**Super_Dogs**

I has also heard this. I think what has happened is more research has been done and what we once thought is no longer the case. Have a look at the links before posted by persephone. In these links there are some research articles. There are pros and cons of desexing, but some of the research now saying for boys desexing actually increases the health risks. All the research I have look at shows you should wait until your dog is mature.

Definitely agree the bonding is not an issue. For me it was third dog I have the strongest bond with. I think they key is though you have to make the time to spend time with the pup and older dog one on one, and also get the pup use to spending time without the other dog. Sorry - can't comment on cats as I do not have any.

I agree. What is done is done. Don't shoot the messenger - the person who sold her the puppy is the one that should know better. Alyjam - sounds like he is going to be a big boy. I do not worry to much about my puppies exact weight gain. So long as they are eating and are growing - all good. Enjoy your puppy. :D

I agree with Christina. Changing a young puppies food can be the cause an upset stomach. If you change foods you should transition the change, mixing the 2 food together for a period of time. If any of my puppies/dogs get an upset tummy I put then on a bland diet for a few days (boied rice, lean chicken and natutal yogart) and if does not get better after a few days - to the vet. Another thing you can try is a probiotic - like inner health plus - these work just as well with dogs as the do with people. Also as Christina said, check if there is anything your pup could be eating in the yard and ensure your puppies worming is up to date. If you have done all this and it is still a problem in a few days - go to the vet. Personally I would be going to a different vet. I hope your puppy gets better soon.

My boy is the same - he will mark everything. As long as your boy knows where he cannot mark you will be fine with a puppy. We have had 2 puppies with my boy and he has never done this. My boy stands next to the girls when they are going to the toilet in the yard waiting for them to mark where they have been. I have noticed he does not have much interest in this while the pup is young. Don't know if this is normally the case or just him.

A lot of people just bring their puppy home and have no problems at all. I did this with my second dog. I did have a couple of problems though as the older dog was young ( only 12 months) so she played really rough with the puppy. Also the older dog got very jelous of my attention. The other problem I made is I did not spend enough one on one time with the puppy whe we got it - so his attachment was to the other dog, not us. Because of these problems when I got my next dog (number 2) I introduced the dogs in a neatrual place. Then when home I let them sniff each other through a baby gate. Then the next day I let them meet face to face but only one at a time (not the 2 adult dogs). My pup spent her days on her own inside initially. I did this until i was comfortable for her to be alone with the older dogs, but also I wanted the pup to be comfortable by herself and not have to be with the other dogs. A lot of people introduce a puppy with no method and have no problems. IMO it really depends on your current dog to what lengths you need to go it. My main piece of advice is ensure you spend one on one time with both your dogs and get your pup comfortable being alone. The last thing you want is the pup crying and barking when you take your older dog out alone.

Are you giving half of the complete mix, or half of the complete mix and fresh meat?

Yep, I experimented for a while because she natually falls asleep at my feet around 9pm, so I thought trying to keep her awake and playing for at least another hour or so would extend her sleep time. But nope, she still got up at the same time! Once we were out at puppy pre-school and went for dinner with some friends after, so she didn't get to bed until around 11pm, but still woke at the same time. I have no problem with her being consistent at 5am, but with it slipping to 4am it worries me that soon it will start slipping earlier than 4am! Bugger! If you know she does not need to go to the tiolet, and she just wants to get up, maybe you just need to ignoe her?

My pup did the same thing. Slept through the night with no noise - then up at the crack of dawn crying. I would have liked to have just left her to cry, but I did not want to as she may have been busting to go to the toilet. IMO getting up early is just one of the tasks of having a puppy. I would think she will grow out of it - but who know when. Have you tried try to keep her up latter at night?

Don't forget to update us on how you go with the breeders. Fingers crossed :D

Here is my girl in action on the dog walk at an agility comp.

I agree :laugh:

This combination is facinating!!! Who would have thought this was possible. To me there is no logic with labrador colour genetic, this is why I always go to this website. There are other sites like this if you do a google search.

This is not necessarily the case. My girl is from a breeder that does agility and fly ball with her dogs. When we are not practising or at training, she is alseep at my feet. When I want her to work she will work, but she is certainly not a high energy dog. Maybe i am just lucky :) Doggylovers, from what I have seen you will get more of these line from Victoria breeders.

