Labrador Retriever dogs Breed Profile
Quick Guide
Labrador Retriever dogs Fact File
Group: Sporting
Class: Gundog
Country of Origin: Canada
First Registered: 1917
Height: 21.5 - 24.5 inches
Weight: 55 - 75 lbs.
Colors: Black, yellow, chocolate
Coat Type: Close, short, dense without waves or feathering
Health Concerns: Usually hardy. Potential problems with hip dysplasia, epilepsy, progressive retinal atrophy and skin allergies.
Temperament: Responsive, friendly, non-aggressive, intelligent.
More Labrador Retriever Resources
My chocolate lab Coco is really smart and playful
In my experience, each color (e.g. yellow, black and chocolate) have entirely different personalities. For example, chocolate labs are totally mischievous,but if you’re looking for obedience try black labs. And yellow labs tend to overeat.
If you’re looking for a lab, please try a local rescue group. In northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin, please check out L.E.A.R.N. at http://www.labadoption.org
If you have children and want a true companion, a Labrador retriever (any color) will make an excellent pet. Please make sure you have lots of time to exercise them however, or they will destroy your home! The love being around people, leaving them alone causes them to become mischievous.
Family devoted, eager to please, Labs are the best. Our 3 year old yellow Female has not only raised 4 litters of her own 1 litter consisting of 13 pups, but she has also raised 6 kittens of her own desire. She still sleeps with them after 1 year. She is smart and maybe a little sensitive sometimes if I raise my voice.
Labradors are the most intelligent dogs I know. Sometimes when my dog looks in my eyes I know that he is not just an animal.
Labs are very loyal and loving. They crave love and attention. They love to fetch. Our dog Leo would play fetch all day if we let him. They are excellent with children- gentle and protective. When our Lab was a puppy, however, he was naughty. He would eat or chew just about anything. But now he is perfect!
When it comes to children, you can’t go wrong with a Lab but you’ll probably want a show-bred lab for young children. While all labs are wonderful, my experience has been that those bred for show (double-coat) are MUCH calmer than those bred for field (single-coat). I’ve found that field-bred labs can be very destructive if not given lots of exercise — not so for show-bred labs
Labradors do need a great deal of exercise, but my Labrador Tilly Beany can be run joyously to a frazzle in about 20 minutes with a cricket bat and tennis ball. By then, the only thing moving is a waving plume of a tail and a wide grin…
I’m responding to the comments of Ryan Sweeney. I think it is wrong to make such broad generalizations. I have a chocolate lab and she is anything but mischievous. She is loving and obedient. As for black labs in my experience they are wonderful and great with kids but no more obedient than other labs. As for yellow labs overeating most dogs will overeat if you let them!
I have a female lab. She is the most loving dog I’ve ever had. Her name is Pearl Jam. She has the most soulful eyes. Of course she is laying at my feet right now. She’s a handful but I love her. Beautiful animal.
I would like to say that all Labs, no matter the color! Make great family pets! I have three Labs. 2 yellows and a Chocolate! I love them all. They are easy going and love to be by your side. Labs love to please. They are great with children. They are easy to train. A great breed!
My lab loves swimming. He’s only two months old and he already lovesbeing thrown into the river and swimming back. We let him romp on the beach with other dogs. He needs lots of exercise and this tires him out. He eats really well too.
I have to say that my 2 labs are the first 2 dogs I’ve ever owned as an adult. They are wonderful with kids. I have a home daycare and Maya my oldest ( she is 3 ) has never been mean or mad at any of the kids, if anything she protects them. My other one Kona is a big baby, he is 11 months old and he loves to play. The only thing is that they are big dogs, so if you have little kids, they might be run over by them often. My 4 year old doesn’t mind, he actually thinks it’s funny, but you have to be careful. Another thing is that even if they are good dogs you have to remember that they are dogs. Maya is very good with kids, but when it comes to people coming in her yard it’s another story. She can get very mean and bite. So just because they have the reputation of being totally good, you still have to be careful.
I have a 12 month old lab named Isabella. She is as beautiful as her name. Although we do sometimes call her smelly belly with cause. She is kind gentle and an awesome swimmer. Plus when some one tried to break into my house well lets just say they left mighty quick. I never thought such a sweet and gentle dog could sound like a junk yard dog with rabies.
