Retrievers and labs.
Discussion
Labs are great!
I've had Alfie for 8 months, he's never chewed any furniture even when going through teething.
Provide them with chew toys and ropes etc and they will be fine.
Very easy to train, loyal and cast LOADS!
so make sure you have a good Hoover. Set boundaries early on and stick to them as they will know what's good and what's bad.
Couldn't be without my ginger cannonball now, big lump that he is.
I've had Alfie for 8 months, he's never chewed any furniture even when going through teething.
Provide them with chew toys and ropes etc and they will be fine.
Very easy to train, loyal and cast LOADS!
so make sure you have a good Hoover. Set boundaries early on and stick to them as they will know what's good and what's bad. Couldn't be without my ginger cannonball now, big lump that he is.
Our lab is 4 now and we should really have called him Shadow. He is always one step behind me wherever I go, I've never known such loyalty in a dog.
Kids have pulled his tail, poked him, stood on him, shaved him but he doesn't flinch. If there was a danger of anything it would be being licked to death
Get one
Kids have pulled his tail, poked him, stood on him, shaved him but he doesn't flinch. If there was a danger of anything it would be being licked to death
Get one
We have a rescue lab who was seriously abused in her (very) early life. Consequently, she is terrified of people... other than us and she is the best, most loving, loyal, placid, manic, licky, faithfull mutt on the entire planet.
Get one, they are fantastic.
Oh, and she plays with our other dog until they are both sooo tired they collapse in a heap together.
Get one, they are fantastic.
Oh, and she plays with our other dog until they are both sooo tired they collapse in a heap together.
Agree with the above, GR's require a lot of maintenance in terms of daily brushing and when it's wet; a good towelling off after walks. A good Dyson is a must too!
One thing I will say is that if you are considering getting a puppy, try and meet/spend a bit of time with the parents - the puppies (in my experience) will generally display the same behavioural patterns as their mothers and fathers so it will give you an idea how they will turn out
One thing I will say is that if you are considering getting a puppy, try and meet/spend a bit of time with the parents - the puppies (in my experience) will generally display the same behavioural patterns as their mothers and fathers so it will give you an idea how they will turn out
Alfie, 10 month old fox red lab.
My mum had never allowed me to get one, so I went out and bought him with the belief she wouldn't send him away when he was in the house. She now loves him.
He loves to chew plastic bottles and play with his friend Riley.
Wonderful dog, such a peaceful nature, still gets hyper at meeting new dogs though.
I've got two dogs now: a black Lab from proper working dog linage at 16 months and a chocolate Lab at 6 months (working linage but parents were pets rather than out in the field). Don't believe all you read about stereotypical temperaments for certain colours.
The black lab is nutty as a fruit cake and a little over excitable. She liked to bite when younger but never the furniture. She has mellowed with age but needs plenty of exercise and authority.
The chocolate (with a colour stereotype for being nuts) is wonderfully calm and docile - a genuinely lovely little thing. She does have a penchant to chew anything wooden though.
If you're getting a puppy, my advice would be to understand the nature of the mother/father and if they were pets or used as working dogs. Spend some time with them and don't fall in love with the puppy if you couldn't live with the parents.
They're both great dogs in their own way but the younger dogs is far more suited to young families.
HTH :-)
The black lab is nutty as a fruit cake and a little over excitable. She liked to bite when younger but never the furniture. She has mellowed with age but needs plenty of exercise and authority.
The chocolate (with a colour stereotype for being nuts) is wonderfully calm and docile - a genuinely lovely little thing. She does have a penchant to chew anything wooden though.
If you're getting a puppy, my advice would be to understand the nature of the mother/father and if they were pets or used as working dogs. Spend some time with them and don't fall in love with the puppy if you couldn't live with the parents.
They're both great dogs in their own way but the younger dogs is far more suited to young families.
HTH :-)
Alfie is a full pedigree gun dog, bought from a breeder in Scotland, his family line is gun dogs. His dad was a show winner i think. Gun dog's don't usually get bothered by fireworks etc, Alfie went outside and lay down for 20 mins on Nov5.. was like Baghdad here and he couldn't have cared less if he tried.
I got sent info from a fellow PH'r about the breeder.
I will eventually get him trained to be a working dog, but for the moment he is a family pet.
Need to get my gun licence etc first haha.
Please, PLEASE, make sure his parent's have good eye, hips and elbow scores, otherwise you're likely to have a dog that will suffer later in life.
I got sent info from a fellow PH'r about the breeder.
I will eventually get him trained to be a working dog, but for the moment he is a family pet.
Need to get my gun licence etc first haha.
Please, PLEASE, make sure his parent's have good eye, hips and elbow scores, otherwise you're likely to have a dog that will suffer later in life.
We currently have a GR he is eight and a great chap, well behaved and easy to live with. Will walk glued to your leg without a lead etc. His mother was a working dog and father a show dog.
As mentioned above, do not get carried away without hip, eye scores etc. I have had labs in the past and find them a bit more frantic than the retrievers.
As mentioned above, do not get carried away without hip, eye scores etc. I have had labs in the past and find them a bit more frantic than the retrievers.
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