Labs, Labs, and more Labs!

[EmilyZA]

Where are all the Lab owners?

I have a four year old chocolate Lab named Vinny. He is the greatest. I will have to find some pics to post. :)

[ManteoChik]

Hey there, I'm a Black Lab owner. I had been on my boyfriend Rob for months that I wanted a dog. Rob searched through breeders for over three months to find the perfect breeder. He finally found one and surprised me with Duchess on Christmas of this past year. She is 7 months old now....here are a couple of pictures of Duchess when we first got her:

http://images.snapfish.com/343%3C%3B%3C%3B923232%7Ffp64%3Dot%3E233%3C%3D%3A88 %3D%3C97%3DXROQDF%3E2323755%3B69565ot1lsi

http://images.snapfish.com/343%3C%3B%3C%3B923232%7Ffp7%3Enu%3D324%3B%3E997%3E %3B%3A6%3EWSNRCG%3D3232846%3A77%3A67nu0mrj

http://images.snapfish.com/343%3C%3B%3C%3B923232%7Ffp64%3Dot%3E233%3C%3D%3A88 %3D%3C97%3DXROQDF%3E232375357%3B%3B7%3Aot1lsi

[Paperweight]

Lab Mixes. I'll post photos too. One is a super sweet lab boxer mix who is as smart (and obediant) as can be. The other is a more "free spirit" lab something something mix. We love them both but I'm highly allergic. They've been gone for the last three months until we move into our new house and I've missed them but I feel GREAT. We might have to make them outside dogs. I hate it but we'll see how it goes.

[Paperweight]

Courtney!!!! How freaking CUTE!! When we see puppies I ask my hubby "is this how other people feel when they see babies?" Do you have a current pic?

[EmilyZA]

Hey there, I'm a Black Lab owner. I had been on my boyfriend Rob for months that I wanted a dog. Rob searched through breeders for over three months to find the perfect breeder. He finally found one and surprised me with Duchess on Christmas of this past year. She is 7 months old now....

OMG!! She is just toooooo cute!!!

[ManteoChik]

EmilyZA and Paperweight Thanks for the kind words....yeah she is my baby. Before I had a dog "of my own" I wasn't ever really "into" other peoples dogs, but now that I have duchess I notice everyone's dogs...lol.

This is Dutchess at about 3 months at the house in the Keys:
http://images.snapfish.com/344329%3A323232%7Ffp47%3Dot%3E233%3C%3D%3A88%3D%3C 97%3DXROQDF%3E23237%3A6%3A83395ot1lsi

This is her at about 4 months on my bed:
http://images.snapfish.com/344329%3A323232%7Ffp3%3B%3Dot%3E233%3C%3D%3A88%3D% 3C97%3DXROQDF%3E232379%3B%3A9%3A43%3Bot1lsi

This is her at about 6 months right after we moved into the new house trying to go for a swim in the pool (we can't keep her out of it):
http://images.snapfish.com/344329%3A323232%7Ffp64%3Dot%3E233%3C%3D%3A88%3D%3C 97%3DXROQDF%3E23238755268%3C%3Bot1lsi

Not a great pic but this is her when she was still pretty little sleeping on the couch next to my People Magazine:
http://images.snapfish.com/344329%3A323232%7Ffp63%3Dot%3E233%3C%3D%3A88%3D%3C 97%3DXROQDF%3E232379%3B%3A99774ot1lsi

[aligirl]

Here's our Indie - yellow lab. She's now 20 months old. I need to put some newer pictures on my work laptop!!! She's such a girlie dog. She doesn't like getting wet, doesn't particularly like getting dirty - just wants to love. And, her nose is now pink!

6 weeks at my parents' house - first day we got her:
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b4df05b3127cce98e4f4424b4c00000016108AcuGzFs0aNC

7 weeks:
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b4df05b3127cce98e4f44c4b4200000016108AcuGzFs0aNC

8 weeks:
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b4df05b3127cce98e4f44a4b4400000016108AcuGzFs0aNC

Getting groomed last June at 6 months old:
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d808b3127cce92c0f54e36c200000016108AcuGzFs0aNC

[jessied1025]

Here is our little love bug...Sugar!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v519/jessied1025/Sugar/Sugar.jpg
She is a yellow lab and just turned 2 last Thursday. She is pretty small for a lab, she only weighs just about 50 lbs. We adopted her last July from a lab organization called LEARN.

[Bliss]

We have 2 lab "babies", an 8 year old black lab named Onyx and a 1 yr old yellow lab named Lola. They are my pride and joy :) and really are my babies :D Here are some pics of our dynamic duo:

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5df05b3127cce9f47b2b1dc8f00000056108BaN2bZy1aY

Peeping Toms- they love looking out the window:
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d824b3127cce925500c860a800000016108BaN2bZy1aY

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b4ce05b3127cce9cdcf8c7439200000026108BaN2bZy1aY

[knoelani]

I want to play! Everyone's furbabies are so cute!

Here's my pretty boy, soon to be 6 year old
http://images.kodakgallery.com/photos1156/2/82/80/1/10/5/510018082205_0_ALB.jpg

And our funny girl, 4 years old

http://images.kodakgallery.com/photos1175/2/82/14/79/70/4/470791482205_0_ALB.jpg

This is the first time I've tried to post pictures here, so let's see if that works.

[Kristen78]

My turn! :)

I have a black lab named Baloo. He is 3 years old. He is the love of my life, he is the sweetest thing and has so much personality. He is a big baby though, and the simple things in life are what he likes most, like FOOD, STICKS, BALLS, etc...

He is is when he was a puppy
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b3da22b3127cce9c154cf15f9000000015108AcNGrZi0atL

Looking like the handsome devil he is...
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b3ce05b3127cce9c154ccdf04f00000005108AcNGrZi0atL

Celebrating Mardi Gras (even though he doesnt look too happy)
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b4dc05b3127cce9c154cb3bed700000015108AcNGrZi0atL

[Ameez]

Here's a close up of my dog Sonny:
http://images.kodakgallery.com/photos1077/2/52/62/4/81/2/281046252203_0_ALB.jpg

[Kellie]

Kota (just turned 2yrs)
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d828b3127cce92658dbb064800000016108Aas3DRw1ZNN

Kota with Comet (our 13.5 year old golden)
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d828b3127cce92658da6876500000016108Aas3DRw1ZNN

[Chimichanga]

Heeeere's Zeppelin. (DH named him after the Led Zeppelin song "Black Dog") ;)

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5db11b3127cce91b4e20d878d00000016108IZs2LNo1ba
When we brought him home - he's six weeks here

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5db10b3127cce91b3832cbf6500000016108IZs2LNo1ba
Sleeping on the futon

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d801b3127cce921e58e46a2c00000016108IZs2LNo1ba
One of my favorites! He's 8 weeks here. He's now 11 weeks old and getting SO big!! :D

[Guinness]

I have two labs - Guinness and Kata. Guinness is in my avator - I have to figure out how to post images here! They are our babies - spoiled rotten :p

Trying to figure out how to post pic - Here's my babies :D
http://images.snapfish.com/344357%3A%3B23232%7Ffp3%3B%3Dot%3E234%3B%3D328%3D% 3A74%3DXROQDF%3E232394577%3C75%3Aot1lsi

[DisneyGirl]

Eveyones dogs are just so cute. I have so much love for labs. They are such gentile and loyal dogs. I have a 8 yr old chocolate lab named Misti Belle and she is my love.

I'll have to get my dh to post a photo for me.

[Esq.]

I have the first chocolate in the thread! Yipee!

His full name is Boekeloo Octavius Puppinstuff, Bogey for short, but called Bubby more than anything else. He just turned 4, but we always have to start with the baby pics.

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b2d729b3127cce9d6c8f959acb00000026108Abs2jhs3cs8

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b2d729b3127cce9d6c8f921bfc00000026108Abs2jhs3cs8

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b2d737b3127cce9d6c8f9e04ca00000026108Abs2jhs3cs8

all grown up:

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b2cc03b3127cce9d6c8c550cd200000025108Abs2jhs3cs8

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b3df33b3127cce9d6c8c5fc38f00000026108Abs2jhs3cs8

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b2d627b3127cce9d6c8fac818100000026108Abs2jhs3cs8

[Esq.]

Ok, he has a squishy too...I can't leave her out...I feel like a bad momma.

With his squish, Naya:

http://www.mpix.com/GetImage.aspx?a=3364468&b=okujalnd9b1hl75vwek5&c=b&d=0

http://www.mpix.com/GetImage.aspx?a=3364465&b=xobw2fp9lkkkymk641gy&c=b&d=0

[EmilyZA]

Finally, here are pics of my 4 year-old chocolate, Vinny:

http://emilyanddanny.smugmug.com/photos/26892514-M.jpg

http://emilyanddanny.smugmug.com/photos/26892505-M.jpg

[Zelda Von Yitz]

Ok, he has a squishy too...I can't leave her out...I feel like a bad momma.

With his squish, Naya:

http://www.mpix.com/GetImage.aspx?a=3364468&b=okujalnd9b1hl75vwek5&c=b&d=0

http://www.mpix.com/GetImage.aspx?a=3364465&b=xobw2fp9lkkkymk641gy&c=b&d=0

Your other dog kind of looks like my dog:

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5dd06b3127cce9089c7699dc500000016108AcNGTVk0cNL

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d924b3127cce92c24d20cd6500000016108AcNGTVk0cNL

[katiadarling]

Here's our boy Marley. He's a lab-shepherd (of some various sort) mix. Lab head and face, but little waspy body!

http://images.snapfish.com/3443858323232%7Ffp58%3Dot%3E2345%3D88%3A%3D3%3A%3B %3DXROQDF%3E2323872%3B%3A5554ot1lsi

Close-up of his face

http://images.snapfish.com/3443858323232%7Ffp46%3Dot%3E2345%3D88%3A%3D3%3A%3B %3DXROQDF%3E2323872%3B%3A5555ot1lsi

Him and his rope (he's looking at a ferret, that's why he looks a wee bit freaked out!)

And finally....

http://images.snapfish.com/3443858323232%7Ffp3%3B%3Dot%3E2323%3D95%3C%3D%3C%3 A%3A%3D323295%3C%3B%3B9%3C29nu0mrj

Marley in socks!

How I love that dog. I work at a humane society and I'm thinking of adopting a second! I'm so excited.

[artist]

I'll have to post a photo of Parker soon! We got him in April at a no kill shelter. He is probably about 2. I know for sure he is a chocolate lab. He may or may not have something else too. Not really sure and the vet didn't know either. He is so sweet though!

[red_fern]

My husband and I have two yellow labs. They're siblings who turned two the beginning of June. On occaision we also have a third dog due to fostering for a local rescue group (non-breed specific).

[Esq.]

Your other dog kind of looks like my dog:

She does! What breed is yours? Naya is a terrier mix. What mix... no idea!

