My friend wants to get a Lab. As everyone here knows they are a dime a dozen. I would like to help him with this very important selection. Here is why.

Another friend has a 13-month old male yellow lab. I know he's young, but he's one of the goofiest dogs I've ever seen. In fact his owner jokingly calls him "Baby Huey" after the cartoon character as he often seems like a big dufus.

Are all labs goofy at 13 months? Probably a lot of it depends on the dogs upbringing, right? It's not that I don't like a playful dog. I play with my GSD's all the time. But this lab just seems STUPID silly.

So what's the deal with labs? Thanks.

I don't know if this is true for the entire breed or not, and I think there are some lab people on here so they can give you more info, but every lab I've ever met has been goofy. Most of their lives. I think that's part of the reason that they're really popular, because they're so sweet and unassuming, and act like puppies forever.

I haven't seen any good working labs though. Maybe they're a totally different dog. Most of the ones I've seen are pets. Except for a few that were trainers dogs that had just about every OB title ever. And they were goofy too!

If you want a working Lab, research 'gundog' websites. But, just like any working dog, these dogs will have energy up the ying-yang. If your friend wants a mellow dog, stay away from working lines.

I would also stay away from the chocolates.. i am sure there are some exceptions.. but I see alot of chocolates..and they are very hectic and fragmented..

My older dog is a yellow Lab and I have to say that many of them (not mine though LOL) can tend to be a bit on the 'dopey dog' side (in particular the males IMHO). Think it's one of the things that make them such great dogs with all children because nothing seems to faze them as long as they are among humans they are happy to be alive.

BUT I also have a few friends with Labs from the working/field lines and Maggie Baldino is ABSOLUTELY right about the energy level of these dogs. One of the owners purposely researched for her dog and since she hunts, goes to field trials, and also trials in the highest levels of obedience, she and the dog are a perfect fit. My other friend just got his puppy with no planning or research and has ended up with WAY more dog than he can usually handle. Resulting in alot of frustration on his part, and a dog that is not nearly as great as she could be, because she's bouncing off the walls unless he's able to run her for miles almost every day.

You didn't say what your friend wants the Lab for. As for "Dime a dozen", there are those in any breed, if you look at the reputable breeders you'll find they go for 600 to 1,000 a pup. You must look at the specific blood line and parents to get a picture of the energy level to be expected from the pup. Some of my working line labs have been very low key in the house and then switch on the energy for training or the field. The field trial stock seem to be a bit on the high strung side in my experience. Kinda like the GSD's I have been around...kb

I would also stay away from the chocolates.. i am sure there are some exceptions.. but I see alot of chocolates..and they are very hectic and fragmented.. Interesting you said that, my friend who breeds, trains and works Springers and Labs (gundogs) in the UK said, (about Labs) the Blacks were the most intelligent and the best workers, the Yellows were the friendliest (goofy?!) but not the best of workers (scenting ability) and that the Chocolates were the most aggressive.

Generalized statement sure, but interesting. I'm not too familiar with the Lab breed, but another friend (hunter) will only work with Black Labs and I've seen two Yellows do drug work, with nominal results (the Blacks are right up there with the Springers! Great noses!) and another friend has a very aggressive Chocolate. Hmmm....

As someone who has duck/goose hunted behind labs, most hunters I know seem to prefer the blacks. The half dozen field trials I've seen, black seems to be in the majority. I've never met a 2 year old Lab that didn't think it was stil a big puppy. Even well trained hunting Labs love life and act like pups. I love that in a dog. Like any breed, you have to understand what your getting in to. The overpopulation/popularity of the Lab means there are a lot of crap dogs/breeders out there. The pounds are full of Labs that were just to much for the owners to handle. To Bad for a neat breed.

Mike,
I apparently live in the center of working Lab central, due to all the working Plantations in my County. These folks take their dogs *real* seriously.
And their working line labs are every bit as driven as our working line GSD's, the only difference being that the Labs need only one working brain cell which repeats over and over again.."duck, duck, duck, duck".

What these folks pays for a good working lab stunned me - I was *shocked* For that price, that dog better do house work and wash my van, also.

I find this disscussion quite interesting, as I will be "fostering" a lab for the paws with a cause organization here in michigan. I put in for a lab instead of the golden ,but didn't specify the color. More than likely i'll get a black lab, since that is what i've seen so far being used mostly in the program. I never would have thought that different colors could produce different temperments.
The black lab that the rep. from paws brought to show us, was VERY focused on the rep. when he gave us a short demo. on what we'd be teaching the puppy. I work at a petstore partime and see labs all them time ,and I realize that most of them are just the avg. joe's "pet dog" that gets virtually NO type of training. Friendly dogs, but i've always thought of them as a airheaded breed. Other than that, i've had no experience with labs. I'm sure my experience raising a lab puppy will be an enlightening one! I started a little research into the breed, and have found that they are just as complicated as the GSD!! Lots of different lines and certainly differing opinions on the lab as well.