question for labrador owners...

[AggieSpice]

any lab owners out there? we just adopted a new 5 year old chocolate lab girl who has been in a puppy mill all her life (gave birth to her last litter in december). gracie is very shy and cute and aside from having to coax her to eat, no problems. except...our current dog, kelso, who is a 5 year old male is being a complete d-head. we brought her home saturday and all was well... they played and played and not a bark or growl was to be heard. i think kelso thought she was just a guest. sunday morning, he started growling whenever she wanted to play, staying in another room rather than the living room with my husband and i and gracie, luring her outside only to dart back into the house in the hopes that she would be left outside, etc. he's been an only dog for 4+ years, so i'm hoping he'll get used to her. she seems to like him and will follow him around. any stories from anyone who has been in a similar situation??? tips??? i want both my kids to be happy in the new arrangement.

[AnniePokely]

I don't have great advice, but i bet once they have spent some time together, say a week or two, they will be pals. I wouldn't worry too much about it.


He's been your only child for awhile, of course he's going to be jealous!

[Erick]

I don't have great advice, but i bet once they have spent some time together, say a week or two, they will be pals. I wouldn't worry too much about it.


He's been your only child for awhile, of course he's going to be jealous!

I think you are right. I have a lab and she is unlike any dog I have ever had. They honestly are like children. I think he is showing his territorial side and that is normal. pretty soon he will get use to her and enjoy the company. As hard as it might be, you might want to limit their time inside for a while so they have no other choice but to spend time together without humans around. When they get bored, they will want to play. Having some tug toys outside will help too. I have found that when they are inside a lot like mine, they tend to get more territorial and compete for human attention. Starting off that might be rough on both. As far as the food, if you mix some wet food with dry, she will scarf it down fast. Good luck!

[Landscapepoke]

I had a single lab for two years and thought she was lonely and needed a friend, so I brought home a cocker spaniel for a second dog. My lab about ate its head off, so I sent the cocker back to where I got it.

I told my Vet about the incedence and he said if you have a dog that has been the only dog in the house, and you want to bring in another dog. Have them meet the first time in a park, or at a neutural site. He said your first dog will be more relaxed in "bringing home a new friend" instead of you bringing in a dog to his/her territory. It's a little less intimidating on the original dog.


Made since to me.

[barryrules]

It really works best to slowly introduce them if they are older. The one time I got a grown dog it didn't work out (those weren't labs though). All my subsequent dogs have been puppies and all has gone just fine. As long as they aren't fighting and hurting each other I wouldn't worry about it too much, they will get it worked out and get along eventually.

As for the not eating much, my female choc. lab is not an eater she'd rather play and at times I have to stand over her and make her eat her food. Our yellow lab mix isn't big on food either, he can take it or leave it. Both of them are very active dogs, bordering on high-strung with thier energy levels. Black lab will always eat and eat just about anything! And if she is in a new environment it could just be nerves.

Good luck with her, I love my labs and wouldn't trade them for anything in the world!

[AggieSpice]

thanks! we adopted gracie in edmond, so we didn't have a whole lot of opportunity to be introduced slowly. they did meet in a park in edmond before the adoption and then we re-introduced them in the back yard when we brought her home saturday. we found out last night that she is scared of storms. i guess it's just going to be a bit of a learning curve...kelso is about the most laid back, good natured (well except for his current behaviour with gracie), dog ever and we kind of got spoiled into thinking our next lab would be exactly like him. it breaks my heart to think about what gracie's life has been like in that puppy mill, so it's going to be so nice if we can bring her out of her shell a little. she's so cute and playful...surely she can thaw kelso out!

i am going to try wet food...she needs to gain weight! kelso will knock down women and children and trample infants and kittens to get to his food bowl, so it's a shock to encounter a lab that can take or leave food!

that's gracie in the pink!
http://brownlabcreative.com/kitty/graciekelso.jpg

[BourbonPoke]

Beautiful dogs there Spice.

[barryrules]

They are an adorable pair!! I've got one that is afraid of storms too. Depending on how scared they are, sometimes rubbing on thier ears will help calm them.

[AlwaysOrange]

Labs and storms are SO much fun.....NOT!!! Our 7 year old chocolate male woke me up last night crying because it was lightening and thundering. When he was younger, any time we heard there was a possibility of a storm, he got a valium. It was sad because he was all drugged up, but at least we got some sleep!! What's funny though is he is just like a human child.....as long as he can see one of us, he is OK. I usually will go get in the front bed with him and he is asleep before I can get comfortable!!! Fortunately our yellow female, his sister from the same litter, does not have this issue. One is bad enough!!! :)

[AnniePokely]

Beautiful dogs Spice! I bet before long they will be long lost pals.

:)

[JimBob]

Labs and storms are SO much fun.....NOT!!! Our 7 year old chocolate male woke me up last night crying because it was lightening and thundering. When he was younger, any time we heard there was a possibility of a storm, he got a valium. It was sad because he was all drugged up, but at least we got some sleep!! What's funny though is he is just like a human child.....as long as he can see one of us, he is OK. I usually will go get in the front bed with him and he is asleep before I can get comfortable!!! Fortunately our yellow female, his sister from the same litter, does not have this issue. One is bad enough!!! :)


Add one poodle. They didn't bother her early on, and now they do.

[AggieSpice]

the previous owner of our house had a golden retriever who FREAKED during storms...some of the baseboards and doors in the back of our house still bear the damage. i doubt a tornado would phase kelso. gracie wasn't too bad - just nervous and pacing. thanks to everyone!