Thinking of gettting a Labrador...

[selee]

Would be grateful for any advice, we are thinking of buying a labrador puppy. But we are new to all of this so would love to hear of advantages/disadvantages, help on where to look, breeders/rescue/ etc etc.
We are in the early stages of planning so am open to hear other views!
We live in a coastal area with an average sized house (I imagine!) which a fairly large garden. I am a sahm to two toddler boys (age 1.5 and 2.5). Looking for a family/child friendly animal of course!
Thanks.

I have a lab - working bred, black - and a superstar

Excellent choice!

Ours loves kids - but does need a huge amount of exercise - he is out for about 4 hours each day (1 hr in morning, 2hrs middle of day and 1 hr on lead in evening) but he is very fit - and you don't quite need that much

would agree with staying away from show bred.. Also watch the chocolate ones - is harder to get a well bred dog that is choc. Although Grangemead Labradors in the midlands do breed stunning working choc dogs (google for their website). I would go for black tho - they easiest/ best

Thanks everyone. I have taken on board all the posts and opinions - great to read. Interesting about the working / show type labs - Where do you look for working labs, just wondering. Thanks!

Can I make a suggestion?

Try a rescue. They do have alot of dogs needing homes and they're all assessed. Desite what you may have heard they will rehome to places with children as long as the dog has been assessed with children in the first place.

Try here you'll need to register. If you decide not to rescue then they will give you alot of advice anyway.

For a working lab try here: www.ukgundogs.org/

or look for KC reg puppies on the Kennel Club website and ring up breeders - ask lots of questions! Use the internet to research breeders of working gundogs. What general area are you? County? I know a few breeders.

Just wanted to say that there are reputable show breeders too, who do all the health screening. There is a clause in my pup's sale contract which says none of his offspring can be KC reg until he has been hip scored satisfactorily.

Similarly, there are working labs out there with bad or non-existent hip scores, so don't assume a working lab is automatically healthier.

I chose a show-bred lab because I like the type, the breeder is very genuine and, even though I am surrounded by working labs, none of them had been hip or elbow scored.

Whatever you choose, make sure all the health screening is satisfactory and that the pup are not hte result of inbreeding.

Good luck.

bella29 I agree - alot of working dogs are not KC reg or bred with health checks. Mine is and i would always pick a dog that has had health screened parents.

I chose working because I prefer the look and the temprament - but show labs are also nice.

We got our yellow lab 5 years ago from a breeder I found on the KC website. She is so lovely and has the most fantastic temperament, very placid and not bothered by anything. She is wonderful with the dc's, they were 3 and 4 when we got her and we have a toddler now too, she has never ever shown any aggression towards anything.

The only problem I have with her is the hair, it's everywhere adn it's constant, I've never known a dog to shed so much! So you should think about that if it would bother you.
She definitely wouldn't win any show awards, her coat is very feathery and she seems to have longer legs than other labs I've seen in pictures, but that doesn't bother me as we didn't get a dog to show it or for what it looks like.

We saw the mum when we got her and she had a very placid temperament too, also the lady had children and they were handling the puppies, picking them up ect, so we felt that the puppies would be very used to kids.

She never chewed the furniture, but she did eat the plaster on the wall! We had a big hole in the corner of the wall but she grew out of that and doesn't do it any more!
She was very easy to train and is very obedient, but you do have to train them well, or they will be all over the place doing what they want!

But I dn't think you can get a better family dog.

Also, she had the eye and hip scores so that's something you should look out for.
But she has allergies (though I'm sur eit's not a lab thing any dog can get them), and is on steroids for it adn she also gets a lot of ear infections but you have that risk with any dog really.

Ivegotaheadache have you ever tried this:

ear cleaner

Is excellent! Have heard labs can be prone to ear probs. mine is ok tho - just used this a couple of time when he was a puppy as he was shaking ears about and it sorted the problem at the time. Have had vet check ears since and no issues.

Glad you agree, iggypiggy - I was getting a teeny bit touchy at all the suggestions that because my lab is from a show background he is not intelligent or healthy

Also worth mentioning that, while I do keep banging on about hip scores, only 30% of hip dysplasia is hereditary - the other 70% is down to diet and exercise. The most important thing is not to over-exercise your pup while his bones are still growing, and feed him a specialist diet which will promote slow steady growth.

Over and out, people!

Thanks all - really appreciate your thoughts on your dogs, I will look into all avenues, working and show, I know labs are so lovely, working background or show background, they both need the same checks. All your dogs sound gorgeous! I live near Southampton btw. Thanks again for all the tips!

That's very nice of you, Selee

Puppy is doing the Times crossword now, having cracked the Sudoku, but says he is not trying to prove a point...

...just don't call him stupid:

here

And this looks exactly like my lovely boy:

here

Very handsome dog!
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