remind me how much work a puppy is...

[elliot3]

my three children are desperate to get another dog; we've already got a golden retriever whi hasn't been neutered and has a really lovely nature. The children would love to get a black labrador a girl - would it be possible to have her neutered before she has her first season? Would the dog still try to mount her anyway and most importantly have I forgotten how much work a a puppy is?

You can get it neutered before first season but it isnt recommended

I love black labs and to be honest apart from the fanjo growing in size you would be hard pushed to know she is in season she is very clean

They are haaaard work, but worth it IMO

My black lab almost trained himself! We left back door open (enclosed back garden) and he only peed inside twice. My Mum got a cage for hers and it was a good investment.

A puppy is a FULL TIME JOB!!!

They poo and wee and chew and need socialising and training every day! Oh so much poo and wee. Newspaper all over your kitchen. Toothmarks in everything.

I have a 2-year-old black lab and she is utterly gorgeous in every way, but I got her when I was on maternity leave with dd and so had oodles of time to devote to making sure that by the time dd was born I had a relatively well trained pup who could walk on the lead, come when she was called etc.

But if you're going to get a pup, a lab is an ace choice for a family dog. If you put the time and effort in they want to do well and are easy to train and adorable.

Believe me your retriever would know she is in season, no matter how 'clean' she is.

Why do they specifically want a girl?

And puppies, in partic. Lab's, are as much work as a new born, and then some! Lab's chew everything, including people, clothes, shoes, all the normal stuff, plus curtains, window sills, kitchens, walls, doors, skirting.

Obviously, there are good sides as well, but I would think very carefully about introducing a bitch, it not only would be bloody hard work to keep them seperate while she is in season, but it really wouldn't be fair on you GR, and if they did manage to get to each other, you would be responsible for the puppies.

A puppy IS hard work, but not for very long. We had very few puddles on the floor when we got our puppy, and she got over the crying all night thing after a couple of days. She did chew everything though, chewed right through my living room door actually, it's now kind of open plan.

So you have a boy with all his bits and you want a girl

And you are expecting NOT to have puppies from them!!!!!!!!

IMHO it is like letting your 18 year old son sleep in bed with his girlfriend and not expect anything to happen

I agree let the girl have at least one season before having her done

good luck

And IMHO get the boy done before getting the girl

How old is your current dog??

Our Golden Lab was well behaved until he reached sexual maturity at about 2.5 yrs old. The poor boy started to get Very frustrated and barked constantly with bits hanging out so we had no choice but to get him done.

I love that bit about your 18 year old son sleeping with his girlfriend.

It's me who wants a girl because I think the GR would be happier with a girl in terms of not feeling so threatened- he does tend to like girls much more than boys. However I wasn't thinking of not getting the girl done or spayed , I definitley would have to and maybe should get GR done too. He's 5 and when I took him to the vet when he was 1 to get him done he refused to do it on the gounds that there was no need, he was calm and not running away etc so not sure about getting him done now.
I think my real problem with it all is can I face the puppy stage- my dh says like babies, there's never a right time and the children are at an age when they will really enjoy it etc -I can't tell you the number of people who have told me that labs eat skirting boards, how weird

Seriously I would deffo get your boy done before getting another dog whether it is a girl or boy

We have a 5 month old puppy, a baby and two bigger dc, we also have a large house and garden, great weather and someone to clean up the crap, and I still find her hard work

She is an outside dog, but will steal the dc sandals, toys, food from inside. She is so very obedient but we spend a lot of time with her and I am covered in scratches from her play.

At the vets yesterday he advised her to have one heat before being neutered as he says it allows their urinary system to develop properly as apparently it develops at the same rate as the reproductive organs.

Still she is great fun and we wouldn't be without her

vet refused to neuter? Change vet imho.
Mounting is as much about dominance as procreation. Older dog will knock the younger one into shape in pretty quick fashion.
I'd def neuter the male well in advance of getting another dog, be it bitch or dog, pup or not.
Bitch can then be permitted a season or two to mature properly.
Would be very hard on entire male having bitch on heat in same place.
pups are great. Hard work indeed but great

hi there, can assure you - my vet RECOMMENDED that we neuter our black lab before her season. She is now under one year old, and still lots of work - brilliant with our kids. Fantastic in fact, we've had her since she was tiny and she puts up with a lot from them. But she's lots of work, needs lots of attention, training and exercise - god the exercise !!! Kids were off for the easter break and she was harder work than them, bored and restless (children won't walk as far as she needs) carrying toys about, annoying visitors with her gifts of slippers etc, but we love her, but really, everyone told me she'd be a tie etc and I scoffed and said children were a tie so why not get a dog to add to the mix? but they were right and we can't go for days out anymore. Anyway, neutering IS done before their season (it prevents ovarian cancer) and it is definitely best to get a bitch if you already have a dog. we visited friends who already had a bitch and she fought with our bitch incessantly so opposites do attract!

