Tell me to stop looking at Labrador puppies

[StroppyTop]

I really, really want a Labrador at some point in my life and the urge is currently very strong.

I already have a 7yo whippet and 3 teenagers and life is good, all on an even keel, manageable, great.

But I have such a hankering for a lab! I work from
home, have time for good walks and playing, probably can’t afford huge vet bills but could afford to feed/flea/vaccinate another dog.

Tell me your dreadful puppy stories and nightmare lab tales…

Loves the kids leftovers and never a crumb left on the kitchen floor either.

I was convinced crumbs on the floor would be a thing of the past but I've ended up with a fussy one, who quite enjoys food but isn't going to hoover up every last crumb. She doesn't shed much though so we won on that front.

Here she is demanding I pay her some intention. She also likes to hit me with her paws and steal things if she feels she's not getting the attention she deserves. If she steals something and you don't immediately go and try and retrieve it she'll come back and parade with it!

Compared to your whippet.....

Hair. Hair everywhere. Hair splinters in your feet (if you walk around bare footed like me).

Drool.

Food obsessed. Will eat anything and everything including the plaster on the wall in our spare bedroom and the fire place surround.

Having said that he's also super friendly, thinks he's human, great at cuddles when I'm upset, really intuitive emotionally. Love my lab and he's going to be 10 years old soon. Will miss him when he's gone.

You REALLY shouldn’t get a Labrador puppy! Once you’ve got one, they just multiply.

@ApolloandDaphne she is beautiful 😍 Tell her she’s a very good girl from me.

Get a lab, get a robot vacuum cleaner= problem solved!

@tizwozliz a sneak thief show off 🤣 She looks adorable. It’s the emotional intelligence that my whippet is missing (although he is a very good boy in other ways). And I want a cuddler! (May be related to having teens who no longer accept cuddles).

@Difficultdora Are they yours? Oh my word! 😍😍

@LadyCatStark THIS! The whippet is v picky and does not clean up the kitchen floor. Gorgeous doggo!

Ok, how does one go about finding a good breeder IN THEORY?

@applewhitenights Hair splinters?! 😱 And is yours very drooly? I knew someone with mastiffs and danes and the drool totally grossed me out.

They’ll eat your knackered sofa!

Reading this with our beautiful two year old black lab at my side. And today we have been for a lovely walk by the river, to the dog friendly cafe, and a trip to my 90 year old gran's (who he loves). Get the labrador!!!! Best dogs in the world.

My first guide dog was a yellow lab, and my current one is a black lab.

woman at the hospital said to me last week “he looks up at you with such adoration.

We had one when I was a kid. He was the soppiest dog ever and used to go everywhere with us. This was back in the late 70s when we had loads more freedom than kids do now. We were pretty much allowed to do what we wanted as long as we took the dog for protection 😂

However as a pup he ate/destroyed the back door, several cooker handles, an entire shelf of books, made a hole in the wall between the kitchen and dining room and made my younger sister cry on a regular basis by biting her feet!

@StroppyTop Now my kitchen looks like this, they just multiply when my husbands not looking

Not massively drooly but if he's sitting watching you eat, there will be some impressive drool fangs.

Also will jump in any water near by or mud puddle or fox poop.

I would go onto ChampDogs site to look for a breeder, or maybe (as a poster in another thread a while back recommended) look up people who did well in the Lab category at Crufts and you can probably find their site on FB or ChampDogs or somewhere else. That should get you going in a pretty good direction...

No doubt they will have waiting lists, but you don't want one soon, do you? 😄

Chewing until he was about 18 months (no flip flops left in the house now), food obsessed and fur everywhere. Also prone to liberally coating himself in fox/goose poo.

But that's a small price to pay for a loving, bonkers, loyal best friend. Now he's my co-worker at home and regularly reminds me to take breaks.

And he gets on with all the dogs locally. Submissive at first, then he warms up to them and gets the zoomies.

Oh, and he smiles by turning his ears backwards. Makes me laugh every time.

But no, you don't want one...

(and no, don't get a lab. Get a Golden - they are the world's best dogs!)

Our lab came from a breeder we found on Champdogs. We spoke to three, all were acceptable on paper in terms of hip and elbow scores, breeding coefficient and various health screens, genetic tests (there seemed to be plenty of litters on champdogs that only had partial health tests). Clicked with one, met the litter at 4 weeks, she agreed we could have a pup and we agreed that we wanted one and the rest is history. We were only interested in working labs, there might be other considerations if you were after a show type.

Just popped back here from Champdogs so it would appear I’m on the right lines. 😄

I actually have tears in my eyes from the sight of those three looking up at you @Difficultdora and the thought of how your dog gazes up at you @AlternativePerspective 😭

How much exercise do yours all need to be content and fairly worn out? And do they need lots of ‘work’ like training and stimulation so
they don’t get bored and chew etc?

@tizwozliz I was thinking working too. They’re a bit smaller, is that right? Not as chunky.

Do you like show or working lines?
If you do decide to get a pup you must find out what health tests parents need pre breeding. Eg hips.
Good breeders don’t have loads of dogs or frequently breed litters. My girls both came from breeders who had litters as they wanted the next generation.
Its buyer beware really.

My black lab Stud would only poo in nettles while making groaning noises which was rather unique and he also liked to carry a plastic petrol can on walks. One of my bitches liked to collect windfall apples and create stylish displays with them (she didn't eat them).

Labs are a joy.

😂

@Wolfiefan Working I think. Thanks for the good advice .