[Chimichanga]

What are the "odd" things your lab likes to eat? Zeppelin loves carrots! I started giving them to him because I heard they help keep dogs' teeth clean. he'll eat 3-4 at a sitting. :D At least one male in this house likes veggies. ;)

He starts obedience classes on Tuesday and I can't wait. He needs to start calming down at times. I love that he's so active, but when it's 2 a.m. i don't want to play fetch.

[Esq.]

Bogey is all about cheese. Any cheese, really, but his favorite is mozzarella and brie! He literally shakes and drools when he sees it. and he knows which drawer in the fridge has cheese in it. I just got cream cheese out of thefridge for my bagel, and he came running and sat with his head over my shoulder looking at the cheese.

[EmilyZA]

My Vinny is sick! We had to take him to the emergency room Thursday night, but he's getting better quickly. He has Limber Tail (read about it at http://www.woodhavenlabs.com/coldtail.html.) Originally we thought he got it b/c he wags his tail so much, but my husband gave him a bath the other day and now we read that that is a possible cause, if you bathe them in water that's too cold or too warm. He's on dog ibuprofen and improving... but he gave us a good scare the other night. We thought he lost his wag!

[sublime311]

Wow, Emily, I am so sorry to read that your pup is sick! I wish him a speedy recovery!

[sublime311]

Hi ladies,

I have a black lab mix - I know she's part chow, but I'm not sure if there's anything else. Her coat is very typically lab. It's short, mostly straight (with a slight wave near her neck and a little down her back) and it's very dense. She has a soft down-like weather-resistant undercoat. My problem is that she's REALLY stinky. I even took her to a vet (I think he was a student!)once who said she may just produce excessive amounts of oil or that it could be her diet (at the time I was feeding her Eukenuba). I've tried several food varieties without much success. I just gave her a bath last night and now she actually smells worse than before (it's different than "wet dog"). Have any of you experienced this with your labs? I wonder if it could be an allergy producing the scent..? I'm tempted to give her another bath with a different shampoo, but I know overwashing is bad. Ugh.. :confused:

Here's Raven:
http://images.snapfish.com/3443%3B78723232%7Ffp54%3Dot%3E2334%3D48%3A%3D425%3 DXROQDF%3E23239378633%3B5ot1lsi

Any advice would be appreciated.

[MMHinCA]

Here is our 1 yr old yellow lab, Bella! She is our very spoiled and loved daughter!

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d834b3127cce9204f1e0891b00000046108AaOHDdi3ZtB
On her 1st birthday in June at the local dog bakery.

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5db10b3127cce92579dbd0e9800000016108AaOHDdi3ZtB
Our 55lb lap dog.

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5db10b3127cce9257950e8f1f00000015108AaOHDdi3ZtB
A day at the beach.

[Kellie]

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5db10b3127cce92579dbd0e9800000016108AaOHDdi3ZtB
Our 55lb lap dog.


Very cute pictures! We have an 85 lb lap dog!! :D :eek:

[Chimichanga]

Got some new pictures of Zeppelin!! :D

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d930b3127cce92ecec0326ee00000016108IZs2LNo1ba
Sleeping on his squeak cow

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d930b3127cce92ecec1d26f000000016108IZs2LNo1ba
Not sure why he likes to sleep like this all the time but he does. I have heard dogs will sleep like that when they are totally at ease. Well, Zeppelin is always at east ;)

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d930b3127cce92ece917666000000015108IZs2LNo1ba
One of his favorite activities - looking out the window. He prefers the front door, but I can never get my camera ready in time.

[jessied1025]

Chimichanga great pictures of Zeppelin. Our yellow lab, who just turned 2 will sleep like that sometimes. You would think it would be uncomfortable.

[jaeger]

Awww Zeppelin is very cute! I love his name!

[Chimichanga]

thanks ladies :)

He's doing really well in his puppy class. But, he doesn't like to socialize with the dogs. i think there are too many of them (about 10 in the class) at once. He does okay with 1-2 dogs at a time.

[jaeger]

thanks ladies :)

He's doing really well in his puppy class. But, he doesn't like to socialize with the dogs. i think there are too many of them (about 10 in the class) at once. He does okay with 1-2 dogs at a time.

He may feel a bit overwhelmed with all of those puppies, but that's common in puppy classes. Is it a "Puppy Kindergarten" type of class?

[Chimichanga]

Yes, it's called "Puppy Socialization". While he learns things (like sit, down and how to walk on a leash) the goal is to get the pups used to other dogs and other people. He's totally fine with the people. He'll roll over for a belly scratch. But, the dogs - he hasn't warmed up to everyone yet.

I'm not too worried - neither is the instructor. He doesn't attack any of them or anything; they just aren't high on his priority list. :)

[jaeger]

Yes, it's called "Puppy Socialization". While he learns things (like sit, down and how to walk on a leash) the goal is to get the pups used to other dogs and other people. He's totally fine with the people. He'll roll over for a belly scratch. But, the dogs - he hasn't warmed up to everyone yet.

I'm not too worried - neither is the instructor. He doesn't attack any of them or anything; they just aren't high on his priority list. :)

He sounds so cute. I think it's great for pups to be social!

[Reebs]

I LOVE this thread. Here is my son Shadow. We adopted him back in January of 2004. He is the best dog. Very lazy and always wants love! He doesn't even bark!

Bringing him home in the car

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b4df01b3127cce9b48ea83982300000016108AaM3DNq0aNV http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b4df01b3127cce9b48ea8e191e00000016108AaM3DNq0aNV

His favorite position
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b4df08b3127cce9b48eb77055a00000016108AaM3DNq0aNV

After a long day of fun. Shadow (left) Brandy (middle...recently passed away) and Buddy (right - SILs dog)
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b4ce34b3127cce9b48eb7bf2d900000016108AaM3DNq0aNV

[Reebs]

Shadow likes to look out the window too
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5dd35b3127cce90f883710d7600000016108AaM3DNq0aNV
Close-up
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5dd06b3127cce908e2993fd9d00000016108AaM3DNq0aNV

We found him sleeping in our bed
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5da04b3127cce910524bdd91300000016108AaM3DNq0aNV


ok, ok. Enough I know. I just can't get enough of him. He is just too cute to me! sorry for all the pics!!

[sparkle&shine]

I also have a Choco Lab! She is very sweet and does really well with my human baby too!
Here she is checkin out DS - we brought him home from the hospital on Halloween!
http://images.snapfish.com/3444%3A%3A%3A%3B23232%7Ffp64%3Dot%3E2326%3D%3C5%3A %3D537%3DXROQDF%3E232374255%3A8%3B%3Bot1lsi
Here Hannah is hoping for Andrew to drop her some food ;)
http://images.snapfish.com/3444%3A%3A%3A%3B23232%7Ffp64%3Dot%3E2326%3D%3C5%3A %3D537%3DXROQDF%3E232394%3A%3B85367ot1lsi


sublime311 ~ I have to use a special shampoo on my lab. She also has a super oily coat and smells whenever it is hot outside - I call it dog sweat smell. Also check out your doggies ears. I have heard that if you don't clean them enough they can also smell pretty badly. From what I hear there isn't much you can do about it with living in the heat - I live in AZ too.

[Chimichanga]

I had to share...

DH works a morning job and leaves at about 3 a.m. He'll put Zeppelin in bed with me (so he doesn't cry and wake me up). Zeppelin sleeps in DH's spot and is happy as a clam.

Today DH went to take a nap and took Zepp with him. Normally DH will just sleep on the couch, but today he went to bed. DH slept on his side and had Zepp on my side of the bed.

Zepp was restless and wouldn't lie down. DH moved to my side of the bed, Zepp took his and promptly fell asleep. :D

[manda_kate]

Here is my big monster, Tucker. He is about 7 months old, he was abandoned when we got him, so not sure if his exact age. He weighs 56 pounds!

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y142/boostin/tuckerbone.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y142/boostin/coaltucker.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y142/boostin/prettyboy.jpg

[Chimichanga]

Oh.My.Yes!

Zeppelin snores - and loudly - when he sleeps. We can seriously hear him over the TV sometimes! He doesn't really make other noises when he snoozes but he likes to take up a lot of room on the bed.

[manda_kate]

Tucker snores loudly, too. Usually only when he's in a deep sleep, but it's the funniest thing!

[Chimichanga]

I think Zeppelin is getting a bit...aggressive. What's the earliest we can neuter him? I thought it was six months, but someone said they thought it was earlier.

He's been a terror lately, but I did get these gems:
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d903b3127cce92a0c841174400000015108IZs2LNo1ba
Right after he tore my sandals (cheapy Wal-Mart kind) to shreds

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d903b3127cce92a0c8db17de00000015108IZs2LNo1ba
After daddy yelled at him for biting and drawing blood

[Zelda Von Yitz]

I'd get hin neutered now. Call your vet; I'm sure six months is fine.

[katiadarling]

We neuter at 2 months and 2 lbs, so I'm sure Zeppelin could be neutered.

Also, if you haven't already, get him into some puppy training classes!!! Remember, a tired dog is a good dog, and if you think he's an out of control puppy, just wait until he grows up. Not only is training good behaviorally, but it also gives a lot of mental stimulation which is great to challenge dogs and help them be good canine citizens.

[BonBon06-11-05]

Here's my Daphne May.

http://images.snapfish.com/3446345923232%7Ffp3%3B%3Dot%3E2336%3D%3B63%3D%3A9% 3A%3DXROQDF%3E23239%3A9%3B757%3B5ot1lsi

http://images.snapfish.com/3446345923232%7Ffp3%3Enu%3D3232%3E9%3A9%3E%3A67%3E 23239%3A9%3B588%3B%3Aot1lsi

http://images.snapfish.com/3446345923232%7Ffp63%3Dot%3E2336%3D%3B63%3D%3A9%3A %3DXROQDF%3E23239%3A9%3B834%3C3ot1lsi http://images.snapfish.com/3446345923232%7Ffp3%3B%3Dot%3E2336%3D%3B63%3D%3A9% 3A%3DXROQDF%3E23239%3A9%3B834%3C8ot1lsi http://images.snapfish.com/3446345923232%7Ffp3%3Enu%3D3245%3E%3A72%3E9%3A9%3E WSNRCG%3D3232%3A9%3A%3A84898nu0mrj

[Chimichanga]

http://images.snapfish.com/3446345923232%7Ffp3%3Enu%3D3245%3E%3A72%3E9%3A9%3E WSNRCG%3D3232%3A9%3A%3A84898nu0mrj
I love it when dogs lie like this!! I don't know why I find it so cute, but I do. :D Two dogs in our obedience class lie like this and I find it so adorable. I wish Zepp did that.

He is getting a lot better! Biting a bit but not as bad. He likes to hold things with his front teeth and sort of scrape over it. It's murder on fingers, but not as bad. We did get some bitter apple spray but in a gi-normeous bottle! I've got to break it out into smaller bottles.

