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3/21/11 8:53 P

Cocoa would drag her nose in the dirt with the Gentle Leader on. I finally switched her to a Sporn halter which allows me to control her.

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3/19/11 2:27 A

We've considered those for Lola, but we haven't gotten one yet. I tried the haltie and it worked, but I also had a hard time finding one that fit her properly. I've been really trying to work with her and get her to walk nicely.

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3/18/11 4:24 P

We tried two different things to walk our labs. As pups we put a halti collar on them, which helped tremendously in the behavior department. No more was my arm yanked practically out of socket. As adults, because we take them out into the field for walks and don't want them confined by a lead, we put shock collars on them. When you are trained well with the shock collar it is highly effective. I give a tone to my little girl and she knows I mean business. Shocked the socks off my male lab when I could "reach" him that far away. Now, it just has to be worn. We call it "Lucy's magic collar" because she instantly behaves.

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3/18/11 4:24 P

We tried two different things to walk our labs. As pups we put a halti collar on them, which helped tremendously in the behavior department. No more was my arm yanked practically out of socket. As adults, because we take them out into the field for walks and don't want them confined by a lead, we put shock collars on them. When you are trained well with the shock collar it is highly effective. I give a tone to my little girl and she knows I mean business. Shocked the socks off my male lab when I could "reach" him that far away. Now, it just has to be worn. We call it "Lucy's magic collar" because she instantly behaves.

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9/17/09 2:55 A

=

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9/16/09 8:20 P

My lab loves baths.. the only one of the five we have that likes water for anything but drinking;

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9/16/09 12:11 P

Just got back from the river again. Max is running to the water, just like you said:) Threw the stick out a little further and he kept going after it and wanting more. I didn't want to tire him out so much that he couldn't swim back, so quit after about 10 mins. I think he would have went all day if I let him:) And he's not splashing above water anymore. He is paddling along feet under water, head above. It's so much fun watching him!!

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9/16/09 8:40 A

Not Lola. She's not a fan of water. She is a big baby. I had to struggle to get her in the pool so I could give her a bath.

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9/15/09 8:37 P

Soon, he'll be running for the water as soon as he smells it! Labs are such big water babies:)

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9/9/09 4:25 P

Took Max for a walk down by the Rivers Edge Trail for an hour this am (Missouri River). He was such a good boy and the retriever in him came out a bit. He is now 5 months old. He went in the river and was running thru the edge of it. I took him off the leash and he was right beside me looking at me and whined just a little bit. Once he got used to it, he ran ahead a little, not too far. It was a great walk and I think we're gonna do it again tomorrow:) Love my little Lab.

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9/8/09 10:11 A

Lola still won't go downstairs on the new floors. It's so funny. If we can get her down there, she goes to the rug and won't move from there.

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9/5/09 9:39 A

I watched part of it..thats almost too funny this early in the a.m...I'm not offended, ladies.It's at times too close for comfort, though;

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8/30/09 7:38 A

That was cute. I'd be annoyed at him also.

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8/29/09 10:28 P

Hi Ladies,
Hope there's no men here, today!
*I've got a question for y'all...
*Is your "Dog" your exercise partner?
Cuz' mine is kind of annoying me...When I'm trying to exercise.
He's there movin' and a jigglin'...Like it's all easy and fun!
He doesn't know but I've taped him on video...
You look at him and tell me if you would exercise with him!?

I see myself as a "LION" but he sees me as something else!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUMwu_gXK7Q
Paul

Edited by: MR.NET1 at: 8/29/2009 (22:30)

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8/24/09 8:19 P

We just installed wood laminate flooring down in our family room. The cat liked to use the carpeting as a big litter box. Any way, Lola is afraid to walk on it. She puts her claws out and slip slides everywhere. It is quite funny. That's exactly what she does when I take her to Petsmart. Hopefully she'll get used to it because she sits upstairs by the steps and whines.

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7/2/09 7:46 P

Took the girls swimming today for the first time this year. It is finally hot enough and I took the afternoon off. Abby has only been swimming a few times and usually in the river. She is only a year old. I made sure I had a ball for each of them because Katie doesn't like to share. The first throw was a disaster. Abby got so excited she forgot to go after her ball. So I had to throw the balls together and to the same place. At least she was bringing them back and spitting them out. Normally you have to take them out of her mouth. The first few times she didn't spit them out close enough to me so I asked to get the ball and bring it to me. Instead she would stick her head in the water like she was trying to sniff the ball off the bottom. I about died laughing. Good thing I have Kate though. Because she had to get her ball and Abby's sometimes. Kids!

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7/1/09 9:20 A

Thanks Carry!

