hi all, newbie in need of a little advice please

lablover123

hi everyone, my names emma, i live with my partner steve and our two children, morgan whos 2 and a half and connor whos 1 and last week we bought a 9 week old golden lab who we've called cooper Smile

hes a brilliant pup and instantly became part of the family, hes taken really well to house training and already does his business on the paper we put down and hopefully when we can walk him after his next injections he'll learn to go outside aswell. the only little problems we've had are that he hates bein on is own for any amount of time and he'll cry and cry until u go to him, i have started waitin still he calms down and stops crying ( which sometimes takes a while) til i go to him and luckily this seems to be workin but any other tips would be great Smile

the other thing is that he doesnt seem to eat much at all, the breeder gave us some pedigree chum puppy complete and said that is was hed been feeding him 4 times a day but cooper just doesnt seem interested he'll hav one or two biscuits then just leaves it and its startin to worry me a bit so i was wondering if anyone has any suggestions as to what i can do to get him eating. Im looking forward to gettin to know u all and learning all about labs. ive put a couple of photos underneath so u can see our beautiful boy Smile

look forward to reading your replies, luv ema xxx

Jaynemaria · Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2009 5:01 pm Post subject:

Hello to you and Cooper, what a gorgeous Yellow boy he is

Chocice · Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2009 5:12 pm Post subject:

Aw, he's a sweetie Very Happy

You're doing the right thing with the crying, always wait until they have stopped before going to them - it will settle after a while as long as you ensure you don't respond when he is crying. Sometimes they cry to go outside too, but I was never clever enough to work out which cry was for attention and which was for "I need to go outside" Laughing

I don't know about the eating, but hopefully someone with more knowledge will come on and help you.

_anita_ · Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2009 5:13 pm Post subject:

What a beautiful boy you have!! Your house must be bedlam at the moment, 2 kids under 3 and a puppy, you must be mad Wink

As for the crying I think you're doing the right thing and it just takes time. I'm no expert (Rueben who is 5 and a half months is our first puppy) but that definitely worked for us.

Rueben went through a phase a few weeks ago of going off his food and we started putting some of his meals in a treat ball as he loved nudging it across the floor and then looking for the kibble!! Not a criticism, but I've heard that pedigree chum isn't the best food for puppies as it is apparently quite rich. I was most suprised by this as I thought they were supposed to be a really good brand. If you do decide to change Coopers food though, make sure you do it gradually otherwise it'll upset his tum.

Hope you're having lots of fun with him!

Anita & Rueben
xXx

lablover123 · Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2009 9:29 am Post subject:

thank for all your replies, cooper slept right through the night without crying last night so hopefully he will carry on, as for his food i bought a tin of meat this morning and gave him a little and he wolfed the lot down, im so glad hes eaten something as i was gettin really worried about him, he seems a lot happier now hes had a decent amount of food, is it ok to give him meat? or should i try and get him to eat biscuits? thanks, ema xx

welshdentist · Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2009 9:35 am Post subject:

Ruby cried for 30 min the first night, then less and less.

My wife Lisa was ok but I had to put my iPod on Sad

Only time she cries at night is to go outside.

Our next door neighbour hardly ever heard her during the day but it's so tough to not go back but the right thing to do, otherwise puppy thinks cry then you come.

With regard food, might be separation anxiety. I did use some DAP phemorone spray in her crate to help her calm down but try a few good brands and see what they like....

I'm just a big softie though Cool

Tarimoor_Art · Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2009 9:41 am Post subject:

He's a lovely looking pup!!

I raw feed mine, and never have a problem getting them to eat their food Very Happy

Pedigree chum are not one of the better brands of dog food, once his tummy's settled I'd probably consider changing him onto a better food gradually. If you ask I'm sure you'll get a recommendation, a lot of people seem to use Skinners.

Just be aware with the toilet training, that once they learn to go indoors, it can be a bit more difficult to get them to go outside, I've made that mistake Very Happy

And it is easier to toilet train them now when the weather is warm, leaving the door open, but once it gets a bit colder you might find you have a few accidents once the door is closed. Also, when you say about walking him following his second jab, there's a few stickies/threads on here about walking, the five min rule etc, worth a read.

Bella85 · Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2009 9:43 am Post subject:

Awww what lovely photos!

Welcome to LF!! Its a great site! Very Happy

_Lorna_ · Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2009 10:33 am Post subject:

He is lovely, when my 3 were babies I used to give them kibble with some wet food on top to encourage them to eat it.

Lorna