Please, need some advice and info on Labs fellas

I been wanting to get a Lab Puppy for a while now. Actually been wanting one for about five years now but to be fair to the lab we just had a small fenced in yard and didn't believe that was the right place to have the dog. I now have 10 acres for it to run and play, with many adjoining acres so I've got plenty of room. Many years ago I would never have thought of having a bigger dog in the house but as I have grown older I'm fine with it now. I've also got a five year old daughter who can't wait to get one and a wife who is also excited about getting another dog.

So does anyone personally know anyone who breeds labs that they would recommend?
This dog will not be used as a hunting dog, more of a companion to all the family. Would like to take him/her fishing with me when I've had enough of Sam. :D When I married my wife she had a little lap dog so that was part of the deal and believe it or not the little thing goes everywhere with me now. Guess she grew on me.
I don't plan to breed if I decide on a female. How do I decided, a male or female? Benefits or downfall to each? Have no idea which way to go on that one.

I see them listed on the internet for $25.00 to over $1,000.00. If I get so much more of a dog spending $1,000.00 then I will do that. I've had dogs all my life but never went out and picked one out that I wanted. My dogs in the past have found me or I've taken them from someone who didn't want them or couldn't keep them anymore. And they were all great dogs and didn't cost a dime.

Anyway, I know I'm saying and asking a lot but would really appreciate your advice and opinions because I know some of you have some great knowledge on this subject.

Thank you all for your time in advance,

Chris Wyatt

I have owned and bred lab in the past, the best dog ever,good with kids, verry loyal, east to train, Just one big alert, be sure and get a back ground check on Hip Displacia, labs are verry prone to bad hip joints, The verry best Dog I ever had the pleasure of owning me was a black lab awsome dog.

easy to house break, they are verry protective of the people they are arround and can attack another dog or person if they feel a threat.
not prone to barking. great watch dogs, they need exercise every day, they love to play fetch, and return ie retriever. if left alone for long periods of time be prepared to spend time with them till they are done with you.

my labs never bit anyone but they would come between you and me every time and push me back.

best dog ever

Jim M. had a lab pup. Bread very high and it had sever hip problems. I would say it was the best looking lab I have ever seen.

Beagle is right on in his information. All of it. My older brother had a kennel for several years and had labs. He had blacks but if I ever get to the country again I would have a chocalate lab. With out a sought the best looking puppies I have ever seen. Followed closely by a Beagle of all dogs. If I run into my brother I will see if he has any connections up this way. Most I have seen up this way are hunting dogs in the $150-300 range depending on color and male/female. Also Jeff "stumpthumper" at Everharts should know of a place to get a good one. Like you said would not be used for hunting but if out of a good bloodlines of hunters it would be a very smart dog and easy to train for the house and family fun. They have a great life span also. So a puppy now would not die and break your little girls heart until she long gone to college. If I get any info from my brother or from Jeff I will shoot you a PM. Also beeders that sell to brokers is a great way to get one. The brokers will not by every dog raised so the breeders then just sell cheap to get rid of them. So if it has the wrong marking or something the brokers won't take it and then you could get a deal.

I have one of the best labs in this part of the world , He is my friend for life you will see him in the front of my boat .

Oh his name is COUPE,

we've had labs for a lot of years, best dogs ever, but, they chew up stuff as puppies,
had one that ate the wire off of my boat trailer several times, chewed up fishing rods,
as she got older, a wonderful dog. she's gone now, i miss her.
John b.

Lapdogs are great lapdogs, working dogs are great working dogs either hunting or farming. Seen a lot of people get working dogs and want them to be lapdogs, and have a ton of problems with the animal.

If you buy a $1000 lab it's probably got some serious hunting lineage and has been bred for it, kind of his destiny in a way. My Brother bought a champion bred Gordon Setter, best hunting dog he's ever seen. Dog did great in the hunting, not so good his 3 daughters and other kids. Ended up back with the breeder.

Just food for thought.

