shellbyville

Congratulations! Sounds like you had a busy night!

MM your girl is quite large as well. Love the added bit for her privacy, very discreet!!! My girl seems to be panting a lot, but does settle through the night, as it gets cooler. She has been nesting a bit as well, but her temperature hasn't dropped so I don't expect anything to happen in the next 24 hours or so! I have never had a bitch get sooo large in the mammary area as this one, she is going to have a lot of milk. Good luck with your whelping, sounds like they are due about the same time!

Will do!!! She is huge and has been having bouts of panting on & off for the last few days, but I am pretty sure it is the heat. Her temperature has not dropped at all. She is officially due on Saturday. Unsure if she will make it to the due date, her body certainly looks ready, everything and I mean everything is big and has dropped!!!

And one more!

My girl has 5 days to go! She is getting very large & uncomfortable, and she is really feeling the heat! Here are a few photos of her.

What adorable dogs and very cute photos of your MM's! Just beautiful!

Isn't this the easy part...for me the hard part is all the packing of the car before the show (on my own) and then the setting up at the show (sometimes on my own, but mostly some nice other show person will help!) and then the unpacking it all when I get home, usually exhausted from the day or days away...oh yeah, if it is an overnight show, setting up the tent solo, not an easy feat! So the filling in the entry forms & writing a cheque or 2 is for me the easy bit, only requires the lifting of a pen.

My lab girl is due on the 5th Dec and she was behaving like Scarlet, nesting like mad and was panting off & on for a while, but I think it is the heat. She is huge and very uncomfortable. However at night when it is cooler she is fine, all else is normal with her and have just started taking her temp this morning. I think we will be having a lot of puppies going by her size!!!!

I would be feeding the mum up and also just supplementing with a bottle at this stage. I started feeding my last litter at about 3.5 weeks with soaked kibble blended with a bit of divetelact to make it nice & sloppy, also added some human grade mince in as well. The pups managed really well with this. Also because it is a bit of 'thing' with me, we refer to the colours of labs as black, yellow & chocolate, so unsure what a caramel is, but would love to see photos, I am assuming the caramel is a darker yellow! Good luck.

I start mine on human grade mince & blended puppy biscuits soaked in water. I usually just put it in a flat dish and put them all around it and have never had any that haven't got the hang of lapping it up straight away. If they don't know what to do put the flat dish down and sit with them and put a little on your fingers and let them lick it off and move your fingers down toward the bowl. If they are hungry they will eat pretty quickly. Good luck. I also agree forget the farex! Also it is a pretty messy process at the beginning, just give them a wipe off with a damp facecloth after.

Expecting a litter of labrador retrievers December 5. Didn't need to ultrasound as it was very obvious quite early she was pregnant and she is growing larger each day.

Ask to see both the parents hip/elbow scores. If they cannot provide that, it is probably best not to buy that puppy. I have heard so many sad stories of dogs bought from pet shops or just the family who thought that it would be nice to breed their lab and didn't do any health testing, such as hip/elbow scoring and eye testing, only to buy a puppy that had health complications, such as hip dysplasia or went blind. If you want a lab puppy research and buy one from a breeder that does the health testing and will provide you with a healthy, sound puppy that is registered and has its pedigree certificate, and can supply proof of all testing. If you have the time and energy to have a young child and a lab puppy and you have the determination and dedication to train and socialise your pup then go for it. Labradors are the best. Good luck with whatever you decide to do

Congratulations on your new puppy. I am sure she will provide you with lots of joy. I would go with the food the breeder has been feeding at the moment, and if you do want to change to something else, do it very gradually. I have labs and feed a combination of dry & raw food and they do well on it. I would also ask your breeder what the puppy is coming with. I send my puppies with a collar & lead, bowl and some food, as well as a blanket they have slept with and some toys. So find out that first to see what you need to buy. As for sleeping, she would probably be fine with just a bed, but dogs like to have their own safe place where they can retire, so a kennel or crate would be good for the puppy, with a nice soft bed in it. I would recommend buying a crate, crate training is a really good thing to do, especially as you have a young child, so you can safely give the puppy some time out in the crate, and know that both puppy and baby are safe. Crates have so many advantages! I would buy most things from a pet store or vet. With the exception of toys, as young pups go through toys pretty quickly, as long as there are no bits that can come off and be inhaled. Kongs are great for pups (you get these from a pet shop), they can keep a pup entertained for hours with bits of food in them. Saying that I use soft drink bottles with dry food in it and leave a few around when I go away and they keep puppies entertained as well. A cheap and safe alternative to kongs. Lab pups need lots of mental stimulation so they don't get bored and start chewing, digging etc. So lots of one on one attention and training and lots of toys for them to play with. Puppy preschools usually take puppies after they have had their first injection. Enquire at your local vet or pet shop for one. Then after the pup has had all injections maybe look into an obedience class, which is great for both you and the puppy and are a lot of fun and very rewarding. Have fun.

Sorry to butt in on this thread! Just wondering, how long you would consider letting a puppy go without food. I have a lab pup - 11 weeks. I have had her one week. She will nibble a few bites and then walks away from her bowl. She is probably eating less than 1/4 of what she should be eating. She was a very well covered puppy when I got her, so I am not too worried at this point about her losing weight, she just isn't interested in her food, which is highly unsual for a lab! I have just started giving her some nutrigel to try to stimulate her appetite!

