The Labrador Retriever – A Great Family Dog
Originally a hard working gun dog used to spending its days hunting the Labrador retriever has an altogether different image today. Now, Labs are considered to be ideal family pets and if you want the perfect picture of doggie cuteness than a Labrador puppy will fit the bill. Labs are loyal and faithful companions for their owners.
Labrador retrievers are statistically one of the most popular dog breeds in the world with a huge proportion of dog owners having a lab at home. Its friendly, placid, bright, and bouncy good nature makes it a wonderfully delightful companion as well as being perfectly suited for other tasks outside the home such as police work.
Labs are also extensively used as assistance dogs for the blind and also the physically handicapped. They also excel in therapy work.
Labs are tremendous swimmers and fittingly have an otter-like tail. Their coat is grown in an interweave pattern, making them ideally suited to spending time in the water.
Unsurprisingly Labs are great retrievers and their breeding as gun dogs has left them with the ability to carry even the most fragile of objects in their mouths without damaging it. My Lab often brings me my reading glasses without a problem and it is said that they can carry an egg in their mouths without breaking it. Though they are likely to eat the egg as they do have quite ferocious appetites!
Though they were bred as hunting dogs Labs do not have the inherent aggressiveness and poor temperaments of some other breeds and have very few, if any, negative traits in their nature.
Children really enjoy being with Labrador retrievers and will be able to spend many hours every day playing games with the Lab enjoying the play as much as the child. Labs enjoy chasing and of course retrieving and will happily chase a thrown ball until the owner, or child, is exhausted. Labs love companionship and will always enjoy being around human beings.
As a general rule Labs are very easy to train as they are highly intelligent and adaptable. But they can also be stubborn and more than a little mischievous ” which I suppose makes them all the more lovable!
Labs are also very curious creatures and they will happily investigate any new surroundings with great glee. If something attracts their attention, particularly the scent of food, they will determinedly seek it out. Similarly they will happily trot after a person they havent met before simply to check them out.
The Labs natural wanderlust can sometimes result in them going AWOL and the careful Lab owner should ensure their contact details are on the dogs tags and, if possible, arrange for their Lab to be micro-chipped to make recovery easier.
Labs are basically a healthy breed, though they are highly prone to becoming overweight as they have a tremendous talent for begging or finding food. But, like all dog breeds, Labs are susceptible to certain conditions and they can be prone to hip dysplasia, osteoarthritis and other joint problems as well as suffering from diabetes.
Of course most Labs will live long and healthy lives with out any health issues and, as far as their owners are concerned, they really do make the ideal family pet.
Searching for the best guide to Labrador Retreivers – look no further than the Labrador Retriever Guide an independent resource for all Labrador owners including a full history of the Labrador Retriever
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