I´m looking for good advice from a Labrador Owner?

Question

I live in Brazil and I am hopefully moving to the Beach soon and I want to get two Labradors, a Male and a Female. I don´t want to breed them but I think that they will be more contented if they have a Litters or two before I give them both the snip.
Would you recommend it better to get both dogs at the same time or would you recommend to get the Female six months before getting the Male. The reason I ask is because I have been told that if the Female is too small or too young then I have been told that the Puppies will not be healthy or would you recommend to get the Male first. As for training them would you recommend to train them both at the same time or would would you recommend to have one six months trained when I get the other so that the younger follows the older ?

Also, what would would you recommend to feed a Labrador from Puppy to Adult, Ihave been told that boiled chicken is very healthy for Dogs but I have been told raw minced beef is also good. Obviously food made especially for dogs is good but I think that Chicken and dog Biscuits would be the best. Would you agreee ?

And finally. If you mate a Chocolate Labrador and a Black Labrador what is the most likely colour of the Puppies ?

Answer 1

You should not get any If you do not know enough about dogs to know that pet quality dogs should not have a "litter or two before giving them the snip". They are NOT more "contented" after having litters. They ARE more prone to cancer.
Are you prepared to spend big bucks to get show quality dogs and do all the health clearances needed before breeding?????
There are SOOOOO many Labs in the world and most are hyper and look nothing like what a Lab should look like. Why do you want to become a BYB and add to that?? Why don't you just say you want to be a BYB, not that you just want to get tow Labs. You have WAY more breeding questions, so clearly that is what you are looking to do.
More BYB Labs!!!!

Answer 2

Your dogs will be the most contented if they are neutered and NOT bred.
The first thing I would point out is that it is always a mistake to get two pups at the same time (esp litter mates) because they will bond to each other more than to their owner. Having had Field Trial Labs for over 40 years it has been my experience that when the owner divides their attention between two dogs neither dog will live up to it's potential. So you will be far better off if you only get one dog period.
Breeding for color is about the worse mistake a breeder can make. Always breed for quality and let the color chips fall where they may.
There are nine gene combinations that determine a Labs color. 4 of these combinations will be a black dog, and only 2 will be a chocolate dog. So the only way to guarantee chocolate pups is to breed a chocolate to a chocolate. The problem with doing that is that with every generation that this is done, the quality of the pups becomes worse. IMHO if you want a quality chocolate Lab, never buy one from a chocolate to chocolate breeding because you cut your chances of getting a quality pup in half.

Answer 3

I read your other posts first about the bad messages you got. Let me set you straight. There is no truth to the fact that a dog is more satisfied after having a litter.... I have a female lab that I do competetive obedience with and she was spayed at 6 months. She is happy, healthy and a wonderful dog.

If you want two labs, GREAT. MY advice is get one dog now. Male or female, YOUR choice. Alter it so that it can't reproduce. Raise it, train it, have fun with it. When it is a year and a half, get your 2nd. Doesn't matter the sex, just alter it again at 6 months. And have fun with your 2 dogs.

As far as food, I am sure even in Brazil they have a nice high quality kibble that you can buy from the store. Feed them that.

Answer 4

Saying that dogs need to have a litter to be contented is placing human desires onto animals. Humans, bonobos (a kind of ape), and dolphins are the only creatures who have sex for pleasure. All others lose the desire if they are castrated. And while dogs have an innate since to care for their off spring, they don't think abstractly and therefore will not miss something that they have never had.

If I were you I would get a Lab of either sex and have it fixed. Once you have trained it and it has reach 1-2 years of age, you can get a Lab of the opposite sex and have it fixed as well. This will give you the greatest chance of having the dogs co-exist happily together. Even better, adopt 2 Labs.

Answer 5

I have 2 labradors. I've had Jenna (Choc.) for about 7 yrs. and Rose (yellow) for a few months and she is only 4 mos. so there's a significant age difference there but they get along well. It is never a good idea to toy with the idea of mating the dogs unless you are willing to dedicate time and money ... a good deal of money. Letting the dogs have one or two litters won't change a dog's temperment in any way.

Since spaying females is considered a more serious surgery than neutering, I would have the female spayed as soon as your vet suggests it (preferably before first heat). I feed Rose Iams Puppy (dry food) and Jenna gets Iams for older dogs. I don't recommend any sort of meat that you and I might eat. It isn't good for their systems in any way.

So in closing, if you are having any doubts as far as breeding your labs .... DON'T!

Answer 6

You don't want to breed them.

For every heat cycle a female has it greatly increases her chance for breast cancer. With labs already being so overbred it will bedifficult to find quality breeding stock. Purina dog show is tomorrow You should watch it for the labs.

I do rescue and have found once they reproduce they lose their youthful spirit that is one of the greatest qualities in a lab. The pregnant labs I have rescued are always the worse mommies too. Usually the moms take care of everything for at least the first four weeks but not the labs. My last lab mom we couldn't let her around the babies and had to make her nurse them. Labs make horrible mommies.

I have two huge black labs I call them Minnie and mickey (They are quiet as mice and just the irony they are not little??) They are 11 weeks old and ready for adoption. Little wild butts is what they are.

Chicken is good for them but they also need nutrients in dog food. You could leave hard dog food out for them and feed chicken as a dinner for them. I also feed oatmeal and peanut butter to mine.

Labs can make great pets but to breed quality you will probably be wasting your time at this point. They are a dime a dozen and the cost will outweigh the benefit.

Answer 7

Get a Frisbee if you need something to play with at the beach. Dogs are not more content after having a litter. They cant miss what they don't know or have a desire for. Leave the pet ownership responsibilities up to people that actually know how to care for them. Once again my answer is the only dog you should own is STUFFED!!!!!!

Answer 8

Yes you are right to be concerned, one puppy is hard enough to take care of let alone two at once - and that's when you are home all day! Leaving them alone all day is going to turn them into dogs from hell. Puppies need a lot more attention than an hour or so a day and a lot more training. They aren't going to end up been re-homed they are going to end up euthanized because they wont be suitable for rehoming, they will be unsocialized, untrained even possibly aggressive. I'd be very worried

Answer 9

I have a male black Labrador, and he is beautiful, he eats regular dog food and does very well. You don't need to go to the expense of buying chicken for your dogs, they do real well on a good brand of regular dog food. I mix dry dog food with canned dog food and one teaspoon of olive oil daily for the coat. I have three dogs all together. one Lab mix female and one cow Dog female, None had litters and all are spayed or neutered. They get along real well and they even get along with my three cats. It would be better if you get the dogs at the same time, if you have just one dog for awhile and then get another there will resentment.

Answer 10

you need to get a book and talk to a vet, do your research before getting any pet. having litters before spay and neuter does NOT make any difference. this would just add to the population of unwanted and abused animals. train at the same time, one dog will follow the other, they are pack animals. once again and can't stress it enough research and common sense. science diet food.read the bag.