No that's not true about not spaying a bitch before it's first season. My vet said the new thinking was that having a dog spayed before this time was better as research showed that it helped to prevent mammary tumours. My puppy was spayed at 6 months without any adverse affects.

Like having another baby, one that will never grow up.

You can get a crate which will help with the house training and chewing etc. I've got an NSDT Retriever and he's 13mths now so is hardly ever shut in his crate these days, but as a puppy he went into it at night and whenever I was out during the day (I only work part time and he comes to work with me alot, so not for long periods) He only ever had a couple of poos in his crate when he was little, never did a poo in the house, a few wees though, and he chewed a couple of dd's toys when I turned my back, but we broke the chewing habit and hes good as anything now, he does sneak up onto the sofa at night though. It is hard work but he's great and dd adores him, as do I, we wouldn't be without him.
When we first got him we had an older bitch who got on much better with boys, she's passed away now, but I think dogs of opposite sexes mix better in my experience and we'll propbably get a bitch in a couple of years time, because of this we've just had Rhubarb neutered, it may also calm him down a little, but I'm not really expecting miracles!
As for wearing them out Rhubarb loves to retrieve so although he has long walks with just me, when I've got dd with me (2.11) we go on a shorter walk but play alot of fetch, this helps to wear him out and dd enjoys it too, a Lab should be keen to retrieve aswell, its a really useful way of using up energy!

Dogs can be nuetered/spayed at 6 months old, maybe leave it a bit longer for a smaller breed but 6 months is fine for a large breed.

definetly get your male lab done first and then the female as soon as she is old enough.

male + female usually works better than male + male or female + female so it is a good idea for the new dog to be a female.

also, unless you have plenty of time for training and socialising, I'd recommend getting a young adult/adult dog rather than a young puppy. (of course even adult dogs need regular training and socialising as well)

You would also be better off adopting a homeless dog rather than lining a breeders pockets.

Must you have a Labrador or would you consider a Labrador mix etc? Any dog will be a good family pet really, they don't need to be a purebred or registered etc.

I have 5 month lab puppy and her 4 yer old mum,and they are wonderful together, its so much easir having 2 dogs, they entertain each other and they walk/run around and get loads of exercise. They are both "wonderful" with dd who is 2.

Not sure about the spay, would take vet advice but NOT from your current one, whose advice about the dogs neutering was madness.

We will prob have another litter from our bitch at the end of the year, should you want one then (North East)

Countrygirl, I have to disagree with you about rescue dogs necessarily being easier to train if you're short of time. I've had 2 rescue dogs and a puppy. Neither of my rescue dogs were considered problem dogs, one had supposedly come from a good home and the other was a young stray. The dog from a good home had obviously been ill treated at times and it took a long time to get her to trust us, she also had a couple of other issues such as noise phobias, problems with other dogs and not great with young cildren, down to her not being socialised properly as a pup, we worked hard and she improved, but still had issues after 9 years when she died. Our other rescue took a very long time to house train and reverse his destructive behaviour, we managed it in the end but it was very hard work. My puppy however has been very easy, hard work at times but he is now a well trained socialised dog with none of the lingering issues my other dogs had. Taking on an older rescue dog is a big commitment for experienced dog owners, sadly all too many end up being returned to rescue centres and can have greater problems finding a new home. I got a pup this time as I have a young daughter now, but I will take on rescue dogs in the furture again when my daughter is much older.

would your children accept a 'big' dog ? ie a rescue ,ok they are not as cute as a puppy initially but if you are willing to wait im sure the right dog ( or bitch ) would come along , there are plenty of dogs up for rehoming purely because of relationship breakdowns ,where the dogs behaviour isnt an issue . That way you get a housetrained ,obediance trained ,past chewing stage ,kid freindly animal without all the hassle of puppydom. Remeber pupppies are born with razor sharp teeth and they like to use them !!

lillymolly how dare you tempt me and my as yet labrador free home you minx

We had a terrible experience with lab rescue.

You depend on the rescue people telling you the truth about the dogs' history and in our case they didn't. With hindsight I can see that the previous owners, who wanted the dog rehomed, had every motive to lie, but if the rescue people had really assessed the dog they'd have picked up the problems, which turned out to be serious.

After a few days we were in no doubt that she'd been brutalised and we'd never be able to trust her around young children.

We decided that we had to get a puppy so that there could be no possible doubt that she'd been well treated right from the start.
HTH