In article ,
Julia Altshuler wrote:



Good point. What's the appropriate age for that sort of running?


Ideally, knowing when the growth plates have closed. With a retriever
puppy, I'd not do such a thing younger than 15 months, but I'm a little
protective and tend to err on the side of caution and say 18 months.
That certainly doesn't mean no exercise of course! Free play, fetching,
swimming - all good things. Just not paced exercise like jogging or
jumping.

--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

In article ,
Julia Altshuler wrote:
Good point. What's the appropriate age for that sort of running?

Depends on the breed, on how the individual dog is maturing,
whether or not the individual dog is *obese*, what kind of
surface it'd be running on, etc. If you're not sure, a year
is a reasonable rule of thumb for an average dog. A little
sooner for a smaller dog, a little later for a larger dog,
etc.

Oh, yeah - when in doubt, ASK YOUR VET.
--
Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis -

Prouder than ever to be a member of the reality-based community

wrote in message
oups.com...
We have a 5-month old 50 pound lab and an 8-year old neighbor boy who
love to play, wrestle, roll on the ground together. Unfortunately,
the dog now thinks that any child it sees is fair game to play the
same way. Whenever the dog sees a child, it runs up to it, pushes it
to the ground and basically mauls the kid. Parents of course aren't
always pleased. How do we stop this behavior? We have instructed the
neighbor boy to cease and we are soliciting his help in keeping the
dog at bay, to sit and all that but other kids are still vulnerable.
Any/all suggestions much appreciated.
Dave Perry
============
These would be a few of my suggestions.

I would suggest you always keep the pup on a long leash when at the dog
park.

Never let any child wrestle or play with your dog or allow the dog to get
overly excited. The pup will view all children as equal. When children
come to your house, put the dog outside or in another room.

If the neighbor's child wants to play with the dog, then have him throw a
ball for him to fetch and then teach him to bring the ball back and drop it.
Don't let him try to remove the ball from the dog's mouth. If the dog does
not drop it, have him throw another ball and the dog will then drop the
first ball. Someone should be there to supervise the boy when he does play
fetch with the dog.
This will be fun for both boy and dog and good exercise and mental
stimulation for the dog also. Retrievers love to fetch.

Try to walk the dog daily on a leash. If the dog receives enough exercise,
he won't be so rambunctious and much easier to live with and control.
Walking the dog is also another form of mental stimulation for the dog.

This pup is going to be a large dog. He will be difficult to control with
no training. I would suggest taking the dog to obedience training classes.
Everyone will enjoy the dog more if the dog learns to sit, stay, come and
heel on command.

Even though the dog is good natured, his size and exuberance will frighten
small children and tend to knock them over easily. I would keep the dog
away from all small children.

pfoley wrote:

I would suggest you always keep the pup on a long leash when at the dog
park.

Is this acceptable at most dog parks?

Never let any child wrestle or play with your dog or allow the dog to get
overly excited. The pup will view all children as equal. When children
come to your house, put the dog outside or in another room.

That's not good advice. The dog needs to learn how to interact
properly with children. That will not happen if the dog is locked
away from them.

If the neighbor's child wants to play with the dog, then have him throw a
ball for him to fetch and then teach him to bring the ball back and drop it.
Don't let him try to remove the ball from the dog's mouth. If the dog does
not drop it, have him throw another ball and the dog will then drop the
first ball.

How about teach the dog to fetch and return instead of having a
neighbor's kid do it?

Try to walk the dog daily on a leash. If the dog receives enough exercise,

I suppose, if your definition of "enough" is low, you might be able
to achieve "enough exercise" for a retriever by walking it on-leash.

This pup is going to be a large dog.

Labs are medium sized, not large.

I would keep the dog away from all small children.

I'd train him to be safe around children (assuming, obviously, that
he is not aggressive toward them).

