At 7 months, the Labrador is still growing. Proper upbringing of Labrador puppies

Now your cuddly puppy looks very cute and lovable, and weighs just enough to be carried around. And in a year, he will still be a cute growing pet, but if he gains weight properly, then your back is unlikely to allow you to lift him.

puppy age

From birth until 2 weeks of age, your puppy will be blind, deaf and completely dependent on his mother. Between 2 and 4 weeks of age, he will see and hear the world around him for the first time. Together with his growing brethren, he will become very mobile to explore new places, sounds and smells. The milk teeth of a Labrador Retriever puppy will begin to erupt at the 4th week. And by week 8, your puppy will be able to leave his mother, brothers and sisters and go to you as a full-fledged companion.

Table of average height and weight for males and females of Labradors:

Development from 3 months to a year

At 3 months old, your active puppy will be ready for home schooling and training. At this time, it will still accelerate its growth, becoming stronger every day. He will start cutting permanent teeth so make sure to provide him with enough suitable chew toys to ease his toothaches. By 7 months, the Labrador Retriever will be a full-fledged teenager who has reached puberty. If you are going to neuter or neuter your dog before 1 year of age, then your lab will get a lot of benefits from this.

By this point after puberty, your puppy will already have a full set of permanent teeth. This is the right time to start learning. base rate obedience. Labs are smart and easy to train, which is why they are so often chosen to minister to the blind and the handicapped. Send your friend to right direction so that you have a happy future together.

Adulthood

Although much of development depends on individual features dogs, Labrador Retrievers, as a rule, reach full size by the age of 18 months. At this point, he will gain weight, but he should not have fat. Regular physical exercise will help him develop bones and muscles, develop a decent constitution in the later stages of development.

The height and weight of a Labrador Retriever depends on many factors. The size of a dog can also be estimated if you have seen his mother and father. According to the standard of the American Kennel Club, the height at the withers of a male Labrador is 57-62 cm, females - 55-60 cm. The approximate weight of a male lies in the range of 29-36 kg, females - 25-32 kg.

Regular checkups at the veterinarian

During the first year, you should take your puppy to the veterinarian regularly for vaccinations and routine checkups. Your veterinarian should weigh him each time to make sure he has correct weight for their stage of development. If he is underweight, then the veterinarian will advise you on this issue, as well as in the case of overweight. In the second case, you will probably have to slightly reduce its portions and increase the duration of training. Growing puppies need good nutrition so you should also check with your veterinarian about this.

Other factors

In many ways, puppies are what they eat, so feeding your lab a high quality food will provide him with more than just good health, but will also affect its adult size. Ask your veterinarian for recommendations good food for puppies and the amount for feeding, which will be necessary and sufficient. Undernourished Labradors may grow more slowly than those fed a quality diet. Also, if your puppy is suffering serious illness or a disorder, it can also slow down its development and growth.

For Labrador Retrievers, as for any breed of dog, the parameters of the main measurements have been developed to make it easier for the owner to track the growth and development of the pet. A table with the values ​​​​can be purchased at the kennel club, if the dog is a member of it. It must be remembered that the values ​​given there are approximate and are not absolutely accurate for all dogs. You can make monthly measurements both independently at home and in a club with the participation of a dog specialist.

Approximate puppy size chart

If the measurements of the Labrador will meet the standards, the dog will be able to participate in exhibitions. Measurements can be done both by the owner at home, and contact a qualified specialist for this purpose.

Experts sometimes measure the animal not at the withers, but much lower, as a result of which the dog may not reach the required standard. A Labrador whose height at the withers does not meet the stated standards is exempted from participation in exhibitions.

Size table of approximate measurements of a puppy from one to 12 months:

The table shows the average parameters, since all dogs are individual. Growth in some stops as early as six months, while others grow up to 12 months. Males are more massive and larger than females and weigh much more, so the size and weight of the pet should not exactly match the data given in the table.

For 10 months of life, the average height and weight of the animal increases 10 times. Starting from the eighth month, growth usually forms completely and does not change thereafter.

Taking measurements yourself

The owner must know exactly the size of his Labrador and keep track of them from the first days of purchasing a puppy. A beginner dog breeder can ask for help from other, more experienced owners who have already participated in exhibitions.

Children love Labrador puppies because of their playfulness and affection for their little master. Adults like the dog for its unpretentiousness in care. A few decades ago, this breed was considered exotic. Today, the Labrador can be seen in many families, where the dog has become a truly devoted friend to its owners.

Children love Labrador puppies because of their playfulness and affection for their little master.

First days in a new home

On how quickly the dog gets used to the new housing and strangers that surround her will depend on her health. Too much little puppy needs a mother. It is very difficult to replace her care with even the best human care. That is why it is necessary to take an animal that is already 4 months old.

If an advertisement for the sale of a 1-month-old Labrador puppy appears in a newspaper or on the Internet, you should not respond to it. It is likely that the pet is not being sold by a professional breeder, but by an amateur who seeks to make a quick profit.

The new owner of the dog needs to be prepared for some of the difficulties that await him after the appearance of a pet in the house:

1. Once in a new environment, the animal will want to get to know the surrounding objects better. It will taste the wires, the owner's slippers, flowers and books. Punish and scold the dog for such behavior should be gentle and careful. It is strictly forbidden to beat, leave without food, etc. The more delicately the owner will bring up his pet, the faster will be the growth of trust between the animal and the person.
2. If the puppy grabbed something with his teeth, you should not try to pull it out by force. The pet's teeth are not yet strong.
3. On the first nights in a new home, a puppy may whine. The owner should not put the animal next to him in bed. The pet should get used to sleeping alone while it is still small. It is almost impossible to wean a Labrador from sleeping in the owner's bed for 7 months.
4. The puppy may develop dandruff, which indicates severe stress. The animal feels threatened. A pet needs more attention and needs to feel the love and care of its owner.

