Puppy Advice (merged)

superjaggybunnet

I have a border collie and when he was a puppy he ate my trainers!

They need lots of exercise as said above. That way they get tired out and don't eat the furniture and anything else lying around.

My dog is coming up for 14 now and is not as mobile as he used to be. We don't walk him as much now and he never runs anywhere.

pink_piggy17

schizometric wrote: »

You only need hip/eye scores if you're breeding or there is concern that there may be a problem.

that's not true, the puppies parents should have been scored before they were bred, unless you want to end up with a crippled pup in a few years?

unless your friends are reputable breeders, you'd be better off going down the rescue route rather than supporting another backyard breeder.

also, a puppy definetly isn't for you unless there is somebody at home for the majority of the day to care for him and train him.

hotcookie101

schizometric wrote: »

You only need hip/eye scores if you're breeding or there is concern that there may be a problem.

I took this to mean that you only needed to get your own dog hip/eye scored if you were thinking of breeding. (which I agree with)
Eye scoring is generally done as a pup for congenital conditions (and as someone else said yearly for progressive conditions), and unless an owner was thinking of breeding from their dog I wouldn't recommend they had it hip scored
However-the parents should always be hip, eye and ideally elbow scored prior to breeding (which I agree with)
I think maybe the other posters who strongly disagreed with this statement took it to mean that people dont need to bother hip scoring the parents?

lab-lover

Labs are fantastic dogs, i have a yellow myself. They can be a handful when they are young, just be prepared to give it time and patience.

As long as you love it and prepard to put the training in with them youll make a great owner. As for chewing, mine is 5 yrs old now and has never chewed a thing hes not supposed to.
Let us know how you get on. xx

liz545

As he's still a puppy he's probably a bit too young, but flyball might be a good activity for him - collies are generally very good at it . There's a good explanation and a video of it here
Also, obedience or clicker training is advisable, collies can sometimes be highly strung, particularly around children so it's important to make sure that you establish good control in the relationship and prevent any behavioural issues arising. Have fun with your puppy - our collie's in his dotage now but he's still such a loving, obedient dog; they're such an intelligent breed!

zebidee1

Our lab has his issues (not breed specific btw) but he is the most loving, obediant dog I have ever met.

He had a phase when he was only around 10 weeks where he chewed a rug, my son's shinguards (went down well, lol) and whatever smelly socks he could pinch from the washing basket if he thought no-one was looking.

It passed though and he learned that chewing anything other than his own toys was not acceptable. I could now leave him alone with anything in our home and be secure in the knowledge that it would be untouched when I got back.

The advice about 5 mins exercise per month of life is important, labs can be prone to leg injury etc.

I was in two minds whether to go for a smaller dog when we first started thinking about getting one, but the 'family friendly' reputation that labs have swayed me and I have to say, their reputation is well deserved.

If you are thinking of getting a dog at all, you wont go far wrong with a lab.

Photo opportunity - sorry :rotfl:

Same teddy he's had since he was 8 weeks old btw. Big sap.

Penny_Watcher

^^^^^^^^^^
He's lovely

foreign_correspondent

Do not over-exercise your pup - you can damage their joints - if I remember correctly it is 5 mins per month of their age, so your pup should only be having short ten minute or so walks. As for mental stimulation, learning to toilet outside, and simple commands such as 'sit' 'lie down' etc should keep him busy and will tire him too.

Raksha

Mental stimulation is more important than physical excercise (and more efficient at tiring them out too!) Try hiding pieces of food and getting him to find them, work on your training in short bursts, feed him in a buster cube or tug a jug rather than a bowl........

Lorne

Just wanted to say a massive thank you for all your replies, you have certainly given us a lot to think about, excellent links and a gorgeous photo!

Really appreciate it, thanks.