suziwong66

I would hate to have been manipulated by a breeder in this way; i like to think that purchasing a puppy is a team effort where open honest communication is exercised.

Supply and demand is what dives the price. The rarity of a dog does not necessarily demand a higher price; especially when there is no demand. Yes labs are common but they are also in high demand. So... breeders charge more just because they can? Ouch! I'm not suggesting demand is the only variable in price determination. The cost of raising large litters, which labs typically are, can be enormous...as is choosing/purchasing semen from excellent quality stock etc.

Supply and demand is what dives the price. The rarity of a dog does not necessarily demand a higher price; especially when there is no demand. Yes labs are common but they are also in high demand.

is it effective with the flies MG? I need something for summer here with Wilbur's ear tips. We were given a cream for Casper, but it didn't appear to be overly effective Repelx is second to none for flies. thanks for that; i'll take a rip out to our local horse equip supply store.

is it effective with the flies MG? I need something for summer here with Wilbur's ear tips. We were given a cream for Casper, but it didn't appear to be overly effective

oooh i like those tags MG; taa for the link. I think i'll get a few for his new Red Dingo collars when they arrive. I hope his wave goes...I know Wilbur will never conform to the breed standard because of his overshot jaw, but i'd like his coat to conform at very least

that's what i'm aiming for with Wilbur *sigh* atm i've still got the jeans and shirt tearing monster We're off to obedience in the morning; i'll let you know if he publicly disgraces us

Yes lab pups learning to be around kids just doesn't happen without a great deal of puppy supervision We had a four turning 5 year old and 8 turning 9 year old when we got our first lab. It was a lot of work teaching Casper to be gentle with the girls...and to be honest he was still like a boisterous puppy at 10 years old....although he had better self control by then. Wilbur is totally spoiled; i'm not working atm and i can (and do) devote my day to him most of the time We get in about 3 small training sessions and one larger one every day; and i'm constantly getting him to use his learned behaviours to maintain them. I think the media have a lot to answer for in creating the myth that labs just turn into these lovely calm family/service dogs. The reality is so far from that; there's a lot of daily work that occurs. Time and patience as you say is such an important factor in their 'manners' training. We're thinking of a second lab pup in a few years...i need a bit of a gap to make sure Wilbur and i have built a strong foundation of training before i start all over again with another one. Even though they learn quickly and are people motivated i've found them much more work than our first family dog; a German Shepherd. Keiran our GS grew out of the boisterous puppy stage by about 2yrs...but not our dear old Casper....and i'm guessing Wilbur will still be a goose, even though a well trained one, by that stage too Wilbur is really mouthy/bity...i don't remember Casper being this bad, but he was a baby 14 years ago so i've probably forgotten it Both Miss19 and i have experienced Wilbur drawing blood When he's calm he's just beautiful...but he's really only calm late at night when he's allowed out of his crate to come and lay next to me on the lounge. it's our quiet time. The rest of the time he's like an energiser bunny on crack I'm in agreement with you about not recommending a lab puppy for the OT due to the number and ages of the kids. I'm concerned it would be a recipe for disaster with a boisterous puppy growing fast into a boisterous and very sturdy and heavy dog. I can't imagine such busy parents having the time to devote to training a lab puppy; it's such a full on job. A mature lab would be a better option IMO. If I had been a child when Wilbur ran into me like he did in the video, i'd be flat on my back. He hit me with such force and he's just playing and having fun. He has no concept of his power.

RS I think you've adequately described the challenge of lab puppies. I'm adding a video of Wilbur (17 weeks) taken today. Two to three times a day he has a silly period...This video is his late in the day silly period. He and i had been playing in back yard; it was nice and civilised. Then my OH came home and Wilbur just lost any sense of self control. Although I'm laughing when Wilbur jumps on me (i'm sitting on the grass with the camcorder) it's really hard and rough and very difficult to stop him. The force of him running into a child would result in at best tears. Wilbur has done puppy school and is a beginner obedience schooler. For his age he's very well trained; i spend a lot of time training him...but he's still a puppy and learning self regulation.

what a shame; the Tuffy's are way cheaper in the DOL marketplace. I went and got 3 more for Wilbur coz they're fabulous quality toys and the price was a steal :D Suzi, Could you please tell me exactly which store in the marketplace. Thank you raffikki's link will take you to the marketplace...there are several threads about the Tuffies that Frenzied has put up. one is the creatures and the other is the general tuffy toys. Bev sends the toys as soon as the money has been transferred into her account.

i freeze 3 chicken necks together in a lump and Wilbur (lab) 17 weeks gets them frozen. It makes him slow down and not gulp them whole. I do the same with chicken frames.

There is, but I suggest taking your Lab and making sure they can jump in themselves. The new ones look lower than my 2005, but once your Labs are elderly you may be assisting in lifting in and out or having to invest in a ramp. we would never expect our lab to jump into any high vehicle...and that goes for him getting into the back of my teeny Toyota Yaris ...as soon as Wilbur's big enough to sit in the back instead of the seat, we'll be getting a ramp. We used to assist Casper (who passed in May) for the last number of years. He always either sat on the back seat & got in himself or we lifted him into the back of our (then) Laser. I don't mind investing in a ramp as i anticipate having labs for a long time yet and will get plenty of use out of it.

