We pick up our Labrador next week!

Mumma2Ro · 2023-05-14T06:28:18+00:00

so excited to pick up our baby girl. Silver Labrador she will be 8 weeks old. I’m going to pets at home today to buy everything. please share any puppy essentials or any shopping lists you had. also…. How do we decide what food is best? She’s on a raw food diet at the moment….. thank you

fortifiedwithtea · 14/05/2023 07:34

Buy Kong toys, they are very hard wearing. Things to hide treats in. Ours loves toys to tug so ropes and Kong sticks. Puppies love treats and a lab puppy will defo respond to treats. Reward quickly with a treat any wanted behaviour.

Don’t use puppy pads, they just teach them its ok to wee in the house. Take out every 20 minutes with the same toilet command. For ours we sa

fortifiedwithtea · 14/05/2023 07:38

Sorry hit post too soon. We say go wee wee. Our girl is a boxer with a delicate stomach. For her a treat is a piece of carrot.

All puppy teeth are like needles. Don’t miss the teething stage.

surprised your puppy has been weaned on raw. I would speak to a vet about that. Good luck

Mychitchatdays · 14/05/2023 07:38

Buy a rubber brush for your house!!

Azealeasinbloom · 14/05/2023 07:39

Picture?

With respect to food, advice would be to leave her on raw for now; essentials would include vet-bed or some other easy to wash bedding; some odour-neutralising, urine zapping cleaner spray ( cannot remember the name, but they will have it) ;
if you are using a crate - a big one- if not a pet gate or other barrier to keep the puppy in a safe space.
Bitter Apple Spray is good - you spray it on furniture legs, door posts etc - it tastes nasty and they won’t chew it.

My lab is also silver in places but he started off black and is just getting sparkly as he ages 😂

gymwars · 14/05/2023 07:43

If you are using a crate (I always have) I believe there are some good online resources to help you crate train successfully (you don't just stick them in a crate and hope for the best)
I also have a crate cover so it's like a cosy den.

Wear a sweatshirt or something all day and to bed tonight, so she has something to sleep with that smells of you.

Original poster

Mumma2Ro · 14/05/2023 07:48

fortifiedwithtea · 14/05/2023 07:38

Sorry hit post too soon. We say go wee wee. Our girl is a boxer with a delicate stomach. For her a treat is a piece of carrot.

All puppy teeth are like needles. Don’t miss the teething stage.

surprised your puppy has been weaned on raw. I would speak to a vet about that. Good luck

Thank you so much for that especially the toilet advice.
the breeder told us the raw food was best for their tummies ? I will do some research on this thank you

OP posts:

Twiglets1 · 14/05/2023 07:48

If you don't want your lab to go upstairs, buy a child's safety gate for stairs.

We did this and kept it for a few months while our lab was little (despite having no toddlers at the time). When we removed it he never tried to go upstairs as he had learnt he lived downstairs. Labs are so lovely, I'm jealous you're getting a puppy. Please give us a photo when you have your lab home.

Also, the puppy may cry the first night. Ours did but he settled into family life amazingly quickly so it was only one night. They are very adaptable and happy dogs, I think it's a breed characteristic that they are naturally positive and adapt well to change.

Original poster

Mumma2Ro · 14/05/2023 07:49

Mychitchatdays · 14/05/2023 07:38

Buy a rubber brush for your house!!

What’s a rubber brush !! Lol

OP posts:

Original poster

Mumma2Ro · 14/05/2023 07:50

Azealeasinbloom · 14/05/2023 07:39

Picture?

With respect to food, advice would be to leave her on raw for now; essentials would include vet-bed or some other easy to wash bedding; some odour-neutralising, urine zapping cleaner spray ( cannot remember the name, but they will have it) ;
if you are using a crate - a big one- if not a pet gate or other barrier to keep the puppy in a safe space.
Bitter Apple Spray is good - you spray it on furniture legs, door posts etc - it tastes nasty and they won’t chew it.

My lab is also silver in places but he started off black and is just getting sparkly as he ages 😂

Thanks so much great things recommended there !

OP posts:

Twiglets1 · 14/05/2023 07:50

Oh, and food wise we gave ours a combination of naturediet (wet food) and dry food. He liked the naturediet more but it is more expensive so we alternated the two.

Twiglets1 · 14/05/2023 07:51

Aw - lovely photo, how gorgeous!

Panicmode1 · 14/05/2023 07:52

You'd need to change food over gradually if you do change...we took 2 weeks or so when we got our goldie. I don't raw feed (not enough freezer space!) but did take vets advice before changing.

We kept the cardboard from loo rolls and kitchen towels as per the advice of a friend and that was great for the chewing phase.

Kongs are great, as are tuggy toys - and I used to buy bags of used tennis balls off ebay (cheap ones from pets at home etc would be destroyed!).

