My new wood cutting buddy

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Badfish740

Minister of Fire
Oct 3, 2007
1,539
I got a call from a friend this morning-he said that he had won a dog in an auction at a waterfowl hunting event. He got him home and decided that he just couldn't keep him because he's a single guy and he works long hours, etc... My wife and I had been wanting a dog for a while but weren't sure what kind. Needless to say once we saw this little guy it was love at first sight:

Hank.jpg


His name is Hank and he's just getting used to his new surroundings. He's our first dog and is going to be a lot of fun.
 
That's a good lookin' dog. Chocolate lab, right? My black lab pup is now about 5 months old. Since this is your first pup, I hope you have a crate (large) and plenty of chew toys. The crate is a must have for training and your sanity. The chew toys will protect your belongings. They also love to chew kindling. Damn, he's gonna be a big boy. Enjoy.
 
Sen. John Blutarsky said:
That's a good lookin' dog. Chocolate lab, right? My black lab pup is now about 5 months old. Since this is your first pup, I hope you have a crate (large) and plenty of chew toys. The crate is a must have for training and your sanity. The chew toys will protect your belongings. They also love to chew kindling. Damn, he's gonna be a big boy. Enjoy.

Yep, chocolate lab. He's 9 weeks-not sure how much he weighs now, but I'm calling the breeder to find out how big mom and dad were. We've got a crate for him and lots of toys.
 
Or pup is 6 years old now.
Crate and chew toys are absolute necessities. Some training now will pay off when he is 80+ pounds.
 
That's a fine looking pup you got there. Watch out though...he'll be chewing on that coixal cable next
 
Melts my heart. Dogs are truly mans best friend. No agendas, no conditions, just love you! He will make a great wood cuttin companion. It will be hard to tell who is having the most fun. :)
 
tfdchief said:
Melts my heart. Dogs are truly mans best friend. No agendas, no conditions, just love you! He will make a great wood cuttin companion. It will be hard to tell who is having the most fun. :)

Absolutely. Labs are born companions too, so he'll be going everywhere with me. Ever since I bought my first pickup I always wanted a four legged buddy to ride shotgun with me-now I have one. The little guy is sleeping right now in the same spot the picture was taken.
 
Nice pup...Young Labs require lots of chew toys or they'll be chewing the legs off your furniture. As far as a cutting companion goes I hear ya... out in the woods I keep my dog on a short rope when felling a tree then take him off when I'm finishing up.
 
Wow, what a cool pup.
Looks just like our Abby when she was about 9 weeks.
Her daddy was 110 lbs., so we're thinking she'll be about 90. She was 52lbs. at 5 months. She learned sit right after we got her. Smart, oh, and somewhat stubborn. :lol:
Get chewtoys. LOTS of chewtoys. I had to give a pair of older running shoes to her and her buddy. Well, actually, they took 'em.
 

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Here's Abby and her partner in crime, Cooper. They've decided the chair behind them is their favorite play spot. It rocks and swivels, especially when they're in it. :ahhh:
 

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Start yourselves out right, get thee to puppy socialization classes and then move on to Obedience classes. He's a good lookin' rig and this is the time get him totally on board with proper manners. All it takes is 20 minutes of practice a day. Really.

I'm a huge proponent of obedience training. And obedience training isn't for the dog, either; it's for the humans! We have a shelter dog who was surrendered 3 times by age 1 1/2 (100 lbs. and out of control) and taking classes was the best thing we've ever done; our dog knows where he stands in the household pecking order and will do anything he's asked to do. He responds equally well to hand signals. We rarely use food to reward compliance and we enforce commands within 3 seconds (no repeating the command). He is still a handful but he's smart and willing.

Friends of our's have 2 Labs and they're nearly 4 yrs. old now. For all intents and purposes they are untrained and are basically out of control. They want to do the right thing (because they're Labs) but there has been no consistency from their owners and the result is two 80+ lb. dogs that still jump on people and cannot obey a simple command like, "Down" or "Sit" for longer than it takes to down the food reward (bribe). They are, quite simply, obnoxious. And it's not their fault.

Discipline, exercise, and love. In that order always. And your adorable puppy will be beautifully behaved and good ambassador or his species.
 
