Found a chocolate Lab pup :)

[juxie]

After 2 weeks of non-commital discussions with the breeder, (who hadn't decided whether he was breeding his Chocolate female or not), I changed my mind and found another breeder who had 6 week old pups he was reserving for people. I went to see them yesterday and decided on this little female:

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a345/juxie/Ruby5weeks.jpg

Her name is Ruby, and we will be picking her up on Valentine's Day. I am so excited!!

Can I ask a quick question? Is there any way to make her transition to our home in the first few nights easier? I know she will cry, but am I supposed to respond by coming to comfort her, or am I supposed to let her cry a little? I will be taking her outside to potty every 2 hours through the night, but am I supposed to put her right back in her crate afterwards with no extra attention? I am new to crate training :) Thanks!!

[Taz_Zoee]

Awwwe, she is adorable!! Can't wait to see more picture of her when you get her home.
As for the questions on crate training and such...I'll leave that to people with more experience. :D
Enjoy your little bundle of cuteness there!!

[chocolatepuppy]

Congrats! She is adorable! I love chocolate puppys. ;) When Layla was a little one, she is seven months now, I would give her a little attention before I put her back in the crate. Just like five minutes of loving or playing with a toy. Also, my puppys never cried much. I had their crate right beside my bed and gave them a stuffed animal to cuddle up to. :)

[borzoimom]

congrats!!! How old will she be on valentines day?

[WELOVESPUPPIES]

Whata cutie...labs are great dogs;) I would visit her as often as you can in the next couple of weeks so that she gets use to your voice and your scent. Ask the owner if you can purchase a baby blanket that they can put in with the puppies and their mother maybe a night or two before your bring her home, this way when you bring her home she will have all those familiar smells but she will also be use to your smell. I just plopped my puppy in bed with me and he slept the whole night, never whined or cried but that is a hard thing to change if you don't want her in your bed when she is full grown. Good luck and enjoy your new baby.

[juxie]

Ruby will be 8 weeks old on Valentines Day when we pick her up.

Her crate is set up in our living room because we weren't planning on letting her upstairs while shes young. The stairs are fairly steep and the cat litter boxes are in the hall, and we don't want her eating kitty poop :p

I actually spoke to the breeder about bringing her a receiving blanket, and bought one right after that. I plan on taking it to him next week. He said I could come see her whenever i want, but i work full time and she is an hour away, so it may not be very many visits between now and then.

I bought her a toy on eBay yesterday too- a 'Snuggle Buddy'. Its a pillow shaped like a dog with a chew rope tail and is filled with Buckwheat. You put it in the microwave for 30 seconds and its like a hot water bottle effect. I thought it might be comforting to her :) The outer shell comes off and is machine washable. I hope it was a good investment. I've also been told a ticking alarm clock will help. She seemed very comfortable with me holding her, very calm and snuggly, so heres hoping it goes smoothly.

[BC_MoM]

Congratulations! She is ADORABLE!! :)

[dab_20]

Congrats! She's adorable... chocolate labs are my favorite color. :) Visit your puppy a few times before she comes home with you... buy a new toy and sleep with it a few days before she comes home and give the toy to her the first night so she can recognize your scent. When I crate trained my puppies, I never woke up for them if they cried. Do not comfort your pup if she cries in her crate... or else she will think crying=attention and will cry all the time during the night. For the first week I would put them to bed at 10... then wake up at 6 to let them go potty. They were both between 7-9 weeks and could usually hold it. Do not let her drink any water about an hour and a half before you put her in her crate... if you find she cannot hold it during the night when you limit her water intake, then you might need to wake up earlier to let her out. The crate should only be big enough for her to stand up, turn around, and lay down comfortably. Hope I helped! :)

EDIT: Forgot to add, NEVER have her collar on while she is in her crate. I learned the hard way... one night Sam was in his crate and I heard choking sounds and ran down stairs to find he was being strangled by his collar on the top of the crate :eek: :( Luckly I heard it and was there, but not everyone and their dogs are that lucky.

[Daisy and Delilah]

CONGRATULATIONS!!! She's a little doll! :D Welcome to Pet Talk Ruby!!

[husky 1]

A lovely pup, the first night we got kavik he cried/howled in his crate , we ignored this , after half an hour he went to sleep, next night not too bad , cried for 10 mins then gave up, now hes fine , has a little wimper for about 10 seconds then off to sleep, but some nights he just lays down & sleeps as soon as put into the crate, we play with him for an hour b4 we put him out for loo & then off to bed , he sleeps most of the night now, but mishka was alot worse than kavik, she wouldn't settle in a crate at-all, so all pups seem to be taking to the crate differently. Hope this helps a bit. ;)

[mruffruff]

Sounds like you're ready. That microwavable "dog" sounds like a great idea. Add a small clock and she should be fairly content.

Where did you find the "dog"? Others might want to get one for their puppies.

[zoey]

Congratulations on the addition to your family!
Awwwww Ruby is a beautiful little girl. Yayy for Labs!!!!
:D :D :D

[juxie]

I found the microwavable 'doggie' on eBay- I think the guy I got it from has a pet store in the UK. I hope it gets here soon, before Ruby comes home :)

Thanks for the compliments , we think shes adorable too ;)

[kimlovescats]

Awwwwwww, I love chocolate labs! She is just precious! What a great gift for Valentine's Day!!! Congrats! :D