Hello,

Could someone help, John or other's who have knowledge of working breeds especially Labs.

I am not up on labradors as a breed but an neighbour of mine is going to look at litter of Labrador pups tomorow, they want a family pet not a working dog. They have had dogs before and no young children, someone is at home all the while. But would a lab from a working background be a good idea, not only for them but for the dog, would he/she be bored. Could you just put my mind at rest. I know they will be kind and a good home but is it a dog bred to work a good choice for a "town" family. Thye have asked me to ask by the way, I'm not just poking my nose in :)

Karen

Hi Karen. A Labrador from working lines does not necessarily have to do gundog work but it really does have to do something or it will go onto autopilot and just find something to do, which will in all possibility not be what the owner wants. Working Labs have brain and need to use it. They are very quick to learn and can sometimes end up running the owners rather than the other way round! As long as they are prepared to teach it and to exercise brain as well as muscle A working dog would be happy. Otherwise stick to the slightly less demanding "Show" lines. (This is not meant in a derogatory way to show Labs :) ) Dogs such as my Anna just never sleep! Because a working gundog has for generations spent so much of its life in the field their sleeping pattern is more like a human’s than a dogs! They are on the go all day long.

Best wishes, John

Hi Karen,
When I was first married, we bought a working-bred lab purely as a pet, and if I could get another one like her I'd leap at the chance! She was the most wonderful companion, who was eager and quick to learn, and was happy as long as she was with us, sharing our lives. However, we didn't both go out to work, so she wasn't left alone for hours, and we weren't "couch potatoes" - we were reasonably active people ourselves.

One day we'll get another labrador, so we went to gundog day this last Crufts. We only saw one labrador we liked the look of, and that was entered in the gamekeeper's classes, and was incredibly different to the showbred labs. No offence to them, but they didn't float my boat. I know where we'll be looking!
:)

We have a working strain lab as a pet and I would re-iterate what the others have said. You can keep a working strain as a pet, but you need to make sure their minds and bodies are occupied. I do agility with Thistle and she loves it. We also have loads of walks and she likes to be involved in everything the family does. Personally I much prefer the sleeker lines of the working dogs and I think they are easier to train and handle generally, but you have to be prepared to put the time in
HTH
Jane

Hi

Thanks for the replies, I showed them my friends before they went to see the pups and spoke to the man who breed them, and decided they hadn't thought it through enough with it being a wroking breed.

However the man has an adult he bred back with him due to a divorce. Because the dog has lived in a home he is not settling in the kennels although he's good he misses a home it seems. They have all been back this afternoon to see the dog and have fallen in love, he's 3,1/2 and a pet never worked but slightly more settled than a pup ;)

As Ian works from home and when out and about he's a sports reporter (for his sins) he can take the dog with him, and Jackie is manager at a "care home" and can take the dog to work as well so he should be involved in everything. They are collecting him tomorrow. So a new friend for Sal (fingers crossed)

Also as all four of the sons aged between 14 and 19 do sports of all sorts I can't see the dog having a moment to spare.

Again thanks
Karen

Karen, This is a personal message as I have no e-mail or address for you so this is my only contact. Thank you so much for your donation we still have £400 to go but we hope to make it by the weekend. If we fail in this bid we have every intention of returning the donations for they will have been received under false pretences. We are trying to arrange a demo outside the City Hall next week. Mo.