Agree with not using puppy pads but consistently taking pup out and loads of fuss when they perform!

Oh, and they need more sleep than you realise in the early days. We got our pup in January, just before the end of the Xmas holidays. The children played with her constantly and it was only when they went back to school that I realised she needed to sleep more than they allowed her to!

Effingmagicfairy · 14/05/2023 08:01

A whistle, to get pups attention coming back in from the garden - reward with treat, then when you are finally out and about off lead, do the same.
What a fun filled summer you are in for, can’t think of a better time, warmer eves for night time trips in the garden, no doubt you might get the puppy blues, as we’ve had 2 puppies now (one being a lab) and 2nd time I’d forgotten what hard work they are in the early days, but put the training/socialisation in early and they soon become part of your family who you can’t imagine being without.

Merlin16 · 14/05/2023 08:09

What a gorgeous pup, I've never seen a silver lab before.

Labs are food obsessed so use that to your advantage by training with treats.

I used this book when training my lab and found it really good

The Perfect Puppy: Take Britain's Number One Puppy Care Book With You: The No. 1 Bestseller fully revised and updated, take Britain's Number One Puppy Care Book With You! amzn.eu/d/0AlSK9Y

Mychitchatdays · 14/05/2023 08:31

Mumma2Ro · 14/05/2023 07:49

What’s a rubber brush !! Lol

Show quote history

To pick up all the dog hair!! Labradors shed like crazy.

My lab isn't food obsessed, he couldn't care less. However, he absolutely adores his balls especially if they squeek.

UnaLaguna · 14/05/2023 08:32

What a gorgeous pup, I've never seen a silver lab before.

That's because there's no such thing. It's not an accepted colour, but some breeders have realised they can charge £££ for a 'rare' colour and have bred to keep the dilute gene which is not naturally occurring in labs (prob from weimaraners).

Twiglets1 · 14/05/2023 08:34

Mychitchatdays · 14/05/2023 08:31

To pick up all the dog hair!! Labradors shed like crazy.

My lab isn't food obsessed, he couldn't care less. However, he absolutely adores his balls especially if they squeek.

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Wow - I've never heard of a labrador before that wasn't food obsessed. Most of them are and I agree it does help with training. Because you can reward them with one small boring dog biscuit and they will think it's the best prize ever.

Badgeringabout · 14/05/2023 08:48

UnaLaguna · 14/05/2023 08:32

What a gorgeous pup, I've never seen a silver lab before.

That's because there's no such thing. It's not an accepted colour, but some breeders have realised they can charge £££ for a 'rare' colour and have bred to keep the dilute gene which is not naturally occurring in labs (prob from weimaraners).

This. Lab breeders are nor impressed as Weims are def not Labs.

Badgeringabout · 14/05/2023 08:49

Don't use a cage OP.

Justkeepingplatesspinning · 14/05/2023 12:32

Gorgeous pup! Ours are on James Wellbeloved food. Hopefully the breeder will send food so there's not a drastic change in what she's eating. If you can, drop off a toy or blanket that they can put with pup and mum for the scent, and it's something familiar to come home with.
You might want to get a soft grooming brush, puppy toys - someone already said Kong, nappy bags are cheaper than dog bags.
Are you going to use a harness for them, getting a puppy one so they get used to it on walks from the get go helped us.
A shark vacuum cleaner with the pet attachments has been a godsend for us, as has a rubber brush!
Finally, a lint roller! You'll find dog hair everywhere... Suggest you have one at work too if you need to go into meetings and don't want to be covered in puppy fur :-)

pookiedoodlepuppy · 14/05/2023 21:53

Have a pair of wellies or old boots that are slip on at the back door so you can quickly slip into them for toilet breaks and an umbrella (no one likes going back to bed with wet hair).

NoWordForFluffy · 14/05/2023 21:57

Mychitchatdays · 14/05/2023 08:31

To pick up all the dog hair!! Labradors shed like crazy.

My lab isn't food obsessed, he couldn't care less. However, he absolutely adores his balls especially if they squeek.

Show quote history

Our lab isn't food-obsessed either. He does shed a lot of hair though!

Dungaree · 14/05/2023 22:02

I have never even heard of a silver lab. He looks cute!

pookiedoodlepuppy · 14/05/2023 22:06

@Dungaree It's not a silver Lab it's a x -breed .

Badbudgeter · 14/05/2023 22:16

Dungaree · 14/05/2023 22:02

I have never even heard of a silver lab. He looks cute!

Technically labs come in 3 colours yellow, chocolate and black. I have a red lab so she is registered as yellow as red is a variation on blonde genes. Silver are a dilution of the chocolate gene or have a bit of Weimaraner. I’m pretty sure they can be registered as chocolate in the states but not in the UK happy to be corrected though.

Gratuitous technically yellow lab pic