Any Labrador owners here?

Yozz76 · 15 Feb 2008 at 19:49

My better half and 2 children are mithering to get a puppy. My wife has told me about some labrador pups currently for sale through a lady at her work place and is trying to convince me.

Does anyone here have a labrador? If so, can you tell me of your experience in bringing it up, are they hard work etc?

Tefal · 15 Feb 2008 at 19:51

black lab's are great looking dogs, sadly never had a dog as a kid

dod · 15 Feb 2008 at 19:55

Labs are fantastic dogs. They're obedient, love to please, great with kids, great pets.

They do need a lot of exercise though, they're very active. They'll also eat absolutely everything they can.

ramdor · 15 Feb 2008 at 20:08

If you get one, dont let it ever become bored, or you'll be buying new doors/kitchens/carpets/etc

Richie.

Cosmic182 · 15 Feb 2008 at 20:13

dod said:
Labs are fantastic dogs. They're obedient, love to please, great with kids, great pets.

They do need a lot of exercise though, they're very active. They'll also eat absolutely everything they can.

hes said it all really

, sooo much fun ive had my golden lab for 2 years now love him, fantastic dog could not ask for a better friend

got mine when he was 8 weeks, at first you have a few sleepless nights with them settleing in crying and barking, and the odd toilet accident :eek:

they do require lots of exercise take mine out atleast 3 times a day and he loves it try not let them get bored or leave shoes around or your bank will be crying , GET ONE

doofer · 15 Feb 2008 at 20:18

A Labrador puppy will chew an awful lot when young and teething and can be VERY destructive if you don't keep a close eye on them. You need to be smart really about what the puppy can actually get to when it's left alone. Once they stop teething they will be fine although they'll still love to chew on toys and things you give them.

Andr3w · 15 Feb 2008 at 20:20

We used to have a golden labrador, she died about age 14 of cancer, we now have a 4 year old chocolate labrador, shes lovely!

They are brilliant, they have so much life and character, especially when they are puppys, if you train them well (we took ours to a dog school) they are very obediant, they seem to know when you are feeling down or ill or even if something is wrong.

edit: when a puppy is teething the best thing you can do is have a rolled up newspaper in the freezer, it numbs there pain and they love chewing on them

DB_SamX · 15 Feb 2008 at 20:21

Teki187 will be getting on your case soon. Search for labrador

Jebblehmoo · 15 Feb 2008 at 20:25

Labradors are wonderful pets

they're friendly, smart, attentive, greedy

and loyal.

As as said above, they are great family pets and are awesome with kids. They can tend to beg for food a lot of the time, no matter what you do! hehe, but yeah, they need a lot of exercise, love and attention, because they can get bored and frustrated when left alone for a while.

When I had my Jakie, I would often find he'd taken one of our shoes and hidden it because he was bored and wanted to play tricks on us

Sinque · 15 Feb 2008 at 20:26

How old are the children?

Yozz76 · 15 Feb 2008 at 20:32

Sinque said:
How old are the children?

My son is 5 and my daughter is 11.

Almost all of the replies seem very positive. Have been talking about this with missus and kids for most of the evening now. Deep down i would really like to get one but i can't seem to take my practical hat off!

My main reluctance is due to the fact it would be left on it's own for between 4 and 5 hours each day. Would you suggest that this is a problem?

Andr3w · 15 Feb 2008 at 20:36

At the start maby, but our dog is left for about 6 hours aday on her own, shes fine, she gets taken for a walk in the morning and let out to do her "business" before left on here own, left with plenty of water and most of the downstairs to roam around, im pretty sure she sleeps through most of it, all she does is sleep, run round or eat lol

Jebblehmoo · 15 Feb 2008 at 20:40

4 to 5 hours isnt a problem at all

she/he'd please themselves and yes, more than likely sleep through it anyway

wibble1 · 15 Feb 2008 at 21:05

Got a choc lab last summer, got him in as puppy about 6-7weeks old. Bringing them up is a lot of work...

The pup needed a lot of attention, playing with, feeding, ensure he got his naps and cleaning up after him!

It was however, very rewarding...

If someone as at home with him/her it should be okay, but they are very time consuming!

camels5 · 15 Feb 2008 at 21:10

We had a lab when I was a child and she was lovely, very loyal, friendly and she lived for years. However one memory I do have is that the puppies chew everything so be prepared! We can home once, she had been left home for about 2 hours, to find she had chewed the plaster of the walls and chewed the skirting boards.

When the dog was older I had a baby and when the midwife came for a visit I happened to be in the bath, this normal placid dog who was an old lady by then wouldn't let the midwife anywhere near the cot until I came in the room when she then just laid down and went to sleep, the baby was a week old and the dog was already protected of him.

Teki187 · 15 Feb 2008 at 21:11

We've got a Labrador, 11 months old. My girlfriend will reply with more information. Little busy.

Have some pics....

Dangerous Dave · 15 Feb 2008 at 21:15

I have a female chocolate lab, great dog. She is superb with kids she knows she has to treat them gently etc, hard work when a puppy though and they need plenty of walks. She can still get a little excited when meeting new people though but calms down quick enough

Andr3w · 15 Feb 2008 at 21:29

that looks just like my dog, and how she grew

doofer · 15 Feb 2008 at 21:40

With a Lab, it's also a great idea to get them Gun/Field trained if you can as opposed to just normal obedience type training, you'll be rewarded with a highly obedient, quiet natured and most of all happy Lab as it's a great way to push their intelligence and burn off all their energy just doing what's been bred into them for years, if you're an outdoor type you'll love it just as much as the dog.

Teki187 · 15 Feb 2008 at 21:44

Ok the girlfriend wont be replying, her laptop power cable just blew up.

Labradors are the perfect first dog pet, they are extremely human dependant and love attention. They are extremely intelligent and love to have there brains worked.

They are an active breed, so 1-2 hours a day of walking from 1 year of age is recommended. From puppy of 7 weeks, increase the walk time by 5mins per month of age until there a year.

If you find there getting too hyper, then find a room and use the time out method. 60 secs is enough. If they also get to play bitey make sure you time them out also, otherwise they'll start to do it more and harder.

When you go and see litters, make sure the breeder has Pedigree papers and you can see there Hips, Eyes and Elbow scores , otherwise you could be buying a "defective" litter. Sounds harsh i know, but the scoring allows you to see if they'll be likely to get some extremely debilitating problems.

Make sure you feed them on a very good diet. If you prefer wet food, i'd recommend you feed NatureDiet. Its a very good dog food, really high content of meat (no crap meat) and is really cheap 62p per meal. You can buy direct from them.

If you prefer a dry food, I'd recommend Burns. Again a really high quality dog food, high content of meat and costs about 35p a meal. Again you can buy direct from them.

I'd also recommend you feed them on some sort of oily fish 1-3 times a week, like pilchards, sardines or mackrel. This will help to prevent them getting the Elbow and Hip problems later in life.