Our new yellow labrador retriever puppy

In July 2007 we got a Yellow Lab Puppy and we named him Buddy. If you have seen or heard of the movie Marley & Me, you have a vague idea of what we experienced. The first night was nearly unbearable as he cried nearly all night long. The second night wasn't much better. We told ourselves things would get better and stuck with it. He was so cute and everybody always has good things to say about labs. He was immediately part of the family and every day got easier.

We tried to get a lot of books so we could read as much information as possible in order to train him as quickly. We decided it would be a good idea to crate train him so he would grow to love his bed. This was also very difficult but it wasn't long before he would be happy to go to his bed.

Needless to say, we love our puppy and could not be happier with our decision to add him to our family.

If you are thinking about adding a labrador puppy to your household, make sure you do your research and are really up to the challenge. We have been told the 'puppy' phase lasts 2-3 years. So far we are 18 months into the experience and we love it.

I'll make other posts sharing our experience with dog training classes, helpful resources and books, and our training collar. Stay tuned...