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The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

Tell me everything I need to know about Labradors please!

142 replies

Chocadore · 02/03/2023 22:30

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 Smile

OP posts:
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Gingerninja4 · 04/03/2023 12:07

MinkyWinky · 03/03/2023 18:43

Like any breed, individual dogs have different personalities. We deliberately picked the one that was being trampled by his brother and sisters and he is such a lovely dog. As a puppy he definitely went through the land shark phase (I still have holes in jumpers and my kindle has a few chew marks) but at two years, he's hasn't chewed anything except his own toys for probably a year.

He alternates between being chilled (he's currently fast asleep) to acting like a springbok when he's excited (usually when he's wanting us to throw a ball). He loves food and we've learnt not to leave food in snaffling distance. He once ate the top level of my sandwich. Yes there is a lot of hair.

We have channelled him into retrieving - ball or stick - and yes he is food motivated. He generally ignores other dogs unless they're the same size as him. He loves swimming and actually puts his head under the water - something I've never seen before!

Most importantly, he is brilliant with DD's friends, hugely tolerant or being hugged, played with and ignored. He likes to sit on me... all 30kg of him. I love him to bits.

My lab boy does the head under water when swimming as well we joke is part seal

justasking111 · 04/03/2023 12:52

Gingerninja4 · 04/03/2023 12:07

My lab boy does the head under water when swimming as well we joke is part seal

They were trained for catching fish 🐠

tizwozliz · 04/03/2023 13:20

He adores destruction of most things he can lay his enormous paws

I'm always a little bit jealous when I hear people can just give their dog a box to shred and it'll occupy them for 20 minutes!

Cookiedough41 · 04/03/2023 16:10

I would say that if holidays abroad are really important to your family to think hard about who would look after your Labrador. Finding dog boarders and kennels is hard just now and if you don't have family who will look after them then you'll only have holidays at home.

Lordofmyflies · 04/03/2023 17:57

The only 2 breeds I've ever been bitten by - a cockerpoo and a lab. They are incredibly food orientated. Crazy until 2 and then settle. Shed a lot and smell doggy imo. Everyone I know with a lab has a lot of air fresheners and all their food and kitchen appliances pushed to the back of the kitchen work tops!

unsync · 04/03/2023 18:14

My Staffie has been attacked four times, each time by a Lab. The most serious one, he almost lost an eye. Each time, mine was on a lead, the others were not. Give me a Staffie over a Lab any day.

BelindaMelinda · 04/03/2023 18:29

I don't own a lab but I see a lot every single day (very big, semi rural lab area!).

I'd say 80% of the labs I see are clearly overweight, to varying degrees. Far more than any other dog breed I see. So I'd say they're likely to be a more difficult breed to keep at a healthy weight.

Newstartonwards · 04/03/2023 18:56

Easy to train. Train with food.
all of mine toilet trained at 8 weeks in 48 hours. They love praise and human contact.
dont overfeed them
get a field lead
get lockable bins and an outside hose
they won’t sleep on their bed only yours
they think they are tiny and will scare other small dogs by trying to play with them
they don’t see a problem with curling up on your lab
they like watching Wimbledon, sleeping, bouncing on the trampoline and window watching here …. And like radio 4
they can open any bolt or cupboard
get a Miele cat and dog Hoover and Hoover constantly

you will never ever feel unloved or that you have no friends ever ever again

Briocheandbrie · 04/03/2023 20:32

The BEST dogs. Clever, easily trained and very, very beautiful.
I have a fox red girl, from a working line and she is an absolute charm. Easy to train, very intelligent and amazing with children.
Complete piranha/shark as a pup though

Thingamebobwotsit · 04/03/2023 20:45

We have two. Working lines. They both need a lot of walking but are fit as fiddles even though one is nearly 9. By far the easiest dogs we have had to train. Permanently on a diet. Have to hoover every day. Twice a day when moulting. And as a consequence we only keep our downstairs so we don't have to hoover upstairs daily too.

Pretty easy to do though. And we never had any issues with puppy chewing as long as we left things they were allowed to chew available for them and everything else tucked away.

Absolutely delightful and super chilled when at home.

Flat04 · 05/03/2023 10:59

To throw in a curveball, flatcoats are similar disposition-wise, but shed less 😁

Happydays321 · 05/03/2023 12:36

Flat04 · 05/03/2023 10:59

To throw in a curveball, flatcoats are similar disposition-wise, but shed less 😁

Look at the health issues with flat coats, they’re lovely dogs but have high rates of cancer.

Happydays321 · 05/03/2023 12:39

I’ve had labs for years, the moulting you can keep on top of with regular brushing.
They don’t get fat if you don’t overfeed them!
Make sure your breeder does all the health tests for the parents, do look at the scores.
I’ve found them easy to train, you just have to draw boundaries with regard to what behaviour you accept.

Ihateboris · 05/03/2023 12:41

DeoForty · 02/03/2023 22:35

They get arse tufts of fur which are very enjoyable to remove!

Ha ha ha 😂...this is so true 👍

Ihateboris · 05/03/2023 12:46

They moult..a lot. Here's a pic of my black (& grey) lab after a good brushing 😂

Tell me everything I need to know about Labradors please!
Wellillsayitifnoonelsewill · 05/03/2023 12:57

We adopted a black working line middle age lab. This was the best option for us. Already house trained and past the puppy destruction stage.

shes a brilliant dog. Very calm and loving. Protective of the house when we are home by alerting to the door, growling barking etc which is reassuring but never a peep out of her otherwise. Loves her teddies and nibs nibs but doesn’t chew them to death. She does love ripping paper and cardboard up though and we’ll often wake up to a snowstorm of paper over the bedroom floor

she loves walks but can’t be let off as her recall goes to shit when she sees another dog and she legs it to go play which is very bad dog manners.

isn’t very gassy (unlike our old foster staff) but can let out a big stinker from time to time. Has been known to eat her turds every now and then

shes very good at not stealing food, raiding food/bins etc. this is apparently rare for a lab but if she had unlimited food in her bowl she would not stop so free feeding is a no no.

she doesn’t understand sticks and can’t play fetch with a ball etc. she’s a bit dense like that.

she loves water and swimming but gives me evil side eyes when she has to go and pee in the rain

she guards me when I use the toilet by sitting in front of me. i think she must love me the most because she also loves jumping me and “twerking” on me (as my daughter calls her humping)

She patrols the house at night moving from room to room and spending time sleeping in every room where someone is

she has a lovely comfy bed - she prefers the couch.

She knows she’s not allowed on the beds - so waits til your asleep and then sneaks on them.

She has developed selective hearing. For some reason the sound of the biscuit box being shaken is very triggering but the sound of “stop it” “get down” etc turns her deaf.

Flat04 · 05/03/2023 13:35

Happydays321 · 05/03/2023 12:36

Look at the health issues with flat coats, they’re lovely dogs but have high rates of cancer.

@Happydays321

Yes, although I think breeders have become much more careful about lineage. Anecdotal, I know, but we've had 5 (current two are quite young) and all three of the ones we've lost have lived past 12, one to 15 and only slowed down about a week before his death, and only one had cancer. All from different breeders.

Anyway, they do shed less than labs, and tend to take up slightly less room when sharing your bed 😅

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