah fetch! Sleep? No way...FETCH!!!

[Missy Vixen]

13. We're getting one of those in the morning

I should take a picture of the leash the former owner used with him. It was shredded.

He's currently playing with a Puppy Kong, and I think he may be conking out for the night. Well, at least part of it. ;-)

[Debi]

17. Sounds like things are going well!!

:bounce:

YAY!

[MountainLaurel]

21. A quick warning

Watch out for the ball end of that thing. If it smacks you (say, if your dog lets go of it during a tug match), it will be very painful.

[Missy Vixen]

18. Moose just destroyed the Kong brand of this toy

I wonder if I should send it to them as an example.

Maybe we should invent a new line of dog toys: Moose-proof!

:rofl:

[Debi]

19. Oh My!!

Looks like you'll have your hands for for a while!

Maybe you should start a 'save our home from the puppy' fund @ work and with your friends.

What would a toy a day cost for the next year and a half???

:hug: Good luck!!

[Missy Vixen]

23. The customer service lady from Kong

encouraged me to return the toy. She says it's a water toy, and actually not supposed to be used on land. ;-)

We'll try it, but I'm thinking the folks at Petco may just laugh at us. :woohoo: In the meantime, the search is on for a Moose-proof "throw and fetch" toy!

[MountainLaurel]

22. Moose should meet Molly

Who once managed to tear open an "indestructible" toy made out of firehose fabric within 15 minutes. (She basically picked out the seam on the end with her teeth.) She also can unscrew the lid on the kibble bin, which is why it now lives in the pantry.

[Missy Vixen]

24. I think we should take Moose and Molly to the White House

Imagine the tricks they could teach Bo the Portuguese Water Dog! :woohoo: "Come on, buddy, are you scared? Let's chew some stuff! Weeeee!" ;-)

Is Molly a Lab, too?

[MountainLaurel]

25. English Springer Spaniel

Very smart dogs who get bored easily, which is when they cause trouble. (Molly didn't just chew things, she liked to spread them around the apartment strategically, so that every square inch of floor had, say, one shred of toilet paper in it.) We also have a golden retriever, so I think all of those water dogs together could probably teach Bo a great deal about the joys of mud puddles and ponds.

But as a former DC resident, Molly also knows where all of the good dog parks in the city are.

Oh, the trouble they could cause.

[surrealAmerican]

3. Be sure to ask what brand/variety of food he's been eating.

Even if it's something you don't want to keep him on, feed him this same stuff for the first few weeks, then make the change gradually.

[LeftyMom]

4. When I adopt cats out I send along a supply of the food I use for that reason

along with instructions on how to ease over into the diet the family will be using.

[backwoodsbob]

8. I've fed every dog for 20 years dog chow

With a little science diet when I feel they need it..puppies to old dogs..they have all thrived on plain old purina dog chow

[Missy Vixen]

14. They gave me a big bag of it

We may be "graduating" him to a better grade food, but I will do it gradually.

Thank you and LM for the advice!

[hedgehog]

5. Our Pooka was a rescue dog - we don't know anything about his history

other than a vague comment that the other people thought he'd be a smaller dog he's a Pom mix and they wanted a Chihuahua mix.

Anyways, the first two days he didn't make a peep, just followed our other dog Guinness around. Then he tried one or two tentative barks, expecting to be yelled at. Now he's a cheerful yapper with an entire repertoire of different barks.

[sohndrsmith]

6. I've adopted two lab boys... but neither were puppies - for a reason.

Puppies are miraculous and joyous and priceless... but I am personally unprepared to adopt one. My boys are (were, my first has passed) older, but no one ever informed them.

Labs have a reputation for keeping their puppy enthusiasm, energy, hyper-zoominess well beyond the limit of what many assume is a point they are supposed to grow out of it (calm down). Granted, every puppy is different and every adoptive family is different.

When I was searching for my current boy, I met a beautiful AKC registered lab who was one of the most gorgeous dogs I've ever seen. His family had a new infant and they were overwhelmed. This lovely guy was 6, (well, maybe they were exaggerating - he may have been 4 or 5) and I was exhausted being with him for 10 minutes. He was a full sized dog but he was 100 percent a rambunctious, busy (clever) toddler.

According to the Lab Rescue who saved my guy from the E-list at the shelter, he was supposedly 4 years old. I didn't believe it nor does my vet. He's an old man and that's just perfect for me. He's very lively and interactive, he's well behaved and learns new things quickly (When I adopted him he didn't know how to sit, stay, fetch wait or something-close-to-heel, but he's caught onto all of these rapidly.

I would love to be able to have a puppy, but I understand that it wouldn't be fair or pleasant for either of us. Puppies are not much different than infants, other than having fur and an alternative method for potty training. They need a serious amount of dedication, patience, time and attention in order to develop into the dog they want to be. If they don't get this nurturing, they end up being harder and harder to manage, and may even get stressed out which can lead to destructive behaviours, etc. and too often they end up at the pound.

If you know you are not only ready to give this puppy the time and attention he wants (and deserves) then, I could not be more delighted. If you are at all doubtful, I urge you to really consider every one of those doubts and if you can reconcile them in a way that benefits your puppy, then you know you're the right parent for this little boy. If you find yourself being concerned or annoyed because you have this outing or that vacation or some event or even jobs/schedules that keep you from interacting with this little boy in a healthy, significant amount - then - as cute as he is, I hope you take your time deciding if a lab puppy is manageable for you. He doesn't understand if or when he's draining or inconvenient, and if you want him to grow up into the great dog you imagine, he won't experience such anxiety.

