Wednesday, December 28th, 2011
Puppy Care
Kane 8 weeks
The biggest thing with caring for your Labrador puppy, or any large breed puppy is the 1st 12 months when they should be fed a high quality large breed puppy food as it contains all the right levels of calcium and nutritional requirements a large breed pup needs or a comprehensive raw food diet suited for puppies. Always have fresh water available for your pup.
Please do not over exercise your Labrador puppy, they can usually get all the exercise they need in their daily play sessions for the 6 months, although some pups need to be rested because the can get a little carried away especially if there is another dog in the household or come to visit. Remember socialisation is a must so puppy school is a great place to start, it is a safe a and controlled environment for your puppy. A week or so after your puppy’s 3 month vaccination, parks and beaches are also a good environment to meet other dogs.
Never allow your Labrador puppy to go and down stairs or jump on or off the sofa or your bed, including in and out of your car, until they are older because this can cause major damage to growing and developing bones when they get older. Keep an eye out for rougher play with bigger animals… – this is just a caution for the 1st year of their life. They are a large dog and those bones grow very fast and need to be taken care of. Adding some Ester C to their diet can be helpful for ligament and tendon development as well.
Your Labrador puppy should never carry unnecessary weight. Some people think the more they feed the bigger they will get, this is incorrect, a lot has to do with your dogs bloodlines firstly as to how big they get and overfeeding a pup will only cause bone issues when older. There is nothing more heartbreaking than having to put your beloved pet down before 12 months of age due to dysplasia. They are better kept on the leaner side, especially during their fastest growing months between 5 – 8 months than to be overweight when growing. Please keep in mind most Labrador breeds are not fully grown until around the 3 year mark so they have plenty of time to get to size.