Need Lab advice...

[skahorse]

Hi all,
I have a 4 month old male Choc. Lab. Currently he's setup in a spare bedroom. Because both my wife and I work, he spends his days in there and his nights. He's trained to use those pee pads, and he does very well with them. However, he's getting so large now that he's filling the pee pads up in a matter hours. And it's getting really messy and expensive. So, I am ready to move him. My question, is he too young to spend the day outside in this weather? I would build him a dog house, and most likely a run of some sort. What concerns me is that his belly hair is still sparse and when I do leave him out there for extended times now, he'll curl up on concrete and shiver while he sleeps. What do you all think?

For the evenings, he can spend those in the crate. He's not crate trained yet, but i've heard it's not too difficult, and won't take long, a couple weeks or so. However, if I put him in a crate at night, will I need to take him out in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom? Or should he be able to last the whole night? If he starts whining, do I assume he needs to go and take him, or do I ignore him?

I'm also looking for ideas of how to setup him up in the backyard. I could build a run, but he wouldn't have much room to move around, and that might encourage barking and or digging...? On the other hand, I could let him have free roam of the backyard, however my fence isn't in the best shape. It's Ok enough to keep him in, when I can keep an eye on him, but with 8 hours to tear at it, I don't trust it to stay standing. So I could replace the whole fence (It's rotted and sort of falling down in some places), or I could wire the back yard with an electric fence(invisible collar style, or hard wired contact type), just to keep him away from the fence altogether. Anyone have any suggestions or do's/dont's. I need all of the ideas I can get. Thanks in advance!!

--Skahorse

[Boatdog]

Skahorse,

I have been through all of this recently with our choc lab pup. I'm also very curious what feedback you get here.

When we have our Cast and Blast team preparation meeting, I'll be glad to share what I learned. It's just too much to type. Maybe a phone call?

[Lefty]

Hey Guys,
Good topic for me. My choc is about 5 months old and she has been an outside dog from day one. I have a doggie door into the garage for her with a heater set on a thermostat at about 45 degrees or so right next to her bed. She slept outside on the concrete for about 3 or 4 days before she figured out that its much warmer in the garage. I do not think its too cold for her outside during the day, but she figured it out for the colder nights. I gave her free roam of the backyard with a brand new fence and she has tried several times to get out but to no avail. No electricity needed. Give them plenty of toys and check on him in the morning, lunch if you can and plan some type of evening activity for him. He will be heck on the backyard, but thats just part of owning a dog. Just my .02
Lefty

[MN Guy]

my cheesy spends everyday outside in a dog house and run. I poured a 7'x23' slab, the run is 6'x18' with the rest of the pad to store the food bin and dog house. at first he wasn't pleased but now he is doing great. give them a week or 2 to get use to things and your good to go. I don't give in to whining and barking, a stern NO worked great. coming from Minnesota our dog were always kenneled there with no issues so with the weather here you will have no worries. almost all hunting breeds will adapt to their conditions and do fine. come spring time back there their "coats" we sooo thick- but some the warm weather the shedding began.

also it's KEY to stick to a routine. I feed him twice a day with a workout in the evening. he knows in the morning that it's a pet or 2 then food and at night it's time to run.

and the concrete is the best for keeping their paws in hunting shape.

[Chromaflage]

Lefty - how tall is your fence? My female will scale a 6' fence in nothing flat..something to keep in mind for when the pup gets full grown. She has gotten out of the yard several times and I have one neighgor who hates dogs and has sicked animal control on me every time. We had a few correction sessions at the fence..

ORS

[Tilla]

Crate training is easy to do. This is based on the idea that dogs will not wet their nest. Mostly that's right.(I wonder if the pads work against this theory.
Most dogs should be able to hold it for 8-10 hours easy, some for much longer.
Once he is crate trained, you should only need to let them out before you go to work, when you get home and before bed etc.
We went to the doggie door eventually, now they check to see if it's raining first! :shocked: If it is, they go lay down for a few hours more.

Our 1 yr old is still put in to a kennel crate. He's done almost perfect for up to 16 hrs.

[Lefty]

OregonRedSide,
The fence is only the 4 foot field fence, not very tall. Its the only divider between my pasture for steers and my backyard. Not doubt she could jump it now if she wanted to.... but she has never gotten out or tried to dig under it, which she could do fairly easy if she took the notion. I have had a few dogs before, but she(Tsavo) is the most mild mannered pup I have ever had! Thanks for the heads up though...all in time I am sure....

[ 12-17-2003, 02:03 PM: Message edited by: Lefty ]

[RogueFishr]

About 10 years ago, I lived in town and had a lab about 6 months old. I had a good fence, but bad neighbors (didn't like dogs), so I did NOT want the dog getting out of my yard. He had scaled the fence to play with the other neighbor kids twice before. I bought an electric fence set up that was pretty cheap and made specifically for dogs (called Fido Shock I think). It was just like an electric fence set up for livestock, but with less power designed for dogs (I could grab it and hold it for a few seconds). I put it up around the inside of my fence. I saw the dog get zapped twice that day (once on the nose, the second time with his foot as he barked at the wire and pawed at it). He never went past it again. I only had the power hooked up for about a week, then I disconnected it. I took the wire down after a month and never had any trouble with him and the fence. He would go right up to the fence, but would not jump on it or touch it.

