Walked her to "death"

Dakota left early this morning for doggie daycare and Cheyenne was waiting at the back door for daddy to come and get her next, but he never came back. As she watched his car pull out from the driveway, she began to cry softly. Dakota was leaving without her and worse yet, she was going to doggie daycare and Cheyenne had to stay home.

Yes, we are on day 4 of Cheyenne's spay and she is healing nicely but still is limited in what she can do. Oh no - not that she has any physical limitations - just that the vet said that she couldn't return to normal routines for one week. Well, being the person I am, one week means 5 days rather than 7. Why? Because I checked her incision and everything is coming along nicely. So, since it was a beautiful day, I walked my baby to "death". Yep! Three long walks. Two for the heck of it and the third to drop off some mail in the mailboxes a few blocks away.

She loved it! It was the first time we walked alone. Usually daddy will take Dakota and I will take Cheyenne - but we both leave together and walk together for a while before we part ways. This was just our time and it was a great opportunity to do some more formal training while on walks. I have to say that she is getting the hang of it and has been given lots of attention and cookies when we got back home.

For now though, she is exhausted and resting in her crate with the door closed - having a much needed nap. Too bad we didn't have more days like this. Then again, I don't know how she would react if Dakota went to doggie daycare on Monday without her. ;)

Keeping Clam After Spay

I don't know about you but my Labrador Retriever's are anything but calm. They are both puppies and because of that, they have a ton of energy to be used during the day. That is why I am always shocked at how the veterinarian tells people who bring their Labs home after being spayed or neutered to keep the dogs calm for a week. A week? You are joking, right? I have Labs!

Needless to say, Cheyenne flipped out when she saw Dakota and I had to let her calm down a little before I could let Dakota out of her crate. It wasn't as bad as I thought. Well, that was until this morning when Cheyenne started roughing it up with Dakota right when the crates were open. Sure, Cheyenne cannot go outside to run around but nothing stops her from running in the house. We had to even block off the stairs because they were running up and down them. Usually though, she doesn't even go near the stairs, but I think she has so much energy from the 24-hours that she was cooped up in the vet's office that she needs to burn off.

Luckily, it is sunny out this morning so the sun is hitting the livingroom floor and the girls are basking in its heat. Alas, the sun won't stay there forever and the brats will be at the rough-housing once again. So, answer a question for me - why didn't they give me any sedatives? If not for Cheyenne.... for me? :)

Missing her sister

Cheyenne is still at the vet after having gone through a spay surgery yesterday. When Dakota got home from doggie daycare, she searched the house for her little sister. She was fed a few minutes after getting home and she did not want to eat without her sister. Her eyes kept darting from me to her sister's bowl on the other side of the kitchen when I told her it was okay for her to eat. She was not sure as to whether or not she should because the little Lab that would normally eat her own food and then try to steal Dakota's food was no where to be found.

A few family members stopped by for other reasons and the usually playful Dakota didn't know what to do. Normally, Cheyenne would be the one to dash up to people without a care and Dakota would follow. Why is it the little sister is leading the big sister? Well, it is not that Cheyenne is the leader of the pack but because Dakota was scared as a young pup by some neighborhood kids and Cheyenne was never subjected to that same fearful event. So, Cheyenne will run up to the people and great them with lots of kisses and Dakota will just take her time but get there eventually.

Never fear though - Cheyenne will return in a few hours time. I have an appointment in 3 hours to pick up my little sassy and bratty Labrador Retriever baby and everyone in the family has missed her greatly. The quiet in our house was a welcome change but we want our noise back... a noise that only Cheyenne can bring.

Time to Spay

So many people go on and on about spaying and neutering your animals. No one ever tells you how difficult it may be to bring your beloved pet to the veterinarians office and leave it there to go through a surgery that is not medically necessary. Does that mean that I am against spaying or neutering animals? No, not at all. It is just that it is a hard process to go through for some - me being one of those people.

This morning started off normal enough. We woke up bright and early and headed to the girls' bedroom. (Yes, our Labs have their own bedroom) They were let out of their crates and eagerly gave us our good mornings - Dakota with her big stretch, followed by her wagging her butt even faster as she sees my husband, and Cheyenne with her energetic jumping, followed by loads of kissing and her biting at Dakota's face.