Had a 1/2 black lab and 1/2 blue healer, without question the best and smartest dog that I will ever have in my lifetime. Loved his family like nothing you ever seen, and he could run and play all day long........ loved to learn, you could teach/train him to do almost anything in just a few minutes. We got an old steel truss bridge over the Moreau River on the road behind our house, my son and that dog used to walk down there every day in the summer and catch catfish off that bridge, I'd walk down to check on them and there'd they be just sitting on the bridge waiting for the line to "twitch", the 2 best friends you ever did see. He didn't take to strangers to well, and did bite a couple of times when he was younger (not sure if that was the lab in him, or the healer) but he mellowed out big time as he got older and, especially, after we got him "fixed". He died last October (man, I'm choking up just writing that), we miss him every day. I also had a yellow lab several years back, another unbelievably smart dog and a great pet. Good luck with your search, they are a great breed. Sorry to be so wordy, your post brought back some great memories.

I've been the proud owner of two black labs, both AKC. Wonderful dogs, wonderful companions, and I have thought of and missed them both. You can't go wrong with a Lab. Like Michael said tho, check the lineage for hip problems. Good luck, Chris2. Hope you find the "perfect" fit for you and your family.

I got a Black Lab, great with kids and is very high strung I don't think you could wear him out. The bad thing I live in town so every mud puddle he finds he has to play in it. = a lot of bathing. :)

I had a lab for 13 years.he was the best dog ever he would retreive anything,(balls,lawn rakes,beer cans,other dogs,loose change,even me he thought I couldn't swim.Beagle's right they can be very protective of their people.They do need lots of exercise I found a tennis raquet and a tube of balls were just the ticket.my 2 cents

I have had several labs over my life, and are the best companions. My ten year old yella lab has converted many folks that were "scared" of dogs, for whatever reason, into lab lovers. Even one friend that was bitten in the face when she was young. She didn't like dogs (for obvious reasons), but absolutely adores my lab now.

Had a black female that was a great gaurd dog, and protective, although not to the point of being a nuisance. My yella is a male, and is not protective at all. I do think he would deter "bad guys", but only because he would chase after them to try to get them to play with him! He would lick you to death before biting you. However, (seriously) if he senses trouble, he is protective of his house and owner.

Now, you must be prepared for them to chew up everything they can get their mouth on for about 2 yrs. Mine has tons of energy and the desire to please for a ten yr old. He will retrieve anything he can get a grip on as long as it wasn't ever alive, except for tree limbs! Folks don't believe that he's ten, everyone thinks he's still a "pup" based on his behavior. His main goal in life is to interact and play with people. He doesn't discriminate either. EVERYONE is his friend. More people in the neighborhood know him than me, and he stays inside the underground fence. Last week about ten kids came walking down the street and stopped to play with Tucker. They knew his name, and I didn't know one of them! Ok I've bragged on him enough so might as well post a pic of my favorite ol' yella dog, Tucker.

have had labs 25 years the one i have now is by fare this best dog i have had smart.i have 13 grand kids and he loves all of them .had hard time taking fishing withus he would dive right in after .a bass top water .check hips ,you will get a frend fore life .:) ps when he is a pup give him a 2x4 aday so he will leav the table leg s alone lol.

I Have two Labs I have a 7 1/2 year old yellow and a 2 year old Chocolate. I waterfowl (hence the Fowl attitude lol ) hunt and have the dogs for that. Both are great dogs. I have never seen a more loyal dog than a lab. Here is my best advice TRAIN whatever you get. It will make the dog happier and you alot less stressed out. I can tell my dogs to "place" and they will stay in that spot till you "free" them the "place" is like their refuge they like it there. It is nice to have them lay there during meals so they will not beg at the table. I feel that the command to "come" is the most important also to keep the dog safe if it gets out near the road or where ever. TRUST me if the dog is well trained it will be a more enjoyable pet. I hunt with my Chocolate during duck and goose season and he is great. He is also a house dog along with my retired yellow. Labs make great house dogs. Just make sure you play with them to burn off some energy. you can get some great deals on Labs if you look around. I would not go with a big breeder as they tend to over breed their dogs. Send me a message and I can put you on a couple people that might know where a few pups might be. Labs can be trained very fast just be willing to spend about 15-20 minutes twice (or once a day) and you have a great dog. Just dont get mad or angry at them, Its new to them too LOL. Good Luck

Good advice fowl attitude, I have 3 black all were field trial dogs at one time and now are hunting and house dogs. I would go with a hunting/field trial back ground dog, i think you will get better breeding and better health. most breeders garentee hips but to get money back you have to give dog back, and after 2 years of owning the dog you are not going to give it back. good luck.