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)

wrote in message
oups.com...
We have a 5-month old 50 pound lab and an 8-year old neighbor boy who
love to play, wrestle, roll on the ground together. Unfortunately,
the dog now thinks that any child it sees is fair game to play the
same way. Whenever the dog sees a child, it runs up to it, pushes it
to the ground and basically mauls the kid. Parents of course aren't
always pleased. How do we stop this behavior? We have instructed the
neighbor boy to cease and we are soliciting his help in keeping the
dog at bay, to sit and all that but other kids are still vulnerable.
Any/all suggestions much appreciated.
Dave Perry


Many labs retain that *puppy* behavior for the first five or so years. ;-)
If your pup is already 50 pounds, he could end up being rather large at full
growth. Coda, a male chocolate lab family member of ours, ended up being
close to 120 pounds. He was a big 'un.

Although labs love to *play* with children, they must be taught to be aware
of their size when around *little people*. I'd suggest teaching your dog
some games, fetch for example, and then teaching the neighbor child how to
play in an acceptable way with the dog. Maybe even getting to the point
where you, your dog, and the neighbor child can all walk the dog together.
A good opportunity for you to teach the child also about proper playing with
dogs, or perhaps I should say proper ways of behaving around dogs.

It's been really hot here this summer, hottest August on record. So we've
had to curtail outside activities for the most part. But when it gets
cooler again, I like to take my dogs out back and throw balls and sticks for
them until I wear them out completely. A tired dog is a more docile dog.

Best of luck with your new pup.

td

On Thu, 30 Aug 2007 10:23:14 -0400, Shelly
wrote:

[...]
Labs are medium sized, not large.

Labs come in Small, Medium, Large, and "For crissakes, put the dog on
a diet, ma'am" sizes.

Unfortunately.

--
Handsome Jack Morrison

In typical "reality-based" fashion, John Edwards wants you to give up *your* SUV, but wants to keep *his* 30,000
sq. ft. home, multiple SUVs, ride in private jets, etc.
http://www.wlos.com/template/inews_w...wlos.com.shtml
http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...dwardsHome.jpg

spit

"Reality-based" thinker claims that torturing and killing dogs is no worse than eating at McDonald's!
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/p-j-gla...-catching-fish

Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week - October 22-26. Be there, or be square.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles...A-08CF7750A063

*This* is the *real* reason why the "reality-based" community pushes global-warming hysteria.
To push you around and take your money. Senator Dingell now wants a cap on the Mortgage Interest Deduction!
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007...ll_wants_c.php

Freakin' Democrats. spit

"Reality-based" community clamors for housing bailout (at taxpayer's expense, of course).
http://michellemalkin.com/2007/08/24...using-bailout/

The "reality-based" community: Hopelessly Devoted to Failure.
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q...ZhYjU5ZjEzNDE=

Why "liberal" doesn't quite fit:
"In the short term, this reflects the failure of the Republican Party to secure its hard-won victories. In
the longer term, this may provide a new opportunity for the heirs to authentic liberalism - today's conservatives -
as they often thrive when lovers of big government, by whatever name they go by, overreach."
http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2007/...beral-doe.html

"The main proponents of 'universal coverage' want to throw more money at the current health care system,
which strikes me as unwise. I believe that the 'universal coverage' mantra is dysfunctional for the same
reason that 'more money for public schools' is a dysfunctional mantra for education. When your current
approach is digging you into a hole, the sensible thing to do is not to dig faster. It is to stop digging."
http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=080607B

On Thu, 30 Aug 2007 10:37:46 -0400, "tiny dancer"
wrote:

I'd suggest teaching your dog some games, fetch for example

Through people I know, I have arranged for a special place in Hell for
the folks who own retrievers, especially Labs, who don't play fetch
with them.

