Lambchop

iTrader: (1)

we're getting a chocolate lab pup very soon. He's 6 weeks old now and prob get in 2-3 weeks.

I've never had a pup so looking for advice. Should a pup have a cage?

If so under what conditions do you use it?

Do you put them there and shut them in? If bad? To sleep? When you go out? etc

How long do they use the cage for, ie only as a pup or do they like to sleep there as they get older?

I'm not NEEDING a cage to keep it at bay more that i've been told its good for the dog to have its own space.

What size of cage should i have if i need one? And where to buy please

Any advice welcome on new pups. food, exercise, training etc etc

Im going to see him today so will get a pic

chop

KSA-Cossie

iTrader: (4)

We put ours in a cage overnight as the breeders we got him from did that and he was used to it,fucker is always on our bed now.

Mark B

Get the biggest cage u can, theone we had for my lab was about 4ft by 3ft bout 70quid from pets at home?
the only reason we had the cage was it came with the dog from the breeder but it gives the dog somewhere to go, and somewhere to sleep as its not allowed on the furniture.

Also when its young atleast when u go outu can put it in the cage and not worry about it trashing the place hahaha

purple_fiesta

From what ive heard they dont like being put into cages (Would you?) , When ours was a puppy we just shut him into the kitchen and stuck his bed in there, he soon learned.

Graham S1

I was about to post, asking why you'd need a cage for a choc lab pup, but thinking back when my retriever was a pup, yeah, probably a good idea. Would of saved me a few pairs of boots.

Lambchop

iTrader: (1)

Since posting this i've dived on to google and it seems that a cage is a great tool for training a pup especially toilet training! its good for a dog to have its own space to "escape" if it wants.

dovboy

get a cage,as big as poss,never had one for mine and he did a little bit of chewing but my wife was with him all day as a pup so he was only on his own overnight.
i dont like the idea of him or her being caged through the day but if nobody is around it would save it trashing the place(if he is in a cage through the day i would hope someone could let him out every 2-3 hours for a pee etc).

wouldnt put him in the cage if he is bad as he will be going in there sometimes when he has done nothing wrong.

my choc lab

Lambchop

iTrader: (1)

dov
he looks ace! v chunky paws as a pup!

good point re:no cage when bad. dont want him to think its a bad place.

My mrs is on maternity leave now and baby due in 5 weeks so the dog wont be left alone for very long. the cage is just to help her a little for short periods while dealing with kids etc

S1rst

Youll get mixed opinions on this. I never had a cage for mine but my brother did for his. He HAS to leave his in the cage when he goes out as he chews the house to bits, whereas mine is no trouble at all with the run of the house.

I think it depends on the dog and how you go about it from an early age. Mine sits at the front door when she needs the toilet, or comes up and stares at you then looks at the door. My brothers still does it in the house (or his cage) every now and then and he's 10 month old. The reason he does it in the cage sometimes is because he cant hold it and thinks he's in there for the night.

I personally think its not fair on them to be locked away for 8 hours, although many people disagree and think it gives the dog a sense of security.

Its not really necessary at all though if you train them properly from day one.

Gatecrasher

Putting a pup in a cage from a young age is a good thing IMO

as long as you cover it with a blanket, put there bed in there with some toys they will think it is there home "Like a den" you actualy find the og will want to go in the cage, not saying you have to shut the door every time they go near it but it is usefull if you need to put the dog(S) away for 5 mins for whatever reason

Also dont be fooled into thinking its only a Lab, an old coupleout the back of me brought a golden retriver and its a fucking nutcase lol!!! soft fun good dog but they thought they was going to get a Dog that was dosile from the word Go and what they forgot was its still a young dog and needs training

i take my dogs on Holiday with me, to dog shows "fun ones" and the cage has helped so much, just because you have a cage dosnt mean you have to shut the door on it!!

Edit: Just to say i never lock the Dogs in the cage and then go out for 8 hours

I have a stair gate at the bottom of the stairs so the dogs have the run of the bottom of the house, conservatory, kitchen garden ect

For E.G. BO my presa right now is trying to attack the hoover while rachel is hoovering up so we have sut the door on the cage for 5 mins get the hoovering sorted how many people who own dogs have a problem with there dog and brooms, mops, hoovers ect

picky775

iIf you had been put in a cage from birth you wouldnt know any difference so YES it is a good idea to get a cage,pups chew and they chew anything and everything,for the price of a cage it will save you money in the long run trust me.

MATCOS

iTrader: (1)

Good advice, my Vizsla went in a 'crate' (cage sounds a bit cruel) He soon realised it was his home and wasn't worried about it at all, infact as Ben says above they think of it as a little den to get away from things.
My dog doesn't use one now but it was an invaluable tool when you had to leave him, so he didn't chew stuff up or hurt himself.
We progressed to giving him a corner of the kitchen that the crate 'shut off' as he got bigger and this worked very well.


this is him as a puppy



and in his den




He bloody goes everywhere now though

Gatecrasher

Taz

I would deffo get a cage, they use it as their own space and are usually very happy in there. In fact I caught my three year old dog sleeping in the cage that is out for her 8 month old pups. She still likes it. One thing we did learn with the Newfoundland was not to have the cage in the same room. It may not be the same for other dogs but she had us up at least once a night for the first five months of her life and she was taking strops in it too. The day we moved the cage to the hall she shut up and went all night. They often put themselves to bed in the cage especially when we are away with the caravan.

