Helpful Hints
Feeding your Labrador Puppy
Hip and elbow problems may stem from puppies being fed premium dog foods
such as “puppy”, “high energy”, “premium”, or “performance”. Premium foods
also include table scraps and human food. It is required that you do not feed these premium foods to your
Labrador until at least 18 months old, until the bone development is completed. Labrador puppy must be
fed a reputable brand of "large breed" puppy formula or an original adult formula for the first 18 months.
(As required with the health guarantee)
Puppy must be kept in good health but not overweight. An overweight dog is a result of
poor feeding and causes improper joint growth and cardiovascular health which in turn shortens the life of the dog and causes
a lot of veterinarian expenses later in life. Ask your veterinarian for feeding recommendations.
If at any time your puppy/dog
is not looking healthy, hair is not shiny, or energy level seems to be low, ask your veterinarian for recommendations for
possibly a different brand of food, or supplements. Keep in mind the “premium” foods are not the best choice for
your “large breed dog” during the growth period of 18 months.
Feed your puppy twice a day, morning
and early evening. Make sure that the early evening feeding is not too late. Your puppy
may have to go outside a couple of times, to relieve himself, before bedtime. At first offer your Labrador
puppy about 1 cup of food per feeding. The puppies are on dry food by the time they go home.
Let the puppy have access to the food for about 20 minutes. What he hasn't eaten after this
time is taken away, (manmade competition and the start of scheduled feedings). Continue this through the
scheduled feeding times. Do not keep a bowl full of food for the puppy to eat whenever he wants, this causes bad eating habits
and overweight dogs. If your puppy refuses to eat, soften the food with water. Do not give your puppy cow’s
milk, it gives them diarrhea.
Onions, chocolate, cocoa,
macadamia nuts, raisins, and grapes are fatal to dogs. As few as 7 grapes or raisins can be toxic to dogs. A
lot of house plants are also fatal to dogs and children. Keep house plants out of reach.
How to Care for a Labrador retriever
Labrador retrievers are good-natured, people-oriented dogs. They love to be included in
family life and are great with kids. Follow these simple steps to care for your lab.
1. Understand Labradors don't really reach adulthood until they are three years old, unlike most breeds,
which reach it around the age of two.
2. Keep your Labrador's
weight down. Overweight dogs will have more health problems, including heart trouble, joint problems, and arthritis.
3. Keep your Labrador indoors or out. They are moderately active and will be happy in a
yard or house. Remember, they need 30 to 60 minutes of daily exercise. Take your Labrador
for long walks or play fetch in the yard.
4. Brush your Labrador once
a week with a slicker brush to keep shedding under control.
5.
Bathe your Labrador only if he stinks or gets really dirty. Labradors don’t require special grooming
and can be washed at home. Too much bathing can cause skin problems, dry skin, and dull looking hair.
6. Make sure to trim this dog's nails regularly, every month, to prevent foot problems.
7. Remember that Labradors love to please you
but can sometimes be somewhat stubborn, which means that you must be consistent and patient while training them.
Begin training your Labrador as soon as you get him home. Very early basic training will make the
puppy bond to you for life. Do not ever kick, slap or hit your Labrador. Labradors love
to please people and can become timid or scared of you, if abused, and will begin to not respond to training.
Be very careful with shock collars. Labradors are very gentle hearted dogs and sometimes excessive
shocking can ruin them.
8. Be prepared to enjoy a good 10 to 12 years
with your Labrador, as this is the average life expectancy of a Labrador retriever.
Make sure you or someone in your home is willing to spend 30 to 60 minutes a day playing with and exercising
the dog. Note that labs are enthusiastic puppies and are sometimes mistakenly thought to be hyperactive. The main reason people
give up their labs is because they are too active. The second reason is that they got bigger than expected.
Labradors are the top breed
of dog in the U.S. today, this is due to their friendly nature. That alone makes them an excellent choice
as a family member. Labradors were originally bred in Newfoundland, Canada, and were used by fisherman to jump into icy waters
and pull up nets. Labradors turned up in England in the 1800’s and this is where the retrieving instincts of the breed
were sharpened. Today, in addition to being a popular family dog, the Labrador retriever is used as a service dog for the
disabled and as a drug detector for law enforcement organizations. Labradors are extremely social and energetic,
so a big part of your Labrador puppy care will be to provide your dog with plenty of room for running and lots of playtime
with you. A large fenced yard is the best place for a Labrador to play, and you will want to have a few toys on hand that
you can use to play fetch with your puppy.
Another important part of
Labrador puppy training is to take him on many walks, but never allow your dog out of his confined space without a leash.
Because Labrador retrievers have so much energy, the more exercise you offer to your pup, the easier it will be to train him.
Labrador retrievers are intelligent animals, so training needs to begin as soon as your
puppy comes home. An obedience class is a good idea as part of your Labrador puppy care as well, and should be done as early
as possible for best results. House breaking your puppy is one of the first types of training that you will do, and will require
plenty of consistency and patience on your part for the best results.
Some starter training tricks that I use
Treats are great for training,
especially for teaching sit, down, and come. Always praise or reward them for everything they do right. When they don’t
do to right, don’t scold them, just don’t reward them. Come is the most important thing to train your Labrador.
You must be able to call your dog to you when he might be in danger, like a car coming or an aggressive dog.
When your puppy likes to jump on you or other
people step on their back feet, enough that you don’t hurt them but causes discomfort. When they
playfully bite you, bite them back by pinching their cheek or lip. Pinching their cheek also works great for making them let
go of a dummy or ball when playing fetch. Do not play tug-of-war with a retrieving dog.
Or they will play tug-of-war with your birds. Make them give you the dummy by forcing their mouth open or pinching
their cheek. Make them sit and hold the dummy in their mouth every time that they bring you a dummy.
This is very important when they are young. If you let them drop the dummy at your feet it is very
difficult to ever train them to hold a dummy or bird until you take it from them. This is very important
for bird retrieving, especially if the bird is still alive.
Gun conditioning has been
started on these puppies and needs to be continued by you if he’s going to be a hunting dog. Puppy will be scared of
the gunfire the first time you shoot around him, new person, and new surroundings. But keep exposing him to gunfire until
he is mature and an experienced hunting dog. Sometimes just taking him for a walk at a shooting range to expose him to gunfire
while with you works great. Failure to continue gun conditioning and retrieving with your Labrador puppy will result in a
disappointing first hunting season.
Real pheasant wings are one of the best training
tools I use. The scent is exactly right and they feel the feathers in their mouth. I tie pheasant wings
to every dummy I use for training. Keep this in mind next hunting season and keep all those wings. I freeze them in freezer
bags and use them throughout the year.
Socializing your Labrador
retriever
Labradors are friendly creatures
by nature. These dogs do very well in families with children and even other pets like cats. Labradors will still bark at strangers
but it is important to note that they are not known to be aggressive and therefore make poor guard dogs. Because of their
social nature, these dogs can become bored and destructive when left to their own devices too often. If you decide on a Labrador
you need to make a conscious effort to give them lots of attention. They need to be walked and played with.
You may also want to give them a few dog toys. This will ensure that you and your pup will start out a relationship
on the right foot. If your neighbor has a dog, take them to meet the other dog and neighbor often as a
puppy, or go to a park with other dogs and people. Keep your dog on a leash until training is complete.