--
Handsome Jack Morrison

In typical "reality-based" fashion, John Edwards wants you to give up *your* SUV, but wants to keep *his* 30,000
sq. ft. home, multiple SUVs, ride in private jets, etc.
http://www.wlos.com/template/inews_w...wlos.com.shtml
http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...dwardsHome.jpg

spit

"Reality-based" thinker claims that torturing and killing dogs is no worse than eating at McDonald's!
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/p-j-gla...-catching-fish

Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week - October 22-26. Be there, or be square.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles...A-08CF7750A063

*This* is the *real* reason why the "reality-based" community pushes global-warming hysteria.
To push you around and take your money. Senator Dingell now wants a cap on the Mortgage Interest Deduction!
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007...ll_wants_c.php

Freakin' Democrats. spit

"Reality-based" community clamors for housing bailout (at taxpayer's expense, of course).
http://michellemalkin.com/2007/08/24...using-bailout/

The "reality-based" community: Hopelessly Devoted to Failure.
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q...ZhYjU5ZjEzNDE=

Why "liberal" doesn't quite fit:
"In the short term, this reflects the failure of the Republican Party to secure its hard-won victories. In
the longer term, this may provide a new opportunity for the heirs to authentic liberalism - today's conservatives -
as they often thrive when lovers of big government, by whatever name they go by, overreach."
http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2007/...beral-doe.html

"The main proponents of 'universal coverage' want to throw more money at the current health care system,
which strikes me as unwise. I believe that the 'universal coverage' mantra is dysfunctional for the same
reason that 'more money for public schools' is a dysfunctional mantra for education. When your current
approach is digging you into a hole, the sensible thing to do is not to dig faster. It is to stop digging."
http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=080607B

"Handsome Jack Morrison" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 30 Aug 2007 10:23:14 -0400, Shelly
wrote:

[...]
Labs are medium sized, not large.


Certainly not in our neck of the country.



Labs come in Small, Medium, Large, and "For crissakes, put the dog on
a diet, ma'am" sizes.

Unfortunately.


Yup. I'd guess, around here anyway, an average would be around 70 pounds.
And I'm not talking *over-weight* 70 pounds. Old Yeller-like 70 pounds.
;-)


td



--
Handsome Jack Morrison

In typical "reality-based" fashion, John Edwards wants you to give up
*your* SUV, but wants to keep *his* 30,000
sq. ft. home, multiple SUVs, ride in private jets, etc.

http://www.wlos.com/template/inews_w...wlos.com.shtml
http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...dwardsHome.jpg

spit

"Reality-based" thinker claims that torturing and killing dogs is no worse
than eating at McDonald's!

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/p-j-gla...-catching-fish

Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week - October 22-26. Be there, or be square.

http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles...A-08CF7750A063

*This* is the *real* reason why the "reality-based" community pushes
global-warming hysteria.
To push you around and take your money. Senator Dingell now wants a cap on
the Mortgage Interest Deduction!
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007...ll_wants_c.php

Freakin' Democrats. spit

"Reality-based" community clamors for housing bailout (at taxpayer's
expense, of course).

http://michellemalkin.com/2007/08/24...using-bailout/

The "reality-based" community: Hopelessly Devoted to Failure.

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q...ZhYjU5ZjEzNDE=

Why "liberal" doesn't quite fit:
"In the short term, this reflects the failure of the Republican Party to
secure its hard-won victories. In
the longer term, this may provide a new opportunity for the heirs to
authentic liberalism - today's conservatives -
as they often thrive when lovers of big government, by whatever name they
go by, overreach."
http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2007/...beral-doe.html

"The main proponents of 'universal coverage' want to throw more money at
the current health care system,
which strikes me as unwise. I believe that the 'universal coverage' mantra
is dysfunctional for the same
reason that 'more money for public schools' is a dysfunctional mantra for
education. When your current
approach is digging you into a hole, the sensible thing to do is not to
dig faster. It is to stop digging."
http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=080607B

"Handsome Jack Morrison" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 30 Aug 2007 10:37:46 -0400, "tiny dancer"
wrote:

I'd suggest teaching your dog some games, fetch for example

Through people I know, I have arranged for a special place in Hell for
the folks who own retrievers, especially Labs, who don't play fetch
with them.

--
Handsome Jack Morrison


They do love to play, don't they. One of our daughters, the one who just
lost the little doxie, Brandy, also has a large size yellow lab, Cooper. I
know I've exercised him enough when he no longer brings the stick back to me
and flops down next to the last place it landed upon my final throw.
Although, by that time, my throwing arm is quite tired.

td



In typical "reality-based" fashion, John Edwards wants you to give up
*your* SUV, but wants to keep *his* 30,000
sq. ft. home, multiple SUVs, ride in private jets, etc.

http://www.wlos.com/template/inews_w...wlos.com.shtml
http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...dwardsHome.jpg

spit

"Reality-based" thinker claims that torturing and killing dogs is no worse
than eating at McDonald's!

