You’d be surprised how much hair a lab has. Isaac (the lab) sheds far more than Rusty. He’s got a really thick coat, though it isn’t long.
As the owner of the yellow lab, Isaac, that whiterabbit loves so much, I have to agree that the problem lies not with the dogs but with the owners.
Labs are very social creatures. Get a lab and leave it home alone all day? It’s definitely no surprise it becomes destructive. Yes, labs are easy to train, but they also need a certain amount of attention and just plain company, and when they’re young they also need a lot of exercise. I’d suggest, GaWd, that your neighbor’s lab is just plain lonely and bored. Isaac is five years old now, and even with another dog to play with (and they do play together, a lot), he still needs exercise every single day, no matter what the weather. Fortunately, in really nasty weather he can be bought off by throwing his kong the length of the room for him to chase; it’s the attention that he needs as much as the exercise.
People who get social dogs and then leave them alone for long periods of time shouldn’t be surprised if they get less-than-positive results. It’s not the dog’s fault. Training can only do so much; you have to take the dog’s temperament into consideration, too.
And yes, labs shed. Oy, do they shed! Even though Rusty the golden retriever has hair three times as long, almost all the hair we sweep and vacuum up in large clumps that appear as if by magic on a virtually daily basis are short, coarse, and blond. Gee, I wonder who they belong to?
Very true. But for some reason, Elenfair thinks it’s weird when I sniff Spanky the Wonderdog’s paws.
I could not agree more.
Mrs. Savior and I have a 1-year old Springer/Border Collie mix. He’s very, very smart, very eager to please, but with intelligence comes willfulness. We’ve had him in training classes for 9 of those months, and he’s getting much, much better.
We both work, but are able to have the FIL come over to walk him every day at lunch, and I’m able to walk him every evening, with a LOT of Kong-throwing.
What I’m trying to say (in this shameful hijack) is that Newton would NOT bethe perfect dog for everyone. To be honest, dogs with special breeding (Labs, Borders, Spaniels, Pointers, etc.) get BORED when they’re not being challenged. We’re going to start some agility training to keep Newt interested.
When dogs get bored is when they act out. I feel for those Labs, though. They need better owners.
-Cem
Tch. I meant pet pics with the Easter Bunny. 
I’ve never understood it. Pets don’t believe in Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny, and trying to act like they’re human children is just a little pathetic.
Okay, I can agree with the “people who treat pets like children are pathetic” line, but dogs don’t believe in Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny? Never owned a dog have you? Dogs believe in all manner of invisible forces. There’s the Treat Fairy, the Yard Monster, any number of Toy Pixies, the Dream Rabbits/Squirrels/Cats and countless others. Why shouldn’t they add the Easter Bunny and Santa to the list? Sheesh.
Um, actually, I’ve owned about a dozen dogs over the course of my life. I say they don’t believe in Santa because they don’t KNOW the concept of Santa.
You know what dogs believe in? They believe in the people that own them. They believe in the mail man. They believe in food being in their dish. Because those things are real to them. THAT is why they believe in them. Santa is a bit much of an abstract concept for a dog. Yes, they’re intelligent. They’re not intelligent enough to believe in something they’ve never experienced first hand. Get it? Sheesh yourself.
Wow. Apparently somebody doesn’t believe in humor and needs a nap.
Sorry if that was a whoosh. I’ve had this argument with people who believe their pets are really just like children in every way, and HOW could I be so unfeeling as to say the puppy pic with Santa is pathetic? Can you tell I live in the San Francisco bay area?
Fair enough. I would have thought that the list of invisible creatures would have been a give-away.
That said, occasionally I can catch my youngest dog off guard and get a treat in front of her nose without her seeing me do it and I’ve always wondered what goes through her head when that happens (hence the Treat Fairy referenced in my post).
The best thing an owner can say about their dog is: this is the perfect dog for us. I have a Siberian husky and have heard horror tales from other owners. Mattresses shredded, holes in walls or carpet, the list is long and scary. Sure, Misha went through his puppy stage and to this day goes on unregistered jaunts; but I can say with complete confidence, as he’s currently curled up next to me: he’s the perfect dog for us. Pity that more people can’t treat their pets as living creatures than as fashion accessories.
(hijack) The he’s perfect for our (family/barn/ect) started with a certain welsh pony I know. There he was in the field, causing trouble, chasing all the thoroughbreds around like he was as big as them. He’s a little weird and has tons of personality, so he’s perfect for our barn, but other places he’d be a mess (an often kicked mess at that.)
(/end hijack)
I’m not a big fan of labs. I used to work with a big group of guys who had several labs each and were absolutely addicted to duck hunting and duck dogs. From what I’ve seen of those labs, and many others since (and yes, I know there are always exceptions), labs are doofy and, while sweet and friendly, pretty darned brainless creatures.
That said, I agree with everyone else here in saying that it’s not the dog (no matter how dingy), but the idiot dog owner who didn’t research his choice of dog breed prior to purchasing and/or knows nothing about pets and how to raise and handle them.
Labs, based on the ones I’ve met, do seem to be very sweet. But they are big dogs, and do need to have a LOT of training and discipline.
Labs aren’t dumb. That’s their problem.
You leave a bull dog home alone for 8 hours, you’re walking back through the door before he realizes you’re gone.
I think labs are terrible dogs. People love 'em because they’re loveable, but they get terrible separation anxiety. They’re absolutely piggish when it comes to food. They’re good at escaping from and getting into things. They’re very rambunctious and clumsy. They can’t be tired out. They can’t just lay on the fucking floor and let you pet them. The second you look at him, he’s up, finding a ball, getting in your lap, smashing things with his tail, breathing in your face.
I know people (especially owners) think these are the things that make them endearing, but they’re not. That’s mostly very annoying behavior.
:eek: She sounds like she shouldn’t have pets, period.
They do?
As puppies, maybe. Why does them make them terrible pets?
Have you ever actually owned a lab, or have you just spent a lot of time around one or two of them? You just did a perfect job of NOT describing my lab.
And I the only one who read that and got a strong Bull Durham vibe?
“I believe in the smell, the bitch, the leg, the scruff of the neck, the fast frisbee, rawhide bones, clear water, that the voice of Barbara Woodhouse was high-pitched, annoying crap. I believe the veterinarian acted alone. I believe there ought to be a constitutional amendment banning mace and the dog whistle. I believe in scratching behind the ear, heat, digging up your bones on Christmas morning rather than Christmas Eve and I believe in long, fast, smelly, slobbery, wet kisses that last for three days.”
As I read this thread, I have my 16 months old rescue Labweiller cuddled next to me. I know that if I bend over to scritch her floppy ears, I risk to be jumped upon and to be viciously smothered with wet doggy kisses. Or, she will roll on her back and will want to have her belly rubbed for the next hour or so. I wouldn"t trade her for any other dog (well, maybe for my other dog).
Dude, if you want a statue of a dog, get a damn statue. Real dogs do things. It’s a part of the whole “living creature” deal. Oh, and “can’t lay on the floor”, the issue with most house labs is to get them off the fucking floor. Especially when the floor in question is a high-traffic area. Not that I have issues with my dog or anything…
Now that’s the funniest thing I’ve read in a long time.
<Ding dong>
Fedex: G’morning ma’am, your parcel.
Lab owner: Goddam, it’s about bloody time!! Fartbucket!!! Your brain has arrived.
Lab puppy: Crap, just when things were getting really interesting.