CKC REGISTERED - RETRIEVER (LABRADOR)
Retriever (Labrador) is the official name for the breed of the puppy you considering purchasing. They are wonderful people dogs and become very attached to their family. They can be trusted with children as they will usually walk away from a situation they don't like rather than bite. They tend to be very stable personality wise and adapt easily to different situations. The two females we have right now are both very athletic, energetic, smart, and friendly. We have used various studs over the years, but we are very careful in our selection. We do have a very good prospect that we will be introducing in the future if everything goes as planned. This line is the American Lab not the English Lab. We try to cross between the field trial line and the show and obedience and agility line. This cross is supposed to combine the best of both sides. Show dogs tend to be a littler smaller and thinner while field lines tend to be taller and more muscular.
All Labs need training, exercise and discipline. You must be firm and consistent in all the training you do. Don't let them up on the couch one day and not the next, they won't understand.
THE FIRST NIGHT
The first night you have your puppy at home (probably the first several nights) the puppy is going to be upset at the change, lonely for his litter mates and he/she will cry quite a lot. This may last one night or several. The best solution (not the only one) I think would be if you could confine the puppy in a small area with lots of newspapers and their blanket and the one that smells like the other puppies. Do not put food or water in with them at night - they will only make a mess. Take them ouside to run around a little before bedtime - this will help tire them out so they will sleep. Then leave them alone. The sooner they get over being alone the better. Be prepared, they will bark and cry quite loudly for a quite a while. But be patient it won't last forever. They get over being away from their litter mates quite quickly as they become bonded to you and your family. They will still, however, not like being alone. Depending on what you are going to do in the future depends on what kind of situation you want them to get used to. After all the other puppies are left, we still leave the ones we have kept (Boomer and Ripley) in the puppy room at night until they are house trained and can be trusted to tell us when they need to go out. It is also good training for when you will be gone all day at work or somewhere you can't take them with you. It will not hurt them to learn to be alone.
As they become house trained you will not need to put down newspapers, but at first it would be a good idea as they should go to the papers to pee and poop. Be sure to leave them in the cage once you think they can go all night without peeing or pooping in it, because as they get bigger, they get more and more destructive when they are left alone.
MEDICAL INFORMATION
Vaccination Schedule:
This is what my vet suggests, your vet might want to do something else, it will probably be very close to this. You should follow this (or your vets advice) as closely as possible so the puppy will remain healthy.
