Labrador Retriever Puppy Care Sheet
Recommended New Puppy Items:
Here is a list of things that you will probably need for your new Labrador puppy.
- Stainless steel water & food bowls. (These cannot be chewed)
- A light, thin, nylon lead and collar suitable for a puppy.
- Kongs, tennis balls etc., whatever toys you buy, make sure they are fun, safe, durable and washable. You will need to teach your puppy that its toys are the best things to chew on, not the sofa or your furniture!
- Food. You need to stick to a large breed puppy food, or an adult food with calcium and phosphorus levels of 1.5% and about 9% roughly. Large breed dogs need more calcium than smaller breeds, so puppy food is not always best.
- Bedding. Your puppy will identify its bed as its spot and safety net.
- An I.D. tag with your contact information.
- A good quality brush to groom your puppy.
- Toothbrush (good to start this really early so he accepts it as normal).
- Baby Wipes – Useful for cleaning all over your new puppy.
- Big supply of paper towels for wiping floor from waterworks problems, mopping up drinking water, wiping muzzles etc.
- A good camera and lots of film (If not digital) and batteries – Puppies are only Puppies once!
Keep in mind your new puppy may cry for the first few days. All of your puppy’s life has been spent with his family and his brothers and sisters – being away from them is going to be tough!
Introducing Your Puppy To Your Family
Everyone in the family will want to meet your new puppy, but it is probably best to make the introduction low-key so as not to overwhelm your puppy. He will already be apprehensive as it will be the first time he or she has been separated from his parents, siblings, and the breeder. The ride home in the car is probably the first time your puppy has been in a car, and this might have made him uneasy also. It’s important for your puppy to have human contact, as at this stage an instant connection between your pup and his human family will be formed. Gentle soothing words and stroking will also help console your puppy, as well as putting them down and letting them explore his new home, under your watchful eye of course. Each family member should spend some time with your puppy, let your puppy sniff at their hands, and stroke him or her gently. Puppies need human attention and need to be touched – this is how to form an immediate bond.
Exercise.
Remember, do not force your puppy to do too much exercise on the lead until they are six months old, as this will damage their growing bones. Just lead training in short bursts and exercise on grass will suffice.
House Training
House training is obviously a necessity if the dog is to live in the house. Some people will do indoor crate or kennel training as a dog will not want to soil his or her own bed and so will try to hold it in until you can let them out of the kennel. If you choose to do kennel or crate training indoor, make sure to take them outside to go potty and praise them when they do. Its best in this method to always take the puppy to the same place to do his/her business outside so that they know what is going on and can expect it.
Even if you do not use the crate or kennel training method inside, you do need to make sure to keep your puppy in a relatively isolated area (a bathroom, laundry room, etc) overnight or when you are not directly playing with the puppy. This is so that you can easily clean up if and when your puppy has an accident. Remember that until they are 6 months old, they have little control over their bodily functions and so it is your vigilance which is important. If they do have an accident, ignore it, clean it up and put them outside. It is usual for male entire dogs to mark their territory; the only way to prevent this is to have them castrated after they are 8 months old and are mature enough. The other advantage of this procedure is that it lessens their desire to wander!
Basic Training
Labradors are a breed that wants to please. As such, they are very willing and eager to be trained and in fact are a much happier dog when trained. It is well to remember that an adult dog can weigh between 50 and 80 pounds and some people are not very comfortable with large breeds. To see a large dog bearing down on them can be a frightening experience for them and your dog will pick up on this. His or her natural curiosity and friendliness will make them want to investigate new people and new places. If you want to take your dog out in public frequently, there are several things he or she must be able to do, especially if you want to be able to let him or her off the lead.
1) Know his or her name and come at all times the instant they are called. Obviously, bribery in the form of treats is very good to help them learn this. Keep calling them back to you, get them to sit, and give them a reward; then you can send them off about their business again.
2) Walk nicely on the lead without pulling or jumping up at passersby. Use only one word, such as heel, and when the puppy starts pulling, administer a sharp tug and say heel. In time your dog will associate heel with walking quietly by your side. When this happens, you can move on to heel work – that is, take the puppy off the lead and concentrate on getting him or her to stay by your side. Say heel, reward with a pat when this happens, and make sure your puppy knows the difference between staying by your side under control and going off and enjoying him/herself.
