Do you need a big garden for a Labrador?

[crossedwires]

Just considering breeds and we favour the Retriever breeds for temperament, trainability and to fit with our famiy dynamic but we don't have a large garden. It is a reasonable size, fully fenced in with lawn and decking but it is certainly not large. Would this be alright? Also, is it feasible to look after a dog as a lone parent? My children are both at school so no toddlers to take care of, but is it really do-able on your own? i don't work and have no commitments outside of normal family stuff. I could, in reality, organise my life around a dog's requirements but is it as easy as all that. We would want a puppy (from a rescue or otherwise).

BonAppetit - poor dog. I intend to research breeders too so hopefully that problem shouldn't raise its head. I hope you had insurance!

Moserver - I love your name!! How funny . I absolutely adore labradors. I'd get a golden retriever but they are soooo expensive . I am down on a waiting list for a failed guide dog too but not quite sure about how that would work given that you would get the dog at around 14-18 months of age. I assume that they would fit in quite easily? I'm guessing that the guid Dog association would homecheck me and if they were in an doubt about the garden size they would tell me anyway. It is not small by any means but you couldn't play football in it either!

mopswerver not moserver!

I've got an 8 month old chocolate lab and a 3 month old baby and he's brilliant. He walks alongside the pram with me while I'm on my own and then when my husband gets home from work he gets an off lead walk across the fields near our house.

Our garden isn't that big but he's happy to mooch about or sunbathe in-between walks.

The walks are more important that garden - I have a 2 y old lab and yesterday we were out for 2 hours in the morning , today I worked (from home) and we had an hour this morning - all before it gets too hot .

Although I have a DH and it was very much a joint decision to have a dog, realistically , I am solely responsibly - DH works long hours and is away alot and even at weekends its either me with the dog or all of us a family.

Be prepared for holes to be dug in your garden !

Brilliant! feel so much happier now! I think i had better start looking for breeders. Oh dear, holes? I have just had the lawn returfed! . Do they really dig? Wonder if you can train them to dig in one place?

they sound far lazier than I had thought them to be

IN fairness to her she did it when a puppy - but if you get a bitch your lawn will yellow after time when shes wees unless to run out after her and pour lots of water on it ! and when ours poos she has a tendency to kick her back legs up after her therefore 'scratching' the lawn - you could train her how to do it all in one area of the garden though !

No, having a big garden for labs/retrievers is seriously overrated.
They are lazy buggers once they get past the puppy stage.
As soon as they get walkies they are perfectly fine.

as long

A labrador is a lovely breed temperament wise but they are a working breed with powerful nose an intelligent brain connected to it and a body that is designed to go all day without stopping.

I don't think you can you honestly keep up with that as a single parent unless you have a real outdoor lifestyle or are prapred to do hours and hours of walking and obdience training. I would pick a smaller non working breed.

Oh absolutely, long walks are required.

Morebeta - do you realy think so? I could easily manage one good long walk per day plus a couple of other smaller trips out. It was my intention to train dog on my own. Surely this would be manageable? Or don't you think so?

MoreBeta - labs are one of the most popular family dogs, perhaps because they are so adaptable. Just my opinion but I think labs can can be happy and healthy with just a single 1-2 hour walk a day as long as they can be involved in family life the rest of the time. I often see a gorgeous black lab, slim and muscular, who is 14 years old and runs and plays like a puppy and its never had more than an hour's walk a day. Perhaps it all depends on the individual dog and its particular make up of working/show genes?

I see no reason why a single paren's ability to have a lab who has the time during the day is any different from a SAHM ,with school age children, whose DH works long hours or is away from home, or a widow .( have got to know a lovely lady on my walks who also has a young lab but her DH sadly passed away a few years ago.

The dog training classes I attended were in day time hours when my children were at school.

I really dont see it as a problem OP. I think a lab will be great company for you.

I dont get why a single parent couldnt keep up with a Labrador or train it

Have you thought about a rescued Lab? There are plenty of Labrador Rescues around the country - not sure where you are, but there will be one able to help you I'm sure. Can give you some links if you could say roughly where you are in the country.

i am a widow

Sorry to hear that crosswired
I think a lab is lovely and they are great company.

Crosswires

Oh shit , trying to type on phone whilst lounging on sofa with my lab. Everyone out of the house !

sounds lovely sleepy!

A single Mum is more than capable of having a Labrador. Of course she is!

Yes. They can be incredibly intellegent. Yes they can run all day long and yes they can have a fabulous nose.

Working line Labradors are all bred to refine or better those characteristics and they can be bloody hard work. They are usually leggy, lean and quite fine.

A show line Labrador is bred for an entirely different set of characteristics. They are slower, usually. Thicker set and shorter in the leg. They are also often less highly strung and sometimes aren't as bright.

The two types are wildly different and I think need slightly different care.

For me, the best possible blend for a family pet is a quarter working line and three quarters show.

With regard to sex - it is pretty irrelevant tbh. Bitches CAN be more highly strung. Dogs CAN be more steady and devoted. But not always. It's much better to choose the dog who picks you out of a litter, regardless of sex.

Neutering, IMO should always be done once a dog is fully physically mature.

Most of it is down to the individual dog tbh. I have 4 working labs and each of them couldn't be more different.

It's the coolest place in the house for her ! And once she has had her evening meal she won't move from there until we go to bed !

If you genuinely feel you can give the dog 1 - 2 hr walk every day without fail and activley engage with it in training then buying a 'show' lab might work. Getting a hardcore working lab, especially if it is a rescue dog - I really just wouldn't.

There are 'fat labs' live near me just go a for a few short walks everyday for toilet and then back indoors. Just seems wrong.

I wouldn't recommend anyone get a hard core working or trial bred lab as a family pet. Single parent or otherwise. And especially not as a first dog.