Any tips for a new Labrador Retriever owner?

[jxcess2]

Hey aryayush, your avatar shows a pic of half osama & half christ. what r u trying to say?

 

[aryayush]

It's Steve Jobs in the centre of it (photoshopped into looking like Osama and the Christ) and I'm trying to say that he is half evil and half awesome.

Don't worry. It's got nothing to do with Christianity or terrorism. It's just appreciation of the splendid Photoshop skills of Gizmodo readers.

 

[jxcess2]

Feed your dog pork atleast twice a week. This way it will grow up to be huge and look menacing, good for keeping burglars away.

 

[aryayush]

Burglars aren't an issue and my dog is going to have a pure vegetarian diet.

And I don't want it to look menacing.

 

[jxcess2]

Burglars aren't an issue and my dog is going to have a pure vegetarian diet.

And I don't want it to look menacing.

Then u r depriving ur dog of required nutrition. I am not sure if vegetarian diets suit big dogs. It may start looking weak. Also your dog may not be happy with your choice. It's his life, after all.

 

[xbonez]

As dogs have poor eye sight, they recognise their master with his voice. So instead of visual clues for activities speak out a word. This way they will learn the tricks lot faster

Dogs may not have an eyesight but that doesn't mean they're near blind. my dog responds to sit, stay, stand up and bark by hand commands as well as words.

Keep the dog away from your living room and never ever allow the dog to sleep on your bed coz dogs carry some infectious viri in their skin which doesn't possess any

untrue...my dog roams around freely around the house and on the sofa too, though not on the bed. never have i had a problem because of that. as long as your dog doesn't have a skin infection, it is perfectly safe to you.

Yeah, so I've heard. Mine is biting me a lot though and I can't honestly say it doesn't hurt. Gotta get it some toys to chew on.

yeah, i know...puppies have amazingly sharp teeth..get it some toys to chew on or its gonna start shredding stuff in ur house. waise, in misha's puppyhood (thats my dog), i never expresly scolded it for chewing on my hand. no that she grown up, if i put a chicken bone in her mouth with my hand, she refuses to bite the chicken bone. even sometimes when i play with her, and like really mock irritate her, she will bare her teeth and all (in a manner that can scare the sh1t out of anyone), and while playing she'll snap at me, but the moment her teeth touch my skin, she bites so softly i can't even feel it....as a dig grows up, it realises that its teeth hurt and it becomes very very careful.

It's a fawn (golden) coloured male.

thats nice...mine's black

Would you mind PMing me your name and phone number?

done

You mean, not right away? I'd been thinking of starting when it was a couple months old.

4-6 months will be fine...be patient though..don't expect miracles..overnight...simple tricks like sit, stay, bark etc will take 4-7 days for it to get the drift..it'll perfect over the time as the command becomes more clear and also as it starts respecting u more

Yeah, me neither. I'd much rather see it performing it's own tricks.

oh! beleive me, a dog, especially in its puppyhood, will perform such funny antics..you'll be ROFLing

OK, so how do you propose I teach it to excrete out of the house? And when it does it in the house (and it seems to do so every half an hour), is there any easy way to clean it, without getting down and dirty?

So, how to teach it not to excrete in the house and all those commands and stuff?

take it out every hr or so in the hope it'll releive itself when outside..make sure you keep it away from mud.
start toilet training at around 60 days..go slow and be patient. i taught my dog in this way - everytime it wud do 'it' in the house, take it to that spot, point its snout at the 'it' so it knows what u're intending to show it and scold it
no, there's only one way to clean it and that involves getting down and dirty.
maverick340 once tried covering the poop with paper and lighting it on fire...it didn't work

Oh, that's a useful tip. I'd been thinking of giving it pure cow's milk. Should I purchase those Himul packets for it instead?

avoid cow's milk...give it buffalo's milk diluted. not sure what Himul packets are, but nothing's better than natural milk. i suggest buffalo's milk + water

So, are you a vegetarian too? Is your dog healthy and playful on a vegetarian diet?

no, actually we're not vegetarians. intially we would give it chicken everyday, but then she got addicted to chicken and wouldn't eat food if there wasn't chicken in her food. somehow we weaned her off it. now we give her chicken and/or eggs every once in a while, but only because she likes it. when she grows up, as i had said, let her one meal consist of Pedigree (we give Pedigree adult Chicken and Vegetables). give the same flavour if its not a problem.

