Yellow labs

[hadenoughforever]

I’ve thought long and hard about this and decided I’d like to have a yellow lab for a companion.

Prepared to wait and any book recommendations are welcomed. I’m partially deaf so don’t know if that could affect training.

Can you tell me your experiences of labs so I can understand the breed as much as possible.

Many thanks!!

Think being partially deaf will be fine for training. I didn’t use any books but found this website really helpful www.wylanbriar.com

Thanks!

I would contact your local breed club for recommendations of people not breeding for money. That way at least you will get a fully health tested dog and not pay over the odds for it either. Plus they will offer you advice and support with your puppy.

@Ricco12 thanks. Will definitely explore online ways to find breeders who are putting health of litters before profit.

Shameless bump

Any other advice or stories about your labs would be most welcomed. How to choose healthy pup?

Difficult to train? Is food a good motivator for labs?

Funny stories?

Anything responses would be great.

TIA😁

Food is definitely a good motivator but shouldn’t be the only one. Your praise and attention should be the focus.

Crating and having clear, consistent boundaries are the quickest way to a well behaved dog. Dogs are black and white, there’s no in-between or “just this once” so you must be consistent time and time again.

Find a good local trainer experienced with gun dogs to help with initial training.

Also are you looking for show or working line?

Re healthy pup, make sure all screening and testing has been done on BOTH parents and all registrations are in order. Screening will be hips, elbows, eyes at least.

Visit puppies in their environment at least twice before you pick them up. Mum should be with them and she should be happy and healthy.

Puppies should be clean and look chunky and healthy (though that many dogs in a small space when they’re not housetrained can of course get quite smelly 💩)

Most labs are stomachs on legs. Big, bouncy balls of energy that don't know their own size and strength. Love long walks and swimming. Mine was an excellent swimmer and could spend 30 minutes happily paddling away without a break.

I’ve got three black labs, they’re all absolutely lovely.

Biggest thing to know is how unbelievably greedy they are. It means training is made easier as food is such a motivator, they will literally do anything for it. On the flip side it’s something to watch out for, food can’t be left unattended and they will literally eat anything, including stuff that’s quite dangerous for them. You’ve got to be very vigilant.

If you get a puppy prepare for them to be an absolute nutcase during their teen years and then they will become incredibly pleasant, but for that period of time they’ll be hard work. Lovable but hard!

I wouldn’t bear life without a Labrador, they’re so cheerful and amiable, definitely the best breed!

@Marshmallowmountain what are show and working lines? Sorry to be so ignorant.

Thanks to other posters about warnings on food; I will have to get in habit of putting food on work surfaces especially since if I were in another room, wouldn’t hear a pup/dog jumping up for food.

Absolutely love labs.

Had 2 girls labs for 12 and 13 years. They were the best dogs we’d ever had.

We have a black boy lab now who’ll be 1 next week. He’s absolutely gorgeous. Very affectionate but likes to get into mischief (digging holes in the garden etc) but I wouldn’t change him.

Show labs are the fat/chunky dogs. Working labs are the slim slightly smaller labs. Our have been working type. They’re great at retrieving sticks, balls etc so easy to exercise. They’re also relatively easy to train due to rewards.

I’m sure you won’t regret getting one.

Our yellow lab puppy is just coming up for 10 weeks and she's been an absolute pleasure to train so far as she is totally food obsessed 😂

(She's fox red but that is actually just a variation of yellow)

Some labs have a gene which means they never feel satiated - they will eat themselves to death, so you have to be extremely vigilant with food.

Working/show are different strains. All labs, but essentially cousins of each other. Working strain are slimmer and bred by breeders who want them to be working gundogs. They tend to have more energy and need a job to do (so pet gundog training if you don’t intend them to be real gundogs, for example). Show lines are the ones you see at Crufts - stockier, bigger build, tend to be less wired (but still labs so still high energy). Champ dogs is a good website to find a decent breeder - bear in mind good ones will have waiting lists. Avoid gumtree or pets4homes, no decent breeder needs to advertise on those sites.

Labs are heavy moulters and have an oily coat, which does predispose them to naturally smell more “doggy”, if that’s a factor.

