Labrador Retrievers?

Breed specific discussion of your favorite breed.

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Vicki.C87
Posts: 39
Joined: Mon Jul 23, 2012 3:53 am
Location: Cheshire, England

Re: Labrador Retrievers?

Post by Vicki.C87 »

Good idea! :mrgreen:
Suzette
Posts: 1518
Joined: Sun Jun 26, 2011 6:45 am

Re: Labrador Retrievers?

Post by Suzette »

Nettle wrote:Anyone having issues with wires - get thee down to a DIY store and get some wide plastic pipes. Feed the wires through these. Job done.

Works for table legs/other furniture too.
Okay, I'm slapping my forehead right now saying "why didn't I think of that??" :lol: Not for me but for my nephew. He has a cat that is chewing her way through the wires in his apartment. I'm going to pass this info onto him. Thanks Nettle! :D
My avatar is Piper, my sweet Pembroke Corgi. b. 5/11/11
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Nettle
Posts: 10753
Joined: Sun Apr 13, 2008 1:40 pm

Re: Labrador Retrievers?

Post by Nettle »

:D It's what the Board is all about - sharing knowledge. :wink:
A dog is never bad or naughty - it is simply being a dog

SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS
LittlebrookLyn
Posts: 8
Joined: Wed Sep 19, 2012 9:00 am
Location: Hertfordshire

Re: Labrador Retrievers?

Post by LittlebrookLyn »

We have a beautiful 13yr old chocolate labrador and she was my first ever dog, although my other half had already had 2 labrador cross dogs before that.

Have to say they have a wonderful nature but I do agree they can be quite destructive. We took ours to puppy classes as soon as we could and I recall getting 10/10 for perseverance :lol:

All the legs of our tables and chairs were chewed to bits and a few times we were woken in the middle of the night because she chewed through the burglar alarm cables. Slippers and socks were her favourite things too and she chewed many a hole in them. However I wouldn't swap her for the world. She has the most wonderful friendly disposition and at 13yrs old is now so calm and chilled and spends most of the day stretched out on the sofa sleeping.

For someone with plenty of time and energy I think they are a great choice of dog.
horseluver65
Posts: 11
Joined: Wed Jan 23, 2013 7:12 am

Re: Labrador Retrievers?

Post by horseluver65 »

Labs are truly the best dogs. I refuse to own any dog but a lab. They're friendly with everyone, cheerful, and the easiest breed in my opinion to train. However like any breed they do have their cons. Even with daily brushing mine sheds a lot. Like imagine snowdrifts of fur. We took her to the vet but apparently she doesn't have any health problems- labs are just very heavy shedders. However, she's never drooled which I've heard labs can do. She's a show lab so even as a puppy she's always been remarkably calm. With field labs I've heard you do have to deal with a higher energy level. Not sure how true this is though. My neighbor has a field lab pup the same age as mine and she's just as calm if not more so than mine is. Labs do like to chew a lot but throughout her entire puppyhood till now at 10 months old mine has yet to chew any object she isn't supposed to. The trick is just to buy very sturdy toys- I've found the nylabone brand ones are best- and train your dog from day one to never sniff or touch any object that doesn't belong to her without permission. This makes life much easier especially since we have a cat and so must leave cat treats and things lying around where if she wanted to my dog could probably get them. Also make sure to crate your dog when you can't supervise her- this prevents a lot of problems, though a crate for a lab does take up a lot of space- probably not good if you live in a small apartment. Finally, I've found that giving labs jobs to do with their mouths- carrying things for me, picking up things I've dropped, etc... Keeps them from chewing things and keeps them busy and out of other sorts of trouble too.
halyonix
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Nov 03, 2013 7:45 pm

Re: Labrador Retrievers?

Post by halyonix »

We adopted a black lab about 2 years ago with absolutely no research into the breed. We learned quickly and thankfully, Sirius has been a wonderful companion for us. Here is what we learned:

1. Labs love exercise. They need it. I see this said on these message boards and I cannot stress it with other dogs owners enough. Exercise them! At least 30 min brisk walk a day. Dog parks on the weekends. Labs can go for hours, take a ten minute nap, and be ready to go for hours longer. You have to exercise this breed, else it leads to all sorts of behavior problems, especially if they are crated during the day. Sirius spends his days running around our big backyard with his friend Caddo so he has less problems with this.

2. Labs are mouthy dogs. A lab can hold an egg in its mouth and not break it, but they can also destroy all sorts of things. Kong toys, puzzle toys, toys that make them work to get their food are great for both mental stimulation and to handle that "I need to explore this item with my mouth" mentality that they have. A lab's mouth is its hands and labs love to be touchy. Our first few weeks with Sirius, he destroyed a cactus, a canvas cover, a hose to a bbq pit and numerous other indigestible objects without even batting an eye. We learned to puppy-proof our house and give him plenty of things to play with.

3. Labs need mental stimulation as much as they need physical exercise. The best thing we did was enrolled Sirius in a tricks class, which was not your basic sit, stay, lay commands class. He learned fun things and his little brain enjoyed trying to figure everything out. Teaching them a good dozen or so commands is also very helpful in providing structure (keeping you at the top of pyramid) and keeping the dog in line. Dogs like knowing where the boundaries are. And they like figuring out new things.

4. Labs are slow to grow up. Most dogs seem to hit adulthood and slow down energy-wise around 1.5-2 yrs. Labs take a little longer. We adopted Sirius when he was about 2 and it took us a few months before he finally hit that phase where he wasn't trying to get into everything. Now, he is perfectly content to go on his evening walks and sit at our feet.

But the wonderful things about labs are that they make great family dogs. They are highly intelligent (no wonder we entrust them with servicing the disabled!) and very social. I haven't met a lab that wasn't thrilled to be meeting me. Sirius has been known to babysit small children (by letting them hold on to his fur while they toddle around) and is used to introduce new dogs to the dog day care that we visit. Overall, the breed is a sturdy, dependable type that makes a great (if at times trying) addition to a home.
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