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…

Here to enjoy the adorable pics 😁

Gorgeous!

My DC has just been approved for a lab assistance dog with a wonderful charity called Dogs for Good - we're just waiting to be matched with a suitable dog and this thread has made me even more excited!

Shame to miss the pup days as they come to us fully trained at about 18 months - 2 years but also a bonus to know they've had the best training from the beginning and no doubts about background I suppose!

OP hope you enjoy your new lab too...

We just got a lab staffie cross puppy, such a gorgeous happy girl she loves everyone she meets when we take her on walks.

More lab puppy pics for those not quite sure

They're not at all cuddly..

Hope this helps 😁

Don’t do it!

You’ve said you probably couldn’t afford big vets bills. you already have a dog so there’s already a risk of those bills. You have three teens: super expensive!

those things make a purchase unwise IMO!

No doubt they’re beautiful, but they’re a pain in the arse! And they seem to smell more than most other dogs. I think it would be a lot to handle alongside your existing canine friends. Don’t do it!

Although when you do get one, which we all know is inevitable, please come back and show us a photo 😄

Oh wait, you meant human teenagers not dogs? I initially read it as elderly dogs!

Can you imagine?! 😂 No, just three smelly, expensive teenage humans.

As well as the GORGEOUS doggo pics people have shared (@Spudlet was that after an expensive vet trip?) this thread has given me a lot to think about, beyond the cuddles and cuteness.

The need is still strong, but I’m no longer about to do anything rash. But I promise to come
back with pics when I find the right pup!
🦮🦮🦮🦮🦮🦮🦮🦮

No no. That was after TWO expensive vet trips. He ate the big rock in the pic, had surgery it remove it, then two weeks later when I allowed him to be off lead in the garden for the first time, he ate the little one. Except I didn’t see how small it was, so that ended up being another vets trip for a general anaesthetic and endoscopy to try and remove it. 😳🙈

He’s now 12 months old and we still have to wrestle the occasional pebble off him…

Our Chocolate Lab is 10 months old and HUGE!
He has given me an inflamed ligament in my arm from pulling on the lead, he has destroyed 3 remote controls, he went through a phase of eating his own poo, he doesn’t like being left for very long so I’m basically housebound during the week, he likes to go for his first wee at 5am, his recall is still VERY much a work in progress.

But we love him and can’t ever imagine being without him.

He has the most gorgeous personality - extremely friendly with all dogs and humans, super cuddly, quick to learn, cheeky, loyal and rarely barks.

Sorry......he’s perfect 😍

😳😳I guess the rocks are coming out one way or another.

@BaconAndAvocado You realise that sounds like Stockholm Syndrome but by a dog? He has you under his spell! 🥰

StroppyTop you are 100% correct 😂

Don't do it.
Unless you're not bothered about dog hair everywhere, (even in the dishwasher), despite vacuuming twice a day. Farty smells permeating the house after eating fox poo, rotting animals etc on walks. A dog that's always hungry and thinking about food. Puddles of drool on the floor.
My 12 year old lab died very suddenly last week. Despite all the work and the worry and the mess I'd have him back with me in a heartbeat.
He was such a character, so funny and entertaining, made me laugh every day.

Sorry for your loss.💐
Our lab did exactly the same a year ago, died unexpected, 11yo. Still not over her. House feels empty.

Our lovely Luce.

If you already have a whippet then why not get a greyhound ( ex racer rescue)

You can convince yourself that Labs are just Fat Greyhounds

My parents had a retired Guide Dog yellow lab for the last few years of her life ( they knew her most of her life through her owner)
Even an Ex Guide Dog will ignore their "Leave It" command when there's an opportunistist biscuit dropped on the floor !

Thanks JPduck
This is my lovely boy on his sofa a few days before he died. The sofa should have been condemned years ago but he refused to sleep on any dog bed we bought for him.

Actually look again . The prices have MASSIVELY come down .

I was looking yesterday

@JPduck @DorchaAndLouis Thank you for the photos of your beautiful dogs. I’m
so sorry for your loss.

The thought of extra cleaning does put me off though, that’s true. But your love for them comes shining through in the next sentence! 🥰

@70isaLimitNotaTarget If we didn’t have cats I would have a retired greyhound in a flash. My whippet always recognises other pointy dogs on walks, sometimes from a huge distance - it’s uncanny.

I’m actually in touch with a lab rescue so watch this space…

I have one. I was very careful when looking for him, looked for a mum with a calm, biddable temperament as well as both parents having all the usual, essential health sign offs and the home ‘feeling’ right. He was still a little loon for the first couple of years, it’s just the lab puppy way. They’re big, daft babies for the first two years. He’s fab now though. Loving, playful and silly but also calm and sweet when at home. He is clumsy as anything though.

My DH is desperate for another one (tbh he’d hoard them) but it’d mean changing practical things like getting a bigger car and that’s a no from me. Plus, the idea of going back to the puppy years is not fun for me. Labs are little croco-pups. Cute as anything but we spent about 4 weeks walking around the house in wellies to protect our ankles and lower legs from baby teeth.