Only had my new lab for a month today but she’s been consistent with this - when she’s in her spot and I call her name, before she comes to me, she gives me that squinty eyed look. Is it true what the internet says that it’s affection or is it really more nervousness still?
So maybe I just wanted to share her pic too. Haha
Hi all. I’m fostering this little guy and they said he’s about 8 weeks old. He looks pure lab but seems on the smaller side. Such a sweetheart!
My black lab boy 10 is on a weight loss journey. He loves water fetch because it’s less painful on his hips, and he is 6lbs away from the vets goal weight! I’m so happy. Five years ago when I met him the vet said he had maybe a year or two left before he’d have serious health problems develop and he’d likely die. So we worked hard and now he’s so much healthier and has a long life ahead of him.
I assume it’s a normal lab thing to work part-time as a wood chipper?
Any recommendations on how to get our three year old lab more comfortable with visitors? We had some family for dinner last night and could not get him to settle. He was barking so much we ended up putting him in another room. He’s a sweet loving boy with us and I’d love for him to be more comfortable with guests. Appreciate any advice you can share
I got this amazing boy from one of the top breeders as a "started" dog, 8 months old.
One quirk is he's like velcro; I call him my brown shadow because I can't move more than six feet from him and he jumps up to follow me, even if he was sleeping. He does not like me leaving him alone - and though I have baby gates throughout my house, he can jump them - so only putting him in his cage will stop him, and he doesn't like it.
My thought is he was never truly alone before; even when the human breeders weren't there, he was with other dogs for company, for 8 months of his life.
Anyone else experience this? Do they grow out of it?
Just wanted to show him off because he just turned 7 months and that’s my baby 😩😍 “Loki”
My little angel Vivid is afraid of water. She’s 2, and we got her a few months ago. She seemed to be pretty scared of water (hose, sprinklers, shower, pool). The hose and shower have gotten a lot better, but she seems pretty scared of my mom’s pool and can get stressed when we are in it. I’d love to help her feel more comfortable in the pool and maybe even like swimming/playing in water herself? We are careful not to force her, but if anyone has any tips that would be greatly appreciated!
Here is my first lab. This is Loki: Dog of Mischief, he was the runt and loaded with hookworms when I got him and he was only about 5lbs. We got him to the vet, treated, he’s much better and he’s over 30lbs now at 16 weeks healthy, happy, and still dives into water bowls, muddy patches, pools, ponds, sprinklers, and/or ac condensation. This picture was from his second day out here on the ranch. If he’s always going to be a water loving mud diver, I’m ok with that, just need a heads up. I love this little guy.
This is Harlee! Ma baby and walking buddy. She’s 9 and is the goodest girl ever! She’s sniffed out a turtle, a frog, and a snake for me and loves rolling on olives✨🌻🐶
Our 16-week-old Labrador, Ru, has episodes where he seems to completely lose control and jumps at us, chasing and biting our ankles, legs and hands. I’m not talking about normal puppy nipping – he actively comes after us and sometimes bites hard enough to break the skin.
We’ve had him since he was 8 weeks old, and he hasn’t had any negative or traumatic experiences. He’s otherwise a friendly, bright and happy puppy.
We have a positive-reinforcement trainer and follow her recommendations quite closely. We play with him, do short training sessions and other mental work, and use sniffing activities to help him wind down. We try to make sure his needs are met without overstimulating him.
Despite all this, many times a day he just completely loses it and starts jumping at us and biting. It seems particularly likely to happen when we want to stop interacting and relax – for example, when we sit on the couch at home or on a sun lounger while we’re on holiday. Ignoring him isn’t possible because he follows and bites us, redirecting to toys doesn’t work, and physically pushing him away only escalates things.
The only thing that reliably stops these episodes is putting him in his crate, where he usually calms down quickly.
Unfortunately, we’ve had to use the crate for this so often that he’s now started actively resisting going into it, which I really don’t want.
Our trainer’s approach is kind and positive, which I really appreciate, but the usual advice of ignoring and redirecting simply doesn’t work once he’s in this state.
Has anyone dealt with this level of overarousal/arousal biting, especially with a Labrador? What actually worked when your puppy was already in full-on biting mode? And does this eventually pass as they get older and learn to regulate themselves better?
but today, my love is quadruple for both of their existence and shenanigans. Happy birthday to these two.
The best and dumbest mistake I’ve ever made was getting these two from separate litters on the same day. I’m lucky they didn‘t develop litter syndrome. (Don’t be like me.)
Hemi got a new pineapple, and he's very happy about it
We were supposed to have so much more time. I'm so sorry we didn't catch your heart condition earlier. 8 years was not enough, I miss you so much. We did everything we could but your body just gave up, when you started bleeding into your lungs the doc told us it was time. You were in so much pain and screaming we tried to do the best thing for you and ease your pain. I don't know how aware you were due to the brain bleeding but I hope you know we loved you. I feel so guilty not being able to fix you and not being able to save you. I love you, and always will. We miss you.
I was her puppy raiser too so I’m happy to welcome her back home 🩷 she was career changed for chasing squirrels and loving other dogs too much, basically she just has too much zest for life, she’s literally just a girl.
Does anyone have any fun enrichment ideas for her? Honestly I’m not the most active person ever, and she seems content to hang out with me while I work from home, but I would like to look into some dog sports.