Also, would it mind if I kept it in the shed below and not in our flat itself?

ideally, no...labradors require human company more than any other breed. if you keep it secluded it might grow up to be not very socialable.
as for ur dad, don't worry. when my dad and i got misha, we didn't even tell mom...she was totally against keeping dogs. now, she loves misha as much as she loves me

Why is it not wise to bathe a dog daily? Fur fall issues?

bathe it no more than 2 time a MONTH...ideally once month is gud enough. there are certain oils secreted by its skin to its fur that shud not be washed off too soon

Then u r depriving ur dog of required nutrition. I am not sure if vegetarian diets suit big dogs. It may start looking weak. Also your dog may not be happy with your choice. It's his life, after all.

ok, thats seriously shi1tty advice...sorry. if u don't feed ur dog non-veg u r not depriving it in anyway, and it most definitely can be as healthy as any other dog on an all-veg diet. when it grows up, you can give it non-veg flavoured dog food if its not a problem once a day...Pedigree dog food is just small pellets - no matter which flavour u buy..so i don;t think it shud be a problem.

 

[phreak0ut]

xbonez- The true dog lover

 

[aryayush]

yeah, i know...puppies have amazingly sharp teeth..get it some toys to chew on or its gonna start shredding stuff in ur house. waise, in misha's puppyhood (thats my dog), i never expresly scolded it for chewing on my hand. no that she grown up, if i put a chicken bone in her mouth with my hand, she refuses to bite the chicken bone. even sometimes when i play with her, and like really mock irritate her, she will bare her teeth and all (in a manner that can scare the sh1t out of anyone), and while playing she'll snap at me, but the moment her teeth touch my skin, she bites so softly i can't even feel it....as a dig grows up, it realises that its teeth hurt and it becomes very very careful.

Well, I sure hope he does. If he kept nipping me like that even after becoming a full grown Labrador Retriever, I might as well just hack off my limbs myself and feed it to him.

take it out every hr or so in the hope it'll releive itself when outside..make sure you keep it away from mud.
start toilet training at around 60 days..go slow and be patient. i taught my dog in this way - everytime it wud do 'it' in the house, take it to that spot, point its snout at the 'it' so it knows what u're intending to show it and scold it
no, there's only one way to clean it and that involves getting down and dirty.

Yeah, I guess so. I'm going to have a custom mop made for the peeing. I'll have a cloth tied to the end of a wooden stick. That way, I won't actually have to bend down and wipe it with my hands.

avoid cow's milk...give it buffalo's milk diluted. not sure what Himul packets are, but nothing's better than natural milk. i suggest buffalo's milk + water

The vet said that cow's milk and water mixed in a 1:1 ratio ought to be good enough, but he told me to start feeding it milk only after it was two months old.

when it grows up, you can give it non-veg flavoured dog food if its not a problem once a day...Pedigree dog food is just small pellets - no matter which flavour u buy..so i don;t think it shud be a problem.

It is. No non-vegetarian food is allowed anywhere near the Arya household, be it in any shape or form. I intend to keep it on a strictly vegetarian diet.

 

[xbonez]

It is. No non-vegetarian food is allowed anywhere near the Arya household, be it in any shape or form. I intend to keep it on a strictly vegetarian diet.

thats no problem then.. a gud vegetarian diet will keep your dog as healthy as any other diet. diet shud consist of wheat, lots of veggies and water. once in a while u can add stuff such as soya or nuggets..its gud.

 

[Faun]

Here is something for u all to enjoy
*www.esmondrott.com/rott_fun.htm

 

[xbonez]

^^ hilarious pics and so cute too

 

[Pathik]

Yeah, I guess so. I'm going to have a custom mop made for the peeing. I'll have a cloth tied to the end of a wooden stick. That way, I won't actually have to bend down and wipe it with my hands.

ROFL, Dude, we can do without the details of how you are going to clean your dog's poop.

 

[narangz]

I've heard Honey too is a poison for dogs.

Here's a forum for your questions:
*www.mysmartpuppy.com/community.html

Click on forums at the bottom.

It's a forum by Sarah Wilson. She's one of the best trainers around. She's registered as SW845 there.

 

[drgrudge]

Anytime small is cute. I find Elephant, rat, pig, whale, bear, rhino and of course humans cute in their respective young age.


Congrats on the dog. I always loved to have a dog (more of a dog person than a cat person), maybe someday I'll have one.

 

[praka123]

with cats no worry of p00ping!
Dogs should be kept always outside the house.atleast thats what sane ppl does

 

[eggman]

Dogs should be kept always outside the house.atleast thats what sane ppl does

??? What the point of having a Dag then, if you keep it outside always. Streets dags are those who always stay outside, not the pet dags. And Are you calling Arya insane just cause he's a Mac supporter and not a Linux one? Is it?

 

[phreak0ut]

^eggy-What is this dags?

 

[eggman]

Yeah dags, do you like dags??

 

[praka123]

well,what I meant is normally dogs are kept outside courtyard in a cage.
I hate those who keep dogs inside their houses stinging you know! I know a friend of mine who keeps the dog in toilet !

 

[Yamaraj]

Just one tip for the time being: stop treating him like a dog and yourself as the owner. Be a big brother or father to him instead. That alone should solve most of the problems.