RF

[Chromaflage]

Lefty - two words: just wait :grin: My dog stayed in the fence too until she saw something that piqued her interest - the neighbor throwing bread crumbs for the birds...that's all she wrote...the beginning of an adversarial relationship between me and my dog-hating neighbor. "Hmmmm.....neighbor has a black lab...so I think I will THROW FOOD for BIRDS (the only three words a lab knows)..while the dog is watching me." [img]graemlins/dork.gif[/img]

RF - someone should rent those things :grin: A smart dog will learn after a couple times - and that will be that with that... I've toyed with that idea too, but I think I solved the problem manually..no permament damage though. :grin:

ORS

[ 12-17-2003, 02:54 PM: Message edited by: OregonRedside ]

[flatbottomboy]

Outside allday and night! What do you do when huntin with him, do you take a battery powered hair dryer or do YOU swim and getum? HES A LAB!

[Lured In]

For what it is worth, crate training and housebreaking go hand in hand. I was fortunate to learn this before I got my pup. She never messed in her crate and it made a good transition to take her out.

You can try this but it works especially well for pups. Take the dog outside for potty break. Then crate the dog for a couple hours (an hour for young pups 7-10 weeks). Let the dog out of the crate and go straight outside. If the dog does his thing praise, praise the dog. A little inside/outside playtime and back in the crate for awhile. (if you play inside, take the dog out again before crating). Repeat this as often as possible, extending the time every few days.

Ska...I understand your reasoning for using the peepad, but all that does is tell the dog its okay to pee in the house. You need to make the transition to doing it outside all the time. Crate training will do that.

One more note on crate training. Never open the crate if the dog is whining. Rap on the door and say quiet. If the dog, quiets down, open the door. (Keep in mind if the dog has been in there for a couple hours and is now whining, that means they gotta go. Still make them quiet down first.) Don't let them learn that whining gets them what they want (out). If the dog consistently whines, again rap on the kennel and give a firm NO and Quiet.

I hope that helps.

[Chromaflage]

Yeah, what LuredIn said!

ORS

[FishinTechnician]

Save yourself a lot of grief and build a concrete run and buy one of those portable dog runs, with the heaviest gauge wire you can find. That way he won't destroy your backyard and you'll know where to find him when you get home at night. I have boarded lots of dogs over the years and never had any dog scale a six foot chain link fence. I have had a couple that ate through them however, but those were exceptional critters and only one was a Lab. The weather here is moderate by Lab standards and any Lab can handle these temperatures as long as it has a dry doghouse to retreat to when its raining. Find a doghouse that can be set outside the run so he doesn't chew it apart. Fasten the doghouse to the chainlink fence so it stays put. A doggy door will cut down on drafts. My doghouses are mortared cinder block with 3/4" hinged plywood lids and concrete floors with heavy rubber mats for the dogs to lay on.

[kayakfisher]

Skahorse...you have a pm.

The concrete dog run suggestions are right on ... the bigger the better, cyclone fencing with a wind break or top cover if it is practical to do so. My dog run opens on one side to the garage side entry, and on the other side to the back yard, by gates which are secured when she is left in the run.

A young can be in a dog run but should have access to a crate or shelter that is also out of the wind and out of the rain this time of year if possible. Until that time the use of a crate is a very practical way to keep the pup from destroying things, and still keep the dog out of bad weather if you fell she is not doing well outside for long periods of time.


M.


M.

[dlgobeavs]

I have a 6 year old yellow, and for what it is worth I have been told on many occassions he is the best trained dog anyone has ever seen.

My advice on the dog run is this. Pour a cement slab put in a dog house and install a 6' plus fence. I made the mistake of not having a cement pad initially, and came home to a mud dog every night in the winter. Puppies have too much energy to just sit around all day without causing mischief... which generally includes digging if available. At 6 my dog now stays in the house whenever I am not home... and can last 12 hours if necessary. If you install a good dog run your life will be much easier and the frustration factor with having a puppy will be greatly diminished. One note, I ran him hard every night until he was probably 2-3... without that energy burn they go nuts all day by themselves. Also, remember lots of chew toys ... or the doghouse will get shredded.

[James in Idaho]

Ditto, dog crate and a dog run. My 7 year old chessie spends his days in his run (6'x10'), and nights during the winter in his crate in the basement. The 9 week old puppy is in his crate when I'm not there. It's a little colder here, so the pup needs to be inside until he's a little older. But he'll by kenneled when I'm not there. Since is does not rain much here, I use gravel for my runs, and I think it builds a much tougher foot. In your wet country, I'd go with nothing but concrete.

[billc_sbio]

:grin:

Rules for Dogs

1. Dogs are never permitted in the house. The dog stays outside in a specially built wooden compartment named, for very good reason, the dog house.

2. Okay, the dog can enter the house, but only for short visits or if his own house is under renovation.

3. Okay, the dog can stay in the house on a permanent basis, provided his dog house can be sold in a yard sale to a rookie dog owner.

4. Inside the house, the dog is not allowed to run free and is confined to a comfortable but secure metal cage.

5. Okay, the cage becomes part of a two-for-one deal along with the dog house in the yard sale and the dog can go wherever the hell he pleases.

6. The dog is never allowed on the furniture.

7. Okay, the dog can get on the old furniture but not the new furniture.

8. Okay, the dog can get up on the new furniture until it looks like the old furniture and then we'll sell the whole damn works and buy new furniture...upon which the dog will most definitely not be allowed!

9. The dog never sleeps on the bed. Period.

10. Okay, the dog can sleep at the foot of the bed.

11. Okay, the dog can sleep alongside you, but he's not allowed under the covers.

12. Okay, the dog can sleep under the covers but not with his head on the pillow.

13. Okay, the dog can sleep alongside you under the covers with his head on the pillow, but if he snores or farts, he's got to leave the room.

14. Okay, the dog can sleep and snore and fart and have nightmares in bed, but he's not to come in and sleep on the couch in the TV room, where I'm now sleeping. That's just not fair.

15. The dog never gets listed on the census questionnaire as "primary resident," even if it's true.

[Chromaflage]