3) Go down on your word and stay. This takes work and patience but is very satisfying when it happens and can get you out of a lot of trouble if you need to control your dog from a distance. Once they have learned the words down and stay, choose a peaceful environment that they are used to which holds no distractions for them and practice the down and stay from a distance which you can increase gradually. Never push your puppy too far – if he or she is starting to lose their confidence go back to the previous step and start from there more slowly.
Remember all puppy training must be short at first. A puppy’s concentration span is only a few minutes. Rewards and kindness always work better than fear. Simple activities such as sitting and knowing their name and retrieving are best to start with. A well-trained Labrador is a happy one and you’ll be a happier owner if your Labrador is trained right.
Separation Anxiety
A Labrador is not a breed that enjoys being solitary. Their very nature and purpose in life demands close contact with their “people” and they find it extremely stressful to be left alone for long periods of time. If it is absolutely necessary for you to do this, then you need to think up some strategies to lessen the stress on your puppy and you need to be prepared for problems. Your new puppy may even get the runs in the first few days simply because he/she has stressed out. This is normal, but if it continues for more than a few days, please see a vet.
- A good idea is to provide an indoor or outdoor kennel available for when you are not there with your puppy. An outdoor kennel with a run; (Remember your fence will need to be at least five feet high and be strong enough to contain an adult of up to 80 lbs) would be the least stressful for them but an indoor cage or crate as long as it is large enough and they are used to it will be adequate enough. A stressed out Labrador can cause a lot of damage, so it is best to avoid leaving them for long periods of time.
- Leaving toys with your Labrador puppy is something to be treated with caution as Labradors have very strong jaws and could chew them up and cause themselves damage if they swallow them.
- Ø Leaving them at night can cause problems too. Start as you mean to go on. Sometimes, by putting your puppy’s bed by your bedside cures any separation anxiety but not everyone may wish to do this. If this is not for you, then putting your puppy in his or her crate/kennel is fine, and you will have to turn a deaf ear to the yelps for attention. Usually, after a few days, as long as you are firm but kind and provide a routine that your puppy can rely on, then they will accept going into their crate/kennel and start to treat it as their refuge and home.
- If you need to leave them in a car, then a good strong guard is advisable. Leave them for only a few minutes at a time to start with and don’t make too much of a fuss when you come back to them. PLEASE remember to leave a window cracked open and be very careful about hot days and cars for dogs. In general, Labradors like car rides and as they get older, they will like cars more. If you want them to like car rides, be sure to take them on rides in the car other than just to the vet! You don’t want them to associate “the car” with “the vet.”
What to do first?
Now that you have your puppy and you are finally home with your new puppy, here are a few things to do first:
- Try to puppy-proof your house. Put away things you do not want him or her to chew on, try to hide or tuck away any cords or wires from TVs or computers, and establish an area inside your home where he is allowed to be. If he is not allowed in the home, you can ignore puppy-proofing your house, but make sure to really check your backyard. Labradors will find ANYTHING in your backyard, even if its been buried by previous dogs or previous owners of the house, so keep an eye out there periodically to make sure they are not getting into anything troublesome.
- Establish where your puppy’s food and water is. He/she will need to know this information.
- Establish where your puppy’s bed, crate, or kennel is. He/she needs to know where he/she will be able to sleep and rest.
- Introduce your puppy to the family – he/she needs to establish bonds and know that he/she is not really alone.
- Provide some toys and acceptable chew things for the puppy – remember, he/she is probably teething right now and will want to gnaw on something to help ease the ache in his/her teeth.
- Put your puppy’s shot records in a safe place. You don’t want to lose them!
- Play with your puppy. He/she has lost all his playmates now. You need to be able to play with him to keep his mind active and happy!
- Lastly, pick a name! J This is very important – the earlier, the better. Don’t keep calling him/her “puppy” as he/she may start identifying that as his/her name. Once he/she has a name, use it often so that he/she quickly learns that this is what he/she is called.
