Highlow Labradors

11/16/2022

Happy 2nd Birthday to our "Designer" Litter: Biscuit, Kala, Addy, Stella, Jeff, Molly and River.

07/31/2022

Happy 1st Birthday to the boys from our "Guns" litter!

03/06/2022

Due to no fault of his own, Billy is looking for a new home. He is 7 months old and is good with other dogs and kids, crate trained, and up to date on vaccines. Please send me a message if you would be interested in adding him to your family.

01/31/2022

Happy 6 months to the "Guns" litter! Here are some new photos of the boys, they have grown so fast!

09/19/2021

The boys are getting so big, only 1 week left before they go to their forever homes 🥺💕🏡

09/18/2021

A good read...

Don’t Over Socialise Your Dog…

We often have this perception of Socialising as letting our dog, play with as many dogs as possible at a young age so it’s friendly.

This is actually probably the biggest (unspoken) mistake we make as pet owners.

Play is just a very small part and probably the least important part of socialising.

First we must teach dogs to ignore dogs, using leads, rewarding them for breaks in focus from other dogs, teaching them, YOU are way more fun then other dogs.

Creating breed fulfilment is a great relationship builder and great to use whilst dogs are in the background.

For example: fetch with a retriever, scent games with a spaniel, tug of war with a terrier or flirt pole etc… you be the one who starts and stops it.

Next part of socialising with dogs is to teach them to be calm and well mannered. Find a club, pack walk or a friend and go for a walk, make sure these are on lead and calm.

If the dogs are compatible let them meet for a brief second, face to ass, not face to face and keep it to a 3 second rule.

Remember Quality is far more important then quantity when it comes to socialising with dogs.

Remember dogs need to first be exposed to well mannered and calm dogs, this is often why (unless run properly) we don’t advise puppy classes.

Remember if your dog is knocked over, jumped on, bullied at a young age, because you think they just need to learn and get on with it or you can’t read play, this will leave a very negative, long lasting imprint on them and usually around the 6-12month mark, reactivity is born and/or extreme fear as a result.

As a rule I never let my dogs play with strange dogs, especially if they come running across the feild as the owner screams “it’s ok he is friendly” this means they have no control, they haven’t taught a basic recall, don’t understand that not all dogs are compatible and therefore you can bet your bottom dollar, they won’t be able to read body language or stop a dog fight if it happens, so why would I ever expose my dog to that, it’s asking for trouble.

Let your dogs play with dogs you know are trained, responsive and compatible with your dogs.

Don’t forget, socialising with dogs is only part of socialising, humans next then we will tackle environmental socialising, stay tuned…

09/14/2021

We are a few days late with the 6 week old pictures but here they are!

09/12/2021

THIS IS A PSA

Puppies bite. They bite a lot. They bite hard. Their teeth are sharp. You might bleed. It might seem relentless.

Scaring the pants off them by yelling, pinning, shoving or shouting will not only do precisely zero, it will potentially create a fearful adult dog.

Puppies bite more when;
They are tired
They are hungry
They are bored
They are overstimulated
They are teething

Read that again. They bite MORE when they are the above. They will also bite when they are absolutely fine. They are dogs not dolls.

Be compassionate not scary. They will grow out of it but only if you teach them a good alternative. Trade for toys. Use a pen or a crate. Teach calmness. Reward gentle interactions. Grit your own teeth and ride it out while reinforcing good stuff and proactively managing bad stuff.

Be proactive when you know biting happens like after some play, when excitement goes up, when they are overtired (7-9pm witching hour anyone?) and give them a good chew or help them settle, or channel that energy into some training.

It does get better basically. Don’t panic. Most puppy biting isn’t aggression. Be CONSISTENT and PROACTIVE and expect more than a few bites along the way.

Signed,
Aalto the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever (aka the ginger shark)

09/11/2021

Some pictures of the boys outside

09/05/2021

The boys are now 5 weeks old!

08/31/2021

The boys at 4 weeks old

08/26/2021

Isn’t it?! 🐶🐾❤️

SHOW US YOUR PUPPERS! 📸👇🏼

08/25/2021

The boys today

08/17/2021

We have eyes!

08/17/2021

One of our past puppies

A welcoming wave from Addy! Come see us today, open 10am-7pm!

08/13/2021

Our current litter

05/25/2021