Thanks for the advice Sue. I've been and purchased a dog guard for the car this morning and the huge padded, protective thing that comes up the back of the back seats, up the sides and a bit that hangs to stop the bumber getting scratched. A nice £90 in the space of 5 minutes! I have bought one of those plastic oval beds. Not very asthetic but till he's stopped chewing I thought it best. As far as toys go, i'm just going to take him to Pets at Home because there's one very close. He can chose his own toys then. You never know he might be a big girls blouse and not like squeeky things.

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We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals

Hi chris he looks like a real beauty , if you hav,nt already done so get a fabric ( nylon ) collar and lead they last a bit longer unless little teeth get hold of it and they can go in the washing machine if it gets dirty dries quick too make sure you have a bit of growing room when Daisy was a pup we seemed to buy new collars all the time as she grew try one on its tightest that still allows you to comfortably to get your fingers under . Dont go too bonkers on toys either you could end up with a pile of stuff he wont play with , try the inner tubes from loo roll they are great and they love ripping it up also empty milk cartons washed out squeeze some air out and put the lid back on you can throw it in the recycling when a bit chewed . And a good one instesd of going mad on tip bits that will only make him porky if not carefull is raw carrot from the fridge soothes gums if teathing and are good for them to eat whenever, Daisy would chew and spit it out till she realised that she could eat it , now i have 2 dogs that if i go to the fridge they are eagerly awaiting a carrot or courget .Make sure you have a good soft padded blanket or an old duvet works well in a cover that can just be washed when dirty . Dont panic too much about the chewing thing it may not be as bad as you think the only thing we ever had chewed that she was told off about was a phone charger , I would be aware of your lads toys being left around though ( rule of thumb if you dont want it chewed dont leave it lying around ) . My other half said Monty is a good name if we had a boy it would have been called Monty .When do you get him ??
Andrea

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You can't go wrong with the bed you have chosen. We haven't got a dog guard for the car he sits on the front seat with a safety harness that attaches to the seat belt. He got used to sitting in the front when he accompanied my husband in the van.

That's one good thing with Pets at Home they welcome dogs, Duke too has chosen some of his toys. I don't usually admit that, it sounds as though I am bonkers but if your dog has chosen his own toys then at least there is two of us!

I read somewhere different textures helps to prevent boredem. Our lad loves squeakies, he's like a child his eyes light up as he bites down and releases.

Duke's being vocal at the moment because its time for his walk.

Sue

Well, another shopping spree and more money for the boy! Andrea, looks like I got the right collar. It's a nylon one and adjusts quite a lot and has a good catch on it for release. One thing about that Pets at Home place though is that it's a touch on the pricey side. I think £8 for a collar is a bit steep! I didn't bother with toys at all in the end. I will wait till he chooses his own but I also got to thinking... If you get chewing toys, doesn't that encourage them to chew? I think once he's chosen his own toy he'll know what he can chew and what he can't. I also couldn't help myself with the treats thing and got a packet of Pedigree training treats. If nothing else I thought it will make him a bit happier when I take him away from his family and i'm settling him in. Children are easily bought and all that! Carrots and bottles sounds great Andrea, i'll keep that one in mind. I've also been training my son this week. The motto this week has been "if it's on the floor it belongs to the dog". Bit of a double whammy really because there hasn't been a rogue power ranger crawling across the floor for days. Sue, my last dog had one of those harnesses but she was only small. To be completely honest if I was in the car on my own i'd be happy for him to sit on one of the seats in a harness, my concern though was that he would get used to being there and might get a face on if I then put him in the back because my son was in the car. I'd have to put him in the back because i'd never forgive myself if I was in an accident and a couple of stone of dog flew through the car and hurt my son. There's plenty room in the back though as it's a 4x4 so he should be happy enough.

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We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals

He's a young lab, he probably will chew, so better to supply the things than him choosing his own (shoes etc.), as someone has already suggested Kongs are good, you can stuff them with his food, instead of feeding from bowls, then he gets to do 2 of his favourite things, chewing and eating.

We brought ours toys and they preferred playing with empty pop bottles.

Puppies will chew especially at his age due to teething,if he is chewing something you rather he didn't remove it and replace with something like a kong with a filling,carot etc,Kongs which are put in the freezer are good to soothe sore gums.

You may also want to consider a crate for when you are not around,it keeps the dog safe and your house in one piece.

He looks great,so cute!

Your are right Chris; Duke our dog assumes the front seat is his, which it is now! We only have a small car and as he is a Staffie he is fine on the front seat.

I remember years ago when my parents had dogs they would use a cardboard box for a bed and the puppies toy was an old slipper, boy were they destructive dogs! no kidding. As soon as the puppy arrived mum would be planning her next kitchen.

I also agree with Sallyanne with regards to toys that can be placed in the freezer when dogs start to teeth, I also used clean rags/flannels wet them through and place them in the freezer as a soother.