We asked the vet about getting him nuetered. They said we had to wait until he was six months; they won't do it any earlier. That's fine I guess.

We're now trying to teach him to catch a frisbee in the air. He'll jump like no one's business but he let's the frisbee fall to the ground before he picks it up. Silly boy doesn't get it yet, but we're trying.

[jessied1025]

Very cute!

Our yellow lab does the same thing...but she lays her stomach right on top of the vent so she can get all the cold air.

[aligirl]

Here's the latest picture of Indie...

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d632b3127cce93d3f71360a800000016108AcuGzFs0aNC

[mkvh]

Here's my current fave pic of our yellow lab Rudy (also my avatar, but too little and dark to see well). He's about 11 weeks in this, though he's now 16 weeks and 35 lbs!

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d637b3127cce93cd65eedbd700000016108AatGTNozaOc

[sportyj]

We asked the vet about getting him nuetered. They said we had to wait until he was six months; they won't do it any earlier. That's fine I guess.

We're now trying to teach him to catch a frisbee in the air. He'll jump like no one's business but he let's the frisbee fall to the ground before he picks it up. Silly boy doesn't get it yet, but we're trying.

WHY did the vet say to wait so long? Now I am worried, my baby girl is getting spayed tomorrow at 11 weeks!!! :confused:

[Chimichanga]

I'm not sure why they wait so long. I think it's a vet's choice - I know we got our dog neutered sooner than 6 months when I was growing up.

My baby boy is looking so old now!
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d602b3127cce93cee175d98b00000016108IZs2LNo1ba
We were driving to visit some of DH's family. Zeppelin is very good in the car; he usually sleeps the entire way. But, when mommy or daddy get out of the car for anything he cries.

[ManteoChik]

Chimichanga I have a black lab puppy....she's nine months now. We had her fixed when she was 6 months. They want to make sure their bodies mature enough. We were actually told by someone that she couldn't be fixed until she had at least two periods, but our vet corrected that and explained that it could be done as early as 6 months. I guess it's just for health reasons. I remember doing things a lot differently with my childhood dog....lol...I guess times really have changed.

Here is Duchess at 8 months:
http://images.snapfish.com/3447%3A6%3A323232%7Ffp54%3Dot%3E233%3C%3D%3A88%3D% 3C97%3DXROQDF%3E2323%3A36%3B2%3C2%3B8ot1lsi

[BonBon06-11-05]

Playin' on the floor .....
http://images.snapfish.com/3447%3A77523232%7Ffp3%3Enu%3D3245%3E%3A72%3E9%3A9% 3EWSNRCG%3D3232%3B4933987%3Cnu0mrj

All wrapped up in her "blankey"
http://images.snapfish.com/3447%3A77523232%7Ffp3%3Enu%3D3245%3E%3A72%3E9%3A9% 3EWSNRCG%3D3232%3B4933%3A65%3Bnu0mrj

http://images.snapfish.com/3447%3A77523232%7Ffp63%3Dot%3E2323%3D%3B49%3D398%3 D3232%3B492%3A7884nu0mrj

Sittin' Pretty
http://images.snapfish.com/3447%3A77523232%7Ffp63%3Dot%3E2336%3D%3B63%3D%3A9% 3A%3DXROQDF%3E2323%3A5842%3B588ot1lsi

Hanging out with the fish
http://images.snapfish.com/3447%3A77523232%7Ffp58%3Dot%3E2336%3D%3B63%3D%3A9% 3A%3DXROQDF%3E2323%3A5842%3B5%3B8ot1lsi

Snuggling with "Uncle Tyler" (my BIL)
http://images.snapfish.com/3447%3A77523232%7Ffp47%3Dot%3E2336%3D%3B63%3D%3A9% 3A%3DXROQDF%3E2323%3A58434638ot1lsi

[BonBon06-11-05]

Swimming in Red River (she's the one in the middle with a stick in her mouth)
http://images.snapfish.com/3447%3A77523232%7Ffp64%3Dot%3E2336%3D%3B63%3D%3A9% 3A%3DXROQDF%3E2323%3A584385%3C%3Bot1lsi

Shaking off!
http://images.snapfish.com/3447%3A77523232%7Ffp47%3Dot%3E2336%3D%3B63%3D%3A9% 3A%3DXROQDF%3E2323%3A5843%3B5%3C%3Bot1lsi

[Chimichanga]

ManteoChick - yup. :D My mom was told her dog shouldn't have puppies until two periods; so I think that may be where that rule of two comes from. But, I honestly think all vets are a bit different. There aren't too many hard and fast rules about pets (except when it comes to what is dangerous for them) IMO.

BonBon What a cutie!! I'm dying to take Zeppelin to the lake to have him swim around. He loves baths and I can only imagine how much he'd flip out (in a good way) for a lake.

[IUAlum]

Wanted to revive this thread!

Any lab lovers still out there?

Here's a not-so-recent pic of my 3.5 year old chocolate lab, Homer. In our newly made bed, of course!

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d800b3127cce92197992d38300000046108CZtmzVw5cE

[mkvh]

You found it...such a better woman than I, IU!!!


And here's my boy Rudy at 4 months...this is the most recent pic I have.

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5ce06b3127cce95518e96dd7100000016108AatGTNozaOc

[IUAlum]

Don't you just love when they lay like that? SO CUTE!

So are other labs shedding like crazy these days? I guess the winter coat is coming in. UGH!

[mkvh]

Uh huh...you should SEEE my navy blue couch :eek:

[ajlanden]

I don't usually post public pics, but I guess I can of my boys!!! :D

Yellow: Cody, 8.5 years
Black: Casper, 2.5 years

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5ce06b3127cce948b75ea4c5000000016108AYt2zRk5ats

Shedding is bad...I think my DD has had more hair than food!!

[mkvh]

ajlanden--Those are some HANDSOME boys!

So my latest story?

I came downstairs this morning, and instead of Rudy running to greet me (DH had just left for work 20 minutes before, and we let Rudy roam between to build his independence), he teased me and darted under the diningroom table. Nice. When I finally caught the little bugger, I discovered only the top band part of one of DH's socks. Where was the rest? You all as lab owners know the answer...he SWALLOWED it! So I called DH crying at work, called the vet, found out we were supposed to give him peroxide to make him throw up! Needless to say, DH had to leave to come help with that project....

The good news? The sock came right up (along with all of breakfast), and Rudy is no worse for the wear. Although he looks at us like we tortured him!

Note to self: keep all dirty, stinky socks out of puppy reach at all times. For some reason, puppy thinks they smell and taste GOOD!?!?!

[QueenDillyDally]

"Papi", our new lab puppy is now 12 1/2 weeks old -

This is one of the day we brought him home at 8 weeks old:
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a283/shicks72/PUPPY/DSC00446.jpg

[BonBon06-11-05]

[QUOTE]I discovered only the top band part of one of DH's socks. Where was the rest? You all as lab owners know the answer...he SWALLOWED it![QUOTE]

That totally reminded me of my Daphne! Except Daphne doesn't eat the socks, but she will continually get socks out of the laundry basket, lay under our living room table and lick them! They're like Tootsie Pops to her! EWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ajlanden]

mkvh-Gotta love labs!!

We were just at the vet the other day and the doc said..."oh I remember this dog, he was the one that ate the mop." That's right a whole MOP!!! It was one of those old school white stringy ones. He got a hold of it in the night and ate it. WE took him in and X-Rayed his belly and there it was. He got most of it out that night (both ends, NOT pretty) and we had some medicine in case of infection.

Maybe that is why he is so silly now!!

shicks72-Awe, they are so cute when they are pups!

[mkvh]

shicks--what a doll Papi is. Hard to believe they're ever that small!

ajlanden--a WHOLE MOP????? OMG....that's awful... Glad to hear that all "came out" okay. And I was freaking out about a sock...:rolleyes:



We had a very spoiled labbie this weekend...Saturday he got to go hiking and swimming/fetching in the creek. Sunday he got to go to the dog park. There were probably 6 other labs there. But Rudy was bound and determined to get this really shy, very large shepherd mix to play. He was so cute, just hanging around trying to win the big guy over. And of course Rudy had to go greet all the people too...new people are almost as fun as new dogs!

[Heidi]

We have 2 labs, a black, 5 yr old female named Joey, and a chocolate female named Matilda we just adopted from Labs4Rescue at 6mo. old.

Here is a photo of the 1st night home - everyone was so tired.

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5ce10b3127cce94b80c34b66900000015108AaNGjRo1ctR

and here is one of just Matty She is really growing, she is about 7 months old now, an much bigger than this photo!

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5ce10b3127cce94b80c38b66500000016108AaNGjRo1ctR

[mkvh]

Matty is gorgeous! I would love to adopt our next one...'cause there will be a next one!!! Rudy needs a buddy.

[Heidi]

mkvh - thanks! Adopting worked out really well for us. We also wanted Joey to have a buddy, and we had always wanted a choc lab - so we did it. Joey was a little jealous at first, but mainly over the bones - she didn't realize she would have to share her bones ; ) They get along great now. They hate to be separated!

[Esq.]

Everyone please keep my Bogey in your thoughts/prayers. He has a few very hard bumps, about the size of peas. He has had one on his paw for quite some time, and the vet just told us to monitor it for changes. It hasn't changed, but now he has a new one by his eye. On top of it all, last night when I was cuddling him, I found a small, soft, moveable lump on his side, right between his bottom 2 ribs. He has an appointment on Saturday to be checked out. He is only 4. I don't know what I would do without him.

[aligirl]

Kyrsten.....thinking of you & Bogey.... I hope everything works out!

[mkvh]

Hugs, Kyrsten! Keep us posted on Bogey...

[Bloomwood]

krysten - my thoughts are with you and Bogey for sure. Please keep us posted; I can't imagine what you are going through right now, but I wish you and your little lab the very best.

mkvh and others - we left Sadie in the backyard on Sunday while we went to brunch. She can be a bit destructive back there because we don't leave her alone outside very often; she has taken down a couple of saplings, an old BBQ brush that was on the patio table, a box that was sitting on top of the trash can, etc. Well, I never thought to be concerned about my old pair of sneakers and DH's merrels that were in a basket out there (they usually aren't). We came home and she'd eaten the entire leather upper off of DH's shoes! Dh only found a couple pieces of leather laying the yard, so you know where the rest of it went...

Fast forward to this morning at 5:45 am. I'm sound asleep and suddenly hear the familiar hacking sound. Sure enough, up comes all the pieces of the shoe! She is such a lab with a stomach of steel. She never felt ill from ingesting the leather that wouldn't digest for two days, just went along with her normal - eating - life until it decided to come up. Gotta love the lab.

[Bloomwood]

krysten - I just went back and looked at the pics you posted of Bogey. I want to give him a hug.

[Esq.]

Thanks everyone!

