Working or show line Labrador for family pet?

[Lucyquack]

Would be living in London but near 3 parks and a woods and could be walked 2-3 times a day

A good reputable breeder is the most important thing. With labs in particular look at hip scores. If it were me (we have working digs but not labs at present) I'd personally be looking for "stocky" parents as I prefer the look of stocky labs to fine ones

*dogs not digs

In my experience the working breeds are very behaved, smarter and just understand what you want/are asking them to do.
Sounds like you live in a nice location.

Labs don't require as much walking as other breeds/working breeds. Ours is happy to have just one walk a day and is quite lazy!

Labradors do need plenty of exercise - they're originally working gun dogs! I see so many overweight or unfit labs because for some reason people don't realise how slim they're actually supposed to be.

The Kennel Club recommends two hours (or more) a day when they're fully grown. Of course you can do that in just one walk if you want to but I wouldn't assume a Labrador is happy with just one short walk a day. They need to be out running about and sniffing and exploring!

As a PP said please make sure you look at hip scores and don't let your dog get overweight. Labradors are unfortunately prone to hip dysplasia and I see a lot of overweight ones limping around the place. The latest research suggests that while hip dysplasia is genetic to an extent the biggest factor is the dog being overweight and a lack of exercise.

They are quite nippy and bouncy as puppies but they're also very quick to train and I've never met one with a bad personality!

Depends how log those 2-3 walks are and whether you ca provide mental stimulation as well.
I have working line labs. I much prefer the look of them to show types BUT they require an absolute minimum of five miles a day in walking. On top of that I do dog sports with the youngest two.

Oh and for health tests you ideally want hip scores of nine or less combined (each hip has a score but they can be different, just not high), elbow scores of 0 on both sides and PRA clear (either tested or hereditary).

Some people do the hips and don't bother with elbows but IMHO these are just as important.

If you have children definately don't get a working lab.

greatorb are they not as friendly generally?

Two of my three are the soppiest dogs ever with strangers. Surprisingly the one that's nervous of strangers is the best with DS.
The soppiest one is the one we have to watch as he's least aware of his size and is most likely to knock DS over.

It's a LOT of work with kids and workers, which isn't for everyone.

Imo the working lines have much better temperaments, are smarter and far easier to train. In recent years I've noticed a tendency for show-bred labs to be needy and neurotic, while the working ones tend not to be as giddy. I never fail to be impressed by the way a working lab takes to being trained, I've seen 4-month pups doing stuff that the average dog wouldn't manage in under a year.

They all need a lot of exercise though.

Mental stimulation will be really important. Look for healthy dogs first and foremost (as possible have said) but then be totally open with the breeder about what you want - a nice family pet. Not a rocket propelled field trial bred machine! A good breeder will tell you if their dogs will suit the life you offer.

I would also look for a gundog-leaning trainer for your puppy classes - one who uses modern reward based methods, but who will help you to work with the dog's inbuilt drives and instincts. You may never ever go within a mile of a shoot but a working bred dog will want to pick things up, want to retrieve, might want to hunt a bit too. So work with that, not against it. It's good fun and the dog will love it.

Is there a reason you want a lab specifically?

Lucyquack

greatorbare they not as friendly generally?

Labradors in general, are one of the most likely breeds to bite. Working labs especially love to pick things up and carry them around in their mouths, they don't care whether that is a bird, toy or baby.

Aren't they the breed most likely to bite simply because there's so many of them?

adaline

They're bred to carry things in their mouths. A lot of "bites" from labs aren't intentional, but the resulting injuries are often the same.

I feel like I replied to this already...but maybe not. We have a working stock lab and she is the most amazing family pet. She adores children and would play all day. She is very gentle and soft. She is well behaved and was easy to train. She is full of beans and does need lots of attention and exercise. Labs are generally great family pets and the bite thing is statistical because there are so many of them. Working dogs have very gentle mouths, look up the raw egg challenge.

My labs dad was working, mum was show but that wasn't massively important to us, his hip score was good, breeders were fantastic (they were vets). Our dog is amazing, the friendliest most loving dog. We got him before we had kids, when the kids came along he was great, he adores the kids and has never as much as looked at them in a bad way! We obviously look after him and make sure the kids aren't ott with him but one dc did mange to grab some food out of his bowl once when he was eating and our lovely dog just stepped back and waited for me to intervene. Labradors are amazing

We have a lovely show lab as a family pet. Although we live fairly rurally he isn’t “worked” at all. We walk once for about 1&1/2 hours then he has access to large garden and company for most of the time. If he hasn’t played out much/didn’t meet a lab or spaniel to charge about with on his walk he will ask to play in the evening - tug of war or hunt the treat or fetch. Even the less “clever” show types are dogs that need stimulation/exercise a lot. I think the show/field differences are exaggerated, personality differences within each category are as varied in my experience.

There is a difference between mouthing and biting. With mouthy dogs it's really important to let them learn their bite when they're young. Rather than discouraging them from mouthing at at all, let them mouth you but give strong feedback when they apply too much force. Labs also need a lot of exercise and quality is just as important as quantity. Ours gets a couple of hours outdoors exercise a day (twice that at the weekends) and he spends the majority of that time running hard or swimming. If you think walking a dog should be done literally then don't get a lab.
As to children, our working lab is the ultimate nanny dog. He loves our grandkids to bits and is so gentle with them. How much of that is down to breed I wouldn't like to guess. We put a lot of time and effort into training both him and the children how to interact with each other and that is much more important than relying on any breed's alleged suitability as a family pet.