Hi From CA

[barry581]

Welcome to the board!!! Very sorry for the loss of your Newfie, they truly are never with us long enough.

I'm in the process of raising my 3rd Lab puppy in about 4 1/2 years. I have Sophie, who will be 5 in November. I got Bruce a little over 2 years ago, and sadly he passed away in his sleep when he was 19 months old back in December. My newest addition will 15 weeks old tomorrow. He's a yellow boy named Brooks.

Lab puppies are notoriously horrible. They bite, they chew, they will test you at pretty much every turn. You really can't take you eyes off of them for a second or they will be into something, and it won't be good!! I would probably make sure the pup is well crate trained before you start allowing him/her to be with you while you are working. Puppies really need to be on a schedule and it's good to establish a routine from day one, it will really he them settle in. I have two crates for Brooks, one in the bedroom that he uses at night and when we are gone. The second is in the family room where we hang out watching TV etc. He eats in this crate, and I will keep him in there when he needs a time out. He turns into a real jerk when he gets tired, and he thinks torturing Sophie is just about the most fun thing ever! I've found that once they are crate trained, they enjoy having a little private space that's just theirs.

As for the neuter/dog park issue, I'd rather let the dog completely mature before I'd have it done. There are two many potential health issues that can result from early spay/neuter. I'm not a big fan of dog parks, too many clueless owners for me.

Again, congrats on the new puppy and we look forward to seeing pictures and hear all about the new addition!!!

[bearymore]

Well, we picked up Archie from the breeder on Saturday. So far, so good. He already seems to be getting the idea of house training. He's had a couple accidents, but he seems to get the idea that he needs to wait until he gets outside. He goes into his crate, reluctantly but willingly, and settles down immediately when the light goes off. We have an ex-pen in the office, and he spends the day there with us. No accidents there -- yet. He's definitely a land shark, but easily distracted with toys. He is a bit frustrated with that other puppy in the mirror who just won't play with him -- very, very cute.