Labs??

[ladybug1802]

I have a question as to the energy levels of labs! My friend has 2 labs and I have honestly never known 2 dogs sleep as much! They dont get taken out for a walk in the morning....both her and her boyfriend work from home and are, quite frankly, a bit lazy! So they only get taken out in the afternoon, and on some days not for long at all, sometimes just the ball gets thrown for them at her stables. On Sunday we went to watch a friend at a Hunter Trials, and the exercise for the labs was walking round the first bit of the course....for about 45 mins but most of tyhe time was standing still and watching the horses!

So in the morning they will come down and go to the toilet outside, then go back upstairs and go back to sleep! She is just messaging me now...she is downstairs and she hasnt seen the dogs since earlier this morning...they are both sleeping upstairs! Even if she gets ready and goes out to a meeting or to the stables early they dont get excited and want to come!

Is this normal for labs???

I know if I get dressed and go out in the morning beforer I have taken Dylan out he gets all excited, and I have to distract him when i go with his kong wibbler and stuffed kongs etc....but even if he has had a morning walk, and I get up to go out later on he wants to come. Which I thought was fairly normal and Ilike it!

[Nettle]

Her dogs are bored, and sleeping their lives away. Are they also overweight?

Working labs can expect to do five hours at a time, outdoors in winter. Labs need a lot of exercise. Not many get it, though.

[ladybug1802]

Ah see interesting you asked that question Nettle! In my opinion yes, her dogs look overweight. not obese...but definitely chunky. I have made a comment to her before about it but she doesnt think they are - she says they are just big dogs. But I have known them from when she first got them - both were rescues.....and one she has only had probably a year and a half or so. Both dogs when younger and when she first got them were slender-ish....but now they both look chunky. I prefer my dog to be lean...not skinny of course, but definitely not overweight......in fact on Sunday when i saw them my first thought was that they looked chunky.

And thats what I thought about labs as well....that they are active and can have lots of exercise. My paretns neighbour has a lab who must be about a year now...she does gundog training with her and the dog is very active and playful.

Very interesting that you asked about weight and suggested boredom....hit the nail on the head I think! She says they sleep a lot because they are used to it and dont expect to go out in the morning. she said that with the black lab she sometimes has to put his collar and lead on while he is on his bed as he doesnt believe it is time to go out. Unlikely I would think.....Dylan gets SO excited as soon as he senses we are going out and even if he has been snoozing!

Thanks Nettle.....glad it isnt just me who thinks it is all a little bit odd!

Oh and another thing she does which i also thing is not the best practice is she feeds the dogs once a day.....at about 10pm or so!

[easilyconfused]

Nettle is right. I keep labs and they are NEVER done working. At any point, day or night they can go from deep sleep to up and ready for work in an instant.
I think a pet lab needs at least 2 hours good excercise a day. By good excericise I mean something that is both physical and mental (retrieving from water, hiking rough terrain whilst searching for toys in bushes etc). Without that they resort to their other favourite past time, eating and sleeping. This 2 hours is as well as a morning/evening "walk" around neibourhood/local park.
Labs are a very driven and smart breed but they can easily slip into overweight sofa lovers if not stimulated and excersied enough.

[ladybug1802]

And that is exactly what these labs are - overweight sofa lovers!! Although for some reason she doesnt think they are overweight. All they do is sleep. The yellow dog will play with other dogs if he meets them...so if I go over there with Dylan they will both have a whale of a time playing around. But her dog gets tired and out of breath quite quickly. I mean dont get me wrong he isnt obese or anything, but definitely a different dog to how he used to look. Amazed she cant see it!¬

The thing that baffles me is, no matter what dog I had, i would never, ever leave it all day without taking it out for a good walk. She is only just taking them out for a walk....and it is 4pm!!!

[Labsrule]

Cor, wouldn't mind swapping my 2 for hers then for a while Mine do between 5-6 miles a day and I get no peace until they have. Possibly your friends are more show bred than working, they do tend to be rather 'chunky` in comparison to working bred Labs, even so, they would certainly benefit from a bit more action.

[kelleyanne1988]

My dad's lab is a little chunky also and he doesn't see it either. He does however get excited and wants to play, even though he doesn't get much exercise from my parents. He will though lay down and be the lazy house dog.

My two labs on the other hand, are ALWAYS going! I don't have near the time for them if I was perfect lol. With working two jobs and full time student, my dogs don't get walked nearly as long as they should! But I find it pretty unusual when you see a lab that is just soooo lazy. My friend's lab is overweight and she can't walk one block without panting her tired little heart out. My dogs can go walking 3-4 miles and still need TONS more! I always get excited to go to my uncles land or my grandparents and they get a full weekend of nonstop running, swimming, playing and what not.... Except they are ready to go full speed after an hour drive home! haha

I'm certainly glad I don't have to deal with my labs being overweight, I just have to deal with keeping weight on them! Which surprises me sometime since they don't get all the exercise they need. Also, it worries me a little bit, because in about 8 months one of my boys is going to live with my parents for a few months while I do my student teaching. (Can't have both boys at my grandparent's house where I will be doing my student teaching) And I know Gunner is NOT going to get any walks during that time, at least not 1-2 a day like he is getting now (maybe he'll get one a week!).