Here are some pictures of Bogey and his Squishy from last night:

His costume is on upside down in this picture. Apparently, he preferred it that way.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5cf20b3127cce94ad6b7dc2ad00000016108Abs2jhs3cs8

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5cf20b3127cce94ad652343c400000016108Abs2jhs3cs8

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5cf20b3127cce94ad5b68439000000016108Abs2jhs3cs8

We had a really hard time getting them to sit still, and getting the really really expensive camera to take a picture that wasn't blurry :mad:

[IUAlum]

krysten- Thinking of you and your cutie pie, Bogey! I hope everything's ok. Please keep us posted...

[mkvh]

Bloomwood--OMG! That is too funny...two DAYS?? They truly do have tummies of steel. And lovely that you had to clean it all up...:rolleyes:

Krysten--CUTE pictues. Still thinking good thoughts for Bogey...


I officially volunteered with the Lab Rescue organizations here. It's heartbreaking how many labs are 'surrenedered' simply because their owners didn't know what they were getting into or because breeders just pump out puppies for the cash and don't screen potential 'parents' well. For now, I'm hoping to help with transport, etc., until Rudy is a bit older and then maybe foster. I figure if I get in with rescue I'll be able to find a good addition to our family while I help the pups out!

Oh...and interesting to note that the majority of labs in rescue here are black males over the age of 1. Hmmm...wonder why?

[Heidi]

oh Kyrsten, I am thinking of you, and I know how hard this must be, not knowing what it is. I wish you well on Saturday. i loved their costumes!

I just took Matty to the vet this morning because of a 3 inch cut she has on her left shoulder/belly that won't heal up. They didn't do stitches, but they put her on an antibiotic.

The vet visits are SUCH a joy! (major sarcasm!). First the doc said they would set me up with a t-shirt for her and that would make her leave the wound alone. So then when I was paying they handed me the meds and that was it. I said "I thought I was supposed to get a t-shirt for her too." They told me to just use one of my own. I was a little annoyed. It's not like my clothes are made to fit her - I thought they had one special for dogs there, but I guess not! So Matty looks just ridiculous right now in my t-shirt. I tried to put her in one of my tube tops, but that did NOT work, she is just too little! I think I will try to borrow a shirt from my little cousins who are just 6 - that may fit better!

[TaterBaby]

I just have to let you all know that I love my 10 month old chocolate lab dearly, but I must admit that today he made me cry. I went home for lunch and he had destroyed yet something else in our new home. This time it was the molding around the door opening in the living room. I just feel like I can't have anything nice and I work so hard to have nice things and to keep the house spotless, but he finds a way to ruin it all!
We leave him toys, bones, the tv on, blankets, etc. Please tell me it will get better!

[Esq.]

TaterBaby- you need to either crate him while you are gone, or confine him to a space where he cannot do much damage. My 4 year old is quite trustworthy, but he is still confined to the basement (which is also our living room) while we are away. We just use a baby gate to block the stairs that lead into the kitchen.

Your lab is still a baby, and will continue to chew. The only way to prevent that for now is to do the above. He will grow out of it sooner or later.

Bogey ate our weddin pictures, a ton of cd's, a couch, several window sills, hundreds of set of blinds, and his crowning acheivement was a glass picture frame. After all that, he started being kenneled during the day. Then when he was a bit older, he was allowed to be out of hte kennel, but confined to the basement.

My terrier, who just turned three, still chews badly enough to justify her still being in a kennel while we are away.

Thanks for all the well wishes ladies. I checked again yesterday and this morning, and the lump on his side is still there. That is the one that is really concerning me right now, bc it feels most like a tumor is described.

[mkvh]

Tater--I totally would crate him until he can be "trusted". My mom's lab couldn't be left alone in the house until he was about 3. Rudy definitley will destroy things if left home alone not in his cage. It's a combination of boredom and anxiety.

Sorry about your molding! I cried when Rudy chewed my table, too.

[TaterBaby]

Up until two weeks ago or so, he was always confined to the garage. However, in the garage, he chewed holes in the wall, thru the dry wall and insulation and almost came out the other side, into the house. He did this near the actual door, so DH thought since he was trying to get out, if he had more room, he would behave. Umm, wrong. We have a crate, but DH is against crate training. :( If I can convince him, is 10 months too late to start? Thanks for all of your help!

[Esq.]

Why is he against crate training?

I know that it seems mean to pen them up for so long. But Naya, my terrier who is three and has not been allowed to stay out of the crate more than a few days at a time (meaning while we are gone),and always has to go right back to being in the crate bc she destroys something every time we try again, LOVES her crate. She is protective of it, gets in it when she is scared, sleepy, pouty, just wants to be left alone. She cries if we close the door and she can't get in. She puts her toys in it to hide them from Bogey.

Now, I will admit, all dogs are different. Bogey never took to it the way that Naya has, but he didn't hate it either.

Dogs are like children. You aren't doing them any favors by refusing to train them. Would you not train your child? In order to train a child, are you going to have to do things that, in a perfect world, you would rather not? Sure you are! That is the way that I look at it. I am not doing my dog any favors by letting them chew up my house until they get over that stage of their lives. In fact, I am creating a danger for them. Your dog chewing through the dry wall is not good. Nor is his eating insulation. He could seriously harm himself by chewing on these things. You need to protect your dog from himself.

I think that if you explain it to your DH in that manner, maybe he will understand. He needs to be a dog parent, and that involves making the decisions that are in the best interest of his dog baby, and not always the decisions that make the dog baby happy.

[mkvh]

Tater--I don't have time right now to find any, but you really should show your husband some research on the positives of crate training. The crate acts as the dog's den and actually makes them feel safe. Rudy will go into his crate voluntarily when something (vaccuum cleaner) frightens him. And he goes in there as soon as we tell him it's bed time. He LIKES IT.

You're not hurting your dog by crating him AT ALL. You're HELPING HIM!

[Chimichanga]

Zeppelin loves to chew on socks...and bras...and underwear. he will grab a pair of mine from the dirty basket and go to town. He'll get a leg caught in the leg of the undies; it's pretty funny if he didn't ruin all of my underwear. :rolleyes:

Here he is dressed up for Halloween:
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5ce08b3127cce94b490887b2a00000016108IZs2LNo1ba
He was Elvis :D

He got nuetered last week Wednesday. By thursday he was feeling fine and wanting to run around. Yeah, making sure a lab keeps calm for 10-14 days is super easy. :rolleyes: But, he seems to be doing fine. He wasn't in pain after the first day and hasn't taken a pain pill for the past two days. He's such a good boy.

[Heidi]

Tater - I know what you are dealing with on the crate training resistence from your DH, mine was the same way. Our older dog does not have a crate, wasn't trained in one, and has never used one. DH felt it was mean to pen up a dog. Which is fine, because what he did happened to work with Joey (older dog).

When we adopted Matty (7 mo choc lab) she was in the crate training process with her foster family, and I told DH that I refused to let her be yanked from everything she is familiar with. So the crate moved into the dining room. Matty loves, and I mean LOVES her crate. She only HAS to go in during the day when we are at work. But I notice she goes into it on her own during the day (weekends) and sometimes when we start going to bed, even though she has her own bed outside of the crate.

So all of this rambling is to say, it really isn't bad or mean to crate them. My suggestion would be to make sure and use a crate that has enough space. Matty has a crate that was once used on a Bermese (sp?) Mountain dog, so it is HUGE, and I think she likes that.

[Esq.]

I just wanted to post an update. The vet said that the lump on his side felt fatty, and she thought that it was a cyst. She thinks that the lump near his eye is a blocked hair follicle. And she thinks the lump on his paw is a cyst. She said that Labs are prone to these types of lumps and bumps. She said that she can't know for sure what it is without a biopsy, but that she did not think that any of them were tumors. So, for now, I guess we are just monitoring the bumps. If they get any bigger, we will have the biopsy.

Thanks for the prayers and good thoughts ladies. :)

[mkvh]

Kyrsten--Yay for the good news. I was going to comment on the belly lump as my mom's lab had HUGE fatty cysts all over his tummy for about the last 6 years of his life (two got so big that they had to be removed). They were totally benign. So I'm glad that you got the same diagnosis.

Taking Rudy to the vet today. He has been being treated for mite reaction for about two months now. This was supposed to be his follow up to be released, but of course it flared up again last week. Who knows what the next course of action is. We're getting tired of the weekly vet visits, and Rudy now HATES going there and hides from the vet techs.

[QueenDillyDally]

A few new pictures of "Papi"

10 weeks old:
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a283/shicks72/PUPPY/week10c.jpg

11 weeks old:
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a283/shicks72/PUPPY/week11b.jpg

12 weeks old:
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a283/shicks72/PUPPY/week12.jpg

He is growing fast - is now 25.1 pounds (last Thursday) at 13 weeks old!
Although, he has been having some "bowel issues" - loose stools that wake him up in the night. Trying everything. Now, I am wondering if it is our well water that might be too high in iron.

Also, did anyone else's Lab puppy eat DIRT incessantly??? Papi seems to have this major craving for dirt & gravel. We try to keep him from it as best as possible. We are wondering if he has some sort of mineral deficiency?

[guinevere]

shicks72,

He's adorable!

About the dirt thing, I've never heard of that. But maybe it has something to do with the bowel problems? I would take him to the vet just to be sure.

[mkvh]

shicks--we struggled with the loose stool thing for weeks around the same age. Ended up on low fat food and taking meds from the vet. It was so bad we were bathing him daily because he was messing in his cage. Some baby labbies just have sensitive tummies.

Rudy also eats dirt, and my mom's lab did too. I don't think it really does any harm...:o

[jessied1025]

Hi Everyone,

Sorry I haven't been around in a long time. I join this thread at the beginning, but haven't kept up. Sorry!

Here is a quick updated about me. DH and I are the proud owners of a yellow lab named Sugar. She is 2 and such a sweetheart. Here is a quick pic...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v519/jessied1025/Sugar/Sugar.jpg

Kyrsten Glad to hear you received good news from the vet.

Everyone's labbies are so cute!

[Bloomwood]

Krysten - yay!! I'm so glad it looks like things are fine. :D

[sportyj]

Shicks, first of all Papi is ADORABLE I am in love! We too dealt with loose stools for about 2 weeks and it just worked itself out. My Boo ate EVERYTHING until she was abouut 16 weeks. Its normal and she was always very healthy.

[QueenDillyDally]

Thanks everyone for the advice and adoration for Papi!

It may be too early to tell, but his bowels are improving some. The Vet put him on deworming granules for three days this week. Not sure if he had dormant parasitic eggs in his intestine. Hopefully, that will cure the problem. If it continues, I have heard many people have success with the food called "Wellness". Do any of you use it on your dog? Guess it is made from all natural products like sweet potato.

P.S. I love everyone's lab pictures - they are adorable! Keep 'um coming!

