WELCOME TO
"FOR THE LOVE OF LABRADORS"
My goal with this blog is for you to enjoy your time here. Most of the posts talk about my experiences raising my two yellow Labrador Retrievers, some are just for fun, and others share the best dog related information and products I have found.

Use the tabs above for quick navigation. I have imbedded links for as much as possible so that you can find the resources easily from this blog. The links in the side bar are for websites that have been helpful to me. I hope that you find them useful for you and your canine "family member"

Thursday, November 30, 2006

Let's be honest about Labradors

Labradors are a challenging breed to own. Raising Labradors from 8 weeks old is even more challenging. Just when you think the worst is over, because they have stopped chewing everything in sight including you, they become "teenagers". If you make it through puppy adolescence with your sanity intact the full realization hits as to the extent of the commitment you've embarked on.

Please don't misunderstand me. I absolutely love my two Labradors. I wouldn't trade them for the world regardless of the challenges the last year and 1/2 have brought. I just think that it's very important to really consider what you're doing when you choose to bring a Labrador into your life.

My thoughts went in this direction after talking to a young woman at the park. She was in the area on chance and when she saw me and my Labradors out for some exercise and ball fetch time she stopped to let her dog get some wiggles out. As it turns out she was raised with a Labrador as the family pet. Of course, this Labrador was the ideal perfect temperament of a Labrador. When her mom got divorced they bought her a Labrador, this was her mom's Labrador she had with her. Unfortunately with the house a lot quieter, now that all the children were adults and no longer at home, this new addition to the family had been able to set all the rules. As the daughter told me the story I realized quietly to myself what a huge mistake they had made. Her mom was out of her element in setting limits and establishing good leadership for the Labrador, not to mention offering him good exercise. Than there was the fact that he was intact and even she admitted this made him harder to control if another dog was around. At two years old this Labrador's behavior was easily 8 months behind Shelby.

With this in the back of my mind I saw an article and it made me think that more people need to see the full picture when it comes to Labradors. The article is titled: "Labrador Retrievers: What's good about 'em, What's bad about 'em." Although I don't agree with everything mentioned in this article it is worth considering many of the points brought up before you decide on a Labrador Retriever as your next "family member."

If you find yourself reading this and saying, "too late - I've got one and they are part of the family now", please realize that the challenges I found in raising my two Labradors is why I started this blog. Hopefully this blog will help you find the answers you need to enjoy what in my opinion is one of the best breed of dogs.

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