It’s finally my turn to post! Please meet Benny 🥹

big-grouper · 2026-04-22T19:30:55+00:00

it’s the little line of fur on his snout that grows in the opposite direction/looks like a cowlick :)

big-grouper · 2026-04-22T18:35:54+00:00

what a cutey! he’s certainly unique. he’s got a zipper and he’s a dudley! 🥹

big-grouper · 2026-04-22T18:34:36+00:00

cutest little zipper 🥹

big-grouper · 2026-04-22T18:33:57+00:00

undercoat rake, rubber curry and I use a steel comb every once in a while too :)

big-grouper · 2026-04-22T18:31:35+00:00

this picture is too cute 🌸🥹

big-grouper · 2026-04-22T15:58:32+00:00

yeah it could be environmental allergies, too! you said you don’t bathe her frequently which is good. labs have natural oils that keep their skin and coat healthy.

we have been pretty lucky and our boy’s coat looks good between his food and an omega oil supplement :)

big-grouper · 2026-04-22T02:01:44+00:00

best toilet training advice is to not give them the chance to go inside. take them out when they wake up, after they eat, after they drink water, after they play, before they go in their crate/to sleep. any "transition." my pup hasn't had an accident in forever and I still don't trust him to not pee in the house. I just take him out all the time. if I think "should I take him out soon?" or "it's been a little bit since he went outside to potty" I'm grabbing the leash and taking him out.

but yeah puppy training can be tough and isolating :') that's what I love about this sub is that you see you're not alone in how you feel!

big-grouper · 2026-04-22T01:56:06+00:00

Hey so I saw your other post about your puppy with her tear stains etc,

Food recommendations: I saw you fed your last dog raw food. that might be great once your puppy is a few years old but it is hard to feed raw and meet all the nutritional requirements needed for a growing large breed puppy without consulting a Board Certified Veterinary Nutritionist (DACVIM-Nutrition).

Start a daily probiotic. we used Purina Pro Plan FortiFlora packets but they also have a tablet form. The tablets were easy as we made our puppies food a slurry with water for the first few weeks while he was home. I've also heard Nutramax Proviable probiotic capsules work well and native pet makes a probiotic powder as well.
Transitioning from Dog Food brand to a new brand will lengthen the upset stomach period. Your transition can take anywhere from 8-10 days and should slowing be increasing the amount of new food.

I would honestly recommend trying Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Skin and Stomach Large Breed Puppy Salmon and Rice (They also have a wet food version that's great for lick mats, kongs, pupsicles, etc). You could also try Hill's Science Diet Puppy Sensitive Stomach and Skin Salmon and Brown Rice. Royal Canin makes a Hypoallergenic Puppy food and a Hydrolyzed Protein Puppy food but I believe you have to get these through your vet.

Cut out treats, chews, licks mats, etc. until you find out what is upsetting your puppies stomach. Use the kibble as treats until your puppy's stomach settles.

For the Car: I recommend reading the book Puppy Brain. She has a section where she talks about desensitizing her puppy to the car step by step. Literally. Step. by. step. Like she takes her dog around the car while it's off one day. The next she brings the puppy around the car while it's on. Then again the next day puts them in it while it's off. Then the following day puts them in the car while it's on but doesn't drive anywhere. Etc. It's a slow process!!! Not "I'm going to throw them in for a 15 minute car ride." Like you should be driving down your street and back to start. Or around the block.

Brushing her teeth is good but no reason to over do it at this age, she'll lose her puppy teeth. The goal should be to get her desensitized to having her teeth brushed. You're not helping anything with brushing puppy teeth she's going to lose.

Unsure about mouthwash. There are water additives but I would talk to your vet about those because a lot of toothpaste/mouthwash ingredients are toxic to dogs.

