Labrador Retriever - The Right Dog For You?

The Labrador Retriever, more commonly known as "labs" are the most common breed of dog in the United States. Labs are large dogs, normally around fifty to seventy five pounds.

Labs come in three colors - black (Black Labs), brown (Chocolate Labs), and yellow (Yellow Labs). Yellow labs can vary from nearly white to fox red, but the other two colors are pretty much all the same.

Labs are excellent swimmers, and most greatly enjoy the water, even in the winter. For this reason, labs make great duck hunting or fishing dogs. A lab's coat is relatively resistant to water, which helps it in water activities.

Labs are very friendly, loving dogs, and generally love being around people and children, making them a great family dog. Being large, active dogs, Labrador retrievers need plenty of exercise and activity.

Labs are generally easy to train and very responsive. Labs are rarely overly aggressive (though they will normally bark at intrusions), hyper, destructive, or overly territorial. They are great to get along with.

Labs do like chewing on things, so they often must be trained to chew on the correct things and not your furniture.

Labs, as mentioned before, love people. Most labs can't get enough human attention. Labs especially love retrieving, whether it be a ball, stick, or whatever. Most will continue bringing back a ball as long as you will throw it for them.

Labs generally live about twelve to thirteen years, and are not overly prone to many health problems. Labs do have some susceptibility to hip dysplasia, ear infections, or knee problems. Probably the most common problem is gaining too much weight, though. Labs love to eat, and their food intake must be controlled carefully.

Overall, labs are an excellently well rounded, even tempered dog. Really, they are great for anyone, as long as you can give them enough exercise.