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/p-j-gla...-catching-fish

Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week - October 22-26. Be there, or be square.

http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles...A-08CF7750A063

*This* is the *real* reason why the "reality-based" community pushes
global-warming hysteria.
To push you around and take your money. Senator Dingell now wants a cap on
the Mortgage Interest Deduction!
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007...ll_wants_c.php

Freakin' Democrats. spit

"Reality-based" community clamors for housing bailout (at taxpayer's
expense, of course).

http://michellemalkin.com/2007/08/24...using-bailout/

The "reality-based" community: Hopelessly Devoted to Failure.

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q...ZhYjU5ZjEzNDE=

Why "liberal" doesn't quite fit:
"In the short term, this reflects the failure of the Republican Party to
secure its hard-won victories. In
the longer term, this may provide a new opportunity for the heirs to
authentic liberalism - today's conservatives -
as they often thrive when lovers of big government, by whatever name they
go by, overreach."
http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2007/...beral-doe.html

"The main proponents of 'universal coverage' want to throw more money at
the current health care system,
which strikes me as unwise. I believe that the 'universal coverage' mantra
is dysfunctional for the same
reason that 'more money for public schools' is a dysfunctional mantra for
education. When your current
approach is digging you into a hole, the sensible thing to do is not to
dig faster. It is to stop digging."
http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=080607B

On Thu, 30 Aug 2007 10:57:48 -0400, "tiny dancer"
wrote:

[...]
Labs come in Small, Medium, Large, and "For crissakes, put the dog on
a diet, ma'am" sizes.

Unfortunately.


Yup. I'd guess, around here anyway, an average would be around 70 pounds.
And I'm not talking *over-weight* 70 pounds. Old Yeller-like 70 pounds.
;-)

Labs run from 35 pounds or so, up to well over 100 pounds.

The Labrador retriever standard calls for dogs to weigh between 65-80
pounds, and for bitches to weigh between 55-70 pounds.

So we have a lot of non-standard Labs out there.

They run the gamut.

--
Handsome Jack Morrison

In typical "reality-based" fashion, John Edwards wants you to give up *your* SUV, but wants to keep *his* 30,000
sq. ft. home, multiple SUVs, ride in private jets, etc.
http://www.wlos.com/template/inews_w...wlos.com.shtml
http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...dwardsHome.jpg

spit

"Reality-based" thinker claims that torturing and killing dogs is no worse than eating at McDonald's!
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/p-j-gla...-catching-fish

Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week - October 22-26. Be there, or be square.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles...A-08CF7750A063

*This* is the *real* reason why the "reality-based" community pushes global-warming hysteria.
To push you around and take your money. Senator Dingell now wants a cap on the Mortgage Interest Deduction!
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007...ll_wants_c.php

Freakin' Democrats. spit

"Reality-based" community clamors for housing bailout (at taxpayer's expense, of course).
http://michellemalkin.com/2007/08/24...using-bailout/

The "reality-based" community: Hopelessly Devoted to Failure.
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q...ZhYjU5ZjEzNDE=

Why "liberal" doesn't quite fit:
"In the short term, this reflects the failure of the Republican Party to secure its hard-won victories. In
the longer term, this may provide a new opportunity for the heirs to authentic liberalism - today's conservatives -
as they often thrive when lovers of big government, by whatever name they go by, overreach."
http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2007/...beral-doe.html

"The main proponents of 'universal coverage' want to throw more money at the current health care system,
which strikes me as unwise. I believe that the 'universal coverage' mantra is dysfunctional for the same
reason that 'more money for public schools' is a dysfunctional mantra for education. When your current
approach is digging you into a hole, the sensible thing to do is not to dig faster. It is to stop digging."
http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=080607B