Those dogs are wonderful. They are playful, great with kids and very gentle. If you want one though be sure that you will be home and give them plenty of exercise. As puppies they are very excited and sometimes it’s hard to keep up with them. If they are bored they will destroy everything in their path. I have 3 of them and a home daycare and when it comes to playing with kids, no other dogs could take their place. My kids love to lay on them, they can take their bones away, or food and none of them have even had any kind of bad reaction. But with little kids, there’s a good chance that they will be hit with that swagging tail. So be careful. If you want a high energy very loving and loyal dog that will protect your kids, this is the one.
I’m sure this breed was once great with kids however my wife works for a plastic surgeon and the number of bad bites done by this breed to kids that own this dog is frightening. Poor breeding and increased demand have left this breed a poor choice for kids please think twice before buying this dog for your family.
Labs are the best possible family dogs you could find. They are great for your husband that can’t get out of cabellas… great for your wife when your out on a business trip and your worried about someone breaking into your house…. great for your kids who won’t stop playing outside.
In the year 2004 there were 146,692 registered Labs. It is the top breed. The second top breed had 46,046 registered in 2004. Thus it makes sense that there would be a lot of dog bites in this breed since most of these go to homes with children. Labradors have a gentle temperament and are almost always on their best behavior around adults and children although no dog should be left alone with an unattended child. Children need to be taught respect for animals. Even Labs can become agitated when their hair is pulled or when children attempt to get on their back. This dog breed should be enrolled in obedience school as soon as possible after they are acquired. Although they have a gentle disposition, Labs that do not learn obedience at an early age. The man that said you should reconsider before buying a lab is so wrong. We have had two and the grandchildren can roll all over them (with supervision).
I am a caretaker for my ex-fiances dog. He is approx 85 pounds but not overweight for his size and per his vet. Is he abnormally large or is this new to the description? He’s intelligent (to a point – can’t find tennis ball under his nose), a gun dog, and very good with my two dogs.
I have learned that Labs are very loyal and receptive to their owners. If your looking for a bigger dog with a lot of heart and stamina Labs are the way to go!
Before i got my yellow lab i had heard that they like to chew on averything. That is not the case for my dog. I found out that he needs a lot of toys to chew on and you have have to make clear to them what is not a toy. They are very smart and pretty soon they will figure out what is and what is not a toy. Also when my dog was a puppy he always wanted to play with small children but as he got older, he no longer jumped on the children but he does let them touch him and pet him. All he does is just look at them and when he has had enough he just walks away. My dog is also hyper and he needs a least two walks a day for at least 45min. each. its a small price to pay for such a great companion.
My black lab/hound mix Lexa has a mind of her own! She is veryyy smart and loves to play! Her favorite thing to do is go on trails through the woods at the park without her leash on! She runs so fast and loves every second of it! Her second favorite thing to do is eat dinner! I love her!<3
We got our first lab over 17years ago. We’ve had a black, chocolate, and a yellow lab, both male and female and they all had their own distinct personalities. It had nothing to do with their color. It’s more of their breeding and socialization. They have puppy brains for at least 5 years, so if you want a calmer dog I suggest adopting the older one. They do love to chew things. My black lab ate one of my shoes. The only thing left was the heel. After much patience and providing them with things they can chew they eventually learn. They can be great with children. Our daughter was 3 when we got our first lab and they grew up together. However, remember they are animals and both children and animals must be supervised when together. Children don’t always realize they are too rough and animals don’t know they the child doesn’t mean to hurt them.
We have an 8 year old yellow lab, named Chocolate, a 6 year old chocolate lab named Vanilla, and recently acquired a young black lab puppy named Strawberry. They are very sweet and the yellow is the only lab we’ve ever known not to eat everything you put in front of her. We had a black lab when my brother and I were young, too. She was the best dog ever! She was a very good mommy to her puppies. She was VERY obedient to all of us, even when we were kids, and she didn’t retaliate no matter what my brother or I did to her. My brother used to ride her like a horse, and I swear she would weave back and forth trying to keep him balanced! He could poke her eyes, stick his hands down her throat, take her food while she was eating, seriously, nothing riled we did riled her. However, she was very protective. When people from the city or delivery people came, she would let them know they were not welcome in her yard! She also was very against cats and once ate our neighbor’s cat when he fell on the wrong side of the fence! Lizards and moles were also common prey for her. Labs definitely need room to run and when they have milk teeth, especially, will chew ANYTHING! Nevertheless, there is a very good reason that they are the most popular breed!
