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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]DH just brought home a lab puppy. I’m beyond mad. I’ve never had a dog before and have no idea what to do. We also have two kids, 7 and 9. The kids are thrilled. The puppy is very cute, but he’s already peed on our new carpet. DH is an idiot.[/quote]

If you’ve never had a dog before I’m not sure a lab is right for you, even if you had known it was coming. Lifelong lab owner and while they are the absolute best, especially as family pets, they are big, strong, and energetic for at least 2 years. They house train extremely quickly but they have loads of energy so training is critical. [/quote]

+1 Adult labs that have been well-trained make great family dogs, and it takes a considerable amount of consistent training to get them there. They're kinda bulldozers, can easily knock down younger/smaller kids, and need an outlet for all that working dog energy. So unless you're going to have them retrieving things, get an older one or go with another breed.

They're also mouthy AF. Lab puppies are part vampire, I swear... Those little needle teeth HURT too! Not a great choice for a family with small kids who are new to dog ownership.[/quote]

+1, I adopted an adult lab who had been well trained by someone else. Fantastic family dog but still a lot of work just for normal dog reasons. 
I've had many dogs but only one puppy. It's a lot and [b]if you don't put in consistent labor you will ruin the dog.[/b] [/quote]

As someone who has been rehabbing "rejected" puppies for decades now, can confirm. Skilled trainers can bring them back, at least most of the time/most of the way, but it's SO much easier to just train them correctly the first time. Buy once, cry once. Quality early-life training is critical for easy adult dogs.

If you don't know how to train dogs, never start with a puppy. [/quote]

I'll even go so far as to say: if you have kids under 10, you don't have time or resources for a puppy.

While there may be occasional exceptions to this, it holds true often enough that people would be wise to consider just how many young creatures they're really capable of caring for. Until your kids can reliably get themselves up and about their business, they'll need the attention you'd need to spend training a puppy. It's just not worth the stress and chaos.[/quote]

I tell this to every friend I have, particularly those that want a dog, "for the kids." I'm a dog person, had them before kids, do agility training, have worked with raising seeing eye dogs and training service dogs, fostered, even some protection work. So...I'm enough of a "dog lady" to me it's just kind of instinctual and rote and handling young puppies and kids is ok, but that's the "exception" category. Most people, especially first time owners, should avoid. This is how we end up with the dogs the anti-dog crown moans about. Puppies are cute, but they are WORK if you want them to be well socialized adults. And it's not just house-training, many dogs take a long time to mature, so if you aren't prepared to put in 100% expect a problem in your future. Just for reference, I sometimes tell friends considering it, I put in a [i]bare minimum[/i] of about  3 hrs a day into training and exercise with my younger ones. They're great? Yes, but because of that. Recognize your limits to care for other beings, it's a huge commitment to meet everyone's needs and the pics of a 2 year old and a puppy are cute but not reality. [/quote]

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