Just curious, not a fred about a fred but this got me wondering...

[Ilovemydogandmydoglovesme]

Someone up the page was considering getting a lab pup whilst still having a baby in tow, and someone else pointed out how much bloody hard work labs can be.

So, what breed would you recommend for easy training and general day to day? I've got a spaniel, and whilst I know working dogs need a lot of work and stimulation, he's been the most laid back affable dog I've ever owned and trained. Would quite like another lab now but I think it would be a shock to the system after my lovely old boy.

What else would make a nice easy-to-train dog?

Anyone? Just me then.

IT'S THREAD NOT FRED!!!

I like fred.

Anyone got anything useful to say?

I don't think you can generalise ,it's down to the individual dog and the temperament of the people raising it . I've never found puppies / dogs hard work but then I never found babies hard work either . I do think there are an awful lot of people on MN who get very stressed about everything ,I'm a very laid back person . ( I put it down to years of owning dysfunctional horses) .

Eric's a poodle cross shih tzu and whilst I wouldn't call him laid back (He's always up to mischief) he picks things up with very little effort on either side. He's clever, seems to understand so many commands without much training, definitely has an idea of time and the days of the week, loves human company but isn't in the least bit bothered when left alone, quite happy to sleep at my feet but equally happy to rough it on the peaks, loves to get dirty and wet even if he does look like a pampered lap dog on the odd occasion when he's clean and dry..

Its funny. When my friend got a springer I was and advised her against it as it was their first dog. I have to eat my words because is so laid back and easy going. Labradors in my experience are easy dogs to train and pretty laid back. ANY puppy is hard work tbh and id be inclined to go for an older rescue dog. What breedcwould I have next? Anything but a JRT (I currently have two)!!!!!!

It's not that labs are hard...it's that puppies are, well, manic, lol, and as a general rule of thumb the larger the breed the longer they are puppies for and because they're larger, they're still behaving like a puppy while they're pretty big. So things like mouthing are being done by something that's already small dog sized and not tiny.

Labs are also a bit more active than people think they are as well.

But they're not a hard breed to train and exercised ok they should be pretty calm in the house, once they're not puppies.

Well I have to say I'd always had the impression that labs were one of the easiest breeds to train. Then I kept reading on here that actually they could be bloody hard work. I think it's true that it depends on the dog and that some people really stress themselves unnecessarily. I've got a friend currently training her second lab puppy and she talks about it all the time because she's a bit strung out by it all. I don't think the dog is too bad at all. And then I always think well guide dogs wouldn't predominately be labs if they were that bad. But then you get ones that fail the grade so I guess it's a bit pot luck. Just like the owners.