The best dog I have every owned is my 6 year old chocolate lab. He's my buddy. To be honest, the reason I got the chocolate was because we had just built our house on 3 acres and well, the grass was a little scarse...

I think the males tend to be larger than the females. Mine is 95 pounds. The vet said they love to excercise as much as they love to eat. So, I walk him regularly and play fetch with him to keep him active. He absolutely loves it.

Here's a couple things to remember on top of the hip issue...large breed dogs who snarf their food sometimes will develop a condition where their stomach will flip. A dog handler friend of mine said I should elevate his food bowl to shoulder height so he doesn't ingest air with his food. I did and he has been fine. I'll echo the "two year puppy" comment made earlier. Keep them in chew toys....go ahead and invest a little more in Kong Toys, they can't obliviate them quite as quick as some of the cheapos.

My dog has a kennel in our garage that is his safe place and home base. He has a dog door in the garage door he can use to come and go. This works out really well. Our last inside dog had a bit of a nervous bladder (you learned to back up when ever he got excited, let's just say...), so we felt it the right thing to do to have a dog that didn't come in the house. You can leave the door open to the house and he'll simply sit there and wait for you to come out.

They are a very smart breed and I highly recommend them. He even learned how to bob for minnows one day when the fishing was really slow. I had to put the minnow bucket next to me to keep him out of the water. That dog loves to swim too.

I actually work with a professional dog trainer and have a labrador male who competes in hunt test. I could help u get to the right breeders and find the type of pup you are looking for. I strongly recommend going with a pro breeder program to get your puppy. I know your not looking for a working dog but the working dogs are bred a lot better and health clearances are real important. I have been around a lot of higher end labradors and the intellegence and trainability is alot stronger than a classified ads pup most of the time. Nothing is guaranteed with any pup but i would strongly suggest looking into health clearances such as ofa hip and eye. Its easy to find a good pup with clearances for around $ 500. Alot of people have a misconception that field trial or hunt test labs are high strung and dont make good pets, not true they actually can be better pets

We have a twelve year old chocolate lab. I would echo the comments above. Absolutely fabulous dog...

Agree with all the above but make sure you understand they will chew on everything as puppies and shed so a good brush is needed to keep it under control. You also can not run fast enough to keep up with them so a 4 wheeler comes in handy. We love our's and she is a great dog!

Guys, I really appreciate all the detailed feedback. You guys touched on many important topics for me to keep in mind. Also wanted to say I appreciate some of your personal stories that you posted. Myself and my family are really excited to get our new family member soon. Thanks again fellas.

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Originally Posted by slab stacker

I actually work with a professional dog trainer and have a labrador male who competes in hunt test. I could help u get to the right breeders and find the type of pup you are looking for. I strongly recommend going with a pro breeder program to get your puppy. I know your not looking for a working dog but the working dogs are bred a lot better and health clearances are real important. I have been around a lot of higher end labradors and the intellegence and trainability is alot stronger than a classified ads pup most of the time. Nothing is guaranteed with any pup but i would strongly suggest looking into health clearances such as ofa hip and eye. Its easy to find a good pup with clearances for around $ 500. Alot of people have a misconception that field trial or hunt test labs are high strung and dont make good pets, not true they actually can be better pets

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Stacker, appreciate the response. Yeah, if you've got some good contacts that you could hook me up with I would appreciate it. Either let me know on here or send me a PM when you have time. Thanks again. Chris W.

Good Luck with the dog Chris, we love our dogs.
My mom had a chocolate lab, chewed everything for a couple years, he even chewed up her cactus garden out in Nevada, nothing phased that dog but he was a pretty cool dog.

wantin, i've sent you a pm.