The humans are such wusses… There’s a bit of rain and they decide not to go walking (Ok, it was a LOT of rain, but still…)

But at least they did let us play in the rain, and just look at what we made afterwards. How cool is this?

The humans doesn’t really appreciate good art… We think it’s because they aren’t as intelligent as Labradors

Posted via web from labradortraining’s posterous

This post via the Labrador Training blog where you can get information on Labrador training techniques and all the latest Labrador puppy related news. The original post can be found here: No walk today, but look at the art we made!

Some even on the couch or in their owner’s bed (Btw, this is a bad idea if you want an obedient Labrador).

For those of you who are interested in building a dog house for you beloved pet here are some simple guidelines to follow when considering what type of shelter you want to provide.

How big should it be?

You should begin your dog house building process by making sure the house is big enough to accommodate your Labrador’s potential adult size.

Humans enjoy having about 2 feet of air above us in a room in order to live without feeling claustrophobic. Your dog will also need a bit of extra space, but not too much.

The comfort zone for both humans and dogs is about 1/3 of their standing height. To figure out how much room the dog will need get out a tape measure and measure your dog.

Measure him standing straight up, sitting on his haunches and above all measure the full dimension of the dog when he is the most comfortable, relaxed and stretched out position he can get into.

Your dog should be able to look out the front entrance while both standing up and sitting. So the dog will not have to significantly lower his front shoulders or scrape his belly make sure that entrance is high enough.

Stand over your dog and measure the width of the widest point of his shoulders.

Weather and ventilation

Remember to raise the dog house several inches from the ground to allow air and water to flow underneath.

To dissuade pests from invading the dog house and taking your dogs health into consideration remember how important ventilation is. Put in a few nickel-sized holes in the walls under the eaves.

Install a wind block inside the house so the dog can use the heat of its own body to warm up the area if it is really cold or windy outside.

Consider adding a partial wall which will allow your dog to escape the bad weather. Your animal can choose to just sleep in the entry room or go around the inner archway maze wall into the inner sanctum.

Your Labrador Retriever would probably love having a pillow or some sort of bedding to sleep on.

To avoid rain coming into the dog house make the floor just a bit slanted toward the doorway and build the roof a little bit slanted, as well. Make sure the house is well insulated but you should not paint the inside.

In the United States most storms come from the south and west so make sure the dog house faces a different direction. Most dog house plans suggest that the dog house door faces east. The cold air will not be able to whip through the entryway then.

Cleaning the dog house

You should make sure that the roof can either lift off completely, or that you put hinges on the roof of the dog house. This makes it easier for you to clean out your dog’s home. You should clean the dog’s house whenever it starts getting smelly or you can visually see that it getting dirty.

If your dog lives outside then he deserves to have a comfortable place to sleep and get out of harsh weather, but even inside dogs might have to be outside in bad weather. Hopefully these easy tips on building a dog house will help you get started.

This post via the Labrador Training blog where you can get information on Labrador training techniques and all the latest Labrador puppy related news. The original post can be found here: Read Important Tips About Building A Dog House

I saw 2 articles related 2 do nutrition that I thought was worth mentioning, so here they are:

The first is called Canine nutrition: separating fact from fiction (http://www.zootoo.com/petnews/caninenutritionseparatingfactf-1570) and talks about some common myths about dog nutrition.
I found this bit especially important:

Thanks to a 14-year study published in the Journal of American Veterinary Medical Association, a handful of myths about canine nutrition have been busted. After following 48 pairs of Labrador Retriever litter mates, the results suggest that a 25 percent restriction of food intake — or maintaining an ideal body condition throughout a dog’s life — increased the median life span of the dog by 1.8 years and delayed the onset of chronic disease symptoms.

Or to put it differently, you can increase your Labrador’s life expectancy by about 15% and on top of that, you can make the quality of his life better by just feeding him properly.

The second is called “How to help Fido fight fat” (http://www.thespec.com/go/living/article/753444) and gives you some useful tips on how to go about helping your dog lose some weight.

They claim that “In 2009, a study estimated 45 per cent of adult dogs were too heavy.” They go on to explain why this is happening:

It’s complicated and easy at the same time.

First the easy part: Pet owners control the food.

Now for the complicated part: Pet owners control the food.

