Quote:
Originally Posted by k0nr4d
Step one so far is to teach it to piss outside...
Already pissed in my car on the way home (probably out of fear i guess) and pissed slightly in the living room.
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My gf breeds and shows labs, they are amazing dogs. They are a handful though so have to be prepared.
take him outside as often as possible, make him get used to peeing outside.. you do that enough he will NEVER want to pee inside again. Stay out there until he goes absolutely. Set up a bell by the door. On the way out get him to jump up and hit the bell then go outside. This way he will learn the communication of telling you when he needs to go--very important.
Labs are problem solving smart, smarter than most other breeds. This is a good thing, but also means more work for you. They are ridiculously mischievous so you have to stay on top of that. Be FIRM, loud and direct when they do something wrong.. If you whine, coddle them or just stay quiet they will never get that you are angry and will do it again. Repeat this as often as you can, they get into a routine and once they learn it it's in there.
Hide all food. They are ALWAYS hungry or at least appear that way. They will find it. It could be a banana peal at the bottom of a trash can but they will knock it over and find it. Elevate the cans out of reach, have the food bags in a door they can not open, cupboards wont work.
As for foods, definitely want to keep him on the same food as the breeder had him on. If you do change it up make sure of two things. Try to get the kinds that don't have grains in it, grains don't go well with their stomachs and will give them diarrhea and ear infections more often than the other stuff will. Second thing is be sure not to over feed him! A good food should only take a few cups in the morning and in the evening, that's it. I've seen an adult lab polish off a 25 lbs bag in one sitting... they will eat until they do damage! A good rule of thumb is if they seem to be a little thicker? give them a little less.. if they seem a little thin? give them a little more.
tough finding foods without grains, and they do cost quite a bit more, but you end up saving money in the end because you go through less than half as much food as the heavy grain stuff so lasts a lot longer--not to mention less health issues. i'll leave you a short list if you are interested though... if you do change foods, go slow with the change, especially with puppies...
Orijen is good, Taste of the Wild, Innova Evo