Bobbin said:
Start yourselves out right, get thee to puppy socialization classes and then move on to Obedience classes. He's a good lookin' rig and this is the time get him totally on board with proper manners. All it takes is 20 minutes of practice a day. Really.

I'm a huge proponent of obedience training. And obedience training isn't for the dog, either; it's for the humans! We have a shelter dog who was surrendered 3 times by age 1 1/2 (100 lbs. and out of control) and taking classes was the best thing we've ever done; our dog knows where he stands in the household pecking order and will do anything he's asked to do. He responds equally well to hand signals. We rarely use food to reward compliance and we enforce commands within 3 seconds (no repeating the command). He is still a handful but he's smart and willing.

Friends of our's have 2 Labs and they're nearly 4 yrs. old now. For all intents and purposes they are untrained and are basically out of control. They want to do the right thing (because they're Labs) but there has been no consistency from their owners and the result is two 80+ lb. dogs that still jump on people and cannot obey a simple command like, "Down" or "Sit" for longer than it takes to down the food reward (bribe). They are, quite simply, obnoxious. And it's not their fault.

Discipline, exercise, and love. In that order always. And your adorable puppy will be beautifully behaved and good ambassador or his species.

Yup!
 
Bobbin said:
Start yourselves out right, get thee to puppy socialization classes and then move on to Obedience classes. He's a good lookin' rig and this is the time get him totally on board with proper manners. All it takes is 20 minutes of practice a day. Really.

I'm a huge proponent of obedience training. And obedience training isn't for the dog, either; it's for the humans! We have a shelter dog who was surrendered 3 times by age 1 1/2 (100 lbs. and out of control) and taking classes was the best thing we've ever done; our dog knows where he stands in the household pecking order and will do anything he's asked to do. He responds equally well to hand signals. We rarely use food to reward compliance and we enforce commands within 3 seconds (no repeating the command). He is still a handful but he's smart and willing.

Friends of our's have 2 Labs and they're nearly 4 yrs. old now. For all intents and purposes they are untrained and are basically out of control. They want to do the right thing (because they're Labs) but there has been no consistency from their owners and the result is two 80+ lb. dogs that still jump on people and cannot obey a simple command like, "Down" or "Sit" for longer than it takes to down the food reward (bribe). They are, quite simply, obnoxious. And it's not their fault.

Discipline, exercise, and love. In that order always. And your adorable puppy will be beautifully behaved and good ambassador or his species.

Bobbin,
Couldn't agree more. Best dog we ever had was a golden/lab mix. We took her (and ourselves) to obedience training. It was the best money and time we ever spent. She REALLY "disliked" the down command, since it's such a submissive stance, but would do it begrudgingly. She's gone now (put her down @ 14 1/2 yrs.), but we've already begun the process with our 2 new ones. Owners fault for bad behavior, .....always.
 
Our dog is a German Shepherd crossed with something big and brindle (bull mastiff, pit pull, dunno). His personality is to mind everyone else's business and he's basically always "on guard". Not mean, but always watchful and had he been mistreated I can easily see how he could have turned "ugly" and been euthanized early. He's smart and he's willing but you have to be "in charge" with him. Not a "beginner dog". I always wonder what he'd be like now if we'd had him as a puppy.

Badfish, the most important thing you can ever teach your puppy (after his name) is the command, "Watch me". You want the dog to look you in the eyes and hold your gaze for a few seconds before rewarding him lavishly with praise and some lovin'. Once you have a dog that will instinctively turn to look at you when you call to him you the rest of his training will be a breeze. And it's easiest to teach that to puppies, I think.

Our dog had things his own way for his formative years and even now, if he's got something in his sights that intrigues him and he "locks on the radar" he can't be relied upon to automatically turn and look to me for guidance. He will respond but not always in the time frame I'd like. We train every single day and I practice, "Watch me" regularly. That's really the only command for which I'll reward him with food, and I don't use it all the time, saving it for times when we're training "with distractions".

141240873.gif
 
I had a yellow lab when I was a kid. He was such a great dog. I now have two lab mixes, one lab-beagle and one lab-chessie.