We’re to blame for this whole mess. We’re to blame for our own sorry state of health and now we’re happy to share it with our pet loved ones. It’s easy to blame food producers, advertisers and breeders. But last time I checked, not a single one of them has placed a fork in our mouth or poured food in that bowl. Nope, we’ve gotten ourselves into this predicament, and it’s up to us to get out of it.

Unfortunately, I think they are 100% correct. However, they do also give some simple tips, and I recently wrote another blog post on Labrador Nutrition which should help you get your Labrador puppy in shape.

Posted via web from labradortraining’s posterous

This post via the Labrador Training blog where you can get information on Labrador training techniques and all the latest Labrador puppy related news. The original post can be found here: Some useful information on Labrador nutrition

Some Labrador feeding tips

Before we get to what you should be feeding and how much, here’s some common guidelines when it comes to feeding a Labrador puppy.

Never let you Labrador puppy get too heavy during the growth stages. They should have a thin layer of fat, but you should still be able to feel their ribs easily.

No forced exercise, jogging (especially on hard surfaces), jumping, field training or agility work, until the dogs are at least 18 months old and their bones are set.

When dealing with large breeds, They really are puppies until at least 18 months of age. I know it doesn’t seem like it, but they are actually quite fragile and need supervised exercise in a fenced in area and daily walks with you.

For strong bones they need normal moderate exercise. The generally accepted rule is that they can do about 5 minutes of walking per month of life. For instance, a 3 months old Lab puppy could go for a 15 minute walk.

Never leave food down all the time. Some dogs will only eat what they need, but very few Labradors will stop eating until all the food is finished. It is also a dominance issue – Dogs with free access to food are much more likely to decide that they are the alpha. It will make your life harder.

Don’t give your dog any calcium, vitamin or mineral supplements. If you are feeding a premium dog food, you most likely do not need to add supplements, and doing so can throw off the balance of the food preventing proper absorption of some minerals or vitamins. Only give supplements if your vet tells you to.

Be careful about the amount of “treats” you give your Labrador retriever. The calories does add up. Break Dog biscuits into smaller pieces or use tiny pieces of carrots and apples as treats. This should not disrupt the balance of the diet or add a lot of calories to the diet. If you do feed treats, adjust the puppies next meal to allow for it.

When you feed, make sure that it is in a non stressful environment. If possible, try feeding in a crate as it reinforces that the crate is a good place to be.

When you give them their food, measure out the correct amount (We’ll get to that) and put it down for them. Allow 10 minutes, and after that take the food away. If they ate most of it, you’re fine. If they didn’t eat a lot, try again in 60 minutes and keep doing this until they eat most of the food in one go.

If they keep just eating a little bit at a time, take it away for 2 hours before trying again. You basically want to teach them that they eat when you give them food, and if they don’t, they’ll stay hungry until you decide to give it to them again.

What to feed

Personally, I’d rather see a thin puppy during growth than a fat one. For a healthy Labrador puppy, you need a moderate protein/fat/calorie food. There is a myth that high protein/fat/calorie food will result in a bigger dog. This is simply not true. The only likely effect it will have is to cause your puppy to develop nutritionally caused bone diseases.

Never feed any food with a fat content above 15% as this promotes accelerated growth. In large breeds, accelerated growth is likely to cause growth deformities and early arthritis. You should also not feed low protein or fat food as they are not high enough in calories.

It is generally a good idea to feed the breeder’s recommended puppy food until the puppy reaches its adult weight. For female Labrador Retrievers, that happens at about 11-12 months old, and for males somewhere between 14 and 18 months old.

If you want to switch to a different puppy food, make sure that you switch the food slowly over the period of about a week. Over the course of a week, mix the old and new food together, slowly increasing the amount of the new food until after a week you are feeding the new food. Don’t be surprised if your puppy has an upset stomach during this period.

After this you can switch to an adult (maintenance) food for the rest of your puppies life. Try to stay on a food that has no more than 26% protein and 15% fat at least until the dog is 18 months of age. You should never feed a ‘Performance’ dog food to a puppy as it can cause all kinds of problems later in life!

A word about water

Always keep lots of fresh water available so the animal knows there is water around, and is less apt to over-consume. Some people will withhold water to try and make it easier to house break a puppy. This is not only cruel, but also totally ignorant. Puppies will naturally tend to gorge when they drink since they haven’t figured out how to tell when they’ve had enough. By denying water, you reinforce this habit which could lead to bladder infections, potential dehydration and painful muscle cramping.

