Tell me everything I need to know about Labradors please!

[Chocadore]

The good, the bad, the ugly.

Especially chocolate ones.

We've had our heart set on getting a Labrador (I've previously had staffies but not for several years now). We know several and they're amazing but we only really see them when they're out on walks on leads etc.

We want to be as prepared as possible as to what we might be letting ourselves in for

The adorable idiot in her favourite position. Bonus points if it's drinking mud or fox piss she's rolling in. Best dog I've ever met.

*stinking mud

Mine’s been adorable all his life. Yes yes to food obsessed, but I was expecting that. Read Labrador’s for dummies, and I was just turned 20 so still knew everything and his first counter-surfing was the only time I really told him off. He never did it again. Could leave a cake on the coffee table overnight (can’t now, the spaniel would have it). He did once eat some long dead muntjac, and minutes later threw up a terrifying amount of very much alive maggots. Luckily not so interested in poo and non food items! Loves everyone, delighted to go off with his holiday minders, heart meltingly sweet with puppies and likes small children, although a bit clumsy and bargy. I’ve been able to have him at work, so we never had a destructive phase, although all my hand tools have tooth marks in the handles from his assistance. He lives to bring me things (working lab) which is brilliant as I leave a trail of belongings… he’s generally SO eager to please. And maybe not the brightest, but he’d try to do anything he thought helped us. He still brings my slippers when I get home if I crash about to wake him up. His party trick was fetching the rowing boat back when it hadn’t been tied up properly, but he’s 15 now, hard of hearing and starting to wobble. He never was particularly cuddly, but he likes to be next to you and just touching. Spaniel feels too clingy and needy in comparison.

I have 2 sisters and 1 has always been a dream and the other is a total minx! They are great with kids, they are very social, they leap and jump like salmons when they're pleased to see you, they are always desperate for food, they're easy to train, they're polite, they're loving, they chew, they like to eat poo (sometimes their own!) they love a snooze, they can enjoy short or long walks, they happily come with us for a run, they don't really bark, they love to bring you gifts, they love swimming, they love a smelly muddy bog, they shed their coats a couple of times a year, i hoover a lot, they're well mannered when humans are eating but stare us out, they're a bag when you're cooking, they like to lick the dishwasher, they try to get in the bins, they can barrel through the stair gate, they love balls and sticks, they love to sniff and need this often to keep mentally stimulated, they are mouthy before they're fully grown, they sleep well overnight, they have favourite blankets and toys which never get destroyed, they love apples and carrots, they have beautiful ears. I love them!

Our "teenage" yellow lab ate a sofa. But he was a real sweetheart and settled down as he got older. They tend to longer puppyhood than many other breeds in my experience.

Mines a Labrador whippet cross - 14 now - eats like a lab and still runs like a whippet

My top labrador hacks:
Food is almost always the key to training labs.
If you or anyone they meet feed them, they will expect the food to appear again in similar circumstances. Feed them from the table and they will beg forever.
Most of them have a stomach clock. This means mealtimes are totally inflexible. If breakfast on a weekday is 6:13, you will be firmly woken at 6:13 - however many seconds it takes you to get to the foodbowl at weekends. Fabulous if you forget to set your alarm, though. Mine isn’t allowed on the bed, so he stares and sighs (and gurgles) until 6:12, then dances to the alarm, and if I don’t immediately start moving, sticks his nose under my neck and lifts my head off the pillow.
If dinner is when you arrive home at 6:30, a traffic jam will result in a horrified and tortured pet.
They like a job, and thinking can be as tiring as exercise. A Labrador who has had to do something clever to please you will be a delighted and contented one, probably in need of a nap.
Mine can’t understand “no” or “stop”. We assume he thinks they mean “try harder”. An alternative instruction is the solution. Then you can be pleased, he can eat something, and then maybe go off for a nap.
If they love retrieving, don’t EVER encourage them to fetch sticks. Sometimes sticks have spikes, or get stuck in the throat, and that can be very expensive. Labs are simple souls, so make it easy, because either ALL sticks are boring OR sticks are fun. Any sort of (although ideally washable/wipe clean) toy will do instead.
Make sure parents are hip scored, and eye tested. Ears can be grungy, we wipe out every day with a damp cloth, but luckily he enjoys it (or maybe he’s just delighted because there will be a treat in less than 5 seconds!).

They moult, you can brush a carrier bag out at a time, day after day. You could make a staffy with the amount that comes out of a chocolate lab.

There’s a reason you don’t see too many chocolate guide dogs. 😉

Yes, to many of the observations already made. We have two - an 8YO and a 12MO.

We’re in the thick of puppidom, but wouldn’t be without her (either of them).

Our 2 chocolates were a bit thick, you never see a chocolate assistance dog 🤔 but very affectionate and greedy! We used a cage when they were puppies and this helped them avoid eating the house although my beautiful Spanish sandles took a hit.

Ours lived to 17 but 1 had bad hips, painful and expensive so get Pet Plan insurance from the start. She was a rescue, so not hip scored.

One of ours managed to get into the dried dog food which had to be surgically removed.

We miss them but they were a big commitment and can be heavy on the lead.

I know two chocs. It’s a small market here so I wonder if they are related. Both have dicky tummies and have taken some very messy trials and errors to work out diet.

I know two women recently who have had knees wrecked with 12 months rehab from lab exuberance.

We have a fox red who is nearly 2. He's strong and tall and a muscular powerhouse! Still thinks he's a tiny pup with just as much energy.

