Labrador dog breeds were created to be both a friendly companion and a useful working dog breed. Historically, it earned its livelihood as a fisherman’s helper: hauling nets, hauling ropes, and retrieving fish from the cold North Atlantic.
Today’s Labrador is as gentle and hard-working as his ancestors, and is one of the most popular breeds. Today the Labrador functions as a retriever for hunters, helps the disabled, fetches and rescues dogs, among other canine jobs.
The popularity of the Labrador dog is so great that even non-pet owners can recognise a Labrador. This breed of dog is designed for sport and is therefore muscular and athletic. It has a short, easy-care coat, a friendly demeanour, keen intelligence and lots of energy.
The devotion of this breed runs deep; Labradors are loving, people-oriented dogs who live to serve their family, and owners and fanciers sometimes compare their Labradors to angels themselves.
This breed originated on the island of Newfoundland, off the Atlantic coast of northeastern Canada. Originally called the St. John’s dog, after the capital city of Newfoundland, it was bred to help local fishermen (hauling nets, retrieving ropes and retrieving fish that had escaped from nets), as well as being a family dog.
Today, most Labradors skip the hard work and spend their days being pampered and loved by their people. However, some Labradors still serve as indispensable working dogs. The Labrador’s gentle nature makes it an excellent therapy dog, visiting homes for the elderly and hospitals, and its intelligence makes it an ideal dog to help the disabled.
It also excels as a search and rescue dog or as a retriever for hunters, thanks to its athletic build, strong nose and courageous nature.
Labradors have also become a winning breed in dog sports such as agility and obedience competitions, especially obedience.
The personality of Labrador dogs
In general, Labradors make excellent family dogs, as long as their need for exercise and training is taken into account. These are dogs bred to work hard and love to have jobs to do, particularly retrieving work.
Labrador breeds are often good with other dogs, other pets and children, but this is only when training has tempered their natural exuberance. They are strong dogs and need obedience training at an early age or they can be seen dragging their owners down the street at will.
Due to their energetic nature, Labradors left alone or not exercised well can become destructive: chewing, digging and barking to excess.
Field line Labradors are especially high-energy dogs, while some of the show line dogs become perfect couch potatoes at an early age. Chewing can be a problem because the strong need to retrieve gives them an oral fixation. Chew toys, exercise and training help with this.
Living with a Labrador
Obviously, Labrador breeds have a number of attractive traits or they would not be so popular. They are intelligent and fairly easy to train partly because of their desire to work with people.
They are ‘easy to keep’ and can become overweight if not exercised and if food portions are not adjusted as necessary. Labradors make excellent family dogs because they want to be with people.
The Labrador tends to be protective of its family and home, but is also often happy to greet visitors. With the strong retrieving instinct, they can become destructive chewers if not given proper toys and guidance.
Labradors tend to ‘disorientate’ people and the solution is often simply to give them a toy to take with them, so their mouths are already full. These are very strong dogs and early training is necessary.
Their coats usually do well with a quick weekly grooming. The amount of exercise they need varies between the different lines: field line dogs can run all day, while show line dogs need only moderate exercise.
Caring for a Labrador
The lovable Labrador needs to be close to his family, and is definitely not a yard dog.
If left alone for too long, he will probably tarnish his saintly reputation: a lonely, bored Labrador is prone to digging, chewing or finding other destructive outlets for his energy.
Labrador dog breeds show some variation in their activity levels, but all need physical and mental activity.
Daily 30-minute walks, a romp in the dog park or a game of fetch are a few ways to help your Labrador burn off energy.
However, a puppy should not take too long a walk and should play for a few minutes at a time.
Labrador dogs are workaholics and will wear themselves out. It is up to you to finish the play and training sessions. Labradors have such a good reputation that some owners think they don’t need training, that is a big mistake. Without training, a clever Labrador puppy will soon grow up to be a big, noisy dog.
Fortunately, Labradors train well; in fact, they often excel in obedience competitions. Start with puppy kindergarten, which not only teaches your puppy good dog manners, but also helps him learn to be comfortable around other dogs and people.
Look for a class that uses positive training methods that reward the dog for doing well, rather than punishing him for doing poorly.
This Other Extraordinary Post “Temperament, Grooming and Feeding of Pit Bull Dog Breeds” You might be interested in this post Come in and check it out!!!!
I hope you liked the publication of this article with the emphasis “Surprising Qualities of the Labrador Dog Breeds”. You can share your opinions and experiences with me in the comments section.