Hopefully, you've heard all this before and/or you've owned labs and done lots of research on their needs and development. Lots of them stay "puppies" into 4 or 5, even 6 years old. It's devastating to realize that I won't have my boy for 10 years or so, but we're a good fit and we both benefit because of it.

I have read that female labs can tend to be less social and interactive, and some people prefer a more distant demeanor, some don't. I tried to adopt a lovely girl who had neurological problems and Valley Fever - she was absolutely beautiful. But I was troubled with her inability to connect. I'm not saying all female labs are "this way" or "that", but I've read that there may be a tendency in some. This girl had medical problems that I found hard to connect with, and I still feel guilty. She was well trained but she was absent. Poor baby...

Just know for sure that you have the energy, time, flexibility, patience and long term commitment to bring a new baby into your family because that's basically what it amounts to. If I were in my 20's and working part time, I'd raise a puppy in a heartbeat. You have to make sure you are a good fit for HIM before you think of what he gives to you.

Good luck - I hope he's your new baby... nothing is more enriching or rewarding that a good old goofy/smart loving, perpetually-happy lab... I wouldn't trade my lazy, loving, cheerful, (needy - he doesn't like being alone, ever - but he rarely is since I work in a home studio), neurotic, lovely, big-hearted Zander boy. My daughters call him "little brother" even though he acts like the "baby" not very often and for no more than 3 or 4 minutes at that. But I won't have him as long as you will have your boy, so there are things to balance either way.

Just make sure you adopt him because you want to give to HIM. What you get in return will be so plentiful you don't even have to worry about that part. Put him first and if you can offer him what he needs and more, then you'll be forever grateful.

I hope I haven't scared you off, but it isn't a small decision... it's a serious (but fantastic) one... labs are the best. I'm just a softy for the senior guys. I will never understand why someone would give a boy like my Zander up unless they fell ill or were otherwise forced to do so. He's as close to the perfect dog (for me) as I could ever hope for.

My children weaned me from wanting a puppy... they're still exhausting, even the one that can vote. : )

[Missy Vixen]

15. We thought long and hard before embarking on this

We think we have a lot to share with any dog, and we hope to offer him a home where he has good training, room to run, and knows that he is cherished.

Obviously, we're taking this one day at a time, but we are in this for the long haul.

[Midlodemocrat]

10. How fun!!!! Good luck!!!

No advice here. The Midlodogs still pee on the sunroom floor.

:loveya:

[Kingofalldems]

11. Cesar says take him for a walk before he sets foot in the house

With you, not the dog, leading.

[Missy Vixen]

16. He went for a walk

He christened the front yard.

He's home. ;-) :woohoo:

[Missy Vixen]

12. Okay. He's a wild man!

He does know how to sit and stay, but he needs a little work. We've already contacted a local trainer; we'll be meeting with her this week. Mostly, he needs to run, and we hope we'll be able to provide lots of that in the morning. We also found out he's quite fond of barking, ;-) but we expected that.

It was amazing to watch him basically dismantle our family room in less than two minutes. :woohoo:

He's in his crate, playing with the Puppy Kong I stuffed some treats into, and we're settling in for what could be a long night. At the same time, we're both already in love with him.

[Debi]

20. Do you have a Monday report on Moose??

Other than barking, dismantling the family room and destroying the indestructible Kong toy...How's it going...:rofl:

Does he sleep through the night?

[Missy Vixen]

26. The Monday report

Moose sleeps through the night. He goes down about 10 in his crate, and he does not wake up till my husband goes downstairs to make coffee at 7 or so. I'm wondering if we let him sleep, how long he'd sleep. (Don't pups need about 13 hours of sleep a day?) When he's awake, we're having the usual "no jump, no jump, no jump, no bite" stuff. He has an appointment with his trainer on Wednesday afternoon.

We got him a bone stuffed with a peanut butter mixture, along with the ill-fated Kong "fetch" toy. It was hilarious. We put the bone in his crate. He tried to extract the peanut butter. It wouldn't come out as quickly as he wanted it to, so he barked at it! He finally settled down to chewing on it.

This morning, he's a little testy. He's already been on a long walk, we both played with him, so I wonder if he's tired.

He's had one accident on the kitchen floor. Other than that, he seems to be housetrained.

He has a Twitter account, which I'm currently locked out of. LOL (The password thing is not working.) Hopefully, I'll figure out what I did wrong, and it'll be functional later!

[DemBones DemBones]

27. Labs come in two personalities: calm and not.

The calm ones start acting like a piece of furniture one they're past puppyhood. The not calm ones never totally leave puppyhood, are ready to go for a run anytime until they're at death's door. Ours have always been wild ones but lots of fun and we've never had a chewer. They might be less wild if their humans didn't incite them (guilty). I think we won't incite our next one indoors, just outside. :evilgrin:

[Missy Vixen]

28. Here's his new game. Yes, I am guilty.

He pushes the Kong or his bone underneath the family room couch, and Mom has to fish it out. Moose barks at it like it's going to make the toy miraculously roll out. We've noticed he barks at a toy or his bone that's not doing what he wants it to. He evidently believes that barking = action. He does it again. Mom fishes it out. Now the wooden spoon Mom is using to fish it out is waaaay more fun than the Kong or the bone. Mom says, "Leave it! Leave it! Leave it!" Moose looks innocent.

Moose starts barking again. Mom says, "Quiet!" Moose gets a squirt of water with a bit of vinegar in it. He's now lying in his crate, giving me the "I can't believe you did that to me" eyes.

He's a handful. We're taking him to the trainer on Wednesday afternoon. In the meantime, I will try hard to not teach him anymore really cool (and totally naughty,) games to play. ;-)