[Chimichanga]

I've not heard of Wellness for dogs...but it's worth a shot.

We just had to move Zeppelin to adult food because he's already 60 pounds. The vet said it's better to get him off puppy food (designed to put on weight) even though he's six months.

shicks - the well water might be causing the loose bowels. I read that dogs can get kidney problems with unfiltered water/well water. We now use our Britta for Zepp. He won't drink other water now, but it's much healthier for him.

[mkvh]

Chimchanga--were you using large breed puppy food? Our vet was a little concerned because at just over 6 months Rudy was at 67 lbs. But she just had us cut back the quantity of food and said to keep him on puppy food. He still is growing taller, and we have noticed a marked difference in his 'chubbiness' in just a week. How much were you feeding Zepp?

[Chimichanga]

In the puppy food (Eukenuba) we'd feed him maybe a cup for breakfast, two for dinner and maybe a half around 9 p.m. For awhile he was eating it all in like three bites. Then he started getting a little picky.

We switched to the large breed adult formula, but we still give him eukenuba puppy treats. We feed him the same amounts; he's been VERY hungry lately, so we give him a bit more.

We got some new pictures of him...
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5cf26b3127cce954ac660a10d00000016108IZs2LNo1ba
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5cf26b3127cce954ac66b203600000016108IZs2LNo1ba
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5cf26b3127cce954ac6e120bc00000015108IZs2LNo1ba

We took some pro pictures at the beach for Christmas presents for my parents.

[mkvh]

OMG...Zepp is SOO cute!

FWIW, the vet had us cut down to 1 cup of dry and 1/3 a can of wet Eukanuba Large Breed Puppy two times a day for Rudy. It made a huge difference.

And Zepp IS NOT overweight...he's just a big boy!

[BrownEyedGirl]

Hey everyone...I'm trying to be a non-lurker now. I have a lab...She's my little angel (lucifer was an angel once right?). Her name is Emma, she is 8 now. I know all about the pains of having a lab. Many times I have been in tears after coming home to find her wrath strewn about the house.

As you can see from the picture, she can be a holy terror. (came home one day to find her this way...she owed me the picture)

http://images.snapfish.com/3455489923232%7Ffp334%3Enu%3D3255%3E9%3B%3A%3E%3A% 3C8%3EWSNRCG%3D3232%3C%3B548937%3Anu0mrj

And then there are days when she is just sweet as pie:
http://images.snapfish.com/3455489923232%7Ffp8%3Enu%3D3255%3E9%3B%3A%3E%3A%3C 8%3EWSNRCG%3D3232%3C%3B548937%3Bnu0mrj

[mkvh]

Bree...I saw the trashcan pic in the Funny Pet Pictures thread. Hilarious!

[BrownEyedGirl]

Emma wore us out so much her first year, we ended up getting another dog just to keep her company. He's a mix of sweetness and laziness. Sometimes I feel bad for him since emma constantly bugs him. But they are the best "brother and sister" a mom could want:

http://images.snapfish.com/3455489923232%7Ffp7%3Enu%3D3255%3E9%3B%3A%3E%3A%3C 8%3EWSNRCG%3D3232%3C%3B5489378nu0mrj

[mkvh]

We're planning on getting a sibling for Rudy in the next year...can't wait!

[BrownEyedGirl]

it was the best move we ever made...and it also made us feel a little less guilty about going to work.

[Esq.]

We got Bogey a sibling, but he could care less. I think that he likes her enough, but he doesn't ever initiate playing or anything else. If they play or cuddle it is bc she started it. She is far more attached to him than he is to her.

[mkvh]

We are officially fostering a 2nd male lab for our local rescue beginning tomorrow. Any recommendations on making the addition successful and as painless as possible for our Rudy? TIA!!

[Chimichanga]

What fun! I don't really have much advice but I hope things go okay.

Whenever we take Zepp around his cousins (my sister's chihauhas) we always bring a toy/treat for them "from" Zeppelin. This way they associate him with treats/fun rather than a big scary dog.

[mkvh]

Good thought, Chimichanga...and thanks for the well-wishes. Rudy does VERY well with other, larger dogs, so that should be fine. And Brady seems to be extremely mellow. They're both still puppies (7 and 11 months), so we could be in for some rambunctiousness... Just curious to see if Rudy is different on his home turf.

We ARE introducing them at a neutral site. Which should help.

[stacy654]

For all of my fellow lab parents -
One of our labs has reoccuring ear infections. Has anyone else has this happen? He always gets the infections in his left ear and I think it could be because he stands with his head in the shower while we shower and the water hits his left ear.

Does anyone know if this could be the cause? Thanks!

[guinevere]

stacy654, we're constantly battling this problem but it's in her right ear. We've tried different medications that the vet prescribed but it just keeps coming back. He called it "labrador ear". He said that labs often have problems because their ears are floppy and the ear can stay warm and moist... Have you taken him to a vet?

[BonBon06-11-05]

I haven't posted in awhile....thought I'd pay a visit!

http://images.snapfish.com/345685%3B523232%7Ffp45%3Dot%3E2336%3D%3B63%3D%3A9% 3A%3DXROQDF%3E2323%3B3%3B79698%3Aot1lsi

Daphne used to get ear infections, but that is because she'd always jump in yucky water. She loves swimming! The vet gave her some ear drops that worked. I second the recommendation to take your dog to the vet, stacey654

Here's a question about my doggy baby! She CONSTANTLY chases her tail. She does it anytime, anywhere, and it's getting a little....excessive. She chases it for a long time, then she starts growling at it, and you can hear her teeth clanking together as she tries to bite it. Meanwhile, she's going lighting speed in circles. She hits her head on tables, the couch, whatever gets in her way, but she keeps going. Does anyone know why she does this so much? Is there anything we could be doing to...help her?

[Smittenk]

we finally (after a year and a half of talking about it) got our furbaby a month ago! Meet our chocolate lab who is now 3 months old...Barley

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5cf09b3127cce95daee61be8700000016108AYt2TVq4ZtV

This was taken the day he got his christmas sweater!! The sweater actually started as a joke but so many people commented on how cute he looked we not put it on him when he goes for walks and it is cold

Here are a few more pics of our chocolate pupsicle!

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5cf09b3127cce95daee4bbead00000015108AYt2TVq4ZtV

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5cf09b3127cce95daeee43f3200000015108AYt2TVq4ZtV

THis was before he was allowed on the ground (before his vaccinations were complete)...the vet strongly urged us to carry him around on "walks" so he got used to the smells, sounds, traffic. It was actually so fun and he loved it!

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5cf09b3127cce95daee863f5000000015108AYt2TVq4ZtV

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5cf09b3127cce95daeeb5be5300000016108AYt2TVq4ZtV


OK that's all I'll do for now :p

[Chimichanga]

Barley is such a cutie!! What a little face. Maybe i'm partial, but I love lab faces - always soooo cute!! :D

[mkvh]

Barley is a doll! Makes me want another one!

[guinevere]

Barley is so cute! I love the christmas sweater.

[TaterBaby]

I finally have photos of our baby to share! Meet Tater, our chocolate lab born December 28, 2004.

baby photo
http://images.snapfish.com/34576%3B8323232%7Ffp337%3Enu%3D326%3A%3E996%3E%3A7 4%3EWSNRCG%3D323338%3C6987%3B7nu0mrj
big boy photos
http://images.snapfish.com/34576%3B8323232%7Ffp338%3Enu%3D326%3A%3E996%3E%3A7 4%3EWSNRCG%3D323338%3C697%3C4%3Cnu0mrj
http://images.snapfish.com/34576%3B8323232%7Ffp338%3Enu%3D326%3A%3E996%3E%3A7 4%3EWSNRCG%3D323338%3C6987%3B6nu0mrj
Tater's 1st Halloween
http://images.snapfish.com/34576%3B8323232%7Ffp337%3Enu%3D326%3A%3E996%3E%3A7 4%3EWSNRCG%3D32333863%3A7966nu0mrj
and Tater's 1st Christmas
http://images.snapfish.com/34576%3B8323232%7Ffp336%3Enu%3D326%3A%3E996%3E%3A7 4%3EWSNRCG%3D323338%3C69477%3Anu0mrj

[aligirl]

Tater's so cute :)

[mkvh]

Tater is a HANDSOME boy! And I love the tie stripe collar in the outside pic!

How much does he weight these days??

[TaterBaby]

Thanks! He's about 80lbs now. We're thinking about getting him a playmate in the Spring...a yellow female. I'll be back to post baby pictures then!

[mkvh]

We want a playmate SOOO badly! But we're not sure we want a puppy again. I'd love to rescue a less than 1 year old chocolate. Male or female. I actually would prefer another male, I think.

I figured Tater was a pretty big boy!

[TaterBaby]

Yes, notice I said "thinking about" getting another puppy. I'm not sure either. We almost did it this fall. Tater has SO much energy and he loves being around other dogs, we figured maybe two would be easier than one and we wouldn't feel guilty about leaving him while we were at work. We're traveling at Christmas so we decided to hold off.
However, I really want a real baby and not sure if two furbabies plus an infant is what we need right now!

[mkvh]

OMG...you sound JUST like me. We were going to do it right before Christmas, but we too are traveling, and my mom isn't too keen on 2 big dogs in her house right now (she'll warm up). AND I'm pg, so she thinks it's a bad idea. But we think it will be good for Rudy...help him get more exercise, and keep him entertained.

[gator97]

Just had to chime in. . .we have two yellows: Haley is 1 1/2 yrs old and Roman is 7 mo. And we are SO glad that we got Roman. Haley is very high energy and wants A LOT of attention. Having Roman is actually easier on us b/c we can let them run out in the yard and they wrestle. So, it's not up to us to expend all of her energy.

And they are so sweet together. It's very cute.

[Ade]

I finally have a picture of my beautiful girl, Sierra uploaded
http://storage.msn.com/x1ppUPyqopddk727EW0hjhQ0n2dsvrfa-3ppaDCz7HnEKiNAwLnxPtyww8Nk0KPnpu_c4fAciwrAHWJw5-8EsowKj1h7IADFuuTie7lFAVT1y-Vnaw9Ubo1ukRABc09OBO11vWEp4_yhZOX1qu2tZnQSw
She's a yellow lab, but is almost pure white in color. She's an English lab, so is a bit shorter and stockier, has a block head, short nose, fatter tail and wide paws. Her coloring, head and shortness cause some people to ask if she's full lab, but her love of food and diving into any body of water should answer any questions!

The pretty black thing next to her is my boy Guinness. Not a lab, but pretty damn cute too!

[QueenDillyDally]

Ade -

Sierra is beautiful! She is exactly the color I would want if we got a yellow lab. DH & I hand-picked our breeder this year as we knew that the English lab was what we really wanted - stockier, big head, and more calm demeanor than the American bred lab. We can't wait to see how big our "Papi" gets full grown! Right now, he is about 40 pounds at 19 weeks old. He has been gaining at least 2 pounds a week so far. :)

[mkvh]

Ade -DH & I hand-picked our breeder this year as we knew that the English lab was what we really wanted - stockier, big head, and more calm demeanor than the American bred lab.

