Hi, my name is Jax

[AlphaParents415]

Hello everyone, my name is Jax. I'm a black lab/aust. shep. mix, but definitely more black lab as you can see. As of tomorrow, im 2 months old. I've been with my new mommy and daddy for 8 days. I'm doing great with potty training. I've only had a few accidents (only #1 though, never #2.) I already have "sit" down pat, they always make me sit before breakfast, before I go out to pee, before we come back inside, before lunch, dinner and before treats. I'm loving getting used to my new home. I'm also trying to get used to the cats that live with me. I'm sure their trying to get used to me being here as well. I will admit that i do chew an awful lot. Only on my toys mostly, but, when i get super excited when we play, i may nip your hand by accident. Of course sometimes it's on purpose too, like when i get excited and want to jump up on peoples legs. My parents are trying to teach me not to do that though. I love putting rocks, sticks, dirt, grass in my mouth. For some reason my parents really dont like the rock thing, i guess ill have to learn to not mess with them , oh well. All in all im a great boy so far and am picking up on things very quickly. I'm also very happy to be a part of DP.

[kriswak]

Jax you sure are a cutie.
Welcome to the DP from Me and my two Rocco and Miley.

[AlphaParents415]

Jax you sure are a cutie.
Welcome to the DP from Me and my two Rocco and Miley.

thanks guys. your dogs are also very cute

[Oliver & Henry's Mum]

Hi Jax, and Jax's family! You are a very young puppy still, and a very handsome one at that. We have a wonderful plethora of information regarding young puppies, especially ones who go home prior to being 8 weeks of age, that may be helpful to you. If nothing else, it is a place to share and commiserate.

Welcome to the Daily Puppy from Oliver & Henry, and their Mum, in London, Ontario

[Margie-Rex's Mom]

Oh, my...Jax you are one very cute boy! You've done so well in just a few days! Keep up the good work and listen to your parents.

Welcome to you and your family from Margie and Jose in Vermont, USA.

[RubyJeansMom]

Jax is absolutely adorable, and a smart little guy too!

Welcome to the DP from RJM, Ruby, Kessler and Gizzie in Michigan

[prajakta]

Hey Jax!! your so cute and handsome. i like you so much. welcome to the DP family. and very soon i will intro you with my Marshall. Enjoy dear!!

[AlphaParents415]

here are a few more shots of the baby boy

[Oliver & Henry's Mum]

What a cutie!!! I had the privilege of being loved by a Black Lab for 13 wonderful years and I promise you, they never truly stop being puppies. It is delightful and challenging all at the same time.

Have you tried using a photo hosting site such as Photobucket? Many of us use it here, including myself and I am technologically challenged. It also provides a backup for your most favourite photos. I know you are new and I'm probably overwhelming you, which is not my intent, with information. When you have a moment, just check it out. It makes life easier.

[AlphaParents415]

oh dont worry about it. your not over whelming me. i belong to a few other forum sites so im familiar with how everything works. the only thing im not used to is having to resize all my pictures. i keep them in an external hard drive so i dont lose them if something happened. all my other sites accept pretty large kb/mg pictures. was your black lab full blooded or mixed with anything else?

[Oliver & Henry's Mum]

My Lab, Sally, was a full black Lab. She was the sweetest, silliest, goofiest girl in the world. It's hard to believe that it will be 8 years tomorrow since she passed away, in my arms. Sally loved her babies (my two sons) as she was nearly 2 by the time I had my first child. She would lick their heads every chance she had.

Labs are smart and can be headstrong, but they are so willing to please that as long as one is consistent and sets firm parameters and doesn't leave too much temptation in the way, they are very well behaved. I must admit my Golden, Emma was a bit easier to train than Sally, but that's because Sally was a "forever puppy".

Emma and Sally were the best of friends.

Here is a picture of her as a youngster:

[RubyJeansMom]

Deb, Sally was just beautiful!

[Oliver & Henry's Mum]

Thanks RJM.

[AlphaParents415]

wow.... she is b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l. i hope our little guy turns out to be half as beautiful as Sally. Jax has still been doing really good. at night around 7-8 he would get super wound up and pretty hard to control once he started to want to jump up and nip at you. which i know is fun to him and he sees it as a game, but its just something we cant have him do with his teeth as sharp as they are. anyway, i believe i came to realize that maybe we were doing to much with him, trying to keep him to active. i think my wife and i forget sometimes that hes only 2 months old (as of this past thursday). so the last 2 days weve been taking it a little easier with him. we dont have him outside trying to play as much and i think it has made a difference. the last 2 days he hasnt gotten to crazy in the evening. when we play with him, and he gets to rough and bites to hard, we "yelp" and tell him "NO". if he doesnt stop, we stand up, say "NO", turn around and ignore him. sometimes if you do that, along w/ a little distraction w/ a chewtoy or bone, he will stop. if he doesnt stop, which does happen, we take him and put him in his crate for 10-15min. he might whine just a tab but he calms down pretty quickly. after we let him out he is usually nice and calm. also, when we play with him on the floor w/ our hands, how often should we let him "soft bite" on our hands or arms? he will bite down softly at the start but he will gradually bite harder the longer you play with him. we just dont want to let him bite TOO MUCH, but we also want him to learn his bite inhibition.

[Oliver & Henry's Mum]

Thank you for the compliment on Sally. Currently, both of my dogs are well past the puppy stage, although with Henry, (the Tri), one may not know that.

You have the right idea about the nipping and biting. It is very difficult to teach them to have a "soft" mouth while they are still teething. However, puppies explore their world through their mouths, so by yelping and saying no, as well as offering something they are allowed to have is absolutely correct.

We have a thread all about "Nipping and Biting" in the Behaviour Section.

The other thing you mentoned, about the puppy becoming overly tired, is a very good observation. Like small children, it's a myth that the more excited they become, the more tired they will become. You are absolutely correct thinking that it winds them up to a point that makes it even more difficult to settle. A few minutes in the crate is an excellent idea.

Remind yourselves that all the time the puppy is teething, nipping and chewing will be an issue. The good news is that once their puppy teeth fall out, it is much easier, and far less painful to teach appropriate mouthing. Labs and Goldens often show their affection (when they are older) by putting their mouth on your hand, in my experience and opinion. In the meantime, redirect as you are doing.

Lastly, most puppies start to have what we call the "Zoomies" usually around bedtime, or in the evening. With children, I call it the "witching hour" even though it often lasts longer than an hour. With time, it will probably become one of the highlights of your day watching your baby zoom all over the house. Puppies do very well with routine and consistency and that includes bedtime.

You are doing very, very well with such a young puppy. I am sure you will see lots of improvement over the next four weeks, and even more than that over the next eight. Enjoy every minute with Jax.

By the way, Sally lived to be 13 and I never remember her being "old". ♥