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6/27/09 11:45 A

Jen brushing a labs teeth is not fun. They don't like it at least mine didn't and we had to do it everytime my son showed her. You don't want to use people tooth paste because it contains floride which they shouldn't have. There is a specail (beef or chicken flavored) paste you can get from the vet or from petco or petsmart or any other pet place. Katie lets me do it but only because I make her. Actually it should be done more often with her advancing age but she acts like I am killing her so I just give her the rawhides and dog bones and greenies instead. Less trauma for both of us.

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6/22/09 11:58 A

OK, I have 3 things - =)

1-We have a pinch collar and it is AWESOME!!! I would never be able to walk my labs without it. It has made all the difference in the world. The beauty of it, too, is that it only takes 1 or 2 corrections and that's it - they stop pulling for the rest of the walk!

2-How difficult is brushing a lab's teeth? Do you use a special toothbrush/toothpaste? Just baking soda?

3- My 7yo male is a dreamer! Almost every day he whimpers and moves in his sleep. Last night, he howeled! It was so funny! Although not that funny, considering he woke me up, and the only way to get him to stop is to wak him up!

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6/8/09 10:11 A

Alot of people on the Dog Lovers group recommended giving dogs baby carrots. So yesterday I gave Lola a baby carrot. She didn't know what to do with it. She would drop it, and Abbey would pick it up and they would bite at it like they were eating a ear of corn. We laughed so hard. Finally something that Lola won't inhale.

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5/22/09 5:39 P

I have a neighbor that swears by the pinch collars. You can get these rubber tips to put on the ends so they can't dig in. I've been trying treats and I have a Gentle leader and a Gentle walker. For me, it's consistantly doing it that I'm not good at. So it's my fault she's the way she is.

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5/22/09 5:15 P

No, I know she has no idea that having her teeth brushed is because of what she eats, but at least it helps her breath a little.

I've tried everything from the Gentle Leader to the Halti to training classes to treats for walking beside me to a pet psychologist (for real!) and got nowhere with the pulling. The vet suggested the pinch collar and it works great. Then again, Sugar is muscled like a steer, so it probably doesn't hurt her as badly as it looks. On the bright side, we've been running together for about three weeks and now she only charges for about the first quarter mile before she gets tired of it and jogs. She'll learn. Eventually. :P

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5/22/09 7:34 A

Our dogs like the poo from the litter box inside the house. We've been walking in the morning the last couple of days and my legs and arms aren't soar. That's because my DH takes Lola and I take Abbey. Abbey's like walking a feather. I have got to try and get Lola to change because I can't handle hurting so bad after I walk her.

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5/22/09 2:24 A

Gail, I doubt if Sugar's making the connection about teeth brushing being punishment for eating cat poop. LOL When my DH asks why dogs do that, I say, "Um, because they're animals."

Rather than a choke collar (yikes, I don't like those things), have you thought of getting a gentle leader? They're awesome & will totally put an end to pulling. Sugar could get a neck injury by running with a choke collar on. Wish my old boys could still run. At this point, I can't even take them for walks. They're worn out after about 10 steps. Bummer.

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5/17/09 6:26 P

I have a 7 month old yellow named Sugar (because she's SO sweet - go ahead and groan). She's into the poo snacking thing, but only from the neighborhood cats that use my flower beds. So gross! I punish her by brushing her teeth.

Sugar is my running buddy, but because she pulls so hard on the leash, I have to use a choker for jogging. She hates it, but she's so smart that she'll grab the leash in her teeth a few inches from the latch so it won't pull on the collar. Then she jumps around like a goofball and looks like she's jogging herself!

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5/14/09 11:35 P

Seems most dogs LOVE a good pile of doo-doo. LOL Too funny about Daisy drinking the toilet water. Good reason not to use those Clorox drop-in deals. Wouldn't she have preferred milk with her cookie?

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5/14/09 10:46 A

LOL! I was reading about labs and poo...I thought it was just my Bear! Soooo gross. However, my Daisy started her morning by drinking out of the toilet - ummm, yellow water - yuck!!! No wonder her next stop was to swipe a cookie off the counter before I wrapped them up.

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4/28/09 9:11 P

Becky, my guys only get apples a couple times a month, but they get baby carrots twice a day. No diarrhea problems, & it's been ages. Now the broccoli was another story...gave Bosco terrible gas, & we paid the price. LOL I've heard raw green beans are great too, but never tried giving them to the pups.

You could just give Lola one or two baby carrots & see what happens. Be warned though, her poop will have chunks of carrots in it...might scare you at first, but it's totally normal.

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4/28/09 8:49 P

Connie: the fruit and veg don't bother your dogs? I'm always afraid they'll get diarrhea if I give them that kind of stuff. I hear that green beans are suppose to be really good for dogs and make a good filler. We always have baby carrots so I should give one to Lola and see if she likes it.