I'll second what has been said about kennel training the dog. Not only does it let you be sure that the puppy isn't destroying the house when you're not home, it also gives the little guy some space of his own. We don't put our girls in the kennel anymore when we leave (they're 6 now), but we still have the kennel setup for them in the laundry room. They frequently go in there and lay down. It's their space, and when they're in there, we don't bother them.

With large dogs, obedience training is important too. If you start socializing them with other dogs and other people early, and start working on training early, they will grow up to be very friendly, well behaved, well adjusted dogs

I really suggest not allowing big dogs like labs on the furniture. If you teach them young that they aren't allowed up on the couch, you'll thank yourself later. I had friends who ignored my advice when their lab was young. They said "It's no big deal, our furniture isn't fancy, and he's not that big yet, and we like to cuddle with him while we watch TV". Well... they eventually got decent furniture, and the lab grew to well over 100 pounds, but by that point, it was too late. It became a real battle to keep him off the couches.

-SF
 
He's lovely !!! Super congrats !!

We had a black lab when I was a kid that someone bought for my Mom at an auction she was running for someone who had been paralyzed in a car accident. Scjatzie. He was awesome !! Took him a few years to grow up, though ;-)
 
Bobbin said:
Our dog is a German Shepherd crossed with something big and brindle (bull mastiff, pit pull, dunno). His personality is to mind everyone else's business and he's basically always "on guard". Not mean, but always watchful and had he been mistreated I can easily see how he could have turned "ugly" and been euthanized early. He's smart and he's willing but you have to be "in charge" with him. Not a "beginner dog". I always wonder what he'd be like now if we'd had him as a puppy.

Badfish, the most important thing you can ever teach your puppy (after his name) is the command, "Watch me". You want the dog to look you in the eyes and hold your gaze for a few seconds before rewarding him lavishly with praise and some lovin'. Once you have a dog that will instinctively turn to look at you when you call to him you the rest of his training will be a breeze. And it's easiest to teach that to puppies, I think.

Our dog had things his own way for his formative years and even now, if he's got something in his sights that intrigues him and he "locks on the radar" he can't be relied upon to automatically turn and look to me for guidance. He will respond but not always in the time frame I'd like. We train every single day and I practice, "Watch me" regularly. That's really the only command for which I'll reward him with food, and I don't use it all the time, saving it for times when we're training "with distractions".

141240873.gif

Bobbin, my wife took a look and suggested maybe great dane. Some are brindle with ears like that. He looks quite........large.
 
Dane makes sense, he's big and has rather thin, long legs, and he can really move when he's got a mind to. I'll have to research Danes, he could well be a "sight hound" since once he's focussed on something his attention is hard to break. But his face is definitely GSD and he has that same intelligence and willingness to cooperate and protect. I'm a "cat person", but this dog has really touched me in a very deep place. He's a ton of work but it's work I don't mind doing. Working with him reminds me of training a young horse; patience and persistence ALWAYS.

Badfish, I can't wait to hear how Hank's training (I mean YOUR training) progresses. You're in for a really fun ride.
 
Bobbin, I don't think you'll have to worry about any unwanted intruders. Beautiful dog but I wouldn't want to cross it.
 
I'm not a "dog person" but that puppy is absolutely adorable.
 
Badfish740 said:
Sen. John Blutarsky said:
That's a good lookin' dog. Chocolate lab, right? My black lab pup is now about 5 months old. Since this is your first pup, I hope you have a crate (large) and plenty of chew toys. The crate is a must have for training and your sanity. The chew toys will protect your belongings. They also love to chew kindling. Damn, he's gonna be a big boy. Enjoy.

Yep, chocolate lab. He's 9 weeks-not sure how much he weighs now, but I'm calling the breeder to find out how big mom and dad were. We've got a crate for him and lots of toys.

Badfish,
Curious about any more info from the breeder. How is he adjusting to his new home. How are YOU doing, too.
 
I was considering another addition to have all the 3 colors ( Chocolate, Black, Golden ).
Their favorite game : snatch a piece of wood out of the stack and have me chase them.

GEDC0678.jpg


Enjoy the new addition to the family.
 
I have a year and a half old chocolate male. He is the best companion a guy could ask for!!! Gotta agree with the chew toys being a MUST!!
 
A bigger version.
 

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