Use common sense, and do not let your Labrador puppy drink excessively (Especially after exercise or dinner). If you always have water available, they tend to drink smaller amounts more frequently as they know that water is available when they need it.

How much should I feed my Labrador puppy?

This is unfortunately not an easy question to answer. There are many reasons for this, but the main reasons is the fact that it depends on your puppies metabolism and activity levels.

You should look at the feeding chart on your dog food’s bag and use that as a base to determine how much you should feed. Then use the information in the next section to keep an eye on your puppies weight and adjust the amount you feed based on this.

How much should my puppy weigh?

Once again, there is no clear answer. Adult Labradors will weigh anywhere between about 40 and 100 pounds. Because of this, you can’t say with any certainty how much they should weigh at a certain age, but a rule of thumb, between the age of 10 weeks and 10 months, the puppy should weigh about 2 pounds (1 Kilogram) for each week of their age.

So a 16 week old puppy should weigh about 32 pounds (or 16 Kilograms). Females might be up to a pound (half a kilogram) lighter and males up to 1 pound heavier.

This formula is only a guideline though – Nothing can replace having a good look at your puppy to see if it is carrying too much weight. A good way to check is that you shouldn’t be able to feel any ribs if you run your fingers over your puppies coat, but if you put a small amount of pressure, you should be able to feel them.

Likewise, the ribs should just be visible if they are standing in bright sunlight, but hard to make out if they are in the shadow.

You should evaluate the amount you feed your puppy about once a week based on the above observations. For example, if the ribs are becoming too defined, add 1oz (25g) of food to the normal amount and re-evaluate after a week.

What if my Labrador puppy is getting too fat?

If you see that it’s become difficult to feel the puppies ribs, decrease their food by about 1oz (25g) and feed them that amount for the next week. If they are still picking up weight, decrease it again. If they are losing a small amount of weight or staying the same, just feed the same amount for the next week and then re-evaluate.

Don’t give in to the temptation to put your Labrador puppy on a lite diet. They need the nutrients for their developing organs and brain cells and their coats will suffer drastically. Until they have finished growing, they need to be getting puppy food.

If you do need to cut back on the amount of food, you can add some (sodium-free) canned green beans to each meal. This will still fill the puppy up which keeps him happy, but without adding a lot of extra calories to the diet.

I hope this answers all your Labrador feeding questions. If there’s anything I missed, feel free to ask in the comments.

This post via the Labrador Training blog where you can get information on Labrador training techniques and all the latest Labrador puppy related news. The original post can be found here: The Proper Diet Of Labrador Puppies

When you adopt your puppy, she should be between 8 and ten weeks old. This is the time that a Lab puppy will either learn that whining doesn’t work with her new, human family; or, she’ll learn to use whining as a manipulative tool (of sorts) to prompt her new “mommy” (that’s you!) to give her what she wants.

How to deal with whining Labrador puppies

This manipulation is why it’s more often than not advocated for you to leave your new Labrador puppy alone on her first night – if you react to whining with positive attention (cooing, patting, sympathy, taking her out of the crate and petting her) how can she help but learn to whine until she gets what she wants?

You’ll need to use your common sense and good judgment, of course. For a genuinely terrified puppy, she in all likelihood does really need some attention and affection, if only to distract her from the scariness of her unfamiliar new surroundings. The trick is to react in a well-timed fashion so that she doesn’t feel like it’s her whining that’s got the outcome (or else you’re conditioning her to whine whenever she wants something, which is paving the road to hell).

For a Labrador puppy that’s working herself up into a real hysteria of crying and whining, don’t feel like you have to cold-bloodedly disregard her. By all means, pay her a minute of attention and calm her down – just initiate the contact when she’s no longer whining. It’s not always realistic to wait until she’s stopped whining completely – opposite to popular (albeit misguided) opinion, some puppies just do not stop whining and truly will continue for hours on end. If you suspect that this may be the case, you don’t have to draw out your pup’s misery: just wait til she’s stopped for even a few seconds, then grab your moment and open the crate door. It’s not ideal, but under the circumstances, it’s probably the best you’ll be able to manage.

Whining in fully grown dogs

Whining is not a natural form of communicating between humans and dogs. Most dogs grow out of whining close to the six-month age; if your Lab is whining after this period, it means she’s either doing it unconsciously, or she’s learned that it’s a useful motivatory tool to get her something that she wants or needs.