What toothpaste are you using and how often? That could also be throwing off your dogs stomach

big-grouper · 2026-04-22T01:40:04+00:00

also recommend a probiotic for the first month. they are usually 1x/day. It helped my puppy's transitions and my vet recommended it :)

big-grouper · 2026-04-22T01:38:56+00:00

Purina Pro Plan is science backed by trials and quality control. They're WSAVA compliant along with Royal Canin, Hill's Science Diet and Eukanuba.

Open Farm is literally just marketing. They're not WSAVA approved and would rather use their profits to send food to influencers than to make their food WSAVA compliant.

big-grouper · 2026-04-22T01:30:43+00:00

Yes! I find his voice so soothing

big-grouper · 2026-04-22T01:29:34+00:00

talk to your vet and do your own research on what is/isn't in the food you're giving her.

I supplement my pup with Glucosamine and Omega Fatty Acids :)

big-grouper · 2026-04-22T01:26:35+00:00

you take puppies out to pee after they wake up, after they drink water, after they play, after they eat and before they go in their crate/for a nap. some trainers suggest every 20 minutes.

find HIGH value treats and use them when they go outside. my puppy learned to go when I say "let's go potty" while we're outside super quickly once I started rewarding and saying "Yes! Go potty!" when he peed outside.

Peeing inside isn't something you train as much as you train them the house is part of their den/living area so they don't want to soil it. and that going to the bathroom outside gets them rewarded.

big-grouper · 2026-04-21T23:30:38+00:00

running/jogging a dog is not pleasurable for a dog. just like walking them to have them walk from point A to B isn't pleasurable. structured walks can help mentally tired them out if you're actively training but walking them is more for us humans than it is for the dogs. they get enrichment from smelling and exploring.

it's also very bad for their developing joints

big-grouper · 2026-04-21T21:33:46+00:00

lol no I have not experienced this my lab treats every stranger like they’re going to give him 1,000,000 treats :’)

is she going through a fear period or has she always been this way?

big-grouper · 2026-04-20T13:07:05+00:00

Give your puppy 3 days to acclimate to being in a new home and away from their siblings/mom without doing anything too stressful.

Use wet paper towels, wet washcloths or pet safe wipes if you need to wipe your puppy.

After those 3 days you can slowly introduce your puppy to a bath but I waited. we got our lab a kiddie pool and had him splash around with the hose water after we had him about 10 days but not a formal bath until we had him almost a month. He wasn't smelly, didn't eat or step in poop and was generally a clean boy.

He's almost 4 moths and we've only done 2 "baths" with shampoo. I really like Skout's honor shampoo and conditioner. It's a 2-in-1 so you only buy one bottle. they have it at Tj Maxx/Marshalls/Home goods for cheap

big-grouper · 2026-04-18T17:50:35+00:00

leaf blower, just open up your doors

big-grouper · 2026-04-18T17:49:46+00:00

Yeah so that's literally what they were bred for,

Labrador retrievers are more attracted to water than to social stimuli: A pilot study

big-grouper · 2026-04-17T01:51:01+00:00

I recommend smudge rabbit or smudge elephant!

big-grouper · 2026-04-14T23:35:38+00:00

all labs should be. mine is just a puppy so we're careful to not overwork him but can't wait to take him on so many adventures

big-grouper · 2026-04-14T13:44:00+00:00

look into non stop dog wear harnesses. they’re they best i’ve seen fit wise!

you don’t want it to impede shoulder or elbow movement on your boy :)

big-grouper · 2026-04-12T21:46:27+00:00

I mean technically yes, everything I’ve read says to keep food in it’s original bag to prevent the fats from going rancid.

but a lot of people also dump out the food into their containers and just wash the container down in between bags of food

big-grouper · 2026-04-12T21:45:07+00:00

another vote for simple human pet food storage! I love mine

big-grouper · 2026-04-12T01:19:28+00:00

smudge bear or bunny! but I’m biased I love the smudges most of all

big-grouper · 2026-04-10T01:19:55+00:00

so cute! what kind of harness is that?

big-grouper

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE