what do you guys think???

[SMOKE]

hey guys as many of u know i got a female yellow lab pup out of hawk. shes 6 months old right now and is around 50lbs. i have a 12 by 12 concrete pad with a 10x10x6 chain link fence pen on it. in there i have one of them bistro water bowls that have a water tank hooked to them so they always have water. i had it bailin wired to the corner of the pen so she couldnt nock it off and then be out of water. i rapped the jug once and twisted the wire untill it couldnt be twisted anymore on the outside of the pen. my mom comes home every day at lunch and the other day at lunch she noticed the jug had been nocked off and the wire was in the pen. i had the wire tight enough that i couldnt even move the jug itself. also she noticed the pen had been moved so that the whole north side of the pen was off the concrete. the pup has been real skittish for the last 3 days she wouldnt even hardly go near the pen for 2 days and has actually nipped at me twice. i wasnt even dissaplining her i was just goin to pet her. i honestly dont know whats wrong with her but she hasnt been her self and im scared to death someone messed with her and somethin is wrong. do you guys honestly think she could have moved that pen and some how worked that jug loose????? Or do you think someone has messed with her and the pen and spooked her bad????? Im gonna try and get her in the vet this weekend.

[kingkilla]

i dont think that she could of moved it. i have 2 golden retrievers and they dont have that much power to do something like that. if someone messed with my dogs they better be scared for there life. cause next time they came around they would be lookin at the barrel of my gun. not even kidding.

[Mark Spence]

Steve....get yourself a couple trail cameras or a video camera you can mount somewhere nearby. My guess is that you are right that someone or something messed with her...you live in the country or the city??? People, coyotes, other dogs, but more than likely some punk ass kids teasing her and poking at her.

I would keep putting her in the pen...she has to overcome the fear. The whole nipping thing...you need to fix that NOW. No matter what, she needs to understand that that does NOT happen.

Get those cameras up and catch the little pricks....

hey, i really think somone or something must have been messing with her. If you had that tied down so tight, i really dont see how she could get it loose. and from the way she is acting, she is definatly scared of something. i agree though, set up some trail cameras to see whats going on. if you catch the bastards that did it i think you know what to do.... :twisted:

[SMOKE]

spence i live in a small town around 3000 people maybe countin dogs and cats lol. how do i discipline her against the nippin at my hands? i think im gonna borrow one of my friends game cams and see what turns up. im takin her to the vet in the morning so hopefully ill get somethin figured out. and if i do catch someone messin with her i feel sorry for them :evil:

[HRK]

i agree something messed with her. the nipping maybe shes trying to defend herself , most likely if it happend during the day it was another dog! , work on the nipping with lots of care ,you may have to regain dominance (alfa male) wont tell ya on the forum dont want everyone fallin of there chairs laffin but this does work, had to do this to my 3 1/2 old male couple weeks ago after a small problem, PM me and i will let ya know, hope everything works out let us know glad to help

[SMOKE]

well guys took her to the vet today and all checked out ok. vet didnt think she had been poisoned since she wasnt vomiting or bleeding out. put her in the pen all afternoon and came out and ill be damned if the northwest corner wasnt off the concrete again and she was diggin in the dirt. so i dunno if she or someone messed with the pen again. im guessin now its the dog. shes up to a 56 pounds at 6.5 months and when i finally get the new pics up u will see she dont have much fat on her.

[HRK]

smoke
hows everthing with your pup ? is it calmind down and did my advise help? :roll:

[mlgorecki]

Smoke,

Your problem is obviously two-fold: 1) who's doing it, and 2) how to fix it.

It would take a pretty twisted human to mess with a Lab puppy. I'm sure you've already assessed your neighborhood in terms of possible suspects.

Based on your last post, it seems your pup is the culprit. I would figure out a way to anchor the pen to the slab, especially since she'll be getting bigger and stronger.

I have another opinion; however, regarding dogs and where they should be kept. That whole, "The dog has to live outside in order to be a good hunting dog", is a crock of ****. Richard Wolter, author of "Water Dog" and "Game Dog", says, "The guy who said that undoubtedly had a wife who hated his dog and probably him too".

Scout stays in the house with us; yes he's spoiled, but last year, I had him out for 8 hours in single digits, making multiple retreives in 33 degree river water (can't get any colder than 32). In terms of harsh weather and water, I'd put him up against ANY dog that's kept outside.

[Duck Hunter Paul]

Matt and Scout

No truer words have ever been spoken on this site.
A Dog wants to be more than just an animal, they will do anything for you if they are treated right. I bet that the best retrievers are spoiled rotten.
I can't speak for any other breeds, but the Lab lives to please. The guys that are leaving there hunting dogs outside and only getting them out to go hunting are missing out on what having a dog really means. If your not really interested in having an animal for a friend then get a cat, cats could care less. Just my .02 worth.