You will be able to get a cage cheaper that Ł80 but if you are struggling Chop I could either loan you one or I may be able to get one at the local cash and carry.

Graham

SassyRS

What stunning looking dogs

rsvan

good topic, ive got same problem, as ive been offered a Alaskan Malamutes..............

Taz

I want one!!!!!!!

They are stunning dogs. The males can be very dominant but then again my Newfy is dominant and she is a bitch. We met a Malamute outside my house, he walks by often but one look from my Darcey and he flew at her.....lol. He was a tad upset at her body language. I have to keep on top of her as there aint no way she will change.

Graham

Andy_R

iTrader: (3)

Chop ours both used a cage as pups and young adults basicaly to train them to associate their rug(which was initialy in the cage) with bed & sleep.
At some point the rug was then removed from the cage and now the word "bed" is associated with their rug/cusion type thingy.
The cage was from costco and has an undertray so if they wet in their cage its no drama.

Lambchop

iTrader: (1)

cheers for all the advice guys

i went and saw him yesterday afternoon and he has grown lots in the last 2 weeks! there were 4 pups there (2 unsold if anyone wants one? D) and mine is much bigger than the others when we chose him there were 10 pups all identical looking and size so we just somehow picked him. now he's growing bigger and heavier

anyway here goes

with mum





1 of mum


and one of grandma who lives there too



mum and gran are beautiful dogs

biglee

they are able to sleep much better in a slightly enclosed space and you will find they wont make as much noise.. i kept all mine in large cages overnight untill they were ready for the rest of the house... when that is .. is up to you. no one else..

good luck craking looking dogs BTW

Mrs T

he's beautiful

Gatecrasher

cute dogs chop

rog

iTrader: (2)

Good choice!
My folks just got a black lab crossed with a whippet (it was an accidenal pairing before you ask) it's 7 months old nw and its massive already. Looks 90% like a lab, but it's probably the fastest dog i have ever seen! Only thing i'll say about labs especially, they like to chew on ANYTHING they can so be very careful what you leave lying around.

Rhys

LOL Chop thats awesome!

FletchCossie

iTrader: (4)

When we first got our staff he was shut out the bedroom and left to rome the house. As soon as the door was shut he howeled (Sp??) his head off and wouldn't shut up lol SO I ended up staying downstairs with him!! The second night I was not staying down stairs again, so kept telling him to shut up. He got the message and quitened down.

We woke in the morning to find bits chewed everywhere. After about 2 weeks of having DVD's, boxes, etc chewed we got him a cage. He uses the cage every day and we call it "Bed". He understands what that means and goes to "Bed" when told. We only use it at night or when we go out and on the rare occasion someone comes over who doesn't know our dog.

His not bothered by it and has had only 1 accident in there due to upset stomach. He wasn't well at all that day!! He goes in there himself to get food, drink, etc. Even our cats have been in it and nicked his biscuits

R5FORD

iTrader: (1)

why dont some people get pics up of the cages they have??

Rs(555)

iTrader: (8)

ive got a gage for our one year old boxer ... if we go out for an hour or two she goes in no probs .. saves it distroying house .sometimes when we are in we leave the cage door open and she gets in and goes sleep .so must enjoy her own space...

snedboy

You might like mines then m8

lardypants

great choice of dog heres our boy a couple years ago

FletchCossie

iTrader: (4)

My Mrs would kill me if we posted up a pic. His cage has got a cover over the top and loads of stuff dumped on it She says if I take all the crap off I can take a pic

R5FORD

iTrader: (1)

lol well you will never make a spy

take it on the sly lol

FletchCossie

iTrader: (4)

Ive got no hope. Ive told her about the pics on this thread, so she will read it later She loves animals, especially dogs.

jonnyrsturbo

a few of mine little bugger!

R5FORD

iTrader: (1)

you could always take the bollokin later

Taz

Do I ever like him, he is gorgeous. I love the colouring of the coat in them with the tipped fur. I know huskies have it to but the sheer chunkiness of them are superb. I love big dogs and actualy run a club for working dogs. www.k9ecosse.co.uk

My Clan





Graham

danneth

this is mine....

Neil S

iTrader: (1)

Chopman he is absolutely gorgeous!

If my mrs sees those pics I bet we'll end up with one!

Neil.

Lambchop

iTrader: (1)

gwan!
there are 2 left from 10 for sale. i know for a fact she'd do them cheaper if i sold another for her. she's moving house and needs them gone sooner rather than later
do it, come up for a weekend it'd be cool to catch up

vroooom ptssssh

Looks like a wee cracker chop! dogs are great pets, you just need to train them well!

I dont think a cage is necessery, ive always had dogs and they have never been any bother!

Think it's a tad cruel to put them in cages, if you teach them right they'll not need one, although if they chew quite bad then it might be an idea if your leaving it in as a pup!?

Got a name yet?

Mr RS500

iTrader: (6)

Seems so long ago ours were like this







we kept them in the garage till they were 4 months old then we built a massive dog house and run for them ,, but i gave in over the winter months and they stay in the kitchen ,,lol,,

Here they are at 6 months old ,,just after this crimbo





These 2 mean the world to me ,,best thing we ever did was to get them

Paul