Sue

Thanks again for your responses. The whole thing reminds me of when my son was a baby. I made him a lasagne from scratch for dinner tonight then he needed to watch dancing on ice, he's an odd boy but then i'm probably an odd father. Anyway, he's been throwing up ever since. I'm pretty sure I haven't poisoned him! He got an ice-cream earlier in the day from a grubby sandwich shop and he's been quiet all day. The thing with 5 year olds though is they can tell you when they're not feeling well. This dog is going to take me right back to the "What to expect - The First Year" book. Sallyanne you mentioned a crate. I've looked at a couple of those. My brother-in-law has just got a 10 week old Westie and has a crate for him. The thing is, it's about 7ft long and a couple of foot high and wide. That to me is a big crate and for a tiny Westie puppy it's enourmous. Nowhere near enough though for a labrador, especially one that's 6 months old. I'd love to get a crate for him but how big would it need to be to get him, a bed and a seperate corner just incase he was desperate. I have a huge kitchen but it would take a massive crate and surely sooner or later you have to leave them alone without the crate. I may be completely wrong but the way i'm thinking is... One day we will just leave the house with the dog in it and free to do whatever he's going to do and we have 3 choices. Do we wait till he's so old he can't do much damage because he can't be bothered? Wait a few months from now when he's reached his full size and fitness and wrecks the place because by then he will be a lot smarter and will soon work out that if he jumps at a handle long enough, the door will open? Or do we just let him have the run of the kitchen now? It's a hard choice especially as the kitchen cost 15k and it hasn't been in a year yet! He's got a few choices at the moment... The garage, the kitchen, the conservatory or the garden. The conservatory isn't practical because he'll cook to death in the summer so there's not much point him getting used to that. The garden is great but he could wreck that just as easily and may not be too happy stuck outside (I know he's a dog but it just doesn't seem right). Then there's the garage. He can't do any harm in there and it doesn't matter what gifts he leaves where but sooner or later he's still going to have to come back to being in the house alone and the kitchen is the only other downstairs room that can be shut off. I understand that a crate will take away the risk of him chewing the kitchen up, but if he lives to be 14, do I want a crate in the kitchen for the next 14 years?
I was looking at those Kong things today. I couldn't quite work them out. So can you actually just fill them with his dinner (naturally not all in one go and not if it happens to be boiled tripe!) and let him get them out? I thought they were maily for treats. Again, I may be wrong but I thought (or read on the back of the packet) when you're training dogs you give them a measured amount of food depending on their age and size, you give it at the same times every day and if it isn't eaten within about 15 minutes, you take it away. Surely sticking it in things like that Kong thing prolongs the dinner and makes it a bit dis-organised. (what's foot time and what's play time) God knows, if I stuck my sons dinner in bits of toys, he may enjoy hunting it down but there's no discipline. How many times do you hear adults saying to children "Don't play with your food". Of course there are degrees of discipline and I do understand what you're saying and I think I probably will get one because I like the idea but I also like to play devils advocate. That way I get everyones views. The crate thing though has played on my mind because lots have mentioned it. But how big would it have to be so he didn't feel like a caged dog (pardon the pun!).

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We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals

Hi,
You might find this article on crate training useful,

The Crate: What is it? How should it be used?

I have 36 size for mine and they are big for SBT's but it should be big enough for them to turn around and stand up comfortably in.
I would imagine you would need around a 48 for a Lab.I will always crate mine when I'm not around and at night,that way they are safe and with my breed I know the potential for a fight is always there,so theres no chance of that ever happening.

Leaving a pup in the garden without supervision could be a disaster,there are allsorts of plants which are poisonous to dogs,plus I have known dogs to be stolen from there gardens.

Sallyanne is right you need a crate big enough for a full grown lab we had one when Daisy was a pup it gave her somewhere to go when she had had enough and she slept in it at night , the only thing is as Monty is already 6 months old and has been used to the run of a barn he may protest at being cooped up . You need to make sure he ses it as a good place so to get him used to it at meal times you could put his food in it . To be honest once Daisy was dry at night she came upstairs with us to bed and slept on a bed on the floor ( more my partners idea than mine ) we did this untill we got Jess at christmas and then i said that both dogs had to sleep downstairs so now they have a blanket each on a sofa and they stay there till morning , maybe im lucky or maybe they are just well behaved but niether of them have ever ruined anything in the house while we,ve been either in bed or out. I no longer use the crate at all as you said chris it doesnt seem right to leave them in such small space while your out for a few hours or more .I guess you have to see what he is like when he gets older , but safe to say a dog thats distructive while your not around means only a couple of things , either its bored or its fretting over where you have gone so make sure you tell him who,s boss straight away if he knows its not his place to worry about you and accepts that its your right to come and go as you like then there should not be any problems .(Jan Fennel dog listner book ) As far as the Kong thing its meant as a toy but you can give him an amount taken out of his daily allowance of food and put it in the toy it will keep him busy for a while but dont discount this quantity he will get porky if your not strick on his food , this includes any treats such as the training sticks you,ve bought allow for this if he has one they do have a callories in them which is why i got mine used to raw veg .

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