As an adult Labrador, there are a diversity of reasons as to why she might be whining:

* In pain
* Bored/lonely
* Afraid/anxious
* Needs to go outside

Your reaction to her whining actually depends on the cause of it. Sometimes whining is justified, and does require a reaction – and sometimes, it’s just plain manipulative. Other times it may be justified, but the reaction that comes most naturally won’t necessarily help your Lab puppy.

To clear up things, the more common reasons for whining – and recommended ways for you to respond – are listed below.

When she’s whining out of pain

A Labrador Retriever that starts whining all of a sudden, and then keeps it up steadily afterwards, may be whining out of pain. This isn’t just limited to senior dogs: puppies and young dogs can be subjected to some pretty serious growing pains, so don’t rule out this theory on the basis of age.

If you think your Labrador may be in pain, check her over to see whether there’s any merit to this belief. First, check for the conspicuous signs: is she Keeping any paws off the ground, or favoring a limb/side of her body? Check her face and body for scratches and splinters.

Next, you can palpate her limbs and joints for inflammation (like arthritis) and possible injuries. Remember to be very gentle: if she’s in pain, you don’t want to make it worse. Merely rub your hands on each leg, pausing at the joints to give each one a gentle squeeze.Run your hand down her tail to check for lumps and bumps, too. Even if you can’t find anything severely amiss, if you think she’s whining out of pain, a trip out to the vet is in short order.

When she’s whining out of boredom and/or loneliness

You’ll be able to tell if this is the cause because she’ll be roving about the house (probably following you around, or pacing about the room you’re in), whining aimlessly and without focus (i.e. she’s whining to herself). The best remedy for a Labrador that’s whining out of boredom is a quick shot of exercise: take her out for a spirited walk as soon as you can, and on a more general level, try to ramp up her daily workout quotient.

A tired Lab is virtually never a bored Lab. For a Labrador puppy that’s whining from loneliness, you’ll have to try your best to spend more quality, interactive time with her. If you don’t have a heap of extra time to spend with your Labrador, then make the time that you do spend together genuinely count: play, groom, train, cuddle.

When she’s whining out of fear/anxiety

Normally, it’ll be fairly easy to tell whether she’s whining out of fear or anxiety. When she’s afraid, it means there’s a direct cause to her fear – like a thunderstorm or a windy afternoon that’s rattling the windowpanes and spooking her a bit.

If she’s anxious, it means there’s no direct, physical cause for her edginess – she might be a bit on edge because you’re a bit distressed and she’s feeding off your energy, or possibly there’s been a change to her day-to-day routine (she didn’t get her normal morning walk, for instance). Without spending any more time nitpicking pedantically over semantics, your reaction to this kind of whining should always be one of discouragement.

Don’t attempt to punish or correct her for whining out of fear or anxiety – that will merely increase her stress, making her feel worse and making the whining worse, too. Instead, just ignore her. It’s a bit hard to do at first – in fact, it can feel like the least natural response in the world! But it really is the best thing for you to do.If you lend unwonted credence to your dog’s mood with an undue response – patting, sympathy, cooing – she won’t be comforted; she’ll in truth be more worried, because you’ve just validated her fear.

If it seems to her like you think she’s got a good cause to be worried/afraid – and if you respond with comforting words and calming pats, that’s how it’ll come over – then she’ll be more afraid. Not less. So in this case, you need to ignore the whining outright. Don’t molly-coddle her; instead, distract her with play, or run through a quick obedience routine. Get her thinking about something else.

If she needs to go outside

If your dog’s whining because she needs to go outside, first of all you should give yourself – and her – a big pat on the back: it’s the sign of a truly well-trained Labrador. She needs to go badly enough to be whining about it, but she knows not to do it inside – and she’s smart enough to try and let you know that she needs to go out, too.

This one’s easy: if she’s standing near the door, or just has That Expression (if you’ve had her for a while, you’ll grow to know That Expression – it’s different for every Lab, but most owners are able to easily and correctly understand it as meaning, “Let me out – now!”), you should let her out. It’s as easy as that.

photo credit: amberley johanna

This post via the Labrador Training blog where you can get information on Labrador training techniques and all the latest Labrador puppy related news. The original post can be found here: Labrador training when your puppy is whining