Potential new pet owner, white lab...

Hey guys
My gf and i moved into a new home, plenty of space inside and out for a dog (4200sqft in doors and 2 acres outside with electric fence).

WE have wanted to get a dog for a long time, but space never permitted. I found out that a good friend of mine has a black lab that just had puppies a month ago. We have our choice at both black and white labs, male or female. we are wanting a male white lab... The puppies will have their shots and be de-clawed.

So, with that said, can people give me direction on where i can go online to read up about how to take care of the dogs and their needs, etc... I really am ready to dedicate time and efforts.

What are typical things i need to buy for "at home" stuff, ie, kennel, leashes, food, etc??? can you guys give me a run down?

Any previous history with labs, i would appreciate any advice!

thanks guys!

Aj

[Guest]

Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson is one of the first books with the latest theories on understanding and working with your dog. There's a lot of misconceptions that lead to problems and once you know what's what, the only issues are with the handlers.

It's late, but there's a lot of good books on raising puppies, the better ones will spell out the different development periods that they go through. Don't overlook socialization especially if they are fearful.

Spend the money on a good kennel, it will help with house breaking.

[Old School]

Since I have had my dog, I have gotten many books/magazines for info. Pet stores have a lot of the good ones, and a bood variety. From what I've seen, I wouldn't cut corners with the food. I would recamend not going with the "cheap" stuff, but I don't know if you need the expencive stuff either. Every dog is different. I feed mine Diamond Large Breed and have had really good results. Finding a trainer and attending some classes early with the dog can be very good. Good luck.

[mustangpauly]

I have trained two gun dogs (labs) in the past the biggest thing is work with them everyday and you'll have a great dog. Everyday only has to be 5 or 10 minutes to do the basics. Like said before get a kennel helps enormously with house breaking. One easy thing to do is teach the dog hand signals while teaching him to sit, Lay down , rollover etc. It's very easy to do just do the signal when you give the command. They'll catch on and it's pretty cool when your talking to someone and tell them to sit with a hand signal. One other thing I trained mine with is a shock collar some people don't agree with it but you can give instant correction to the dog. I.E. dog is in backyard digging a hole your inside and see it zap'em the will stop instantly and learns zap no good. and will stop that behavior rather quickly. Worked awesome for my two dogs.

[1BADBURB]

I would assume you mean yellow Labs. When it comes to pure-bred Labs, there are only black, chocolate, and yellow.

yup...yellow.. my bad. got caught up in the whole thing when typing...


Thank you all for the great info!
Aj

[mustangpauly]

I just wish the yellow were still yellow. Just wait some Breeder is gonna sell them to a rich guy as a "white chocolate" lab now gimme more money.

[1BADBURB]

thanks guys! looking forward to this!
Aj