Let's talk Labs

Question:
 I am reading through some of these threads and there is so much talk about labs. So let's have at it.
Many people are stating labs are the easiest to train(in one thread) yet in another many put labs in the group of their bottom 10. So why the controversy.
And from those who truly have experience training labs, do you find them easy?
Also a very hot topic for us lab people is the standard and what is shown ring, so let us discuss it all hear.
What is it you love about labs? Or hate about labs?

Answer:
 Labs come very different lines. They are NOT the dog for everybody and a lot more dog than people realize.
show line labs tend to be very calm and laid back and might be quite easily trained. They are very nice dogs. So hearing that a person runs out and buys a lab not paying attention that it is working/field lines. These dogs are bred to be high energy to withstand working all day. These dogs are quite the opposite of their show ring counterparts. Very high energy and stubborn.
Labs are the number one breed in petfinder and the number one breed euthanised daily, yet they are claimed to be such a great dog and so easy to train???
Labs require a ton of dedication and training very early on in their life. Many people adopt a lab with the assumption they will be a great dog and that is entirely true if you can get through the first several years of destruction in your house.
If one is truly interested in a lab, as a lab lover, I will encourage people to adopt an older one

Answer:
 well i have never owned a lab but i used to work for a vet it was the first dog to seriouly bite me in the throat ,mind you. i worked for that vet for 2 years every day at least once a day and usually alot more then that i would get dragged thru the vetrenary clinic on the other end of a labs tether, bouncing off the walls trying to stop it from acosting everyone in its path. most are very friendly wonderful dogs, but omg that enthusium its just a little more then i want to deal with every day
Ashley

Answer:
 It is the popularity of labs (and other breeds, includingthe german shepherd) that is their downfall. So many people think "Hey, labs are easy dogs to raise," and yet, raising even an "easy" dog, is not easy at all. Hence why many non-dog people find themselves overwhelmed, and so many labrador retrievers find themseves homeless.

Answer:
 Ashley that was not gibberishLOL
A friend of mine grooms at a kennel and says the same thing you did about the labs.
And Alas, why they are not the dog for everybody. Again assumed to be easy to train and friendly and therefore the proper training gets missed and they turn out just like you explained

Answer:
 I owned a big wonderful yellow lab when I was younger. He was unreasonably easy to train. I could teach him a command in 4 tries, and he'd do it every time afterwards. He was a lot of fun. My mom got rid of me when I was at my dad's house without telling me. I was in therapy for years because of it, seriously. I lost a lot of trust in my mother. But he shedded like no other, was a big bundle of energy in the house, and was a pretty bad epeleptic (sp?). Thank goodness we had hardwood floors because of the uncontrollable drooling and urinating that happened during his seizures. He was only 4 years old. One of the funny things about him was that he was SO entergetic in the house...but then when we'd try to take him on walks, he'd sit down and refuse to walk within half a block. No interest in tennis balls either. But what a wonderful, cuddly, happy boy!
I love labs, I think they're WONDERFUL dogs. But I never see trained labs, and I don't know why. They never come when they're called, walk all over their owners, and roll in mud and then jump on people who weigh less than they do. I wouldn't buy one again because there are SO many health problems, they shed SO much, and they're just not a look that really appeals to me (shallow, eh?).
I think pit bulls make a GREAT mix with labs though. I grew up with pit/lab mixes, for the most part. Thats a mic I would definently consider adopting again in the future. There not as smart as the labs though, haha.

Answer:
 The disparity in lab is enormous.
Some are tall,some are short and pretty much,all of them are heavy.I love long-hair dogs which took me to the golden versus the lab.
I find that it's a great 1st breed but never realized that most people think that a lab is a difficult dog cos he is happy and active which is the definition of the lab.
.

Answer:
 Great thread agility :D
The thing that annoys me most about having a lab is that people think they can just come up to Poppy and stroke her in the street without asking, from behind without warning just "because she's a lab" and of course we all know how placid and calm and tolerant labs are don't we?
The other thing that annoys me is that people think they are the perfect family pet who is happy to lounge in front of the fire all day - erm no - they need plenty of exercise and stimulation and a 5 minute walk round the block to eliminate twice a day just isn't enough. If anybody wants to adopt a lab I tell them my routine, then I tell them the vets bills Poppy had last year (OK, that's not really lab specific but I get to show them the potential cost of ownership), then I tell them about the health issues in the breed and then I tell them how wonderful they are and how I woudn't be without her. If they are still with me at that point I will talk more in depth about the breed.
Now as for breed standard... do you really want me to start on that one :rolleyes:
As for training, I don't really have any experience of other dogs, what I do know is Poppy's recall is great and always has been. Is that because she is a lab or is that because as an 11 week old puppy I let her off lead in an open area - I honestly don't know. What I do know is I would use the same method to teach recall to another puppy that we get. As for other training labs can be really, really stubborn and can also be very unmangeable if left to their own devices.
I could go on, but I'll save a little for somebody else!!!!

Answer:
 :( that is just really sad
Ahhh, labs for ya!!! Yes they do shed a TON. That is something people also don't realize
I rescued a senior black lab before my current one and around age 10, he too was having seizures. I was able to control them until he was about 13, then it was him time to go.
You don't see them trained because people assume that because they are a lab, they don't need training. Great family dogs and easy to train? Or so they think and fail to do the training. Great family dog and easy to train only comes after a ton of training
Pits and labs are a very common mix. I had one actually along with my old black lab and my current white shepherd. We founde her as a 10 month old stray. Appeared to have been fought:mad: . Smartest dog I ever knew. Oh yep, that bugs me too.
haha, my mouth is sealed
Poppy is good simply because you took the time to train her properly