Thoughts on getting a dog (lab)

[k&b05]

My DH and I have been thinking for a while about getting a dog. My DH is an avid hunter and has long wanted a retriever/hunter type dog. We both love labs and think they would be great for us, fun for him and his hunting, and would be a good dog to have even when we have kids. We've looked into puppies, but have a concern about going through the puppy stage. We're currently building a house on some land (which the dog could happily run through). However, with it being a brand new house our concerns are about the dog tearing up the house. We've done some research and have read about labs in their puppy stage, which seems to last up to 3 years old, can tear stuff up. We'd prefer to not have our nice home be demolished by a dog. We do plan to crate train until we can trust that the dog can be left out when/if we're not home. We're also thinking about putting in a doggie door in the house so the dog can go in and out as it pleases.

I'm just worried about stuff in our new house being ruined. We're currently in an apartment and have given thought to getting a puppy now when we don't really care about the stuff in the apartment (carpet, most of our furniture, etc.). However, it's an apartment and I think we'd feel bad getting a dog in a 2 bedroom apartment.

We've also considered getting what's called a "starter" dog who may be about a year old or so that's already certified and trained. But, yet we'd miss some of that cute puppy stage. And, starter dogs are typically more expensive.

Any thoughts you can share??? Each of us had a dog growing up, but we were both really young and weren't instrumental in the training, walking, exercising of the dog.

Thank you for your help!! :)

[fuzzy]

Yeah, um, puppies are tough.

I'm just worried about stuff in our new house being ruined.

My lab-mix torn oak moulding off the wall. While we were at home. We just turned our backs for a minute.

Labs are very, very, very oral. If the new house is a concern, I'd really consider getting an older dog. Just my opinion, but the headaches, sleepless nights, and damage to the house far out weigh the cute puppy factor...at least for me (my current dog is the last puppy we will ever get).

On another note, I'd make sure you have some sort of fencing (electric works fine) if you are on land -- especially if you are planning on a doggie door. I live on 18 acres and it sounded so wonderful in my mind -- lots of land for a cute little dog to run on. Yeah, well, that cute little dog has a massive prey drive (especially if you'll be using him/her for hunting) and there's tons of critters out there. I can't even begin to count the number of times our mutt took off on us (for hours because she saw a deer, a rabbit, or a fox.

[kemaji]

Have you considered keeping an eye on the local animal shelters for older labs? We adopted ours when he was 1.5 years old and had a relatively easy adjustment. He is crate trained and whenever we are not home he is in his crate. Even now (he is close to 4), if we forget to lock the door on his crate, he likes to get into trouble. He is extremely well behaved when we are home, but he a paper-chewer and will eat mail, books and any snacks (his or ours) that we have left out if we forget to crate him.

[Esq.]

Let me first say that I love my lab, and would not trade him for the world.

That said, here is a list of things that he destroyed in his first year and a half of life (this list is by no means comprehesicve):
couch
wedding pics
he ate a glass picture frame
2 window sills
probably about 20 sets of blinds
about 15 cds
legs of an antique dresser

He has also eaten countless boxes of tissue, rolls upon rolls of paper towels, rocks, blankets, pillows, etc

He grew out of it around 1.5 years, and has not chewed a thing since. He was crate trained, but no longer needs the crate. He gave it to his sister :) She (a terrier mix)was FAR worse than he ever was. She chewed on a wall. Not the corner of the wall, a flat part of the wall. She must have just stuck her face up against it and started nibbling until she got a good dent going :rolleyes:

[k&b05]

Thank you for the thoughtful replies! I really appreciate it!

Yes, we've looked at some lab rescue sites and shelters to see about getting a young lab. I've found some cute ones and ones that are already potty trained and crate trained and know some of the basic commands (ie. sit, heel, etc.).

With getting a little older dog (1-2 years old) do you think it's difficult for the pet to make the adjustment to a new owner (me and DH)? DH has said, which I don't know much about, that the dog wouldn't necessarily have our imprint per se if he/she had lived with someone else for a period of time. I'm not sure I said that correctly or not, but it was to that effect, I think.

Again, I really appreciate the replies and thoughts! Thanks! :)

[Kate&Joey]

With getting a little older dog (1-2 years old) do you think it's difficult for the pet to make the adjustment to a new owner (me and DH)? DH has said, which I don't know much about, that the dog wouldn't necessarily have our imprint per se if he/she had lived with someone else for a period of time.

From my experience, I would say this is not true. I have two rescues. One was 1.5 years old when I got her. I am definitely her mommy and she is my best girl! She ADORES DH. Seriously, they have such a special relationship, it's really touching to see. My second rescue was 2.5 years old when we adopted him. According to this dog, I "hung the moon." He is devoted to me (and loves DH, too, of course!).