[SMOKE]

yeah guys shes back to her normal self. hasnt snapped at me since those two times so i havent had to use your tip but if she ever does im sure ill use it.

lucy isnt outside all the time. we usually only put her out when we are gone or sleeping and then even some nights she gets to sleep in the house. we put her outside durin the day while were gone because we live right next to the grade school and she always watches the kids play. my mom brings her in at lunch while shes home and i bring her in when i get home around 5 and then shes in till i put her back out around 10. ill usually take her on a walk at night or over to our high school practice field and throw the dokken or bumpers around with her for a while. but she has deffinately gotten back to her normal self. im gonna anchor the pen to the concrete. thanks for all the tips guys.

[mlgorecki]

Glad to hear she's back to normal.

Our season (north zone, IL) starts the day after tomorrow and I'm going crazy right now.

[ia_young_gun]

same here :D

[HRK]

yep mines spoiled rotten, sleeps next to me a night,lays on my feet at the couch when were watchin tv , goes with me or the wife everywhere , stays in the AC when its hot , PS gets more attention than the wife :D and listens better than her

[SMOKE]

yeah im with all u guys bouncin off the walls as well. im goin along on the youth hunt this weekend which will probably make it worse lol. the camo couch i have in my room lucy has clamed as her bed when she sleeps inside. shes worked herself a spot that she fits in perfect. roll of film is gettin developed this weekend so i should have some pics of her.

[mlgorecki]

Here's a current picture of Scout. He's 93 pounds:

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n265/mlgorecki/Scoutriver.jpg

[ia_young_gun]

yeah im with all u guys bouncin off the walls as well. im goin along on the youth hunt this weekend which will probably make it worse lol. the camo couch i have in my room lucy has clamed as her bed when she sleeps inside. shes worked herself a spot that she fits in perfect. roll of film is gettin developed this weekend so i should have some pics of her.

Ouch man, another week before the 2nd opener for you? Ours is this weekend, I got to hunt my last youth hunt 2 weeks ago.

[SMOKE]

we open up on the 28th here in the illinois central. it should be good we were out there 2 nights ago puttin out decoys and ihave never seen so many ducks. the sky was just black with ducks. lucky kids :?

[DropEmInDE]

this is my first experience with a hunting dog so my advice prolly isnt as strong as many other people on here that have had fowl dogs for years, i got mine, ( Sasha ) at the End of January she was 3 months and a little over 40lbs, shes a black lab mix, but she looks VERY much like a lab, shes not the biggest dog in the world, but what she lacks in size she makes up for in Energy, i was really worried cause when i got her she slept allll the time, but when she was awake, talk about a fireball....well shes almost a year now, and shes still not as big as i would like, but she listens very well, she got her E-collar at 7 months and lemme tell you all her bad habits dissapeared....so i know one thing, and E-collar is the way to go....shes never formally been trained but i had her around geese and sucks all summer on the local pond i hunt, she never made a sound, she doesnt even bark when someone knocks on the door, ive been takeing her to the Skeet range with me when i go to shoot my bow, and to my surprise she sleeps with a BArage of gun shots going off, so i know shes not gunshy at all....damn this got long, umm im gonna wrap up with a few pictures, i just wanted to agree with eveyone....she sleeps in the house, and for the most part is in bed with me most of the night, and the only problem i have with her is finding leg room at the end of the bed, shes also in a kennel in my room when no one is home, which i think is a big help when it comes to keeping her focused, but boi you should see her bounce off the walls when i break out her Dokken.....she loves her duck, and i cant wait to get her in the fields this year on some big DE honkers.... i wanted to add a couple pics, and get some opinions on if everyone thinks.......if shes looks labby enough.....
http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r223/spinitfast/sashalittle.jpg
littleone
http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r223/spinitfast/boneonnose.jpgwaiting patiently
http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r223/spinitfast/HPIM0262.jpgcant wait to get in the field
http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r223/spinitfast/sashalanyard2.jpglast night
http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r223/spinitfast/sashastick.jpggot the hold thing down pat

....sorry i didnt mean to make it so big.....

[mlgorecki]

She looks like a Lab to me.

If she has heart, not gun-shy, obediant and retreives for you, then she's ready.

This will be Scout's 2nd season.

Good luck.

[SMOKE]

both you guys got good lookin dogs. i cant wait to start huntin with lucy. she goes to the trainer sometime around march.

[HRK]

if it is mixed id say it held the lab genes , generaly you can tell by the paws, head ears, nose, as for the size i have some buddies who have pure breds in that weight class , hey if it hunts who cares , good lookin dog

[HRK]

here's a picture of hunter he's 97lbs

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q163/akchunter/c7a36c39.jpg

[HRK]

last years 5th day early season morning limit

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q163/akchunter/0a785b3a.jpg