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4/28/09 12:31 P

Leanna, my guys would down the apple cores, seeds & all so I have to be really careful. They love apples, but I have to slice them up & toss the core. Gosh, I could pass them along to your bunny if we were neighbors. LOL

Raw carrots & broccoli are great treats for dogs. I buy 2 lbs of baby carrots for my guys every week. Had to back off the broccoli though...made them very gassy (pee-yoo).

That's terrific that your pup is learning to be a helper. Dogs are the best!

Carry, Bosco will turn 12 May 31st (I'm hoping he makes it that long). Speedy (beagle) is roughly the same age. Rescued him when he was about a year old. He's blind as a bat, but he's scrappy. That blind pup can find fresh kill the cat drags into the yard like nobody's business. They would still roll in nasty stuff if they were well enough to go for walks.

Hope everyone has a great day. Still sunny & hot here, but rain's supposed to be on the way.

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4/28/09 11:56 A

yeh they have seeds in then. but she seem to leave the seeds and the rabbit eats them...I have to put two down so she will leave the rabbits alone...she also loved raw carrots, bean, peas, lettuce, broccoli.never seen a lab like this before but she thinks she is human... and spoiled rotten. she is really smart for only being 4 months old. she gets our shoe and socks for us. she also if asked will take a shirt out of the draw that is open and give it to us. with us both handicaped it helps a lot. If I drop something she will get for me.she always ask to go out by saying ooout. I am teaching her to say I love you...mamma she has ooumamma but that is it...

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4/28/09 11:40 A

Connie so how old are yours? Mine is 9 and she still tries to find the nasty stuff. So there is hope? LOL!

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4/27/09 11:42 P

Leanna, do the apple cores have seeds in them? I believe seeds of any kind are very bad for dogs. Just wondering. Too funny about the bunny chasing the dog...that would be quite a sight.

Carry, disgusting about the horse manure. My vet said it doesn't hurt the dogs though...hard to believe. And oh yes, most dogs love to find the smelliest poop or dead things imaginable to roll in. And you're right, it's almost impossible to get the smell out.

One advantage to having geezer dogs...they're not so interested in looking for gross things to roll in these days - they'd rather nap.

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4/26/09 9:22 P

cocoa bean keeps steeling my rabbits apple cores.she love them and will take it away from thumper. then thumper chases after her...all I can do is laugh..

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4/26/09 11:41 A

Connie it is sooo gross! We had horses and they would eat it all of the time. What is worse though is fresh cow pies. One of the fishing holes that we like to go to is in the middle of a pasture and it never fails the one of them would find the freshest one and roll in it! They would be green! No amount of swimming would get that smell out and we NEVER remember to bring soap with us. Or they would find the nastiest grossest dead fish there was. You wouldn't see one around but they would smell it and find it.

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4/24/09 12:42 A

I have to keep my cat's litterbox behind a chained door, otherwise the boys will go trolling for Tootsie Rolls. The door only opens enough for the cat to get in & out.

Anyone here own a horse? OMG, dogs LOVE horse manure! My vet said it's because of all the sweet hay. Blech!

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4/23/09 9:15 A

yuck! hope that dog doesn't give kisses too!!! that thought just nauseated me!

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4/23/09 9:02 A

I was glad he wasn't mine too. He's such a good dog, but he eats everything. Lola is pretty good as long as she can't get to the litterbox. We use to have Cockers that ate poop. It was so gross.

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4/23/09 7:55 A

Oh that is so gross! I am glad he isn't mine. YUCK!

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4/22/09 1:21 A

Dee-scusting!
Don't you hate it when they act like animals?

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4/21/09 9:56 P

A funny/gross thing happened this morning. The neighbors Springer came to visit Lola this morning. He always scoots on his stomach, so my DH went to block a pile of poop so he wouldn't scoot thru it, but the dog instead ate it. He then visited with Lola, turned around to leave and stopped and munched on some of our garlic chives. Not exactly the type of dog breath you'd want to smell.

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4/17/09 12:47 P

I hate mud season! My lab Daisy has worn a path around the outskirts of our yard that she has to follow before coming inside. We can't grow grass there because of her apparent OCD and during this time of year, it's soooo muddy! Doesn't seem to bother her, though.

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4/17/09 8:29 A

Lola loves to clean out the litter box too. I would think the smell of the cat litter would make her not want to eat it.

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4/17/09 8:10 A

Earth worms!! YUK! Maggie is learning to retrieve geese for my hubby; though she is fairly small lab 60lbs she will carry a 30lb goose in her mouth and prance as to say "look at what i can do!" as she walk circles around each person.