We lead the girls outside to run off some energy and do their morning ritual when Cheyenne looks at me and waits for those small by great words: "Who wants to eat?" She sat there waiting for what seemed to be an eternity and the words never came from my mouth. Alas, I could not speak them for I could not feed my baby Lab. She was getting spayed today and could not eat after midnight. My heart broken and then my mind wandered into thoughts about how I was going to entertain her until she was dropped off at the veterinarian clinic at 8am.

Ice cubes and peanut butter! Okay, so peanut butter is a food but not when you put the smallest of smears deep inside a Kong toy! That kept her busy for a while and afterwards she was entertained with ice cubes. Yes, water was allowed! Thank goodness because I couldn't think of anything else that she wouldn't eat (even if it wasn't consumable!).

This whole time, Dakota is trying to figure out what is going on because she wasn't being fed either. Well, I couldn't go feeding one in front of the other now, could I? So, while I kept the girls busy outside playing, my husband filled a container of their food for Dakota to have at doggie daycare this morning when he dropped her off.

There was still an hour to wait after Dakota left for daycare. I tried to entertain Cheyenne again but she was now moping around and very sad. She had no clue what was going to happen to her. All she knew is that she didn't get fed, her sister went to daycare without her, and she was now alone. I know dogs have poor short term memory and will forget such things but it broke my heart nonetheless. I felt so bad making her go through all of this for a surgery that was not a life or death situation. Sure, getting her spay helps prevent the onset of cancers and urinary tract infections in dogs but it still feels horrible to make her go without food.

Whoa! Now that was strange. As I sit here writing this blog entry, my phone rang and it was Dr. Work - the vet! He just wanted to let me know that everything went well and she is resting comfortably with the help of some wonderful pain medications and I can pick her up tomorrow afternoon (on schedule). Okay, so I feel better now that she is okay but I guess that I will still feel a little bad about not feeding her this morning. *laugh* I know - she is just a dog! But, she is my dog! *smile*

Pooped Pooches

The girls are fast asleep and it is only 4pm! It is true success when you can get a Lab tired enough to sleep in the middle of the day but it is a miracle when you can get two of them to sleep at the same time. What is my secret? Easy enough - get them outside!

No! You don't necessarily have to run around with them and get yourself tired. It is more about the fresh air and letting them run themselves down to the ground. First, we started with a bit of fetch. The trick is to make sure you use the Lab's favorite toys - probably something that makes a lot of noise.

After the fun starts to drain, hook them up to a long chain (if you don't have a fenced yard) and go about your yard work. Just having the dog outside, basking in the fresh air, will start to tire the pup out. Both of my girls were on the long chains, which are attached to the house, and were able to watch me mow the front lawn. Dakota laid down in the driveway, about 1 foot from the lawn I was mowing, while Cheyenne walked around trying to find any sticks she could eat.

By doing this, I was able to do my chores and the girls were out of harms way but able to soak up the fresh air and sun. Now we are all in the house and the only noise I hear are my Lab Brats snoring in unison.

~Shannon
http://www.8pawsup.com

Lab Adolescence

Oh how I want to take her back somedays! She has gone from just being sassy to being plain annoying and unruly! Yes, I am speaking about our 6-month old Labrador Retriever, Cheyenne.

From 5-7 months old, Labs have a tendency to forget everything they have learned and become like a human teenager that just doesn't want to listen to anything you say. Granted, her training hasn't gone very well to begin with, given that she clings to her older sister, Dakota. However, I thought we were making some great strides until she hit 5-months old. Now, she is a demon and just last night ate a hole straight through her bed. No, it wasn't in her crate - heck, it wasn't even used at all. It was brand new and being store in the basement. We were planning on giving it to her after she is spayed next week but she didn't even get a chance to use it. Somehow, she found it and what I found was a bunch of pieces of fluff around the house. We only turned around for a minute when all this happened.

No, I am not going to return her to the breeder. I know that with persistence and extra training, she will get over this. Plus, she only has another month to go before she will (hopefully) start to calm down some. I can tell you this though, she is going to hate next week. First, she is being spayed on Monday. Then she comes home on Tuesday and I am supposed to keep her calm for 1 week. That means no running around, no jumping on her sister, and no doggie daycare. Of course, the vet is not going to give us any sedatives so that means she will have to be crated a good portion of the time since that is the only time she remains calm. I just pray that she doesn't tear into her stitches as she did that bed!