Ditto! Rudy is 7 1/2 months and close to 75 lbs. (I forget how big he was at 19 weeks, but I'm sure I can go back and look it up.) And that's AFTER food restrictions! He's just a thick boy. We're thinking he'll top out over 90 since he's not neutered yet.

[TaterBaby]

mkvh, Not only do we sound alike, but so do our mothers! Mine doesn't understand why we would want a dog "that big" in the house. I haven't even mentioned a second dog to her because she would think I was crazy.

gator97, Thanks for the input on two labs. That's exactly why we want to get another. Do your two get into more trouble together (i.e. chewing things up) or less trouble because they are so busy playing?

[mkvh]

Tater...my mom had a 115 lb black American lab for 13 years and a Weimeraner and German Shepherd before that, so she loves the big guys (and ADORES Rudy). She just can't understand why we would want to get ANOTHER one AND so soon before the baby (due in July).

But we were thinking EXACTLY what gator just confirmed. I have heard from many other lab owners that they do much better in pairs.

ade...our Rudy was REALLY light like Sierra as a puppy but has gradually gotten darker over time. They're so pretty when they're white like that!

QOTD:
Has anyone rescued a lab? If so, what were your challenges??

(I feel guilty buying another lab from a breeder, even though we got exactly what we wanted, because there are SO many labs in rescue, particularly males. But I have some concerns about rescue as well. And I volunteer for one!)

[Heidi]

DH and I rescued a lab, Matilda. She is our second lab (I think there is a pic of her 2 pages back). I couldn't be more happy with the outcome! We just love her so, and I can't believe how well she fit into the family (only us and first dog Joey) as soon as we got her home. She was 6 months old when we got her and she was mostly house trained. We really have no problems with her, other than whining when she wants something (and how bad is that really when compared to other problems we could face?). I would recommend a rescue lab any day, I wish we had room to get a third!

[Ade]

shicks72 & mkvh, thanks for the replies on my pretty girl, we think she's quite gorgeous. She'll be two in January and we've noticed her getting a bit darker with age. Mainly, a beigey stripe down her back and her ears are getting more tan colored. But, she's still pretty white, enough that some strangers do ask if she's full lab as they've never seen one that white before.

English labs are great. She definitely went through some rough puppy times, but she mellowed pretty nicely by 1. She's a stocky 65 pounds, but is shorter than the normal Field lab, and man is she strong! We have use a halti to walk her, or else she's the one walking us!

Tater and mkvh, I completely support the notion of two dogs, they are actually easier than just one. My two kids are best friends, playing and entertaining each other all day. In fact, we joke that Sierra loves Guinness more than she loves us. It takes a lot of pressure off of us, as we don't feel so bad leaving them alone if we have to work late or go out. When we had just Guinness, we always felt so bad leaving him and would usually cut our night short if we went out. And, they don't really get into more trouble together. The only problem is that when they do get into trouble, we don't know which one to punish, as we're not sure who did it. However, it's usually Sierra!

[QueenDillyDally]

We're thinking he'll top out over 90 since he's not neutered yet.

mkvh or anyone else who wants to answer -

Have you decided whether or not you will be getting him neutered? Does a male grow more/bigger if you wait to get them neutered. DH & I want to make sure our puppy grows to his full potential and wonder if we are supposed to wait longer than 6 months to get him neutered. Does neutering "stunt" a male dog's growth???

We had entertained the idea of waiting on the neutering and seeing his conformation as he gets a bit older. Of course, being a little partial, we think he would be a gorgeous show dog & stud. But, we know it takes a lot of time, energy, patience and money for that kind of thing.....

[TaterBaby]

Tater is almost a year old and we have not had him neutered. We've always heard that they gain weight after they are neutered and become noticeable less active, almost lazy. I don't know if we will have him neutered or not? I need to research the pros and cons.

[mkvh]

There are significant health risks associated with not neutering. I can't recall what they are, but they are scary. That said, we are waiting as long as possible for conformation reasons. They do get larger and "thicker" and more masculine looking the longer they have the testosterone. We will eventually neuter, but we are waiting as long as possible. Our vet says that up to a year or 18 months does not significantly increase the risks and supports us in waiting a while as long as Rudy shows no aggressive tendencies (the first being leg lifting, abotu which he as NOOOO CLUE! :rolleyes: )

As for stud service, while we would *love* to breed Rudy, we purchased him on a limited registration and are unable to do so. I do understand the necessity of this for the betterment of the breed, though.

[QueenDillyDally]

MKVH -

Our pup was purchased on a limited registration as well. But, I contacted our dog's breeder to let her know that we may be interested in showing/breeding him. (Unfortunately, one can't even show a dog for conformation unless they are unaltered and they have to be full registration) She said they may be willing to change the registration to full after two years old once we have had all the essential tests for eyes, hips, etc... if we were still interested. Possibly your dog's breeder would change yours if you expressed interest in the whole process?


DH & I don't really know if we want to wait two years & go through the whole process to then find out something about our puppy would disqualify him for full registration. We are still debating....

[ManteoChik]

Just dropping off some new pictures of Duchess taken yesterday. She just turned 1 a couple of weeks ago and she's around 70 - 75 pounds now...:eek: We're expecting her to max out around 100 or so.

http://images.snapfish.com/3457833523232%7Ffp338%3Enu%3D324%3B%3E997%3E%3B%3A 6%3EWSNRCG%3D32333893%3C6646nu0mrj

http://images.snapfish.com/3457833523232%7Ffp337%3Enu%3D324%3B%3E997%3E%3B%3A 6%3EWSNRCG%3D32333893%3B4%3C%3A%3Bnu0mrj

http://images.snapfish.com/3457833523232%7Ffp336%3Enu%3D324%3B%3E997%3E%3B%3A 6%3EWSNRCG%3D32333893%3C2557nu0mrj

http://images.snapfish.com/3457833523232%7Ffp336%3Enu%3D324%3B%3E997%3E%3B%3A 6%3EWSNRCG%3D3233389394%3A78nu0mrj

http://images.snapfish.com/3457833523232%7Ffp336%3Enu%3D324%3B%3E997%3E%3B%3A 6%3EWSNRCG%3D32333893%3B%3A599nu0mrj

[Reebs]

I'm probably late to jump in on this, but we rescued our lab, Shadow. We got him from Lab Rescue of the Potomac (D.C., MD, VA) I'm not sure I can help with the challenges associated with rescue dogs because Shadow is seriously the BEST dog I have ever had. I came from a "lab family". I grew up with a black and a chocolate lab both from breeders and they could not compare in temperment with Shadow. Well maybe the one could, but anyway.

Shadow does not bark, does not need to be crated, doesn't chew and doesn't run away. We had intended on getting an invisible fence when we moved to our new house but we decided to wait and see how he was and he is great. He never takes off. And actually our two closest neighbors both have yellow labs and have an invisible fence and asked my DH where we went to to get our invisible fence and we said we didn't have one!

Anyway, I guess so issues may concern diseases they may have it they have been out on their own. Shadow was found wandering the streets of southern VA with another dog. He obviously had an owner since he was so well trained. We believe they were training him to be a bird hunting dog. One other issue may be how they react to certain situations. Like children or loud noises. They could have had a traumatic experience and associate it with certain things.

Sorry, I know this probably is of no help at all. But basically what I want to say is rescuing a lab is a great idea. We plan to get our next dog from Lab Rescue.

Here are some pics of my Shadow:

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5cc35b3127cce95bfa853b45900000016108AaM3DNq0aNV
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5cc30b3127cce9582f9c4ae5900000016108AaM3DNq0aNV
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5cc30b3127cce9582f70e2fa400000025118AaM3DNq0aNV
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5da04b3127cce910524bdd91300000016108AaM3DNq0aNV
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5da04b3127cce91052124182000000016108AaM3DNq0aNV

Thanks for letting me share! R :D

[Chimichanga]

We got Zeppelin nuetered at 6 months and I haven't noticed a major weight gain. The vet did tell us to stop him on puppy food (it's made to put on weight) and I think he's leveled out. He's probably more than the 65 pounds he was at 6 months, but he's not quite the horse we expected. :)

We had a huge snowfall last night; Zepp loved it! He'd try to "catch" the snowball but when he bit it it would fall apart. He would go nuts trying to find it:
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5cc35b3127cce95bd2d3bb47300000016108IZs2LNo1ba
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5cc35b3127cce95bd2d24355c00000016108IZs2LNo1ba
He's part ostrich!!

He was running around for about an hour - we've kind of kept him inside because we didn't want to go out in the cold. He was in heaven. When we went inside, though, he was out like a light. He slept sooooo soundly.

[QueenDillyDally]

ManteoChik, Reebs, & Chimichanga -

Such BEAUTIFUL babies!!! :)

Question for anyone:
Does your lab have smelly ears????

My nose is really sensitive to my puppy's ear smell. It bothers me (DH doesn't notice it though). I don't believe he has an infection - no signs or symptoms of that but they definately have a yucky stench to them. Any advice on how to clean them safely? We don't bathe puppy very often as the vet said it wasn't good for his skin - just about 1 x per month.

[mkvh]

Question for anyone:[/b]
Does your lab have smelly ears????


I have read that any ear smell is indication of an infection. So I would take Papi to the vet just in case. If there is not an infection, you can buy ear cleaner from the vet. We use it every time Rudy is in the water to help dry out/clean out his ears. I think you can buy some OTC as well, but I don't have any names handy. FWIW, the only symptom Rudy had when he had an infection was a bit of an overabundance of "ear wax". He wasn't scratching or shaking his head or anything of the sort.

Chimichanga...First of all, CONGRATS momma-to-be! Second, Rudy LOVES the snow, too! And I worried about him being too cold...until I looked outside and saw him laying in the snow chewing on a stick. Must not bother him too much!


Funny Rudy story:
My DH got home early from work yesterday and shoveled the driveway. He and Rudy were playing in the snow, and DH built a snowman. I asked if Rudy helped, and DH said, "No, but he ate one of the arms." Fast forward a few hours. Around 9 I let Rudy outside, and when I called him to come in, I could tell he was running to the back door from the direction of the snowman. I turned on the front light and looked, and the snowman was DEMOLISHED! Only the bottom snowball was left! Rudy had spent his time outside knocking down and crushing the snowman!! Silly puppy!!

[Reebs]

shicks, like mkvh said, it is a sign of an ear infection. When we got Shadow he had horrible smelling ears and we took him to the vet and he had a horrendous infection. We had to put drops in 3 times a day and swab them out. He was very sensitive around his ears. Labs tend to get ear infections very easily because they swim a lot and because of their flap-like ears the water stays inside.