They are fabulous dogs. But like any dog, incredibly full-on bitey land shark puppies, and due to their eventual size they need lots of training not to jump up at people or pull on the lead, starting as pups. Start researching dog trainers (anyone registered with IMDT or APDT is a good place to start) and get yourself booked in for some 1:1 lessons basically as soon as you’ve got your puppy. They will be well worth the expense. Easy Peasy Puppy Squeezy is also a great book to start you off.

I’ve got working lines and I actually find them very calm in the house, easily trainable and I just prefer the slimmer, smaller size but it’s a personal preference. Any decent breeder will be happy to have multiple conversations with you ahead of committing to a puppy.

Also, depending on the dog you end up with i wouldn’t recommend leaving food on tables or worksurfaces, I’d be putting it all away just in case 😂

Thanks everyone, this is incredibly useful information. I knew I wanted lessons but thought all lessons would be in a group and I would dread that due not hearing properly. Also was under impression that Gumtree was to be avoided whilst Pets4Homes was ok to search. I’m not in a rush, so will search for independent breeder.

Prepared to hoover but will definitely have to move food. I guess the packaging of a say Bahlsen chocolate biscuits is not going to be a deterrent? That they will smell the food? I know chocolate anyway is to be avoided at all costs as it makes them ill.

Thanks everyone! Slightly scared due to deafness but really will work to overcome that.

Deafness won’t be an issue, don’t let that dent your confidence. One of my dogs is basically silent, I barely hear him he’s so soft footed and he never ever barks, so hearing really isn’t a key thing.

I have a 1 year old black lab, he is my 3rd lab. Like others have said, they are mainly ruled by their stomachs so can be easy to train. Start as you mean to go on and be consistent. My 14 year old has just spent the last 3 weeks exercising our lab as I'm on crutches, he's also moderately deaf and has not had an issue with our dog ever.

I have a yellow lab. She is like my third child. We didn’t crate train. She sleeps in bed between my husband and I which isn’t ideal lol.
She is super affectionate and loves a walk but equally loves lying in front of the fire. Eats anything and everything. She is show line.

My (black) lab is eight months and has been HARD WORK. We got him from eight weeks and he’s like a Duracell bunny on speed. He has now settled into a routine - two hours awake, two hours asleep, so things have got easier. However, when he’s awake, he’s always on the go, and we have to keep an eye on him constantly. I don’t think I really appreciated beforehand how much life would revolve him.

Hes also turned out to be slightly more expensive to than originally planned - insurance, worming, food, puppy classes and toys, treats, toys and more treats. I reckon he costs us at least a hundred pounds a month!

Training hasn’t come that easy to us. Some bits good, but he does pull a lot. Doesn’t help that different members of the household have different opinions on how to train him.

Recommended books include Easy Peasey Puppy (although this makes it all sound very easy), and McCann training on youtube.

However, despite this, he’s adorable, entertaining, and life woukdn’t be the same without him.

yes- I agree that they are very hard work when young. Lots of pulling on the lead and jumping up on people.

Not all labs are greedy. Our yellow lab isn't. We can leave food out on a low coffee table and he won't even sniff it. He is allowed food that falls on the floor.

Very loyal and willing to please. Moults a lot!

Easy to train.

The best.

Our old boy comes up 14 this year.

I am on my third Lab. None have jumped up after the first month or so, only one was a puller which stopped after neutering. All love(d) their food.

The Labrador Handbook by Pippa Mattinson is an excellent modern book, as is her Happy Puppy.

My last two Labs have come from 'professional breeders' who rely on having a top quality bloodline, so all health tests and DNA done. That doesn't come cheap. Why wouldn't you pay for someone doing a superb job of breeding healthy puppies, capable of doing a day's work in the field or being trained as an assistance dog?

Why have you chosen a Labrador?

you don’t seem to know much about them so why that breed?

Absolutely love Labs. We have an 11 year old yellow and a 12 week old chocolate. Despite the age gap they are best of friends.

Both ours are affectionate, intelligent, confident and funny! They are high energy (even our 11 year old loves to play and still walks between 2-3 hours per day albeit in smaller chunks than in her youth). Easy to train and so loyal.

You can use stair gates sometimes to control access to rooms if you want.
Also get 121 dog training to help you with on lead walking.