~Shannon
http://www.8pawsup.com

Reunion - Labs & Family

Four days without our beloved Labs by our side and we found ourselves talking about them at least a few times every day. It didn't help that we were on vacation, staying at a family member's house, that had 3 dogs of their own running around. One particular pup reminded me so much of my Cheyenne that I just fell in love with her instantly.

Needless to say, we were anticipating the reunion with our dogs. As we drove up the driveway, we noticed that our wonderful house/dog sitter was in the backyard, playing with our girls, even though it was late at night. This brought a smile to our faces and I couldn't wait another moment. So I thrust open the door and called out to them. Dakota immediately started to wag her tail but was unsure what to make of it so she continued to back away from us and bark. Cheyenne knew immediately who I was and came running up to me and almost knocked me over. I pet her and looked back and Dakota, who seemed a bit calmer but was not going to give in as easily. She continued to back away and bark, while wagging her whole rear end.

It was the words that snapped her out of it. I yelled to her "Where's daddy, Dakota?". She took one look at me, cocked her head, looked at my dear husband, and bolted towards him. I was sure that he would have been flattened by the 88lbs of pure Labrador Retriever muscle coming at him like a steam train. Nonetheless, she realized who he was and stopped before knocking out his kneecaps.

There was nothing but love. Sure, they seemed a little unsure during the first moments of the reunion but they were so well cared for while we were gone, and got to remain in our own home, that the reunion was nothing short of a celebration.

~Shan
http://www.8pawsup.com

Separation Anxiety in Labs

In a little more than 24 hours, my family and I will be boarding a flight to sunny Florida and a few days of a much needed vacation. The golf clubs are packed and last minute arrangements are being made. Everything is going exactly as planned, so why am I nervous? Plain and simple - our Labs!

There have only been a few times where we have left Dakota for a period of time but, there was always one of us still at home with them. First was my business trip to Boston, where I received a call from my husband stating that Dakota was at the veterinarian because she couldn’t stop throwing up. Seems she decided to let us know that she was not happy that I was gone by eating a lot of Kleenex. Luckily, it passed and she was fine.

The second time was when my husband had to stay a few days in the hospital. I was home every day with Dakota and she would greet me happily as I released her from her crate or picked her up from doggie daycare. After a couple of hours, she noticed that he wasn't going to be home anytime soon and began crying around the house and searching for him.

The third and last time we left her was another business trip to Boston. This time, she decided to shred her dog bed to pieces while in her crate for the night. Luckily, she didn’t ingest any of the large foam pieces but, nonetheless, she was not happy!

Dakota always has a way of telling us what is on her mind and that is why I am a bit nervous about leaving her. Sure, our cousin will be house-sitting and taking care of the pups, but Dakota is... well... spoiled by my husband and I am sure that our cousin will not be able to replace my husband nor me during the 4 days we are gone. What about Cheyenne? Well, she will be perfectly fine! Cheyenne is a sassy and independent little girl, whereas Dakota is more codependent.

Our trip to Florida will lead to separation anxiety for Dakota - which is quite normal in the Labrador Retriever dog breed. Some common signs of separation anxiety include, but are not limited to:

• increased panting
• attention seeking behavior
• become "Velcro dog" - not leaving owner's side
• changes in appetite
• excessive chewing
• disobedience
• decrease in energy level

In order to prepare for our departure from Dakota's world for a few days, we have taken the following steps to help both of the girls overcome any separation anxiety they may feel by:

1. Having someone house-sit instead of taking the Labs out of the home environment
2. Scheduled doggie daycare for all weekdays (added 1 extra day to not disrupt their normal "schedule" - this also makes them more tired when they are home)
3. Had cousin come to visit earlier in the week and spend time with the dogs
4. Preparing frozen "Kong" treats and leaving them in the freezer to promote good behavior
5. Prepared extra ice cubes to curb Cheyenne's teething (chewing) on inappropriate things while we are gone
6. Wrote up their normal schedule for cousin to follow (disrupting dogs' schedule while gone will make separation anxiety worse)
7. Labs will be in kennels (crates) when left alone (per normal)