I have a 10yr old yellow lab, Phoebe. She weighs 90 lbs, but she is a big dog & is only slightly overweight. She lived outside w/my bulldog until he passed away. She now lives in the house because she was lonely. Phoebe was never around small children until my 4 year old New York grandson came for 1 month. I was not sure how she would react to him. Phoebe took to him immediately. He could do anything to her, she had a ball with him & was very very sad when he left. She has always been a wonderful dog, follows me around all day. Wherever I am, she is also. However, she doesn’t like other animals. Finally, I have learned to control her while walking, but if an unleashed dog comes up to her, she will attack it. I have 4 outside cats & one of them, Red, left a good scratch under her eye & now when they are around, she bows her head in submission. She now leaves them alone. She is a wonderful pet. She is the happiest,prettiest, most loving dog I have ever known. Also had a great black lab, Casey when my boys were small. Great dog too.
We bought a 4 yr old lab 6 months ago. She was a kennel girl but attempts at breeding didnt work so we adopted her. She has become extremely devoted to me–her "mother" and wants nothing more than to be close. I recommend an adult if you are like me and approaching 70. but by getting an older kennel dog -there are issues like socializing with other breeds as she grew up with only labs and a fear of being left alone as she always had the company of other dogs. She is nervous of young children as she wasnt exposed to them as a puppy so we have to make sure she has her space when grandkids are visiting. Other than the above–couldnt ask for a more loving and gentle pet and if she could talk–she would tell us how grateful she is. There is only one drawback to a lab–HAIR! Weve had a mild Fall and she is blowing her coat non stop–in spite of omega3. I feed her Fromm fish/potato and add Missing Link. Any ideas for the shedding other than stand in the middle of the LR with my Dyson Animal 24/7?
i have a yellow lab who is completely out of control i goy her when she was 2 years old was schuffed around alot her barking is comletely out of control she is caged in the house at night she cant be trusted when shes outside she is a guard dog barks at everything she sees cars people kids other animals forget it her hair stands up like she wants to attack so in the house she goes in her cage i have a new granddaughter who is 6 weeks old she barks at her so we have to put her in the house im getting to the point wher i may have to get rid of her can someone help me ??????
labs are awesome pets. great with kids, easy to train, and friendly
Hi-this an update on Elsie who we got 1 1/2 yrs ago at the age of 4yrs–see my comment. She is now completely at home here and loves other dogs, people and kids. It took her about 6 months to get over her anxiety and now she is a joy to have. She suffered from allergies which showed up in yeast infections in her ears and between her toes. I use Zymox with cortizone and it has totally cured the ear problem. she has to put up with her toe itch as she licks everything off. She is on Wellness Simple [duck/rice ] and is a very happy girl. So–if you adopt an older dog–expect 6 months of settling in and then you will have a wonderful friend. Of course–the right breeding is key to having a good lab and I got Elsie from a reputable kennel.
We have a chocolate labrador, now nearly two years old. He is great, so lovable. He loves meeting people and other dogs. The only problem we have is his hate for cats, which is kind of hard as our neighbours have one. But we are working on training him out of it. Fingers crossed!
I have a wonderful lab…hes six years old…affectionate, super obedient however, he howls at 90% of the music he hears on tv….and I mean howls..you have to mute the tv most of the time…it is not just one type either…we have had his ears checked over and over again and have been reassured that they are fine…we have tried several different methods of discipline (like a rolled up magazine)..he knows hes wrong because sometimes he will walk in the other room to howl so he doesnt get yelled at..hes so loveable and so good..but its really annoying…PLEASE HELP!!!! 🙂 thanks
I have been around various breeds of dogs all my life. I’m 50 now & to be honest, I have NEVER had a dog that was so smart! Training her was incredibly easy. As a matter of fact, she acted as if she already knew the commands – – she was just waiting for the opportunilty to use it! LOL. She is very affectionate & obedient. She is good with kids & has never bit anyone. She’s just over a year old now & I just love her to death.