Chocolate Lab Puppies at Three Rivers Kennel

You are bringing a baby into your home, and just as you would for a human baby, you need to "baby proof" or in this case "puppy proof" your home. Keep in mind that labrador retrievers are "mouth" dogs. Every thing goes into the mouth. Besides valuable items like shoes, rugs, remote controls, video game controllers, homework, clothing, toys, etc. there are things that pose a danger to your puppy as well. So secure things like electrical cords, household cleaners, furniture polish, laundry products, automotive chemicals, charcoal briquetts and lighter fluid, pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers and any poisonous plants. Even some foods are hazardous. Almonds are mildly toxic, chocolate is not good. As a matter of fact, we recommend no human food for our puppies at all. We feed puppy food (dry kibble) exclusively.

We recommend crate training. It can be very helpful to aid in house breaking. Puppies tend not to soil their sleeping area. So after an extended stay in the crate, take your puppy out to where you want him to do his business and BE PATIENT! Reward positive results with a scratch the chest or head and a "GOOD BOY". Crate training is helpful in later years as well. If you have crate trained from early puppyhood, and wish to take your big boy on road trips with you, then take the crate in the SUV to visit Grandpa's house. Put the crate in an out of the way area, and when it is not desireable to have a lab cleaning off the coffee table (of every item) with one wag of the tail, put him in his crate. It has become his bed, his home, his safe place, and he will be happy there until he can be loosed upon the household once again. You will need to get the giant size or 600 series crate for a male (approximately 32"W x 48"D x 35"H) or the extra large size or 500 series (approximately 27"W x 40"D x 30"H) for a female. We recommend the enclosed crate rather than the open wire walled crate. The closed in feeling is more like a natural "den" and most of our puppies are more comfortable there. You can find these crates at WalMart, PetsMart, Petco, and other large box stores. Brands like VariKennel, Sky Kennel, PetMate, and others.

We feed Nutro Large Breed Puppy, either the chicken or the lamb flavor. We recommend you do the same until your puppy is 1 year old, then switch to the Nutro Large Breed Adult. We like to have food available on demand, food in his dish all the time. A puppy who has food always available is not likely to wolf the whole bowl, he will eat until he is satisfied and walk away. Feeding human food, especially treats from the hand, is not a good idea. Some foods are not good for your puppy, and you will create a beggar dog who is mooching food from anyone he meets. If you want to feed a treat like Milk Bone, put it in his dish on top of the kibble. The best kind of dish is a heavy ceramic bowl with a wide base. Difficult to tip over or move around. Less spilling, less mess.

Finally, Toys! It's fun to shop, but at first just buy a chew toy, a tug o war toy, a fetch toy and a squeaky toy. Let your puppy show you his favorite type and when he destroys it you'll know better what he likes. We pretty much use a tennis ball, a frisbee, a knotted rope and sticks to throw. It really doesn't take much. And PLAY with him, as mucb as possible. The more quality time you put in, the more quality time you will get in return. ENJOY!