Whatever the reason for leaving a Lab alone or disrupting its normal schedule with its owner, the best solution is to get their minds off the fact that the owner is not there. This can be done by using treats, such as frozen stuffed Kongs, or scheduling a couple of extra days at daycare (if they normally go). Also, having someone available to be with the dogs as much as possible is a great idea as well. Our cousin just happens to be a college student that lives with her mother only 5 minutes away. This allows the cousin to be here a good amount of the time when our Lab Brats are home and if she is unable to pick them up from daycare; her mom or other family members can help out. The main focus for us is to keep the girls on a schedule they are used to and therefore minimizing the anxiety levels until we return. If all goes well, we should have happy puppies when we return as well as no unnecessary vet bills and our home intact. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

~Shan
http://www.8pawsup.com

Heavy Chewers & Dog Toys

Why can't my Labs be normal? Wait! They are normal! Well, that is what other Labrador Retriever owners are telling me.

My girls have a very delicate palette and want only the best. Of course, that includes any type of string and fuzz from stuffed toys or tennis balls. When we go into a pet store to get the girls a new toy, the first thing we look at is the "fuzz" content. It doesn't matter if it is a fleece toy or a normal tennis ball - if there is some sort of fuzzy covering, they will lay down in a comfortable spot on the floor and pull the fuzz off. Dakota doesn't want to eat it - she just wants to "de-fuzz" the item. Cheyenne, on the other hand, will swallow anything! This includes the string from torn towels or rope toys.

Next, we look at the chew factor. Cheyenne is not as hard of a chewer but she is teething something awful these days. So, hours of chewing equals a great deal of the toy getting eaten by her. Dakota, again, will chew the pieces off, spit them to the side, and continue to chew more pieces off. Needless to say, the stuff she spits to the side, Cheyenne eagerly awaits to eat.

Is this normal? Yep! It is called the "Lab Toy Chew Factor". From what we were told, the girls' dame (mom) loved to pull the fuzz off anything. Oh why couldn't they just be laid back like their sire (dad)? I really shouldn't complain because they don't eat anything in our house that we don't give them. In Dakota's life of 1-year, she has only torn apart her own bed (because I went away on business) and ate some tissues (because my husband wasn't paying attention and I was on another business trip). Cheyenne has tried to get her mouth on things but crate training has been a house-saver! Now though, we have realized that even the most innocent of Kong toys is not safe from Cheyenne's chewing as this week her Kong Puppy Teething stick was pulled apart little by little until we had no choice but to send it to that big garbage graveyard resting place!

Among those toys listed on the Internet for heavy chewers, the following was found:

• Hemp Rope Toys
• Nylabone Galileo Bones
• Nylabone Big Chews
• Black Kongs
• Natural Beef Bones

If you have any toys for heavy chewers that you would like to add to this list, please let us know. Also, if you have any comments on the items listed - whether or not they worked for your dog or Labrador Retriever, we would love to get comments on that as well. This is a problem for many Lab owners and only through each person's experience with such toys can we help each other in finding those toys that withstand such heavy chewers as Dakota and Cheyenne.

Dakota's Den Labrador Retriever Dog Gifts

Not many know but Dakota has her own online store. It started innocent enough - we loved our baby chocolate Lab and wanted some items to show our love for her and the breed. Well, nothing out there suited us, so I decided to make some designs and put them on some t-shirts, mugs, and mousepads for our family.

Not long after that, people that happened upon our site started to comment on how beautiful they thought she was and asked if we had other items. Hence, Dakota's Den was born! From that point on, we focused on purebreed, rescue, or lab mix Chocolate, Yellow, and Black Labrador Retriever clothing and dog gifts. Original designs and beautiful pictures on quality t-shirts, sweatshirts, cards, bumper stickers, license plate frames and more from our gift shop. Now it has taken off with at least a hundred different designs for all types of Labrador Retrievers and the new designs are created every week. People shop from all over the US and we have even gotten orders from countries like Australia! After the addition of Cheyenne to our family, Dakota Den was renamed 8 Paws Up because between our two Labs, they give the store all 8 paws up!