They can carry the choc gene. But if you mate 2 yellows together, regardless of what they carry, you will always only get yellow pups. I don't see how that is possible, if mating two yellows is guaranteed yellow, then it must be recessive...if they can carry chocolate, and mating two yellows that both carry chocolate, then there would still be a chance of chocolate pups You would think - but not. Check this out link Breeding 2 yellows, will always breed yellows. The only thing that varies is the recessive, which is dependent on the partents. I think it is all very interesting. :D

I have not been able to find any evidence of this and i have not seen this for myself. Probably years ago when they where not very popular there where a few badly bred silly labs and then people have generalised this to all chocolates.

Most chocolate have hazel eyes. Like coat colour this varies from light hazel to dark (almost light brown). Like coat colour, darker is mroe desirable in the show ring.

Chocolates are a bit different to yellow and blacks, who can carry any colour gene. A chocolate can only carry yellow - not black. This yellow recessive gene only impacts if both parent have the gene. However, even from this mating you can still get lovely dark puppies. See this boy is from parent with yellow recessive and had some yellow litter mates.

Chocolates are definetly allowed and are not a fault. There are three colours in the breed standard, yellow, black and chocolate. Each labrador has different coat genetics which breeders DNA test for to assist with mating. For example my girl is chocolate with a yellow recessive, so to get a full chocolate litter I need to mate her with a dominant chocolate stud. Black and yellow labradors can also carry a recessive colour gene. If you are interested to know more look here. Chocolate labs have and still do have a tough time in the show ring. Some judges prefer the other colours. However there are chocolate labs that are Australian champions.

I'm not full bottle on lab genetics myself and I welcome those who are to come in and correct me or elaborate but no, it isn't as simple as saying it is bad to put 2 chocs together and this dilute thing due to mating 2 chocs I don't think exists. Labs can carry yellow, chocolate and black (black dominant) and sometimes it can help to know what colours they carry so you can mate accordingly. There is never a "dangerous" combination like mating 2 merles, but it is preferred not to mate chocolate to yellow (if they don't carry black I think it is?) as you can end up with light pigmentation which isn't desirable (but has no health effects). Hopefully someone with more knowledge can come in and help out with this question! :) German Shep fan - this is not true. Coat genetic cannot be compared across breeds - all very different. With Labs the only way to get an all chocolate litter (well guaranteed anyway) is to breed 2 chocolate labs. As RS said, choc labs can carry a recessive yellow gene. If you breed 2 chocolate who both have this recessive yellow gene, you will get some yellow puppies. Some say this will result in a diluted chocolate colour but I do not know if this is fact or not. Also - all shades of chocolate are fine, like there are all shades of yellow. I have known of some people who prefer the lighter colour. However the darker colour is seen as more desirable in the show ring. I found some interesting information about them being cross breed to get the colour at one stage which leads to this reputation. Link I am not sure how true this is - but being chocolate Labradors have been around since the 1930's and also where around pre-Labradors (St Johns dogs) this makes sense.

I have chocolate labs and I can tell you the sun bleaching is a pain. One of my girls gets light on the top of her ears. Their coat also goes clotchy when they are malting. I don't understand this while 'crazy Choc lab' thing. I have heard it all but I am yet to see it. My choc labs are very calm dogs and extremely easy to train. Yes i have seen crazy choc labs, but I have seen just as crazy yellow and black labs.

I also crate my dog if I am not working with her. She is not a high energy dog so I do not want to burn any energy - we need all we can get!!!! I get her out just before her run and we do a few exercises for focus.

ChattyKathy it sounds like there has been confusion all around :D It seems it will be a lot easier to just buy your pup on limited register and then if u want another dog, go back to the same breeder. If you want to keep ur options open for using him co-ownership is definitely the best options as if he is in your name you have to become a breeder.

I would also love some new ideas. One that works well for me is a plactic bottle with a couple of hole cut out with food treats inside so they have to roll it around to get the treats out. (not too many holes and the harder it is the longer it takes).

Papers confirm you are getting a purebreed. You are not paying for papers in case you want to breed. Most puppies are sold as pets and sold on limited register (no showing or breeding). What the breeder offered seems pretty normal to me.