Growing up, we also had a stray dog "adopt" us. She was probably about 1-2 years old. Again, this dog completely bonded with us. She especially loved my mom...slept right next to my mom's side of the bed on her special rug.

I don't know much about dog psychology, but I have had dogs my whole life. I think their "pack mentality" makes it easy for them to bond with new owners. As long as you establish the dog's place in your pack, they are happy and content with their new family.

[Kate&Joey]

I forgot to mention about labs specifically! Yes, they are a lively breed. They are working dogs and need activity. In my experience, you should be prepared for the "puppy" stage to last longer than 3 years. I've been told that males especially take a long time to mature (surprise, surprise, right? :) ). My parents' golden retriever seriously did not settle down until he was about 6 years old. I had a lab mix growing up that was a spaz until he was about 8! The lab mix destroyed numerous things, but his "claim to fame" was gnawing on my mother's grand piano. My father was not happy. Not to scare you, just be forewarned! ;)

But, I've never had a purebred lab, so they could be different.

[lawphil]

I have a lab - male - and he is a handful! but he has also brought us so much joy!

He has yet to destroy anything in our home (almost 6 months old). We keep a very close eye on him and when we can't we put him in the crate. We have gates up that keep him in kitchen if we want to run upstairs to do something but don't want to crate.

We also give him a lot of exercise...so at night when he is out of crate hanging around with us he is often snoozing or chewing on a bone because he is so tired.

We are constantly training him and really find that our problems are more with his exuberant greeting of strangers (runners are his favorite), his love of rolling in mud, and also his love of the bichon next door which leads him to wander from our yard (can't wait for the electric fence when he turns six months!).

You mentioned a lot of property. Have you thought about getting two dogs? If they have a lot of room to run and an electric fence they will tire eachother out and need a lot less attention from you. Just a thought.

Good luck!

[k&b05]

Thanks kate&joey! Your replies are very, very helpful!

We're still looking into various options, but I'm really glad to know about your experience with getting a rescue doggy or adopting.

[jajacobsen]

I have two weimaraners, now age 9.5 months. They have been very good puppies and we get unsolicited compliments as to how well trained they are all the time. We also have a newly renovated house. There have been issues.

They have chewed holes in walls - both at the corner and in the middle of a wall (exactly as described by a previous poster), window framing, one door frame, and a very small chew mark on a table leg (I interuupted the act before it went farther). Oh and countless hand towels, toilet paper rolls (what is the fascination?), socks, etc... We actually consider ourselves lucky as to the minimal damage.

they have never chewed shoes or valuable personal items because 1) all items are kept picked up in rooms where the puppies are (this was hard for DH), 2) they are given chew and squeak toys which are stored in a basket. They know anything in the basket is a "yes!" item ( I pick up the toys each night and put them back in the basket) 3) they are confined to certain rooms (kitchen and family room.

Now at 9.5 months they are pretty good (except with toilet paper). But still, I would never leave them unsupervised if I left the house. Also, they get severely scolded every time they tear up anything, because I dog can't tell the difference in value between toilet paper and shoes, and I want them to learn thatthey may only chew on anything in their basket. It is pretty successful. We have an expensive leather chair in the family room and they learned from 5 weeks old that this chair was OFF LIMITS. They give it wide berth.

I think a morning walk and lots of supervision are the keys. Evenm though they have over an acre fenced yard, they get "bored" with it so they go for a morning outing off of our property - this helps a lot. (We are fortunate to have a lake nearby) A tired dog is a good dog!

I think either choice could work but you must realize that having any dog will entail LOTS of time (more than I ever imagined) in teh first years, but this investment of time is well worth it for a happy, well trained dog in later years.

Good luck!

I LOVED the puppy time and am so glad we got them as puppies. But that was for me, my emotional needs and bonding. I think that older dogs can bond equally and I have had shelter dogs that became wonderful, loving pets.

[ManteoChik]

Our black lab is going to be two in November and she's been nothing but a dream. We got her at 7 weeks straight from the breeder and she never ate a thing in our house. We did not crate train her, she was baby gated in our master bathroom and only had a couple accidents in the house and only during the first week we had her. She's been able to be left out in the house full time since she was five months old.

Labs are wonderful dogs, but you deffinatly need to do some reasearch first. In my opinon, English Labs are the way to go. English Labs have the stocky body and block heads, they are known for being more mellow and less high-strung. If you are looking for a great hunting AND family dog the English lab is the way to go. American Labs are more lean, they also have a long nose and tend to be more hyper and high-strung.

Also, another thing to think about is that if your DH is wanting to hunt with the dog its better to start training at a young age, hence a plus of getting a puppy. What area are you in?

[fuzzy]

DH has said, which I don't know much about, that the dog wouldn't necessarily have our imprint per se if he/she had lived with someone else for a period of time.