I understand where you are coming from, wanting a puppy to grow up with your kids, but a very important point to remember is - a Labrador puppy is far from easy!!!! They are extremely boisterous, bowl little kids over in their excitement (or just walking past), they are quite mouthy and can nip the kids hands, feet, ankles, clothes, etc, so therefore need a LOT of training to mould them into the perfect well behaved family member that sometimes the media can portray them as. Don't discard an adult rescue entirely as they can easily blend into the family as if they had always been there ;) Labs just want to be with their people and to please, so an older Lab will be more placid and should cope really well with your kids wanting to smother them with hugs And they will be well and truly out of the nipping stage and knocking the littlies over! +1 as you say RS the work level involved in developing a lab puppy into the "perfect well behaved family member" is huge. I'm currently doing it for the 2nd time 'round. I spent this morning working on Wilbur's heel out in the street. Yesterday afternoon was spent getting him used to the smells of the grounds of the obedience club so that tomorrow he will hopefully be a little more acclimatised to it and tomorrow morning will be spent at obedience. We try and work in daily controlled socialisation out in the community or by having someone come over for a visit.

Hi RS, that graduation in price is similar to what we experienced. Casper was $500 in 1997 and Wilbur was $1400 in 2011. We're considering another furkid lab in about 2 yrs and i reckon $1500 might be the average by then...

I would suggest that health scores should be your guide. Hip/Elbow (as low as possible) and PRC and EIC clear or at least carrier not positive. Then as i mentioned previously breeder communication came next. Price and location were very low on my list.

+1 there are currently 66 litters listed with 10 listing price: $800-1000 $1200 $900 $1000-1200 $1000 $1400 $1200 $1000 $1500 $950 some prices were dependent on the choice of gender and some prices were dependent on limited or mains registered/show puppy. I would imagine the quality of the pedigree would also factor into the price...Litters that come from pedigree lines that are well known in the show ring to conform to breed standard i would/could imagine , demand a higher price. ps. one breeder who doesn't list their price charges $1500...or did when i rang them in June.

nah...you didn't. the reason we didn't go with the $1500 breeder was not because of the quality of the dogs. They had great pedigree & health scores which was equal to Wilbur's pedigree & health scores. The deciding factor was speaking to each breeder and Wilbur's breeder had far better communication and people skills which was important to me as i think it's in the puppy's best interest if both breeder and forever family can communicate well. I would have happily paid $1500 for the right pup that came from the (entirely subjective) right breeder for me.

We've decided on a Nissan x-trail in anticipation of a second lab. Had a couple of test drives & checked out the rear area...even with back seats up there appears enough room for 2 labs.

When we looked for labs this year (June/July) the average price was $1400. I saw some cheaper around $1200 and some dearer at $1500. We paid $1400. $1500 is not outside what we found when looking. As showdog says, the main thing i was worried about was hip/Elbow scores and EIC & PRA and then additionally a good open relationship with the breeder.

I did with my first dog - the club I went to at the time was very anti food reward and big on physical correction. It worked......sorta. With my second dog (rescue) I did for a while more because she would freakout and bolt and at least she couldn't get her head out of it. Now I use a limited slip collar and positive re-enforcement. I think its a much better system and ever won't use a choker on any of my dogs again. I think there is still a place for them - mine is holding the garage door shut Whats a slip collar? also known as a choker chain. a limited slip collar is also known as a martingale collar

i really like Red Dingo collars & ID tags and have few different ones for Wilbur. Annoyingly i lost one this week at the dog wash at Petstop...it had his enamel Red Dingo ID tag, Microchip id tag & council id tag about $45 worth of bits & pieces lost Ebay isn't too bad for Red Dingo collar prices so i ordered 3 to replace the one that i lost I bought my good leash from Leerburg.com they make lovely leather leads. I have a puppy one and after it arrived and i liked it so much, i decided on a traffic one and 2 different length obedience ones as well. i picked up some leather conditioner from R M Williams to make sure they stay as supple and soft as when they arrived. My run-of-the-mill leads are the nylon rogz type. Clear Run is another website that i use for training long line leads etc. I probably wouldn't have bought so many Tuffy's for him except that Bev's prices in the marketplace are so damned good that i couldn't resist since he likes tuffy's so much. He has a crate for indoors at night and a Pet Futon for outdoors during the day; he prefers to come inside to his crate to sleep even during the day. The futon is really lovely quality and i'm thinking of getting another one for inside his crate. Wilbur is a very spoiled boy

his 'perm', as i call it has become very wavy over the past few weeks. :D

i think, from my sad memory, that Polly and the other farm animal Tuffy's are about 7/10 on the Tuffy toughness factor. They aren't advertised as indestructible but as you say they are tougher than regular fabric type toys.

Wilbur mouths his soft toys and hasn't ever destroyed one. Polly the pig (tuffy) (isn't really a soft toy per se) on the other hand is battered and chewed vigorously. In seems, that Wilbur has a distinction between soft toys that he's gentle with and hard toys that he's rough with; go figure

that's a real gentlemanly Cav you have Wilbur our chocolate lab has Polly the pig his friend with benefits. Wilbur likes to slap Polly around a bit before he gets his benefits Clearly he's not the gentleman your Cav was