[Chimichanga]

mkvh - thanks for the congrats - you too!! :D

Re: smelly ears - definitely take him in to the vet. It usually comes from getting water in their ears. We don't let Zepp swim (or haven't yet) and I make sure to dry his ears after a bath.

[mkvh]

OMG...you HAVE to let Zepp swim. You have NO IDEA how much joy he will get out of it! We started Rudy at 10 weeks. He LOVES the water, just LOVES IT!!! (Okay, now I'm done telling you how to puppy parent...:rolleyes: ) We use the cleaning drops the vet provided after each bath and swim session...it's like Swim Ear for people and evaporates the water in their ears. Works like a charm.

[QueenDillyDally]

Well, I'm not sure how Papi would have gotten water in his ears...

He has not been swimming yet - we live in Maine and it is the dead of winter. Can't think of any other way he would get water in his ears...

He has not had a tub bath in over a month - would they just be smelly because they are dirty??? I don't think it is safe to wash them is it?

(I'm relatively new at this puppy rearing thing, so I apologize if I sound a little stupid :o )

[Kellie]

I haven't been here in a while, but I wanted to share new pics of Kota.

Kota and his big bro Comet
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5cc37b3127cce96726c1b143e00000015108Aas3DRw1ZNN

Kota being so patient while Mommy and Daddy tortured him.....LOL!
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5cc37b3127cce96726c06951300000015108Aas3DRw1ZNN

[mkvh]

shicks--most infections are due to an overgrowth of yeast, and that can be (but isn't always) a result of ears remaining damp after swimming or a bath. The ear rule of puppy parenting is that if it's stinky, it goes to the vet! Like Reebs said, it's pretty painless to treat, just some drops for a week or so.


Kota being so patient while Mommy and Daddy tortured him.....LOL!

Wow! Yeah, I'll say he was being patient! Rudy would NEVER let us to that!

[QueenDillyDally]

Guess I will be calling the vet on Monday....

Don't think I want to tredge out to the vet in the weather we are having today. Gotta love Maine :rolleyes:

Thanks for the advice everyone - better to be safe than sorry.

[gator97]

ears -Roman has lots of problems with ear infections. We use the swimmer's ear stuff after he gets out of the pool and we clean his ears about once a week---even if they aren't seeming to be "waxy". His symptom is wax build up as well. Our dogs are in the pool almost every day (and can I say, thank god for the pool). So, we have to be cautious about keeping their ears dry. Haley likes the pool more than Roman. He is more of an outside dog. We actually have the steps to the pool closed off so that they can't get in. . . that's the one training feat we have not accomplished yet.

Neutering- our vet recommended neutering at 8 mo.--which will be January. I need to read up on the side effects of that. Roman is a whopping 78 lbs. right now (2 weeks ago anyway). We had Haley spayed at 7 mo. trying to miss her first heat. If you spay before the first heat, then the chance of breast cancer is 0.

breeder vs. rescue- Both of our dogs are from breeders. My DH had a crazy dog growing up and so kind of had a bad experience with dogs. Going to rescue kind of scared him at this point so we thought going to the breeder would be the best choice for now. I think later we will rescue--I would definitely like to. . . and it's too cute b/c for about 5 mo. after we got Haley he would say, "This is the dog I always wanted."

2 dogs- It's funny. They both have a mischievous side but not really together. Roman is in his destructive phase right now but he does it on his own. Haley likes to "steal" things. She is very sneaky but then she always runs to the stairs so you know she has something she shouldn't. They entertain each other and have a very sweet relationship. They wear each other out and that is so nice!

I wish we had snow! I would love to see them react to it. We took Haley to the beach when she was about 4 mo. old and she went crazy! So, I can only imagine the snow.

[Fenway]

Okay, I can't resist. Here is my Lily. She's a 4 year old 100 pound yellow:
http://images.snapfish.com/3458286%3B23232%7Ffp64%3Dot%3E2323%3D995%3D94%3B%3 D323299585%3A96%3Bnu0mrj
http://images.snapfish.com/3458286%3B23232%7Ffp46%3Dot%3E232%3C%3D389%3D745%3 DXROQDF%3E23238%3C%3B59%3A543ot1lsi
http://images.snapfish.com/3458286%3B23232%7Ffp58%3Dot%3E232%3C%3D389%3D745%3 DXROQDF%3E2323838%3C5%3B892ot1lsi
http://images.snapfish.com/3458286%3B23232%7Ffp4%3Enu%3D323%3B%3E298%3E654%3E WSNRCG%3D323292%3B963%3C5%3Cnu0mrj

[QueenDillyDally]

Thank you all!
We took Papi to the vet yesterday and he has an ear infection (yeast). So, I guess it is a good thing I have a great "smeller". DH would have never noticed as he is not as keen on smells as I am. So, over $80 later, we now have treatment for his infection.
They weighed his too and he's now 37.5 pounds - not as heavy as I thought! He'll be 20 weeks old tomorrow.
Thanks again!
:) Steph

[BrownEyedGirl]

Lilly looks just like my little Emma...except Emma's usually got her nose in a dairy queen cup instead of dunkin donuts.

Lilly just looks so sweet!!

[Bloomwood]

Anyone heard of/read Marley and Me? It is written by a guy about his and his wife's relationship with their crazy lab. I bought it for some easy holiday reading and it is really fun so far.

I was telling DH about it though and realized that it was probably going to end with Marley dying.:( That got me thinking about our 2 yo yellow going and I started bawling. I am tearing up right now typing this.

Well, there are lots of lab traits the writer describes that make me LOL and nodding my head "yep, I know what that's like." Aside from how I expect it to end, it is really an enjoyable read for us lab lovers!

[EmilyZA]

Anyone heard of/read Marley and Me? It is written by a guy about his and his wife's relationship with their crazy lab. I bought it for some easy holiday reading and it is really fun so far.

I was telling DH about it though and realized that it was probably going to end with Marley dying.:( That got me thinking about our 2 yo yellow going and I started bawling. I am tearing up right now typing this.

Well, there are lots of lab traits the writer describes that make me LOL and nodding my head "yep, I know what that's like." Aside from how I expect it to end, it is really an enjoyable read for us lab lovers!
This book is on my wishlist! I didn't even think about it ending like that...

[IUAlum]

I just emailed it to DH to add to my Hanukkah gifts! Thanks Bloom.
Of course, if Marley dies, I blame your husband.

[gator97]

I just finished Marley and Me. It was a great read and I could identify with a lot of it. It also made my puppies look like angels :) I bawled at the end in a way I had not expected.

[QueenDillyDally]

A few new pictures of Papi - 19 weeks old

All tired out from Xmas:
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a283/shicks72/DSC00748.jpg

His favorite Xmas present - "Simba"
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a283/shicks72/DSC00763.jpg

[IUAlum]

:D On Bloom's recommendation, I also just finished Marley and Me. So good!

But beware, ESPECIALLY those full of pregnancy hormones, for a big ol' sob fest. I had to close the book and go to the bathroom to just cry for a good five minutes every couple of pages near the end. I cried a few times in the earlier parts as well. I had sore, red eyes last night.

But, I loved it. DH is reading it now. He even teared up just from the preface!

[EmilyZA]

Our poor Vinny has a scrape on his foot and has to wear one of those lampshade things on his head!

We don't know how he got it, but he has to have an ointment applied twice a day and the lampshade thingy is supposed to prevent him from licking it. I'm kind of embarassed to say that we took it off though-- he was crashing into everything in sight and it was scaring the heck out of him. He hasn't even tried to lick it, but if he does it has to go back on. Some pics:

http://emilyanddanny.smugmug.com/photos/50337621-M.jpg
http://emilyanddanny.smugmug.com/photos/50337617-M.jpg

[ManteoChik]

Just dropping off a picture of Duchess and Rob a few days before Christmas in front of the Christmas tree. Duchess is wearing her santa hat....surprisingly she could have cared less and wore it around for about an hour..

http://images.snapfish.com/34593%3A676%7Ffp336%3Enu%3D324%3B%3E997%3E%3B%3A6% 3EWSNRCG%3D323342%3B979%3C98nu0mrj

http://images.snapfish.com/34593%3A676%7Ffp336%3Enu%3D324%3B%3E997%3E%3B%3A6% 3EWSNRCG%3D323342%3B987856nu0mrj

[lady1297]

Hey all!! Can I join?! We have a 2 year old black labbie, Sophie. She's just starting to come down off her puppiness and we survived it all!! YEAH!! She's so great with our son, 17 months. She lets him do just about anything to her without flinching. Labs are truly the best dogs with kids! They are best friends and 'doggie' was my son's first word! Wonder why?!

I'll look for a pic of our beauty and post as soon as i can!

[ManteoChik]

lady1297 ITA! Labs are the best dogs for children...at least in my opinion. I don't have any kids, but I have a little sister who is 6 (and has been terrified of dogs since she was very little). My sister *loves* Duchess, she was still scared during her first two visits but after the third visit she was on the floor rolling around with her and labs are so patient with kids. My two little cousins (who are 4) get on the floor and hang around her neck and drag her all around the house and try to ride her like a horse.....and she just goes with the flow. Duchess is just now over a year old and already patient with kids. My best friend flew into town and stayed for a week with her three month old baby....Duchess *loved* having the baby here and would sit by her bouncer to make sure she was okay and that no one was messing with her...lol.

[Chimichanga]

EmilyZA don't those e-collars stink? Zeppelin didn't account for it and kept making his normal turns. And gouging up the walls... We also took it off after he had his surgery. He went for the sore once and I yelled at him so bad he never did it again ;)

[Smittenk]

We took Barley out to a park yesterday...his first time going on a walk outside of our village. He LOVED it....so many new smells, people and other dogs!! He went swimming too which he was unsure of but liked so much he kept going back to the waters edge!

Here are a couple of pics

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b6df22b3127cce960f05aedd3b00000016108AYt2TVq4ZtV

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b6df22b3127cce960f05a15c0400000016108AYt2TVq4ZtV


And here is a link to a video...not sure if this will work but hopefully you will be able to see it. It is of him falling in head first!! :p

http://www.clipshack.com/Clip.aspx?key=084A28E1A5E70DBB

[lady1297]

BWAHHHAHHHA!! That is one cute video!! :)

[TaterBaby]

I want to ask if you would keep Tater in your thoughts and prayers today. He was hit by a car last night. We got him to the vet, where he spent the night, and the vet is supposed to call this morning to let us know how he is.
He was in the backyard with DH last night when a cat shot out from a field next to our house. Tater chased the cat as it ran toward the street and was hit by a car that did not stop and ended up dragging him about 20 feet or so before he got out from underneath. He had lots of cuts and was bleeding heavily from the mouth, but didn't appear to have any broken bones, as he ran from the street to the front porch after the accident. We are praying that we get him back home today and that he's back to himself ASAP!