Diet Requirements

Newborns and one month old puppies are fed with milk. Then the breeder gradually begins to accustom them to coarser food. The future owner must know exactly what the animal was fed in the nursery. During the first four months, the puppy should be fed the food he is used to, adding new foods. A sharp transition from one food system to another will lead to the fact that the animal refuses to eat.

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Considering fast growth and mobility of a pet, the owner should give his puppy high-calorie foods. The use of dry food should be limited. It is advisable to use them only in emergency cases, when it is not possible to prepare a complete meal for your pet: on the road, in the country, in nature. Regular consumption of dry food leads to stone formation.

A puppy from 2 to 4 months is usually fed 5 times a day. Then the number of feedings should be reduced to 4 times. At six months, the animal switches to three meals a day. In a year, the dog needs to be fed twice a day.

Puppies should not be given sweets. In addition, they should not be offered the same food that the owners eat. There is too much salt and spices in human dishes. Animals are suitable for cereals, eggs (protein is not recommended), bread, herbs, vegetables, fruits, meat (raw or boiled).

Labradors are prone to obesity. The owner must strictly monitor the diet of his pet and not allow the animal to eat a large number of carbohydrates. It is better to feed your pet three times a day instead of two, but in small portions. An active Labrador will have time to spend calories, which will help him not to gain excess weight. However, the lack of mass should also be avoided.

In order to prevent imbalance, you need to follow a diet for months - feed the animal a certain number of times, given its age. Helps support immunity vitamin complex to be prescribed by a veterinarian.

Little kitten at the veterinary - getting a vaccine

Care and upbringing

Labradors do not need specific care. The coat of animals is smooth and short. You can comb it 2-3 times a week. A 3-month-old Labrador puppy who rarely goes outside or does not walk at all can be bathed much less often than an adult. Representatives of this breed are distinguished by cleanliness and take care of yourself at any age.

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Nails should be trimmed as needed. If the animal spends most of its time outdoors, this procedure becomes optional. The claws will grind off on the asphalt and the ground on their own.

The ears of the animal should be cleaned at least once a week. If the owner noticed that the Labrador often scratches the ear from which it comes bad smell, you need to see a doctor immediately.

The puppy's eyes also need care. Wipe them with a damp tampon as they get dirty.

Raising a puppy should begin on the first day. The animal must be introduced to the room where he will live, and the people with whom he will communicate. The pet needs to know what his tray looks like and where his toys are. It is necessary to accustom a pet to hygiene. Leaving a puppy alone for the first few weeks is not recommended.

From the age of four months, the pet must be taught to the street. Before the year he should have time to wean from the tray. The growth of a Labrador at the age of one will not allow him to use this device. Teaching a pet to urinate outside is quite simple. To do this, it must be taken for a walk after active games, sleeping or eating.

Daily walks will help the puppy adapt to unfamiliar surroundings. He must learn to communicate not only with the owner, but also with people and animals that he sees for the first time. The owner of the dog is obliged to wean him to react to sounds: the voices of passers-by, the noise from passing cars, etc. In order for the socialization of the puppy to be more successful, the owner should be calm in any situation. The dog will feel that everything is under control.

puppy health

By the way Labrador puppies look, you can also judge how well their owners take care of them. The animal must be well-fed, but not overweight. A healthy dog ​​coat is always smooth and shiny, without bald spots. The limbs of the Labrador are dense. If the appearance of the dog differs from this description, the pet is unhealthy.

The Labrador is considered a hardy animal, who rarely gets sick. However, this breed has a special predisposition to certain ailments. Labradors often suffer from diseases of the eyes and ears, paraproctitis, osteochondrosis, food allergies and dysplasia of the elbow and hip joints.

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During the first 45 days of life, the dog receives 2 deworming vaccinations. If the breeder turned out to be dishonest and did not vaccinate the puppy, the owner must give the animal antihelminthic drug a few days after the pet changes its place of residence. Do not offer your puppy deworming before going to the vet for a vaccination.

The animal receives complex vaccination in the first 2 months after birth. At the age of three months, the pet needs to be vaccinated against rabies. After vaccination, the animal must be quarantined for at least 14 days.

Labrador Habits

The Labrador has its own habits that other breeds do not have. The sooner the owner learns the features of the pet, the easier it will be to educate. Labrador Retrievers have natural inclinations that should not be ignored in the training process, for example:

1. Even if the pet is already large in size, he still loves to play with his master. Puppies are the most playful. In this case, the animal must avoid overwork. Long walks and sudden movements lead to joint injuries.
2. Labrador puppies love to swim. An ordinary bath in city apartments will not be enough. IN warm time year, the animal should be taken to the river. Especially useful for the pet will be jogging in shallow water. They will help the puppy strengthen the muscles of the limbs and protect the joints from possible injuries.
3. Labradors need rest. Representatives of this breed sleep a lot and often. The owner needs to take care of sleeper, rest on which will be as complete as possible. It should be explained to children who like to play with dogs that during sleep the pet should not be disturbed. Inadequate or insufficient rest can adversely affect nervous system animal. Strict regime nutrition and sleep is most important in the first year of a pet's life, when his body is just being formed.

A dog is often called a reflection of its owner. The animal adopts many character traits of the person with whom he spends most of his time. If the pet is aggressive, does not listen to commands, spoils things, the owner should start not with punishments, but with a review of his behavior.