I wanted to share my very first time in the ring about 9 years ago, with my lovely little lab pup. I had some friends who helped me with entries etc. Had been going along to show training for a few weeks! Decided that a local ag show would be the best and least stressful start to showing. So headed off with my gorgeous little pup, my home made dog crate and one of the quilts off the kids beds to lie her on! (Got many comments about my home made crate - all nice but usually with a good roll of the eyes as the people walked away.) There were 4 pups in the baby puppy class, so I lined up and started a conversation with one of the other competitors, the banter was light until the person then said, "cute pup, but definitely not show material!!!!" I just wanted to cry! I went in the ring and she didn't come last so that was nice! The puppy behaved so well and the judge was lovely, steward was really helpful and had a great time, except for that comment. Of course down the track after showing her for about 9 months, and some baby puppy class wins, 2 sweepstake wins. A baby in group win and minor in group win - her bite went all over the place and I had to stop showing her. If however I had of taken what that person said at my very first show to heart, I wouldn't be doing it today! I think people need to be careful what they say to Newcomers, and possibly keep their opinions to themself. I learnt a lot with my first girl and don't regret a minute of it!

Hard to tell how big he is from that photo. He definitely is not overweight. So a photo of him standing would be helpful.

I am about to start a litter on Bonnie puppy. They are 3 weeks old. I have in the past used much more expensive dry foods to start puppies - Eukenuba & Advance. I was happy with the results from both for young pups, but found all the puppy buyers ended up switching to a cheaper brand. I have been feeding my adult labs Bonnie Working dog as I found with Bonnie complete, the stools were much sloppier, than the working mix. I only give them a small amount of dry food and the rest is raw mince, bones, sardines etc. I have been feeding the mum of the pups the Bonnie puppy, which she loves and she has stayed in good condition while feeding the pups. So I think I will give it a go with these puppies. Has anyone else started their young pups on Bonnie puppy?

Your puppies overbite looks just like one of my puppies from a litter. I have to say that the overbite in my puppy was pretty obvious at 6 weeks and very obvious at 8 weeks. She was the most beautiful looking girl in the litter, and up until we found out about the overbite was 2nd pick, but because of the overbite she went to a lovely pet home, the new owner new about the overbite and the puppy has had no problems. The lower jaw is the slowest bone to grow, so it may improve some with time.

I don't want to give advice as what others have said is great. I just wanted to say that your dog is soooo cute, do you know what his breeding is at all?

I agree especially with keeping anything you do not want chewed up out of reach. Also things like computer leads, any power leads, because mine seem to be able to find them and they feel very nice for them to chew. Also get as much info from your breeder on the diet they have been on and change gradually if you are going to change the diet. Other than that lab puppies are so much fun. They seem to have crazy spurts of energy, but then just collapse where they are and sleep. Also keep your puppy a healthy weight, not too roly poly, but not too lean either to avoid any joint problems as they grow. Keep forced exercise to a minimum, no long walks until they are past the growing period. Avoid the puppy climbing lots of stairs or jumping as well, so no damage is done to his joints. There a lots of different things to think about, but your breeder hopefully will give you all the info you need, and you can always ask here, which is great. Main thing is have fun with your puppy and remember that it will probably chew, poo, and do naughty stuff for a while and you need to be consistent and patient with training.

One of my pups picked up KC at a show. Luckily it was pretty mild. However the cough went through all of my dogs (7), one after the other. It was just like one of the family getting a flu, so I just restricted their running around in the yard, kept them warm, fed them well and also gave them honey and paprika on a spoon (3 times a day) which I think helped the irritation in their throat. I didn't need to take them to the vet, they all just got it and then with a bit of tender loving care, came good. I must say thought their cases were mild. The phlegm they coughed up was a clear colour, no green or yellow discharge, which is a sign of an infection. However I couldn't take any of my dogs out of the yard for months. It was very inconvenient, stopped me showing them for a long while, which didn't help with the socialisation of a few young dogs I had here. Your dog will possibly get it as it is highly contagious.

I can just imagine sidling up to a recently done poo, big wooden pepper grinder in hand...*hehehehe* Imagine what people would think if they saw!!!!!!!! I have one boy who likes to eat his and any of his dog family's poo. I can also imagine the above, but with him saying, "...oh you seasoned it for me, how nice, thanks..." and then eating it!

I don't know you, but when I read your beautiful thoughts of your father & mother, and read the beautiful RSL Eulogy, I just cried. It is so beautiful to read of someone who loved their dad so much and obviously respected him and cared for him through his illness. You sound like a beautiful person. I cried because I can empathise so much with what you must be feeling right now. I was also beside my dad along with my mum and brothers & sisters when he lost his fight with cancer at 68 years of age and went home to be with his loving father, God. Then my mum came & lived with us, found she also had cancer and 2 years after losing my hero dad, I lost my beautiful mum at just 63 years of age. I was also with her when she walked into eternity. Your words about your dad reminded me of the song I sang for my dad & then my mum at their funeral. I hope these words bring some comfort to you. I am Thinking & praying for you during your time of grief. You told me things would be alright, Hey I believed you, But you knew you'd be moving on and I guess I knew it too. So how do I Let go, realise your gone, Always I'll be part of you No-one can take that away But heaven is where you'll be Dancing with the angels, watching over me And I know there's a place in my heart, Reserved for you. And I know when my tears start to fall I'm reminded of you My Hero Sad day and oh preciou times Can't imagine we've said goodbye And I'd do almost anything To see your smiling eyes. But heaven is where you'll be Dancing with the angels, watching over me And I know there's a place in my heart, Reserved for you And I know when my tears start to fall I'm reminded of you My Hero...

Can someone tell me what programs you use to make the signatures. I made one, but it was deleted because it was too large!