To ask whether a working bloodline labrador is suitable for my family?

[Lucyquack]

It’s me, DH, dd16 and dd10 in a Victorian terraced house in SE London. 1 minute away from a park and 10 from 2 other very large ones as well as a 10 minute drive from a woods. Dh’s friend is having a litter of lab puppies from a working bloodline and seeing as we’ve been wanting a lab for a long time we thought this would be a good opportunity but don’t know whether a show Labrador would be more appropriate for us?

Have your read Marley and me?

How often a day would you walk it?

mardyarabella can do two or three times a day

And not read but have watched the film

Will there be someone at home for all or most of the day?

You should only take it on if you’ve got the time and inclination to do justice by it.
You should probably be at home with it for (at least) the first 2 weeks, it needs proper training , at least 2 walks a day, one being a good long run.

But do any of you know of a difference in energy levels between labs with a working bloodline and those without?

I have a working dog as a pet and it works well although you need to ensure commitment is there for walks and other stimulation, eg. agility, flyball. I returned to work and engaged a walker at the cost of £50/ week so you do need to ensure you are prepared.

I loved my lab so much. Such great dogs. He was a working dog but be warned they get bored very easily! He ate everything. Posted on earlier thread about this but he managed to eat a head sized hole in a wall along with many other things! Done the wall in the whole hour he was left alone in the house

Essentially a working dog will require extra stimulation. Must have significant amount of off lead exercise and significant mental stimulation. If in doubt don’t do it.

We have a lab from gun stock and she’s fine. Bomb proof as you can imagine and happy with anything. Clever little fucker though and was the devil dog as a pup! She worked out how to open the rabbit’s cage and used to lift her out to play all the time-didn’t hurt her though I hasten to add.

Working strain labs are incredibly energetic and if mine are anything to go by become bored and frustrated if they don't get enough exercise, and work, including swimming, retrieving games, odedience games, etc. They look different from the chunky show strain labs, more like the “game finding athletes” they are.
In a survey undertaken by the Kennel Club, working labs were given higher ratings for trainability, fetching, and attention seeking than show dogs and pets. They were also rated as less likely to bark, less fearful of loud noises, and less likely to have unusual behaviours.
The show labs were rated as less fearful of humans, objects and noise, less aggressive to people who are not the owner, and less agitated when ignored.
This is somewhat borne out by my two. They don't particularly like children and are mostly indifferent to people they meet, and they actively enjoy watching neighbours' fireworks. But they do bark when guarding the house. They also love a cuddle, the big softies

We have a working bloodline lab and she is the most amazing family pet. She is very affectionate, loves the kids, would play all day. She is well behaved and was pretty easy to train. She is full of beans though and needs plenty of exercise and attention.

We crate trained ours so whenever she was alone she went in the crate. I work from home so it was never for long but it stopped her from destroying the house!

I knew a show Lab and a working lab, both in the same family. The differences I remember were the show lab was a complete doofus; bigger, dafter and more affectionate than the working lab who was thinner, more finely built and seemed a lot quicker, aware and more agile. Both loved a good, long walk but show lab was very into the people and other dogs he met, working lab was into chasing and retrieving balls and thundering off into the forest where we could hear her crashing and snuffling around, she wasn’t massively fussed about people or socialising, not a nasty dog by any means but totally preferring her owner. Dogs are all different though so maybe just totally different personalities with little to do with what strain they were. That said I have walked working and show cockers too and noticed similar differences.

We have a Labrador (22 months old) from working lines. Both his parents are award winning working dogs, (apologies for the boast, trying to add context).

He is a wonderful wonderful wonderful family pet. He's a typical Labrador- loving, kind, energetic, hungry and willing.

He has been easy to train because as a young dog he worked well for food rewards.

We trained using only positive reward methods. He was initially trained like any other family pet with basic obedience classes and tasks. He reliably sits, lies down, waits for extended periods, walks well on the lead, leaves things that he is told to and his recall is great.

We tried a bit of gun Dog training, (again positive reward based, something that we found hard to find), and wow he loved it. He would now do anything for a dummy, even forgoing treats to play fetch with it, and his favourite thing ever is gun Dog type exercises. He will not ever go shooting but that's no barrier to allowing him to enjoy similar activities.

I don't think he needs excessive amounts of exercise- he gets two short and one long walk a day. He has frequent access to a secure garden, but he doesn't actually do much other than sniff around. On occasion he has had less walks and he has been fine.

He is very relaxed in the house, and sleeps an awful lot.

We have set things up so he is very rarely alone for more than 3 hours. He goes to daycare once or twice a week, and sometimes he comes to work with me and snoozes under my desk in between tummy scratches from the team. I think he would be ok left longer, and more often but I can't help but feel he prefers company so I do make sure he's not home alone much.

The only issue we have had was a rampant sex drive. I did a lot of research and hoped not to neuter him, however he was impossibly horny and humpy to the point that it was becoming impossible. So with a heavy heart we neutered him at 17 months.

Sorry for the epic post. Our experience of a working lab has been nothing but positive. I do sometimes look at the gorgeous and more solid show lines and wonder if the extra mass causes extra joint stress- something to be avoided in Labradors as they are prone to joint issues and as such should be exercised carefully especially until they are two.

Good luck with your decision OP.

We have set things up so he is very rarely alone for more than 3 hours. He goes to daycare once or twice a week, and sometimes he comes to work with me and snoozes under my desk in between tummy scratches from the team.

We have a working Lab. The most beautiful nature and very very calm. He is a magnet for children and puppies- has been responsible for socialising half the local pups! He's a rescue and we think he's about 13. He's an absolute star

I have a working lines lab. Good points, she is very keen to please, retrieving didn't have to be taught - it was just there, highly trainable, extremely people orientated, happy to go anywhere you go and just sticks with you all the time - no recall issues.

Bad points - being so keen to please has left her a bit needy - she is always hassling for attention - she pretty much wants to be glued to you every minute of the day (yet is fine to leave alone, interestingly). Retrieving was just wired into her, but she doesn't know when to stop - she will keep going even when the weather is scorching and she's likely to get sunstroke, or if she's injured or poorly. She is highly trainable for bad things as well as good - she jumps up (which I hate) and gets on the furniture, because my DH did the wrong things when she was a pup - I can have her do almost anything, but she does almost nothing for my DH.

She was also highly active as a puppy - you couldn't wear her out. And she was constantly on the go, and destroying things. She outgrew it aged about 4 years, thankfully. Talking to other working line lab owners, it seems that they don't mature mentally fully until about this age. At points I was tearing my hair out.

She is a wonderful family dog, a great companion, soft as butter, a terrible gundog (she's gunshy!), always by my side, and immensely funny. She's not the brightest. I wouldn't change her for anything. But if someone wants a nice laid back family pet, I'd be more inclined to suggest a show lines lab - we have friends with two, and they are so different, in appearance as well as personality. For people with a busy life, I think the show lines are better. Possibly better for littlies too, as slightly less manic & boisterous. For us a working lines dog works well, as we have a smallholding, and I'm out on it a lot, so our dog gets loads of daily exercise - but kept in a small town house with just limited lead walking, I think she's be a nightmare.