Labrador dog or bitch??

[Sunflowers765]

Lost my lovely lab bitch last month and really want another dog. We are undecided dog or bitch? DH wants another bitch but I don't want a "replacement" so though a dog might be good. Also we're going to get a working type lab but I don't want a tiny dog and some of the lab bitches seem to be so small ( like 20kg) but DH thinks dogs are more likely to be hassle with other dogs and not as trainable. Any thoughts?

I’ve always had boys and for that reason always have another boy.

to be honest I don’t think it matters

both my dog are working and one is 37 kg and the runt of the litter his son is now 35 kg they are thin and built like greyhounds but mine are huge!

I have also only ever had boys - they are easy and lovely but can’t compare to a bitch, as have never had one. I try to choose one of the quieter boys from the litter (quiet, not nervous) and this seems to work quite well in terms of not trying to be dominant - I currently have a male golden retriever and a male working lab and they have never fought each other or any other dog. I can’t compare to training a bitch, but our boy is clever and biddable.

Realised after posting that I probably shouldn’t have focused on fighting as the main hassle with other dogs - they have caused no issues with other dogs at all.

Never had labs, but I prefer dogs to bitches as a general rule.

I like bitches for their feisty independence but I think dogs are easier to train. Currently got two black dogs both very chilled. Apparently yellow/red labs are livelier than black ones but I’ve only had yellow/red bitches and black dogs!

We went back and forth a lot when deciding whether to go for a male or a female.

We ended up with a female and glad we did. She's a nice manageable size, 24.5kg perhaps a touch smaller than expected based on parents but I can still pick her up if needed.

Never have to see a 'lipstick' and secretions only have to be dealt with twice a year!

Temperament wise I think there's more variation between individuals than bitches v dogs.

On the hassle with other dogs, we've met a lot of dogs who are unfriendly towards other dogs but are fine with bitches, so may take a bit more management out on walks depending on the area you walk them. I seem to have a met a few male labs who have been attacked. It's not something I ever considered when deciding.

Gratuitous photo

I'm on my third black dog, working parents but some show breeding in his grandmother to keep the substance. I have never had any problems training any of mine and none have ever been overweight. This dog is 27kg. Beware of the very lean working type (bred for trialling) as they are not so good as family pets.

I only have boys. I had one castrated years ago and never again. I have never had a problem with my dogs with other dogs. I am finding a few more dogs are having an issue with intact males now than they used to but it is still a rare occurrence. And you can usually spot their owners a mile off, so I only let my dogs socialise with dogs that look like they are owned by sensible “doggy people” and they are usually fine.
I couldn’t be dealing with a bitch to be honest, which I’ve always found strange because when it comes to horses my preference is for mares

Advantage of girls, I never have to worry about her pissing on someone else's bag at gundog training like someone's dog did to us today!

Dunno. My sister’s girl piddles everywhere (not a lab though). Neither of my boys cock their legs very often at all - they both prefer to squat like lady dogs 😂. One has seen the vet and one hasn’t. They do often pee in the same spot though ‘J and D woz ‘ere’.

My working lab is a gorgeous boy and is totally placid and trainable.

He's a greedy dog but that's his only fault, bless him. He can eat for Britain but doesn't put on weight. He's just all muscle.

I have one of each , both black, both working types, but not related.
Female is biddable, but very independent , male is a tad stubborn but very cuddly.
Female is quite leggy, very slim; male , though bigger than her is probably mid sized.
I have no idea which I would choose if I had to pick one sex. They are very different personalities but get along beautifully.

I'm a vet and live in a very labby area. We were actually just talking about this at work today. Male black labs are infinitely more often seen by us in the following categories:
*ridiculously boisterous
*tactless with other dogs leading to issues
*downright aggressive
*eating non-food items which obstruct the intestine.
*larger and so more severely affected by the inevitable old-age arthritis.

I would always choose a bitch and would prefer yellow.

Out of curiosity, do you think the first three issues, are due to traits of the breed, or poor training?

We’re in the process of getting a black lab (seeing the puppies soon, so excited!) and was planning on getting a male lab, as I understood they were easier.

Isn't the majority of that down to training and food management by the owners as opposed to coat colour though?

