Labrador

[elvislives2012]

Hi
I have a WWYD and I can't decide. We have been offered a beautiful two year old Labrador. She is KC registered, well trained and good with children. Her owner can't look after her and wanted to know if we could.
We have two children, two cats, Guinea pigs and a hamster. I work 50 hours a week but two days a week is from home. My husband is part time postman. We have two children 8&10 who would love a dog.
We've been talking about it for a while and it's usually me that is quite reserved and reluctant- cost mainly as they are usually thousands to buy!
The dog sounds lovely. I am a bit of a sucker for a sob story hence why we have so many animals- they are all rescues.
I'm seriously thinking yes but I have a tendency to overthink things so o can't decide. Any advice from anyone?
I'm worried about the cats as well as money and walking....

She needs to be spayed.

How long will she be left on days you don't work at home? Is she destructive or happy by herself? Can you afford a dog walker or daycare if needed? What about kennels or boarding when you go on holiday?

On cats, just bear in mind that the tolerance has to come from both sides. We had 3 cats when we added a puppy: 1 moved to the end of the garden and eventually to a neighbour, 1 went for the cat only zone option and to this day bops him on the nose regularly (6 years later!) and 1 learned to love him and they would share a bed.

Re spaying, 2 is the earliest I would spay a Lab, and then it would depend on how many seasons she'd had and how mature she was behaviour-wise.

You want their skeletons to be fully formed. And personally, I want my dogs to be proper grown-ups before I bugger about with their hormones.

Early spaying can predispose to certain health issues in some breeds. There is a very comprehensible paper by Hart, Hart et al on this.

Suggested guidelines in the Hart and Hart paper say post 11 months for female labs?

We’ve always had labs. Your children are the perfect age for a lab as the dog will be able to join in with sea swimming. Long hikes and paddlin etc.
Cats, it’s mostly fine but every so often the dog will chase the cat and in other occasions the cat will harass the dog.
I wouldn’t bother with insurance, just put £100 in a dog account every month, if you want a buffer for vets fees. Also don’t bother with the wormer and flea program at the vets just buy the stuff from an online animal pharmacy.

Fair enough, was on my phone and not able to check. But the point about proper grown-ups stands: mental and social maturity makes a massive difference.

I have a working lab (male neutered) he chases cats and I’m sure he would eat them if he caught them so don’t assume anything.

Needs a good 1hr 45 of walks a day or more (split up) can you/ your DH do that with your jobs?

Labs are fab and we have a particularly high energy one but do your research.

Yes our lab wouldn’t be left for more than 4 hours and that would be with a good walk first. Who’s doing that if you’re both at work until at least the afternoon? Even if you work from home a few days what about the other days if your DH is out at work until the afternoon?

They’re lovely dogs. All of our labs have been rescues, or given us in a similar situation to this. We do the stair gate thing for the cats, but they all get on fine. Beware of the hair, they moult like nothing on earth. Constantly!

Labs are amazing dogs, so bidable and trainable. They thrive when given plenty time to exercise and explore. They love to sniff everything, and are very interested in their environment. I could be out over an hour with them and barely cover a mile because they explored every bush, lamp-post and tree trunk forensically.

Thanks this is so helpful. We are going to visit her tomorrow! I saw a friend of mine last night who was shocked I was thinking of it and was quite strong in her opinion re money and exercise. She's not wrong and I'm very grateful to her. More to think on

Another thing to thing about - is your DH on board with doing his rounds (lots of walking all morning) then coming back and taking the dog out for at least an hour (preferably more).

Unless you can fit it the dog walk before your work?

I work part time in an active job and it is hard fitting 1hr 45 ish of walking on top of my job.

If you work 50 hours a week how much realistically can you do? Would you be able to go out for an hour or so when working from home?

Labs are great but the working lines need lots of exercise.

Mine is show, he would kill a cat in seconds. BUT wasn’t socialised around cats at all.
Careful on lead introductions would be needed.

You shouldn’t spay a lab for a year ish- ask a vet, growth plates/joints.
Get a quote for insurance.
Ask what food she’s on. You need to ensure you can afford a dog. As they get older they’ll cost more.

A young working Labrador will need a lot of exercise. I'm a dog walker and have multiple labs on my books, and there really is a noticeable difference between working and show.

The show lab is energetic on walks, but much calmer in the house. His prey drive is lower (though it does exist) and as a result he's much easier to recall. He's also very easily bribable with a pocketful of sausages. The working lab is crated when alone as he can't be trusted not to eat the house. He's very energetic and has got a super high prey drive (and would absolutely kill a cat given the chance). When he spots something he likes the look of (mainly sheep, cats and birds) his focus is intense and distracting him away is really hard.

If you don't have the time to give a working Labrador what it needs, I would think very carefully about taking one on. They're really not the same as show/pet labradors and need a lot of exercise and stimulation. If you're both at work all morning then I would question whether it's the right choice for you - or are you both happy to get up 60-90 minutes early everyday to give it a good walk and run around, or if not, can you pay for a dog walker?

Update! Thank you for all the advice on here. It's been so helpful. We went to see the dog today. She is gorgeous you can see the pedigree in her. Also very intelligent. But- VERY energetic on the walk and not being walked enough at the moment. Needs 2-3 walks a day and some work on the lead/ house training.
I don't have the energy, space or time to bring her to the best of her ability so we are going to pass on her. She will do so well in the right hands- they're just not mine!

@elvislives2012 , it sounds as if you have made a sensible decision, that is best for both you and the dog. A young, healthy lab will not be hard to rehome, and it sounds as if this one needs someone with enough time and expertise to fine tune her training.

@thelobsterquadrille , I entirely agree about the work/ show split in labs. A family member had a show lab who was very sweet, but incredibly thick, and who ran more slowly than our JRT. Working line labs, while generally much more placid and biddable that most if not all other gundog breeds, are high-octane by comparison.