He's starting to calm down a bit but will still pull on the lead, despite being trained. Re call is fab. Wants to please. Still bolshy with other dogs but he was neutered last week so expecting that to calm a bit as testosterone levels decrease.

He's so playful with our DC. He swims and would retrieve all day long. He goes on a fishing boat most days and always knows when dolphins are coming.

He sheds. Ours has really sensitive skin and we can't work out the cause so even the vet thinks it's most things so we manage that as best we can through diet and keeping him rinsed off and brushed.

What a fantastic thread. Good luck OP.

Depends whether you go for Show or Working type. I’ve had both…..working tend to be smaller, slimmer, and more highly strung. Need more exercise, can be a bit hyper without it. My Show choccy boys have just been big dopey idiots! Big strong dogs with huge heads, totally unaware of how big they are, thick as mince frankly, but totally adorable. Bomb proof, not phased by anything, love absolutely everyone and everything, but as all PPs have said, food OBSESSED!! They’ve never been destructive though, were easy to house train (I have other dogs though and that does make a difference) and easily taught that actually, stealing an entire cooked chicken off the worktop was not ok!! Good recall and obedience once they get to about 2yrs old, providing you put the work in.

We have a black working type boy who’s almost 2. Here he is fast asleep in the pub 😂.

The good: he’s the most loving dog in the world although a bit needy. He’s ridiculously intelligent and can even understand sentences or at least pick out the key words. He loves long walks, swimming, jumping and retrieving literally anything but does a lot of sleeping at home. He’s a whizz at agility and is ridiculously fast. He’s so good looking and shiny. He’s very friendly and if we need to go out for longer than a few hours, we have people falling over themselves to walk him for us or even look after him over night. He very rarely barks and if he does it’s one big, loud bark when he’s trying to tell us something. He loves food and starts to nag for his dinner at 4pm but he never steals it.

The bad: the puppy stage is hard. They have needle teeth and chew and bite (not aggressively) constantly. He did once chew a wall when teething. They moult constantly, I found a hair in my ear yesterday! They are rather stinky.

The ugly: they eat any animal poo they can get their teeth into then think you’ll appreciate doggy kisses 🤢.

@NYNYNYNYNYNYNYNYNYNYNYNYN

wow he rides a bike!! Skills

@Chocadore

both are close friends dogs, got a few months apart.

one (yellow English) DESTROYS all toys, immediately!! Including thick rope pulls. The only things to survive are the 'completely indestructible' toys and even then I'm sure it's just a matter of time!

the other (red American) has toys he plays with & cuddles, it's so cute!

they are very trainable. But start as you mean to go on! Yellow can be left for a few hours, red can't stand you leaving the room. Yellow can be taken to the pub, red cannot, yellow sleeps downstairs, red sleeps nose to nose.

Decide what you want your adult dog to be like & start immediately. Not saying leave them hours, but start with a few minutes in another room & build up.

oh & recall and lead train from the beginning.
They go from a pup that can sit on your one palm to big strong dog far too quickly!!

take your 'treat supply' out of their food allowance, unless you want a barrel!! & then a diet. Likewise, no human food and definitely not off your plate/when you're eating IF you don't want them begging everytime you have something to eat. Makes life much better!! Especially going out if you want them to rest by your feet!!

My working breed lab is just amazing. A tough puppy and really difficult teenager but from 3 he's been just perfect. Very trainable, perfect recall, nothing phases him. Loving and patient with the kids. He's 10 now and I love him so much I'm scared if life without him. He's been there through some really dark times, he's given me a better quality of life.

Oh my. This is the best thread I have ever created, I thank each and every one of you for the insight and advice...and most of all the pictures.

We had to have our incredibly special DCat put to sleep this week and I have cried all week...this thread has warmed the cockles of my heart.

A Labrador will definitely be in our future. And I cannot wait.

I have a red lab, she comes from working stock so needs lots of exercise.?I’d agree with PP that they do well with a job. She’s self appointed herself as a shrew hunter.

A Labrador will definitely be in our future. And I cannot wait.

You won’t regret it! Except a bit, briefly, as you vacuum once again or pick up something unidentifiable and wonder what it is and how much of it they have eaten.

Our first Lab was a chocolate girl. Oh my, she taught us such a lot! ❤️
Current Lab is a yellow working line. Not a chewer, but has her own opinions that need careful balancing with consistent training. Total Hug Monster.

I had a black lab in my childhood - he was wonderful. You have to be really strict with their food especially as they get older as they get fat easily and suffer with bad hips. They moult - a LOT!!

I’ve wanted a yellow lab for years so following this Lab thread w interest.

Once saw a Guide dog stop his owner in street, no reason for halt but he had just discovered a Greggs sausage roll on floor he decided to have for a snack. He wolfed it down and then set off again. Still tickles me when I think of this.

Good luck w your quest to get your lab, I’d love one!

I like the chunky black ones. The thinner working types never seem to have the lovely personality of the show labs. I'd never have a chocolate, thick and hard to train. And golden labs can be aggressive.

Three exclusive dominant clusters of neurones:

“Food”
“Ball!”
“Hi there! I love you! OMG aren’t you awesome! I love you! Wow, you’re so great! Honestly I think you might be the most spectacular human I’ve ever met. I need you to know and accept that I think you are truly wonderful.”

Mine is 13, greying and a bit slow now but honestly her delightful and simple responses to the above are just as strong and passionate as they were when she was a tiny puppy.

Lesser neurone clusters are:
Let’s get wet.
Let’s roll in this here dead thing.
Let's believe that I haven’t been fed for a fortnight (connected with the food synapse).