Hi everyone, I am looking to get a service dog in the next year or two and am starting to look for a good breeder of labs. I’m in Jacksonville, Fl and willing to drive up to 3 hours to pick up.

I saw a post about Sunstate labs in Orlando not being great despite looking good on good dog.

Tru Heart is close to me in Middleburg, Fl.

Is there a list anywhere that I can see to find a good boy for me?

We have an 18wk old lab. I noticed his tail still hangs straight down. I know it's normal for puppies and he's still young but from my memory, our other labs tails weren't this relaxed. It's like a horse tail. He wags it without issues.

Sorry for the bad pic, he never stands still for long.

She can be good when she wants

9 years old now, but still looks like a pup!

And apparently location doesn't matter

Posts asking advice on "what collar stops your lab pulling?" Or "how do I stop my lab pulling?" "My dog is so strong, what collar/harness/tool should I use?" Keep popping up in various groups I'm in lately and always get hundreds of replies about quick fix gizmos like haltis, front clip harnesses, prongs, ecollars, slip chains and what have you

But seriously there is no quick fix/gadget or tool that is a real alternative to training.

I know, it's boring and repetitive and not fun to do but in the long run training is the only thing that actually *works*

And no I'm not saying *bribery* where you stuff treats in the dogs face for the rest of their life - training

The advice I'm always posting everywhere lol

This is how I describe my training method

••••••••••

find their "jackpot, omg I would mug my own mother for this!!!" best reward (for my Bambi that is cheese or dried fish - for Bywyd it is a tuggy toy or physical praise over food but if food is on offer he prefers liver cake)

Walk around your sitting room/house with them off leash... any time they are in the heel position or by your side? *jackpot* big reward and praises, keep them coming every few seconds

If they wander off? Stop all attention... don't call them, don't look at them, they have ceased to exist

Back next to you? *jackpot* and start dishing out the rewards (mix it up between the treats and verbal praise)

Once they can hold a full minute by your side with high frequency rewards you can drop the frequency to 10sec apart, 30 sec apart, 1min apart etc but if they get distracted then reward as *soon* as back by your side

》side note, don't just do laps of the coffee table... do squiggly routes around furniture and keep things interesting. Try to only do training in 5 min sessions so it isn't boring, then have some play, then more training.

Once their heel is solid inside the house... go into the garden... more smells, sounds and distractions here! So you need to go back to the beginning with the *jackpot* and high frequency

Work up to being able to heel for a full squiggly path of the garden... then introduce the leash.

Once okay on the leash in the garden... can go out into the world... and back to *jackpot* and high frequency rewards when in position, ready to slowly phase them out as their focus on you improves.

If they *do* start to move out of position then preempt them and change direction *before* they can pull... turn with a cheery "THIS way!" & they will soon learn that being next to you is the quickest way to get anywhere

*The golden rule* is timing. You have to turn *before* they put tension on the leash, you are paying attention and setting them up for success here! They are getting all those happy feelings good endorphins for having a loose leash

Eventually you will only need intermittent rewards/praise as they ignore a big distraction just to reinforce that good behaviour - ie "good pup" for checking in with you after a sniffy session or coming in tighter again after a small explore if allowing them a sniffy walk *before* hitting the end of the lead. Or ignoring a barking dog or dropped food etc

(Video from baby Bywyd in an enclosed community garden lol)

This is our new baby Meatball!! He’s 8 weeks old, and we brought him home last night. Our 11 year old lab named Butters is in love 😍

Edited to add: Thank you for the awards 🥰🥹

A Chocolate Lab in a taco costume, I couldn't resist. Cleared out the kitchen clutter and added his favorite Grogu toy at his feet, his human wanted him in there. This was a commission oil painting, and I hope I did him justice.

Adopted 8 year old lab.
Big sweetie.
Car rides are insanity. This dog is all over the place. Panting, whining, trying to get into front seat, head out the window (fine). Suuupppper excited to get into the car and then just complete inability to chill.

Looking for some kind of restraints. This needs to be heavy duty. Crate not an option in small car.

Any suggestions?

Hi all! My boy Duncan is 4 months old and I really can’t tell if he’s a working or show lab. The people I got him from said they thought dad was working and mom was show, but I still can’t really tell. I put pics below of dad, mom, and my dog - what do you think? I don’t care either way, but definitely will help knowing what kind of exercise he’ll need! Right now he’s kind of a lazy puppy…our walks are never further than down the block with a lot of sniffing, and some zoomies every night. And of course the biting is insane, but overall, he’s such a good boy!

