Exactly! Mine destroyed everything until she was about 2. And yes I do mean everything!


Great choice for a family dog though, they are extremely intelligent dogs and your kids will love it. I bet it will love going to the lake too, so get a doggie life vest!


I miss my lab, we had to put her down due to cancer last summer at 14yrs. :(

Congratulations!
Already some great suggestions but you might decide otherwise on some. We never crate trained, but did have a designated area trained to stay on command. A padded bed or other worked well and they quickly know its theirs. Our beloved female lab of fourteen years was hard to lose. Hip displaysia set in and shortened any more quality of life. I could only suggest that there is a tendency or difference of temperment between a female and male. Other habits and curiosity might surprise you or test your patience, ex. the first time you catch them eating fecal or steal that frozen t-bone defrosting in the sink... LOL.. but for a lab, they are easy to work with and obey... as long as the hard love and reward is consistent. Remarkable creatures that sometimes with just eye contact seem to read ones mind. Enjoy her!

This is some great guidance.

I STILL have my Wolters book...25 yrs old!
George and Dan have it pretty well nailed down. No interest AT ALL in hunting her? I only ask because the pleasure factor of your dog goes thru the roof when you watch them doing what they've been bred to do for years. getting there takes a bit of work; but it too is enjoyable...spending time in the outdoors away from the city...I urge you give this a read:

Mostly Tailfeathers: Stories About Guns and Dogs and Birds and Other Odds and Ends: Gene Hill: 9780832916700: Amazon.com: Books

I miss Tule...I got just under 16 yrs w/ him...he was a sweetheart!

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No, I'm not much of a hunter. But the dog will see plenty of the outdoors, that's for sure.

keep the dog on heartworm meds year-round; check for ticks & grass awns in feet, etc.

Great advice here. I can only add that consistency means the whole fam is on board with commands, otherwise the dog learns that only one of you is serious.

The dog needs to learn a "drop it" or "off" command early on.

Most dogs, labs in particular, are "teenagers" from about 8 mths to maybe 18-24 mths. They'll test your patience. Firm love is important. Always love the dog, but don't be afraid to make sure it knows that the human is in charge. Sometimes a bit of discomfort is required with a high energy dog to get its focus back on you-a quick pinch, or a prong collar (controversial, I know, but sometimes necessary in my view) work well.

Working breeds require more exercise than you can imagine. Games like frisbee fetch etc are good once they're old enough to get the point of the game.

I'd watch many of the videos on the Leerburg site. Lots of good free information there.

a good Lab. is a tired Lab.
as they are really spawns from hell..;)
it's good for the owners as well..
once you adopt this mantra..
you will enjoy your pup..

they don't mean to..
but they are easily bored & then the fun begins..
every Lab. owner has a 'you never believe what he ate or chewed to bits....
they love water so don't get angry if they choose to puddle jump..

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someone dumped a treasure..
and I found it..

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these days..

They are greats dogs to own and so much fun! The companionship you get from them is worth all the trouble they cause.
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What variant of lab are you getting? Sporting mouth or block head? There's a difference in temperament.

We initially got a black lab that all it wanted to do was escape. It was later shipped to the US as a hunting/field dog. Shortly after got a black lab that was previously owned by a family whose daughter was allergic to the dog. We ended up with that dog and did not try to escape and was very happy with us for 14 years....now deceased.

Yes you are right above ^^^^^the personality types are varied. If the first one does not work out trade it at the kennel for another one.

I was just happy this thread was not about a meth lab.

BTW - do not hold toys for the dog to jump at until about 1 year old - they need some time to develop w/o extra stress

for ANY dog be careful about them running with you in even warm weather (or bicycling) - humans are the best hot weather athletes of all Mammals and your dog's love and obedience can kill them running with you

Thanks again for all of the advice guys, I had my wife read this thread and will keep it filed away for reference. Here's a very happy little girl with the puppy that she's been asking for ever since she could talk.

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She named her Zuri. God only knows why, my daughter is definitely the creative type.

Exercise, exercise, exercise. Otherwise they will bring down the rath on your house. And then all of a sudden they become lazy angels. At least that is the way it happened with our sons chocolate lab.

And then you have goldens, which are born angels.

We have 2 labs, including a 130lb boy.

Labs are very easy....if you do your work upfront.
1. Exercise and train your lab daily. You can do this in short bursts as they have a training limit. Then play hard, and go back to training.
2. Be consistent, labs become insecure if they aren't sure what you want.
3. They are giant batteries; full of energy. Drain them daily. Our labs can't wait to sleep. Keeping them going means no trouble.
4. They love to dig! Be mindful.
5. We have a pool and they swim laps until they are exhausted and will dive for tennis balls.
6. Tennis balls are dog currency! Have lots!
7. They are PURE love. Enjoy that!
8. Once they are 3 year they will mellow. They will be puppy like for up to 3 years.
9. They are happiest and will do well with kids or other dogs.

Let me know if you have any other questions or I can give you tips. They are pure love and you will be question your sanity in the beginning, but will be your best friend for ever.

Oh, and they are always hungry!!! DO NOT give in! Labs that are overweight blow out their CCL (just like our ACL). Surgery is around $2000.

Go here, order this and enjoy....

GoDogGo Automatic Ball Launcher & Tennis Ball Thrower for Dogs - GoDogGo Fetch Machine Official Web Site

Best thing I did when I bought my first dog.
.
Mother Knows Best: The Natural Way to Train Your Dog: Carol Lea Benjamin: 0021898056665: Amazon.com: Books

Good one. :)