All that black labs I know are absolutely nothing like that.

Riverlee, personally I would say its training. I'm on my 3rd male black lab all from working stock, I have never had a problem with boisterous behaviour, aggressiveness and them being tactless around other dogs. I have found that if you are after a certain trait in a dog like steadiness/calmness then get the breeder to choose a pup for you. I have a 16 week old pup at the moment and I asked for steady and calm, puppy is practically horizontal he's so laid back, infact he's better behaved than my 3 sons. I do expect that to change as he gets older and more confident but so far he is proving to be a dream and because I am like a broken record and do watch him like a hawk when walking him and with training, he happily will ignore any other dog/ distraction.

Good grief, glad you are not my vet.

My male is nothing like you describe, never has been.
He’s very calm and steady, friendly with all other dogs, regardless of sex , breed or neutered status. He does like his food, and he does have arthritis.

And neither of my blacks shed anywhere near as much as yellows.

But I think what you are missing is that black is the most common colour for labs, so in an area with a lot of labs, more will e black.

Just lost my beautiful working stock black lab bitch who would tie herself in knots for me if I’d have asked her. I wish I could have cloned her.
My other black lab bitch is totally different. Non working stock, bulkier, lazier and less committed to training.
If I could choose another ( my OH says no more dogs) it would be a working stock male black lab.

I had a chocolate bitch and chocolate dog, both very stupid and soppy. The dog was very calm and duped us into getting the bitch who was a complete whirlwind.

We couldn’t bring ourselves to get another lab so we have a cockapoo now.

I just generally prefer female dogs having owned both and dog sat lots of both sexes. An older female lab I dog sit for at the moment is a dream.

I have a 16 month old male black lab and he’s is none of those things!

He’s a working dog and is exactly 30kg and in typical mumsnet style is tall and skinny.

I’ve found the only downside to having a boy is the marking and the green goo that sprays all over the walls 🤢.

Ive a nearly 2yr old working chocolate boy. He’s not neutered and is the most wonderful friendly, obedient and loving wee dude I could ever have hoped for. His only downside is greed but we are strict with his intake and he is very active. Never had a bitch so can’t compare, but my boy is great

Our boy is 19 months now. He's heavy at 36kg but is all legs and muscle, would be a supermodel if he could 😂

His dad is a gundog, mum a family pet. Seems to have a mix of both temperaments. He's surprisingly NOT that greedy for a lab (my parents did guide dog training when I was a kid, had several labs and I've met the eaten the whole loaf of bread type greedy feckers).

he HAS been naughty with eating shit like teddies (dcs fault, they know) when we've abandoned the poor bugger to go up to bed, but he's been incredibly easy otherwise. except that one time we went out for dinner and he opened the stairgate, thought he had ate the gecko... Just a sock

He's awesome, the worst thing is he tries to hump my cosy sofa blanket.

My male black lab is nothing like this. He is easy and placid, not remotely aggressive or dominant - he lives happily with our other male dog and is friendly with all the dogs we meet out and about - he interacts well with his trainer’s pack of working labs (he stays with her when we are away). He is the cleverest and most affectionate dog I have ever had. He is greedy, but only for actual food. He is not that big - quite a bit smaller than our golden retriever (who is, to be fair, very large).

Neither of my male dogs has ever squirted ‘green goo’ anywhere.

The problem with this thread is that all responses are opinion and anecdotal. I personally like labradors a lot and have only had males, so my experience is based on that - I’m sure there are others who have their own preferences based on their own experiences that are the opposite of mine.

Of course I see absolutely lots of easygoing, sweet labs of all colours and both sexes. There are two assistance dogs that I see often, both male (sterilised) black labs and both utterly sweet-natured and marvellous. And plenty of ordinary nice ones too.

But there is a definite subset of labs that are uncontrollable, have a tendency to interact poorly with others and are in a few cases downright aggressive. Ime all of these are male and most are black.

I had a look at the foreign body stats for the last few months in our clinic. Six dogs and one cat had foreign body obstructions removed. The dogs were 4 male black labs, one pug; one lab had surgery twice at an interval of 8 weeks (kelp).