Hunter or old male who is well what can I say but -very lazy- won't retrieve he lays down on the ground about 5 feet in front of what ever it is you want him to bring back and looks at you as if to say " you want me to bring that back to you just so you can throw it again you are out of your cotton pickin mind..." then he will go in the house and well get into the cat's litter pan and have his daily dose of cat crunchies. Now that is just soooooooo gross! Then he thinks he needs a Kiss. At least Maggie stays out of that so her kisses are truly sweet puppy kisses!
Why do dogs have to be so nasty sometimes?

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3/25/09 1:29 P

Yuk! That is funny though. Lola just goes for anything that moves on the ground that she sees.

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3/25/09 11:06 A

Now that is soooo funny! I can just picture it :)

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3/25/09 11:04 A

Our Andy loves to hunt for earth worms. He walks around the backyard; will suddenly stop; dig a little and pull out an earth worm. He then throws it in the air; catches it and eats it.

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3/24/09 4:48 P

Yes, Frosty Paws! That's it! Our labs are magnets for mud :0)

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3/24/09 3:15 P

They definitely love the mud. I have to watch Lola when we take our walks cuz she always seems to find the mud. I can't wait till the ground thaws and everything is able to dry out. The treats are frosty paws. We have some of those in our freezer also.

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3/24/09 11:06 A

Yesterday was a cold and windy Spring day and Sophie was full of energy! We went into our back yard to play fetch and she got to where she wanted some water. I pulled out the hose and she grabbed it and danced all around the back yard, then proceeded to dig a big old mud puddle hole near one of my hibiscus plants...before I could stop her. She came up to me all muddy (front paws and face)...happy as can be...I pulled out her kiddy pool which I use on hot summer days and filled it. She was in puppy heaven. She dug in the water (hard plastic thankfully) and rolled around and we finished the day off with doggy ice cream (forget the name but it's in the freezer section)! Felt like when my kids were toddlers and we'd do the very same thing :)

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3/24/09 8:56 A

Yesterday it was really windy outside and when I took Lola out, she was running all over trying to catch the leaves blowing. This happens when we walk too. She'll go after anything that moves. It's funny and it's also kind of annoying cuz you get pulled around. We don't have squirrels around here(too many hawks and coyote) but she will sit by the door and watch the birds and she'll sometimes whine. She is quite the whiner.

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3/23/09 12:54 A

There hasn't been any action in awhile on here so I thought I would attempt to start it up again lol. My chocolate lab Maddy loves to jump on our sectional couch run the "L" shape, jump down on the other side, run into our bedroom and jump and slide across the bed and off on the other side. I swear she has ripped up 5 sets of fitted sheets! It's so funny and it's my fault because I haven't taken her to get her nails clipped in a couple months (I'm too scared to do it myself). I made time in my crazy schedule to get them clipped after the first three sets but they've grown back and she is at it again. She has also been driving me nuts because she runs up the stairs and watches for squirrels in the backyard through the window on the landing, then she will run down and try to get me to let her out. We have had to get a gate for the stairs because of it haha. She stalks them if she goes outside, I don't know what she would do if she ever caught one. She has a squeaky toy that we call "her baby" that she is really gentle with. I think she thinks that she hurts it when it squeaks lol.

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2/9/09 6:44 P

I know... I really enjoy just watching Sophie in action...she mostly makes me laugh. When we walk and run into another dog (it's always the little ones) she crouches down like she's going to lunge at them in that puppy play position. Some people think it's hilarious and totally get what she's up to...other's think she's going to attack. I really have to figure out how to stop this behavior because it can get kind of annoying...especially if others aren't feeling sociable....

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2/8/09 11:28 A

It is amazing how their instincts kick right in out in the open! Kind of just like every lab puppy packing something around as a pup.

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2/6/09 11:08 A

Lucky puppies :) I live in the foothills of the San Gabriel mountains and it's so fun to watch Sophie's instincts kick in when we get on a trail or by a river....the hunting dog comes out in her and she's in pure bliss. Have fun!

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2/6/09 8:13 A

My dogs play keep away from each other. I have a 3/4 wall separating my kitchen and living room and they run around it like crazy. I know they are going stir crazy this winter. Next weekend we are heading to southern Utah and they will have 4 days of walking the trails down there and swimming in the river. They absolutely love going down there.

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2/4/09 4:55 P

Poor Lola....
Buck & my BF have developed a 'inside game' where Buck will run thru the kitchen, into the LR, thru the BR, and back into the kitchen just to chase a ball. Sometimes Buck will do this twice before he relizes the ball hasn't been thrown yet! ha

Sure beats standing out in the freezing cold!

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2/4/09 8:29 A

Poor Lola has been wanting to go for a walk. Every afternoon she gets really restless and won't leave me alone. She brings all of her toys to where I am and plays at my feet. We were walking every day, but with the weather the way it's been, it hasn't been good for walking. It's suppose to start warming today so hopefully we'll be back on schedule.