OT: Hi Kitkat and other Lab owners!

cookworm · 05-14-2006, 12:24 AM

Kitkat, I keep forgetting to comment on your cute puppy, but I just read your blog, and was laughing (when he got into the fish oil capsules)...only a Lab! I'm only laughing because I have two Labs, and you know what that means...double the trouble! It seems that they like to lay wherever the work in progress is, doesn't it? I just had to comment on your pic from one Lab-lover to another--aren't they the best?

P.S. Have you read John Grogan's "Marley and Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog"?

kitkat · 05-14-2006, 02:00 PM

I am just catching up - my lab, like most of them, is a true character - and such a dork. When I take him for walks, people always ask if he is still a puppy because he wiggles and squiggles and acts like a goober.....

The fish oil incident was one of the most awful things he has ever done. I swear I could smell that stuff for weeks......his coat was lovely though!

I want to read Marley and Me. I have a gift card - should use it on that.....I know I will love it.

Tell me about yours!!!!

cookworm · 05-14-2006, 07:20 PM

We have two...one is a rescued mixed breed we got from the Humane Society, and we think she was previously abused. She had some pretty bad manners and kind of a mean streak when we first got her, but she's really sweetened up. It just took time for her to trust us (we've had her about 8 years). Our other one just turned 11, and she was a HANDFUL!!! I thought she'd NEVER settle down! Some of the crazy things she's eaten are shoes (of course, standard Lab fare!), razor blades (we were moving and were using the razor blades for boxes, and she ate the whole box as a 8 week old puppy, but was amazingly fine), she swallowed an entire corn cob whole!, and various medications (nothing serious). She's chewed up more toys than you can shake a stick at (my son was really into Star Wars and somehow, she always chewed up the "bad guys"...I guess she was more of a Jedi dog than a Sith dog!) The "worst" thing they do now is ocasionally get into the garbage or steal something from the counter or table, which I'll take any day over chewing up wooden furniture legs! Our oldest one is now blind and diabetic, so the most she ventures on doing is sauntering around between mealtimes to and from her food dish!

All in all, they've been very loyal companions to us, and have always been with us, through thick and thin, and I wouldn't have traded them for the world. You may like "Marley and Me"--it's not so much just a book about their dog as it is about a book about relationships too. There were parts that I darned nearly split a gut laughing so hard.

kitkat · 05-14-2006, 09:43 PM

Cooper is the sneakiest countersurfer-trashdiver ever. It has nothing to do with hunger - he is an opportunist of the first degree. We learned this very early on - late one afternoon, right after his dinner, he ate an entire raw steak - we had no idea until it was time to put the steaks on the grill and one was missing.

He can open drawers, and unless the pantry door is latched tight, he can get in there too and snarf down whatever strikes his fancy. He has eaten more Cocoa Puffs than you can imagine, and has woofed down entire loaves of bread.

He has NEVER eaten a shoe, sock or piece of furniture. He loves to snatch socks and carry them around, but its more so that he can stick his nose into them and snort.

He has tried yarn and didnt care for it, but he also likes to snort yarn.

They really are such great additions to our lives!

njknitter · 05-15-2006, 01:03 PM

My husband's cousin had a black lab that stayed with us for a few months while he was in the middle of relocating. He ultimately couldn't keep Max, so we found a good home for him with a family that had another dog (small non-Lab). The funny part of the story is that the new family had a teenage son who was responsible for walking the dogs. When it was raining and he didn't want to go out, he would attach the leash of the little dog to Max's collar. Max would go out and walk the other dog (taking care of his own business as well), stay in the yard, and return promptly when called!!

Only a teenager!

Nikki · 05-15-2006, 01:08 PM

What a great place KH is. Not only can I get help with all the knitting, I find I'm not the only person in the world who owns a lab that is intent on chewing up the world. My lab came as puppy and was raised/is being raised by my jack russell.
Nikki

cookworm · 05-15-2006, 01:49 PM

njknitter--so the Max "babysat" the other dog, huh?

That's too funny! Yeah, teenagers are so ingenious...if only they'd use their powers for good and not evil! ha ha ha ha

Nikki, I never thought our oldest Lab would settle down--in fact, when we first got her, I sheepishy admit I didn't like her at first. :( She chewed up everything, got into so much trouble, and was in general, more of a handful than I'd say about three toddlers! But I figured we'd try to stick it out and go for the long haul with her, and it turned out to be the best thing because you couldn't ask for a more kind, patient, loving, unconditional-loving friend. My husband kept telling me (when she was going through her "bad phase"), "She's a Lab--she'll settle down, and then she'll just lay around all the time...you'll see!" Well, this is the same guy that told me that "Labs don't shed", so you know how much stock I put into what he said about her hyperactivity settling down!!! Anyway, it's been a great experience. I love mostly all dogs...I am a true dog-lover--but Labs really stole my heart. Thanks for sharing!

Nikki · 05-15-2006, 02:05 PM

:rofling: :rofling: :rofling:
Labs don't shed?
Nikki

HollyP · 05-15-2006, 05:27 PM

Originally Posted by Nikki

:rofling: :rofling: :rofling:
Labs don't shed?
Nikki

Mine must be defective if that is true!!

I think Bentley has finally gotten out of the puppy stage- he's 5. The first year was so tough. He was soo cute but soo bad! I think he chewed 9 remote controls in his first year. We would forget to put them up and leave them in the chair or on a side table and the next we knew he had crunched it. But he has always been such a sweet heart. He just loves everybody and is so loyal. I wouldn't trade him for anything!!! Labs really are great dogs.

eta a couple of pictures of my boy!

bjc1050 · 05-15-2006, 06:46 PM

OOoooooh! I

ALL your labs. I really miss my Cindy Lou, but DH says no more big dogs.

Cindy was a great one for grabbing loaves of bread off the kitchen counter and she used to grab my slippers and leave them outside in the yard. When she was a puppy, I used to come home from errands and find flower pots and soil knocked all over the floor...no fun when you have to drive 90 miles round trip for weekly shopping. Turned out the mess was caused when Cindy had seizures...flopping around on the floor. I wasn't aware of her seizures for a long time and always thought it was from her being mischievious. Still miss her soooooooo much even though it's been over a year since we had to have her put to sleep. She became really good about leaving food alone if I left a sandwich on a side-table and had to leave the room.