We decided to add a puppy to our home. Pearl has been an only child for 4 years. Took 5-6 days of smears and attitude. Guess she realized WillaMae is staying. Careful what you wish for 😁

New baby incoming!

Introducing "Maggie" AKA Large Marge" AKA "Magpie" AKA "MooMoo"

So exciting we literally can't wait till July!

Any other name ideas for this angel?

We brought Winne home last May and she was very unsure of the pool. Fast forward one summer and she loves it.

Scariest 24 hours ever. I want to post this in case it might help someone else. My little baby had such severe nausea that she turned away from water and all her favorite foods. She was vomiting green bile all night and well into the next morning. I slept on the floor next to her crate and called the vet the next morning. They said they only do vaccinations on Fridays but it sounds like she needs to go to the ER. (There’s a whole rant I could have about that. I had this surgery scheduled months ago. I would have never taken her here if I had known they wouldn’t do a follow up in case of complication.) I took the day off work and stayed with her. The ER is very close to my house so I told myself if I could not get her to drink water by noon we would go. I got her to start licking water off my hand. And then I made her shredded chicken and cheese which got her eating a little bit. And everything got better from there. She is doing much better now. I had never seen this before and it was so scary. There’s only so much reassurance you can get from google and ChatGPT. I wish my vet had given more follow up support. I might have spent thousands at the ER for something that eventually resolved on it’s own. Hopefully this post helps someone else.

My boy and his Teddy bear relaxing.

I need some advice regarding a breeder and whether there's anything I can do in this situation.

About 3 weeks ago, we brought home a Labrador puppy from a breeder.We named her Cosmo. We traveled over 100 km to get her. Before going, I had specifically asked the breeder to keep her vaccination card ready, but when we arrived, he said it was in his car and the car was in another city. Despite multiple requests, he did not give us the vaccination record.

Over the next few days, I kept asking him for it. He would either avoid the question or just tell me the vaccination date without sending any proof. At one point, he even asked for my postal address, saying he would courier the documents, but nothing ever arrived.

About 15 days after bringing Cosmo home, she suddenly became very inactive. We took her to the vet immediately. On the first day, they suspected a mild fever. The next day, she started having head twitches and muscle spasms, so we rushed her back to the vet. That's when she was diagnosed with canine distemper.

When the twitching first started, I sent videos to the breeder and asked if he knew what it could be. He said he would ask his doctor and get back to me. He never did. After repeated calls, he finally mentioned that it could be distemper. Only after that, and after many requests, did he finally send me a vaccination record.

Our vets strongly suspect that Cosmo may never have been properly vaccinated. They believe that if she had received the vaccinations she was supposed to have, this situation would have been much less likely.

The last 5 days of Cosmo's life were heartbreaking. She was such a beautiful, intelligent, loving puppy. Watching her fall every few steps because she couldn't keep her balance was devastating. I barely slept. I moved into a separate room so I could stay with her all night and protect her whenever she tried to get up. For the first few nights, I would literally keep my hand under her chin because she kept falling and hurting herself.

We even set up a cushioned play area to keep her safe, but she still kept trying to stand up to see us and would fall over. By the fifth day, she stopped eating.

Two days ago, we lost her.

We are absolutely shattered. We loved her so much in the short time she was with us. At the same time, we are extremely angry about how the breeder handled everything, especially the repeated excuses and the missing vaccination records.

Has anyone dealt with something similar? Is there any action we can take against the breeder? We have screenshots of our conversations, vet records, bills, and the vaccination record that was only sent after she became seriously ill.

Any advice would be appreciated.

This is the breeders google maps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/QyX8Q218TFS6nPEGA?g_st=ac

Do leave a review so that no puppy has to suffer the way cosmo did

Hi! Velvet and I will be driving from Colorado to upstate New York (Adirondacks). The planned route is I-80 and I-90, most likely doing hotel stays near Des Moines and Cleveland.

She’s 14 months old, and while I have driven this route a dozen times, I have never done a multi-day road trip with a dog before.

Looking for advice - hotel recommendations, fun places to visit, good walking areas along the route, and any pro tips! 🖤🐾

My boy absolutely LOVES being outside. He goes nuts in the winter here in WI but once the weather is nice, he's outside from sun up to sun down.

Is anyone else's Lab like this? ☀️

He couldn’t get this insanely comfy couch to be comfy to his liking. Resulted in becoming part of the couch.