Great choice in dogs! We had to send our 13-year-old Fox Red Lab across the bridge this past March, and we really miss her.

Lots of great advice in this thread, so I'll only add this word of advice we got from the breeder when we got our first Lab 28 years ago: "You'll be tempted to give them away for the first two years, but you won't take a million dollars for them after that." Every Lab we've owned took about 2 years for the brain to grow in.

And get a Chuckit tennis ball thrower so you don't throw out your elbow tossing balls for two hours at a time.

Fromm classic or gold large breed puppy food.

Microchip the puppy. Then register the chip!
It’s amazing how often a stay comes in with a microchip and it’s never been registered or the address is outdated.

Sign the puppy up for training. While his shots are being completed visit various training sites. Remember, the training is for you.

Be sure to always close all doors and cabinets that contain anything dangerous your pup might get into. My previous dog got into granular pesticide once when I failed to close the door to the garage. She also got a hold of a tube of fish attractant that was in a tackle bag in a closet. Thankfully, no harm was done.

Add the number to ASPCA Poison Control to your phone (888-426-4435), and know how to get to the nearest 24-hour pet hospital.

Also, find out if any of the plants in your yard are dangerous to dogs. There are some that can kill or seriously damage, if ingested.

Always check online before feeding your dog anything that’s not specifically designed for dogs. There are a few dangerous/unhealthy people foods your dog should not eat.

Finally, as previously mentioned, be very careful in hot weather. Dogs can get into serious trouble by overheating. Watch a few videos on how to recognize and treat overheating.

quote:

Originally posted by kimber1911:

quote:

get a bell and place it by the back door, and that I should ring it every time I take her out and she'll eventually learn to ring that bell

Oh yeah!
That’s a great idea.

Our dog learned to ring the bell in two days.
Dog learned quicker that I did.
Took me a week to learn I had been trained to let her out anytime she wanted, just by ringing the bell.

In and out, in and out, in and out.

Needless to say the bell is no longer on our back door.

Ha! Same for me and my Plott years ago. Never realized how damn smart she was til she had me runnin and fetchin!

As far as food, my labs been on fromm gold large breed. Initially started on purina pro plan but switched and so improved results in his coat.

I really like this training manual. Even if they wont be a hunting dog the guides in the first years chapters are great for any dog.

quote:

Originally posted by eltonr:
as you train your puppy, house break, etc. choose a Phrase when he poops, repeat it everytime he does his business. (that is the phrase we used "do your business")

Yes. My dog knows what "go pee" and "go poop" mean. You might be surprised how helpful this is, but when you want to take the dog out one more time before bed, or before going on a long drive, it can be really helpful.

Orijen is fantastic product as is its "lower protein" sister product Acana.

No recalls, lots of variety. And I get frequent buyer discounts and free bags at Hollywood Feed where I shop.

May want to consider elevated eating bowls.

Thanks everyone, for all the great information.

As far as food goes, I think I've decided on Royal Canine's labrador puppy food. The Orijen is very tempting, but gosh, that's a lot of money. I'm going to heed the FDA's recent announcement about the Grain-Free thing. Especially since I cant find anyone talking about any real benefit of grain-free.

Not a great food:

https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com...reed-specific-puppy/

Back to the drawing board, I guess. I read a few reviews that made it out to be top notch.

Yeah, as far as reviews, take them with a grain of salt. A lot of people just go by whether or not their dog likes it, and if the dog's coat looks good and it doesn't get the squirts from the food.

Fear not; on the same site they have a guide to current "Best puppy foods".

Thanks. I found that guide after you sent the link regarding Royal Canin.

Now I'm pretty sure I'll try 'Wellness Complete Health Large Breed Puppy' first.

^^^Good deal. I’m about to switch to a Wellness option for my adult Boxer. They offer one of the very few dry foods that includes grains, but lacks 2 things he’s allergic to (chicken and potato).