Review rated by 22 Ciao members on average: very helpful
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I have a 5 year old Golden Labrador called Polly. She is the best dog that any family could ever own.
Labradors are kind and gentle with everyone especially young children. I trust my labrador 100% with my 5 month old baby daughter. I know she would never become aggressive even whilst having her ears pulled by my baby, being sat on by my 2 year old and being chased by my 5 year old.
Labradors can have problems, they are well known for having arthritus in their hips. They are tested for this as puppies. My labrador sadly has developed epilepsy, which I have now discovered can be another problem that occurs in labradors.
We bought our labrador from a breeding kennel in Hampshire. I would never recommend anyone to by a puppy from a place like this as I believe there can be too much in breeding (mothers with sons etc) and I feel that this may be why my labrador has epilepsy. If I ever bought another labrador I would buy one from a reputable breeder, visit the puppy at the breeders home and make sure that I saw the mother with her puppies. My husband and I were shown the mother of our labrador, she was brought to us and then taken away again. Our puppy was also brought to us in a room and we never saw them together and we never saw where she was kept. I have found that female labradors can become protective over their toys but only with other dogs. Our dog would never become agressive with my children and I would have no problem with them removing her toys from her mouth whilst playing. I would not trust any other dog to be like this with my children. Labradors will spend hours chasing a ball and bringing back. Unfortunately sometimes she brings back other dogs toys instead. They then develop jaws of steel and a good grip and lots of treats are required to retrieve the ball or toy. My dog is a yellow labrador (golden) but you can also get black and chocolate labs. I believe that the chocolate labradors can be slightly more expensive to buy because of their colour.
Labradors can cost £300 to £350 to buy from a breeder but I know that there is a labrador rescue centre in Sussex that rehomes all age labradors that have lost their owners or who are sadly unwanted. Remember, if you purchase a puppy they will remain very lively for the first 18 months. They will chew everything, slippers, furniture, carpets, absolutely anything!! After 18 months they suddenly calm down and spend most of their time sleeping.
Labradors make extremely good guard dogs as they have a really deep bark that will ward off unwanted visitors and postmen!
A labrador is classed as a large dog and will therefore require a lot of food. My labrador eats tinned meat and mixer biscuits but many owners give their dogs the complete biscuit mix. They are also prone to becoming overweight so do not overfeed. They will eat any scraps on offer so try to resist dropping the leftover pieces of toast from the kids plates into the dogs bowl because your dog is looking at you with its big brown eyes. I absolutely love labradors because they are just the best family pet anyone could ever own.
Sorry to hear that Polly has epilipsy it must be very hard to control, my gran's dog also suffers with this condition and with her hips, she's a labrador cross. When we move to our new house and finally have a garden we are getting a chocolate labrador, thanks for the warning on breeding kennels. Lucy x
I am definitely going to get a labrador as soon as I move to a bigger place as it isn't big enough to have a dog in. Loved your op as it is very helpful. Your dog sounds wonderful by the way and it has definitely helped me make my choice.
21.08.2003 00:34
I have a 14 week old lab he is great and ideal with kids i have 2 sons the youngest only 10 months and he is great with him lovely dogs.
01.05.2003 16:22
Sorry to hear that Polly has epilipsy it must be very hard to control, my gran's dog also suffers with this condition and with her hips, she's a labrador cross. When we move to our new house and finally have a garden we are getting a chocolate labrador, thanks for the warning on breeding kennels. Lucy x
05.03.2003 01:41
I am definitely going to get a labrador as soon as I move to a bigger place as it isn't big enough to have a dog in. Loved your op as it is very helpful. Your dog sounds wonderful by the way and it has definitely helped me make my choice.