It is my personal preference to ‘house’ a Labrador puppy in a crate and exercise pen.
A wire mesh crate should be sized for an adult labrador to stand and turn around.
A ‘400mm high ‘exercise pen’ clipped to the front of the crate forms a small open area for the labrador puppy to wander.
I put a blanket over the crate leaving the only the front open. This creates a den as their own space and the labrador puppies love this. An 8 week old labrador sleeps 16 - 20 hours a day so they need to ‘get away’.
If you want to relocate the labrador pup to be with you, watching tv, you can easily relocate the ex pen. Both of these items are available off the shelf at good pet shops. Crate training is essential and the maturing labrador never grows out of their.
We take a mature lab each time we visit her family in Noosa. The adult lab still sleeps in the closed crate without an ex pen. Of course, the mature labrador will not soil a crate in 8hrs.
All our lab pups are trained from birth to soil on ‘corrugated paper’ purchased on a 50m roll from Officeworks. It actually cardboard, marketed as corrugated paper. With an 8wk old, I always place a 1.2m x 1.5m piece in the ex pen. This allows me to leave a labrador puppy ‘contained’ without excessive pollution.
You should not go on extended walks with a Labrador or any large breed puppy for 14mths, until their growth plates are set. And you should carry your labrador puppy up and down stairs to guard again injury and unnecessary join load until 8mths and then only on leash.
We feed our lab puppies a premium food like ‘Eukanube Large Breed Puppy’. It is a false economy to use a cheap food at 1/2 the price. You will use twice the volume.
And your waste clean up will be doubled and so will you veterinary costs.
If you puppy struggles to eat you can leave food available and / or soak it briefly in warm water.
I never feed a lab without asking them to ‘Work’ for food. This means that you will train the 8 - 32 week old labrador pup for 3 min, 3 times a day at each feed time.
Three feeds per day is a volume issue not so much a regularity issue. A pup cannot consume the daily necessary quota in less than 3 feeds. You can reduce the number of feeds to 2 at about 24wks and to 1 feed at approx 10 months.
The first ‘fear imprint’ period is from week 8 to week 16. During this period, expose your pup to 1. People, 2. Vehicles, 3. New surrounding, 4. Other vaccinated dogs (until you pup has had its 2nd vacc at 12 wks).
The second imprint period is suggested to be at 1yr.
Whenever the puppy is hesitant, don’t comfort your pup. Rather, withdraw and re-expose them to the same thing again.
Remember that ‘tough love’ only serves to create fear which will manifest as ‘dog to dog’ and / or ‘dog to people’ aggression or timidity.
Puppy preschool (immediately) is great for the new handler and for the education, training and socialisation of your labrador puppy.
Dog obedience training from approx 7mths of age is essential for the cognitive well being of all dogs.
Digging is a sign of boredom and your labrador is needing mental stimulation.
Regularly tether you labrador from day 1 on a light chain leash. Don’t forget that labs are chewers until 2 years, sometimes later. They will chew cloth and leather leashes and this gets expensive.
You should be aware that a labrador that free ranges for long periods of time makes its own rules. In my opinion, a dog is an outside creature that comes in side. I always restrain a puppy when they are inside. They are compulsive chewers. It not a question of if they will chew, only when and what.
In allow a labrador pup to pull things but I ‘redirect’ this behaviour to ‘ tugging’. Play tug and let them win 7 out of 10 times. Tug does not make a puppy aggressive, it support ‘prey drive’ which is important for motivation and training.
Teach your 8 week old labrador pup to ‘fetch’ immediately by rolling a small ball 1m.
Don’t leave toys or they are no longer treats but objects to destroy.
I allow my labrador puppies to ‘mouth play’ but I ‘redirect’ away from my hands and arms.
Their teeth draw (my) blood.
Labrador puppies sleep 16-20hrs per day. They can be safely left alone during the day in a crate / pen combination as long as they have 2 receptacles of water on hand. Your labrador pup will invariably soil the water( who knows why???)
Labrador pups make all kinds of peculiar movements, breath and spasms at unforeseen times and particularly while sleeping. Scouring (diahorea) is generally the only issue to be concerned about. Puppies can dehydrate quickly if they scour. Immediate attention from a vet and this will not be an issue. Remember that a labrador puppy will not rehydrate with water. They will need electrolytes.