It is amazing how the love of a dog breed can start a business and how the simple love of an owner for her puppy can shine through art and photography.

Labrador Retriever Color and Intelligence Level

There is a common misconception that the color of a Labrador Retriever denotes the level of intelligence in the dog. Although genes have a great deal of importance in determining how smart any living creature is and genes also play a dominate role in determining the color of a Lab, there is no link between the two genes that control these variations in pups.

In order to gain a better understanding of how the color gene does not play a role in the intelligence of a Lab, take, for instance, human siblings. Often, identical twins come into a family seeming identical in every way. As the children begin to grow, subtle differences will start to form and the identical twins are no longer so identical in looks, personality, and/or intelligence. Having identical twins does not guarantee that both children will have the same intelligence level, just as having two people of different colors does not denote how smart or stupid the person will be in life.

Therefore, when taking into account whether what color Labrador Retriever to bring into a family, it will have no bearing on the intelligence level of the animal. A prime example comes from my own home with two chocolate Lab females from the same blood line but different litters. Granted, they both have the habit of pulling the fuzz off any tennis ball in site as they seem to have inherited this "skill" from the dame. However, Dakota can easily tell us what she wants by scratching on a particular surface in our home. We would like to take the credit for this and say it was due to perfect training but, it was something that Dakota had learned on her own. If she wants water, she will scratch on the dishwater near her bowl. If she wants her footballs, she will scratch on the cabinet where they are stored. If she wants food, she will scratch on the oven (even though the dog food is kept on the other side of the kitchen) and so on. Cheyenne has no clue about these things and could care less. If she wants water, she will walk around the house, panting, with her tongue hanging down to the floor until someone notices. As you can see, Cheyenne is not as smart as Dakota in these areas but we would love to see any dog try to out-stalk our Cheyenne when she is hunting.

Two Labrador Retrievers of the same color and distinguishable differences in intelligence levels. It is the personality behind the dog and the training they are given that really creates an intelligence behind the dog - not the color.

Invisible Fence

It is invisible fence time for our family. The days have long gone where Dakota will stay in the yard 100% of the time. She is usually very good but once in a while, she will trot down the driveway to greet a passerby with some loud, but friendly, barking. It isn't really that we are so much worried about her as we are Cheyenne. You see, wherever Dakota goes, Cheyenne wants to go. So, as Dakota trots down the driveway, Cheyenne is right behind her and even runs past her. The excitement she has for new people and the fact that she is only 5 months old, leads her very close to the street at times.

I won't let it happen again. I was young when I watched in horror as my 9-month old puppy at the time ran across the street to see some kids. My dad hollered at me to call her back to the house and I was only able to get half of her name out, "Princ---" before something caught the corner of my eye - it was a car coming up the hill. It was too late, she heard the beginning of her name, saw me, and ran right back across the street. I tried to close my eyes so that I wouldn't see the inevitable but they just wouldn't close fast enough. There was a loud yelp, tires screeching, and my puppy trying to run away from the pain and fear she was feeling. My father dashed out of the house, wrapped her up in a blanket and off to the vet hospital they sped. An hour later, he came home without her and my heart broke. One of her legs would have had to be amputated and they didn't think she would live through the surgery. It was going to cost my family $3,000 and there was a good chance she would die. My family couldn't afford the money for something that most likely wouldn't save her and my dad told me, upon his return, that he just couldn't put her through all that with such slim chances. They put her to sleep and I never got a chance to say goodbye.

That memory is as fresh today as it was some 20 years ago, when I was only in 6th grade. It is still so painful to think about that I had to stop writing this blog entry a few times to wipe my tears so I could see the screen. She was just a puppy - a miniature Doberman/Shepard mix and she was my Princess.

Now I have two more fur babies that rely on me to take care of them and make sure that the memory of my past doesn't repeat itself. I wont let what happened to Princess, happen to either Cheyenne or Dakota. That is why we are installing the invisible fence - to save their lives. Sure, they get a small jolt if they get near the line but they are both very smart and it will only take one time for them to learn. Anyway, a small zap from an invisible fence is nothing compared to what could happen if they continue going to the street... It is well worth the money and training to ensure that they do not share the same fate as my beloved Princess did.