What's wrong with a 4-month old puppy?

[carom]

Guys, I was talking to Capt. Save-a-Ho about the puppy. He says that he wouldn't get a 4-month old puppy due to lack of trainiability...

I'm not a dog expert so, please enlighten me here....I was almost SOLD to this dog until he said that!!!!!!

[ncfish]

Personally, I'd rather start with a 6-8 week old, but that's mostly because I train for hunting and don't want to break bad habits.

You can certainly start at 4 months but there may be some behaviors that have to be untrained...house breaking, chewing, who's in charge, etc ...that although would be easier starting from scratch is still not that hard to do.

If you're not going to hunt it, I wouldn't hesitate. Older trainers wouldn't think of starting dogs until 6-12 months, so I wouldn't worry too much about 4. At that age some of the dogs behavior is developing so at least you get a little better idea of what you're getting than a pup. If you like what you see I'd go for it. I've worked with rescue dogs that were 2 years that weren't hard to train.

Hope that helps-

[joeksr]

Guys, I was talking to Capt. Save-a-Ho about the puppy. He says that he wouldn't get a 4-month old puppy due to lack of trainiability...

I'm not a dog expert so, please enlighten me here....I was almost SOLD to this dog until he said that!!!!!!

I'm not an expert but if this dog was kept by the breeder in a pound or kennel environment it is possible that it did not get the attention a puppy needs. You start training a dog as soon as it's old enough to be weened. You bond to the dog the dog bonds to you. If the dog has not learned this it could be a tough road.
The mother of my son bought a dog about this age that was supposed to have been raised as part of the family and be housebroken. Wrong, A year old and still not house broken.
Apparently this dog developed some bad habits that are still not corrected. Even pees in the crate. As a matter of fact, he goes out and comes back in the house and pees in the crate.

Good luck.

[hotrodmarlin]

Labs are smart -you can train a 4 month old to do whatever you want. It's gonna be a pet- don't hesitate getting it. If it was mistreated then it could be more difficult but that's more the reason to take it and give it a good home. just my opinion. Good Luck!

[clt_capt]

I wouldn't rule the puppy out just because he is 4 Months old.

If he has good breeding and has been socialized well then he may be just what you are looking for.

At 4 months, as a pet, he should be fully house broken, have an idea of house rules, and know basics like sit, down, stay.

It is well worth the drive over to see what the Kennels are like.

Even if he doesn't have all of that down, you can train him. Heck it wasn't that long ago that many people didn't start seriously training Labs until 18 Mo or later.

Good luck - they are WONDERFUL Dogs.

6 - 8 weeks is the ideal age to get a puppy - you can establish the basics very quickly while they are in the formative days... But find out if the dogs have been raised in the house (or even allowed in the house) and if they have received any training.

[Jesse Lockowitz]

6-8 weeks is what we got for our pheasant dogs, shorthairs/lab, and was good...for more of a family dog we still have our lab zeb...shorthairs were gone when we moved to NC to our neighbor that was/still is an avid pheasant hunter...great hunting dogs, LOVE TO RUN!



Jesse

[carom]

Looks like Capt. Save-a-Ho is loosing!!!!!

he shouldn't be that uneducated!!!! right?

check these out!!!
dad, mom and puppy!

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3022/...f9b41919_o.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3225/...ef6c82ac_o.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1336/...c32a3b3a_b.jpg

[knot for shore]

I've been training for quite some time and a 4 month old is trainable. A 2 yr old is trainable. It just matters how much time, knowledge did I mention positive repetition you give the dog. 7 - 8 week olds are preferrable because no one has had the time to ruin the pup tey and it hasn't had tme to quire bad habits. But it's do-able.

Positive training + postive repetition + good, patient knowledge = a well schooled dog.

Good Luck!

[tunatamer4]

Nothing at all wrong with a 4 month old.

I've been doing ALOT of research since I got my new buddy. He is the first one I've ever had that was picked out by me for me as a pup. Any other dogs I've had belonged to either the "family" or the women I was with at that time.

Anyway, after Onyx died, my wife and I needed another dog so off we went to find one. He was so cute it was real hard to properly train him other than the house breaking. By the time we realized what we had(or hadn't) done, he was six months old and a bit out of control.

I found this site and applied this mans ways,although tough at times, but Squid is now a great puppy at nine months. He still has some work but the improvement is incredible.

BTW- Squid is a black/chessy mix.

http://leerburg.com/

There are items for sale there as well as online vids and reads.

If you like the puppy, get it! All you need is a little patience and some dedication and you'll be rewarded ten fold. I know I am.

[TriAngler]

A 4 month old lab is certainly trainable, lovable, petable, etc. Nothing wrong with a 4 month old puppy, perhaps unless someone starting training him and now you will have to continue that training or start/convert him to "your way".

The one thing you will/can not get with a 4 month old is imprinting. In my experience, there is no substitute for the permanent bond that can be established easily by having a 5-7 week old puppy imprint on you as his new master. Ever watch baby ducks or geese follow their mother in a line everywhere? Take the ducklings away and put them with dog and they will follow the dog everywhere - due to imprinting.

Same applies with a puppy. While they would normally imprint on their mother, forcing them to ween at 6 weeks gives you the chance to step in for mom. Let a puppy imprint on you and he will follow you, look for you, and defer to you for the rest of his life - naturally. NOTE: Puppies imprint primarily by smell so it is important that you interact with him and initially "keep him to yourself".

My favorite part of getting a new puppy - tried and true is to bring him home and let him sleep in the bed for a few nights, then next 6 weeks or so in the crate as has been suggested - then to the kennel to sleep quietly on his own. These first few weeks he only sleeps with me, is only fed by me, and only instructed by me. Building on the natural imprint, you will be amazed at the bond.

Google "Puppy Imprinting" - and I'm sure you'll find some compelling reading. Good luck!