[IUAlum]

Oh no! Poor Tater! I will be thinking of him and you today. :(

[Smittenk]

Oh I am soo sorry Taterbaby...You got it...my thoughts and prayers are with Tater. I hpoe he can get home soon.

[TaterBaby]

Just talked to DH. He had spoken with the vet and Tater has some stitches in his back legs and has one of those lamp shade things on his head. They said he was up and walking around and wanted us to come get him and give him some attention! I'm going to get him during my lunch break! All is well with my sweet baby.

[IUAlum]

Thank goodness Tater is ok. Poor baby! Go pamper and cuddle him!

[Smittenk]

Yey!! That is fantastic news!

[mkvh]

Thank goodness Tater is okay. I cannot imagine how horrible that must have been!

[aligirl]

Glad to hear that Tater is OK!!!!! :)

[Bloomwood]

Yay! so glad Tater is okay. Crazy lab chasing cats! Give him a big hug and belly rub from me!

[BrownEyedGirl]

I'm so glad Tater is okay...I'm sure he will get lots and lots of extra love today!

(He'll still be in my thoughts hoping for a super speedy recovery)

[Kellie]

Thank goodness Tater is ok. How scary! :(

[TaterBaby]

Thank you for all the well wishes!
DH picked up Tater before my lunch break so I went home to see him. He is in pretty bad shape. Lots of stitches on both of his outside back legs and stitches on one side of his mouth. He has "road rash" in various other spots on his legs. It's really pitiful. He's on pain meds and antibiotics. I still can't believe this happened. I woke up this morning thinking it was all a bad dream. Thankfully, he is going to be ok and get thru this.

[lady1297]

Glad to hear Tator is okay! That has been a HUGE fear of mine with our silly lab. We finally installed a fence because she would just run into the street. I'm glad things turned out okay. Jerks for not stopping!!

[EmilyZA]

I'm so sorry to hear about Tater but I'm glad to hear that he's going okay! Best wishes for a speedy recovery!

[TaterBaby]

We're slowly but surely seeing improvement in Tater. Basically he stays under "his" bed all day and all night, but he's started coming out to greet us when we get home and I've seen a little tail wagging. He's going back to the vet on Saturday for a check-up. I've also found out that a good friend's dog was hit by a car once and I never knew it. I mean, you can't tell AT ALL. So she has been very encouraging throughout this experience.

And here's a photo of my big boy from yesterday...
http://images.snapfish.com/34596%3B645%7Ffp337%3Enu%3D3233%3E349%3E384%3E2324 349475464ot1lsi

[mkvh]

Emily...I've been thinking about you and Tater a lot. Glad to hear that he is recovering speedily. That face is just to DIE for. I'm virtually KISSING him!

BTW...haven't seen you around journal-wise lately...stop by soon :D

[BrownEyedGirl]

What a sweet pea! Tater looks like a big strong boy...I'm sure he'll be running around getting into all sorts of trouble in no time!

[Esq.]

Late to respond, but I am so happy that Tater is ok! He looks so sweet under his bed. He will continue to be in my prayers.

[Ashbe]

Hi everyone! Can I join in the fun?!?!? I am fairly new to CC and haven't post too much. We have two black labs! Tate, 5 years old and Sam, 15 years old!!! My husband is a HUGE hunter, hence the reason for the labs! But they don't just retreive birds all the time, they have a ton of fun running around our yard! (We live on 6+ acres) Here are some pics!
Here is Tate..he just got done digging for something! :)
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b6df26b3127cce9639d40c3e1c00000016108IbtmTZy2bg
Here is Sam...on a VERY lazy day! :)
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b6df26b3127cce9639eb537ec400000016108IbtmTZy2bg
Some other pics....
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b6df26b3127cce9639e3c8ff6b00000016108IbtmTZy2bg
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b6df26b3127cce9639d4f63ee600000016108IbtmTZy2bg

[Ashbe]

They are buddies!!!! (I had to take this through the screen door, so they wouldn't get up!) Sam is laying on Tate. (Tate has a hunting doggie jacket on!)
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b6df26b3127cce9639e9b67e2000000016108IbtmTZy2bg
Tate in his hunting gear! Sammy is retired now! He is too old!
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b6df26b3127cce9639e6073e0e00000025118IbtmTZy2bg

[Smittenk]

Hey Ashbe, welcome to the thread!

Your boys are soo cute! I love Tate's little jacket

[Ashbe]

Thanks!!! Sam had a jacket, but sort of grew out of it! Poor guy..its heck getting old! :p

[skyblu]

Hi, Lab moms!

My best friend wants to give her husband a chocolate lab puppy. Her husband refuses to adopt a rescue or shelter dog (ugh, don't get me started), and I have made her promise me to not even think of buying from a pet store!

So she rightfully turned around to me and said, "Okay, then, how do I find a reputable breeder in teh New England area?"

I did a Google search, but how does one know if the breeder is ethical and reputable? I don't know anyone who has a lab, so I can't get recommendations, and my own dog, though purebred, is adopted.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[mkvh]

You can get recs from your local kennel club, and the AKC also has a breeder directory. That's a great starting place. From there, I found it helpful to research breeders by reviewing their websites and even found referrals to other breeders there. But the ONLY way you can be sure to get a reputable breeder is to interview them, ask for referrals, and interview folks who who have purchased from that breeder. Also, you can ask to speak with their vets.

For labs, it is very important that the breeding stock have all clearances (hip, eye, elbow, cardiac) and preferrably DNA verfication to confirm that they are not inbred.

Once all of this is done, your friend should be aware that she will be forking out a LOT of cash for a dog of this quality, and she will be subject to just about the same scrutiny as she has put the breeder under. Some breeders even do in-home visits before they will release puppies. A sign of a responsible breeder is their selectivity in choosing homes for their puppies.

Hope that helps!

[skyblu]

Thanks, mkvh! That helps a lot and I will pass it along!

[ManteoChik]

skyblu I just sent you a PM about breeders!

[Chimichanga]

Does anyone else's lab get boogery eyes?

Zeppelin constantly has eye boogers - even when I wipe them away he gets them back instantaneously.

I don't know if it's because he's such a cryer (always cries when DH or I are not in the room with him) or ??? He'll get the eye boogers when we're together and he's not crying (playing for example)

Anyone else's lab have this problem?

[TaterBaby]

Chimichanga, I thought about that same thing the other day and was going to post it here, but forgot about it. YES, Tater has eye boogers all day every day. It seems like I'm constantly cleaning his eyes.

[mkvh]

DH and I are forever wiping eye boogers off of Rudy. It's ridiculous. Must just be a labbie thing.

[Esq.]

Bogey has eye boogers ALL THE FREAKING TIME! Luckily (and this is gross) Naya really seems to like them and takes care of them for him most of the time. So, my suggestion is to buy him a playmate who will lick them away :D

[BonBon06-11-05]

Daphne gets eye boogs, too. I read somewhere that it is very common for labs to have eye problems. I also asked the vet about it, and she didn't seem too concerned.

[guinevere]

Eye boogers... that's hilarious!

My lab gets them all the time and I'm always wiping them away as well.

[QueenDillyDally]

I think every picture I have taken of my boy has eye boogers in it!

[QueenDillyDally]

QUESTION:

We have a lab puppy who is almost 6 months old. He is not sleeping through the night lately. He wakes up about 5 hours after going into his crate. When he does wake up, he does his pee and/or poop outside but then comes in and thinks it is time for breakfast.

Does anyone know if at this age (around 6 months), Do labs (or any dog for that matter) go through a "growth spurt" where they are hungry ALL the time? We just started feeding him a little more at his two feedings per day (based on the guidelines on the bag). He now gets 2 cups twice per day (plus his treats) at twelve hour intervals (4 am and 4 pm).

We are just soooo tired from getting up every night. Last night, he barked at 1:30 am and DH took him out to pee. But, 1/2 hour later, he was barking again. So, I took him out and he pooped. But, not even a 1/2 hour later, he was barking again. So, pretty much from 2:30 until 4 am this morning, he barked the whole time. (We get up at 4 am anyways)

[mkvh]

Sorry, shicks...we didn't have that experience. But you do know that labs will eat and eat even if they're not hungry, right? We actually cut BACK on food at 6 mos. per our vet.

Have you tried ignoring the barking to see what happens? (I know, easier said than done...) What are has habits BEFORE bed, i.e. does he get a good last visit outside?

[QueenDillyDally]

Thanks mkvh -
He goes outside to potty right before bed - around 8 pm. Usually just pees but sometimes poops.
I think we "jump" to take him out when he barks in the night because for about a month he had diarrhea problems in the night and had accidents in his crate. No problems with diarrhea anymore, but I think we are scared it might happen again if we don't at least try to take him out in the night when he barks.
This morning, we ignored him from 2:45 am to 4 am but he barks every few minutes anyways.
Whenever he does get up in the night, he sits beside his food area like he thinks it is breakfast time. We ignore him and put him back in his crate.
I wonder if it was really bad last night because of the Full Moon?

p.s. I know labs have an "endless pit" so they can eat and eat and not get full. So, it is tough to know if he is truely hungry - I'm sure we are feeding him enough though.

[Chimichanga]

shicks - yeah, Zeppelin went through a "I'm going to eat absolutely everything" phase. We'd feed him like 6-7 times a day when he was eating 3-4 times. He shot up like a weed - his legs looked so loooooooooong and they were skinny as sticks. He put on the necessary muscle and then slowed himself down. Like, we'd feed him and he just didn't eat. Eventually he did, but not as many times during the day. Once he hit about 60 pounds the vet said we could move him to adult food.

Whew - I'm glad I'm not the one puppy owner who has to deal with eye boogers. I thought our little boy was just a cry baby. ;)

[Smittenk]

December27JJB That is the sweetest picture. Thanks for sharing!

[guinevere]

December27JJB, what a cute picture!

I'm glad to hear they are "best friends". One of the many reasons we got a lab is that they're supposed to be very good with children. (We don't have any children yet, but someday in the future we hope to!)

[mkvh]

I think we "jump" to take him out when he barks in the night because for about a month he had diarrhea problems in the night and had accidents in his crate.

OMG...we had the SAME THING early in puppyhood. Although the barking in the middle of the night ended along with the accidents. Then again, Rudy isn't much of a barker to begin with.


On the topic, Rudy had an accident last night. It totally was our fault, as we were out late at a friends and hadn't fed Rudy dinner. We gave him a snack, let him out, and then put him to bed. I heard him scratching around in his crate at about 3 and wondered if all was okay but fell back asleep. DH told me that when he got up, Rudy had pooped in his cage and also thrown up. DH thinks he threw up because he was sooooo upset about pooping in his cage. Now I feel GUILTY because it's our fault! Lesson learned, I guess. :(

[QueenDillyDally]

Question:

Do any of you use fish oil capsules on your lab?

DH thinks it will help Papi's coat as he is a