I don't really agree. I don't think dogs *need* to imprint. My current dog is the first I've had as a puppy. All my other dogs were older rescues -- with training (particularly training needed for hunting) they'll quickly bond to you and your husband.

[notkk]

I have seen more than 500 dogs (retrievers) come and go through the rescue that I work for and never once has one been returned for failing to bond with its new owners. We do remind people that it can take a few weeks for a dog to settle in and bond with the owners (obedience classes are wonderful for this!) -- but it has never been a problem in my experience.

Also, it is not uncommon for dogs to be turned over to our organization because of high prey drives. I do not think that it would be difficult for you to find a rescue dog that would be a good candidate for someone who hunts as a hobby. FWIW, we also get dogs who are surrendered because they were bought as puppies to be hunting dogs and they end up being poor hunters and/or gun-shy -- so neither route is fool-proof.

My advice in terms of being concerned about your new house is:
1. adopt a slightly older dog
2. come to terms with the fact that eventually something will happen, that's life with dogs

[mkvh]

I have 2 male labs, both under 2 years old (yes, and I have a newborn...we are nuts!). My DH and I each grew up with labs as well. Yes, they can be destructive. Yes, they have a lot of energy. Particularly American (field) labs, which is what you would want! My English (show) lab would be the MOST useless hunting dog--he has ZERO prey drive. You have to understand that the chewing and the energy are part of the joy of owning a lab. :rolleyes: But with appropriate training and discipline, you can minimize the "damage".;)

Anyway, if you are open to rescue, I would look into it. Labs are not known for being "single-owner" dogs like some breeds and tend to bond well with any owner. It's amazing to see the gratitude rescue lab have JUST for paying attention to them! While I bought both of mine from breeders, we were going to adopt our second until we had a major difference of opinion with the rescue organization. The majority of rescue dogs are males between 1 and 3. Still young enough to be trained as you'd like to train them. But they're mostly house trained (a major bonus in a new home!) and some have basic obedience and may even have started training for hunting.

Either way, owning a lab is a lot of work, in a good way (I had to stop typing to take my daughter's pjs away from my 7 month old lab...:rolleyes:) .

[k&b05]

Thanks!! A friend of my DH also recommended the English labs. We've looked into them as well. I know they can be a little smaller than American labs and that's fine.

We live in Texas.

We have found quite a few lab breeders who expose the puppies to loud noises, gun shots, water and the like. Some of the breeders also have starter dogs who are a little older and a little more trained. We haven't found any breeders nearby that breed English labs. We're in the Dallas area. I did find one in Houston, and that's an option.

I guess each dog will be different. We both really want a dog, so we'll see. We're doing our research, and I'm very glad for you all of your great advice too. We talked about it some last night. DH said, maybe we could just get a cat. lol.... It was kinda funny.

[Chile]

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[mkvh]

A friend of my DH also recommended the English labs. We've looked into them as well.

Just be aware that, generally, English labs are not bred for their hunting skills. Instead, they are bred for conformation and temperament. If your DH is a serious hunter, you want to be sure that the dog you get will be a good hunter. As I said above, my English lab has NO prey drive at all and would make a wholly useless bird dog!

But he is beautiful and sweet and has been veeeerrrry laid back since he was a tiny puppy!

I know they can be a little smaller than American labs and that's fine.

Generally, they are shorter and stockier. Rudy is a bit overweight at 95 lbs, but at just over a year old, he's still a solid 85 lbs at a healthy weight. So not smaller, just put together a bit differently--American labs tend to be leggier and leaner.

[Peppy]

I had a lab/rottie/German Shepherd mix when I was growing up. We adopted her and she totally bonded to everyone in the family. Not a problem at all.

Just some food for thought--labs are among the dogs most frequently found in shelters and rescues. Countless labs are put down each year because they can't find homes. If you find yourself close-to-indifferent on your options of going to a breeder or going to a shelter/rescue, perhaps that will sway you toward the shelter or rescue. Also, with many rescues the animals are "fostered" by a family until they find a forever home. You can find out a lot about the dog's temperment by talking to the foster parents first--it might help ensure a better fit.

It sounds like you have already contacted shelters and rescues, but you might also want to check out Petfinder (petfinder.com). You can search based on breed and your location.

[k&b05]

We talked about getting a dog a bit this week. I think we've pretty much decided that we will get an older dog (1-3 years old) and likely get one from a rescue. I agree with what a lot of you have said. There do seem to be a lot of labs needing homes and so it doesn't seem to be totally worth it to go to a breeder for a puppy who may destroy our new home. We've found some great dogs online, but have decided to go ahead and wait until we're in our new house and have things kind of settled there. We're presently in an apartment and it would be cruel to the dog to leave him/her in a small space. So, we'll wait for a while, but continue to do some research and learn more about training and things of that nature.

Thank you all for your wonderful advice and thoughts! I really appreciate it! :)