How did you socialise your big/heavy puppy?

[CoffeeFanatic]

Did anyone use a sling and if so, could you please recommend? I need to get going on the socialisation but she weighs a ton! I'm going to drive to some places but there are other places I'd like to walk her around.

My niece is a vet and recommended a sling for my lab puppy - I wish I had listened as I would carry him in my arms and he was SO heavy! It’s so good though to get them out and used to people / traffic etc.

I know but my back is killing me! I've tried various bags at home but I need a proper sling and I don't think a baby shops will let me try out slings with a stinky puppy!

do you mean fat?? put the little sod on a diet x

@CoffeeFanatic i would try Facebook marketplace / eBay - you would definitely be saving your back! Or what about those prams that some people use to wheel about their dogs?

Why would I mean fat? It's a puppy of a large breed. She's barely had time to get fat.

Wouldn't I look like a mad old lady with a dog in a pram? Tbere are loads on amazon but none get very good reviews.

Thanks though!

misleading post you didn't even say what the breed was how on earth would anyone know it was a 'large breed'

You know the phrase 'heavy horses' ? Not actually a polite euphemism. They're just BIG. Also, you seem very angry. Are you ok?

OP could you ask around for anyone with a pram or a sling that is a bit 'used'and no longer needed? You might look odd with pram but dog people will get it, and people will want to chat anyway, whoch might be good for socialisation.

I've also seen a dog in a trolley, but that looked AWFUL so don't do that!

op didn't say anything about horses?

I got AGPTEK sling carrier off Amazon. Sorry can't do link not that technical!! My lab pup is 7.5 kg and it's fine for him and has been really useful! Check out Facebook marketplace for bargains! It's definitely worth it- much less wriggling also!

I did say big/heavy.

yes but you didn't give a reason, so of course its fair to assume overweight.

Thanks, I'll have a look.

You can also just sit in a car with the boot open and let your see, hear and smell.

Busy carparks your dog will see loads of different people, parking in popular dog walking spots your dog can see other dogs etc.

I have one like this though I add a collar as a strap between my shoulder blades. My current foster is over 10kg now and I can carry her pretty comfortably

We managed without with our lab puppy. We did some sitting in the car boot watching the world and then managed things like a short walk carrying pup to a bench at the edge of the high street, trips to the pet store and garden centre and pup went in the trolley on a piece of vet bed. At the age before they can go on the ground they really don't need to be out for very long at a time.

Thanks, good idea.

Thank you, which size did you get?

Socialising ours mainly involved carrying to some sort of chair (cafe or pub!) and sitting there watching the world! We barely did any walking because of the size of them until they could walk themselves, and even then it was hard as they could only walk very short distances.

Ive seen lots of puppies in prams but a sling would have broken my back.

I don't know why anyone would need a sling for a lab puppy? Surely you just carry them when they are small? When they start to get heavier they are ready to walk normally anyway. It's so important to socialise them early and get them out and before before they start to get anxious about anything.

Im not a dog owner so this has blown my mind... why cant the puppy just walk...?

Im not doubting that theres a proper reason, ive just never heard of this before!

They're not supposed to walk on the ground outside their home for a few weeks until they have received all their innoculations against disease.

We carried our goldie in this front facing carrier. We got some weird looks! But it did the job. You still feel like you have to give them a little support under the bum when you're walking. We got it from Amazon.

Do you mean that you want to keep the dog out and about but keep the walking/exercise time to 20 min blocks?
I don't quite understand why you would need to carry the puppy for long enough that it hurts your back.
I can definitely understand puppies can be very heavy, even small dogs feel heavy if you carry them when walking for long enough. And of course plenty of puppies are very big, nothing to do with being fat (to the ridiculous comment earlier on!)
But I don't think you need to go out of your way and complicate matters. Labradors are some of the easiest dogs, very robust as puppies and don't need babying, keep it simple and make your life easy.
We had and have medium and large dogs over many years and never felt the need for a carrier.
What helped with socialising was taking the puppy in the car to busy high streets. You can easily spend an hour walking 100 meters. By the time you stop and talk to everyone who wants to make a fuss, stop at a coffee shop, go in a couple of shops, wait on the pavement while the puppy watches the world. Time which is simply spent for the benefit of the puppy.
You certainly don't need to do this every day and you don't want to overwhelm the puppy. Also, just driving to random places and sit in the car or let the puppy have a look around. Anywhere that would be reasonably busy or noisy such as a multi storey car park, supermarket carpark, petrol station, and so on.
Take the puppy to any coffee shop or pub that allows dogs on a regular basis.
And balance these outings with plenty of rest, quiet time and normal dog walks. The idea is not to over exercise or overstimulated them.

I don't see why you would need a carrier. Not exactly a natural way for a dog.

Unless you mean you can't put the puppy down because of vaccination? It is a very short period of time and just going in the car to places would be plenty of socialisation, simply watching the world from the car with the door/boot open. Plenty people would approach to make a fuss and there would be lots of noises and smells to experience.

Enjoy the puppy stages and have fun!

We parked up in busy locations like retail parks/supermarkets and sat with the boot open. Unfortunately probably made her too friendly as everyone wants to come over and fuss a puppy 😁so she thinks everyone is her best friend now