Chocolate Labradors

[Samantha Red]

Long story short

My lovely brother and his witch of a wife are splitting up after quite a long marriage. About a year ago, she decided they should have a ''trendy'' dog, even though her main hobby is shopping. They bought a lovely chocolate labrador girl. Now she doesnt'' want her and my brother can''t take her because he works 12 hour shifts - so we are rescuing her.

I already have an elderly yellow lab and a 4 year old jack russell terrier cross, but I wonder if anyone has a chocolate lab and has experienced any of the supposed behavioural issues around them. My next door neighbour is a vet, and he says they are the most problematic of the labs in this respect.

I would be interested to hear of issues and ways of dealing with them. I am thinking my terrier will sort her out from the get go, but any advice gratefully received.

Thanks in advance

 

[strmrdr]

know a couple of them, really sweet dogs, no issues.
How a dog acts is 80%+ how the owners train and expect them to act.

 

[strmrdr]

As you know from having one pretty much all labs have a very high energy level and needs lots of exercise, someone playing fetch with them for an hour a day makes for a much happier and stable lab and is great for the owner also!

 

[mrssalvo]

our friends have choc. labs and they are wonderful. I would love to own one someday if we ever have a yard/land big enough for two or more big dogs. I do agree with storm that many time how a dog acts and behaves comes from how they were trained..

 

[strmrdr]

Trying not too be rude here.....
Something you said really bugs me its you job to be pack leader and "sort" the dog out not your terrier.
That goes for any dog you bring home, if the dogs run the pack you will have nothing but problems.

 

[rainbowtrout]

If I remember Wink has labs and is something of an expert?

 

[neatfreak]

I agree with Storm completely.

We have a chocolate lab mix and he is the most wonderful dog. BUT he was a rescue too and needed a lot of time and commitment to get him there.


You can''t just expect to adopt ANY dog and have them be perfect.

 

[Samantha Red]

Date: 7/4/2007 8:21:28 AM
Author: strmrdr
Trying not too be rude here.....
Something you said really bugs me its you job to be pack leader and ''sort'' the dog out not your terrier.
That goes for any dog you bring home, if the dogs run the pack you will have nothing but problems.

I totally understand what you are saying here storm, please be assured that our dogs are in no doubt that we are the pack leaders, it couldn''t work any other way. I was making a joke about the tempermant of little terriers and the shock the new girl will have when she arrives, as the terrier will always be above any other dog in the house; but still under us.

The lab has been in a very undisciplined situation, with no clear boundries and no consistency; that is going to change from minute one, and everyone will be happier as a result.

 

[Lorelei]

I have known some cracking labs, including chocolate ones. I find they are very biddable dogs, especially being a female, she should adjust without too much difficulty.

 

[strmrdr]

Thought Id share a story about rocko the choco (their daughter named him)
He was a rescue and was a jumper, he jumped all over people with great joy anytime he met someone.
So with a lot of hard work they got him to sit and greet people.
Well his idea of sitting was to park his fanny on your feet shaking from his nose to his tail and whap ya with his tail.
It was sooo cute :}
They got him too stop that too but every once in a great while he would forget even when he was 10 years old. He never did go back to jumping but sitting on someones feet and getting as close as possible was his thing.
That's a lab for ya. (black,yellow,chocolate haven't met one yet that wasn't that way)
Friendly to a fault.

Their daughter would use him for a pillow while she was watching tv and if she sat on the couch where he wasn't allowed he would whine until she got on the floor and used him for a pillow.

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 7/4/2007 9:02:38 AM
Author: Samantha Red

Date: 7/4/2007 8:21:28 AM
Author: strmrdr
Trying not too be rude here.....
Something you said really bugs me its you job to be pack leader and ''sort'' the dog out not your terrier.
That goes for any dog you bring home, if the dogs run the pack you will have nothing but problems.

I totally understand what you are saying here storm, please be assured that our dogs are in no doubt that we are the pack leaders, it couldn''t work any other way. I was making a joke about the tempermant of little terriers and the shock the new girl will have when she arrives, as the terrier will always be above any other dog in the house; but still under us.

The lab has been in a very undisciplined situation, with no clear boundries and no consistency; that is going to change from minute one, and everyone will be happier as a result.

kewl sounds like she will have an awesome home! :}

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 7/4/2007 9:24:49 AM
Author: strmrdr
Thought Id share a story about rocko the choco (their daughter named him)
He was a rescue and was a jumper, he jumped all over people with great joy anytime he met someone.
So with a lot of hard work they got him to sit and greet people.
Well his idea of sitting was to park his fanny on your feet shaking from his nose to his tail and whap ya with his tail.
It was sooo cute :}
They got him too stop that too but every once in a great while he would forget even when he was 10 years old. He never did go back to jumping but sitting on someones feet and getting as close as possible was his thing.
That''s a lab for ya. (black,yellow,chocolate haven''t met one yet that wasn''t that way)
Friendly to a fault.

Great description Strm!

 

[AGBF]

I am an expert at dealing with an adopted, problem Lab...although not a successful one. We have a doormat that says, "Our dog flunked out of obedience school...he's back at home, living with us". I couldn't resist it. It was just so on target. Biscuit was once picked to go to an obedience class free because he was going to be the demonstration dog used by our (very expensive) private trainer. He's a smart dog. The trainer said that Labs are like rocket scientists compared to other breeds. (The trainer, for instance, had a Bull Mastiff; he liked a challenge.)

I know many, many tricks and have used many strategies and tricks with varying success over the years. I think that, given what my dog has done, some people would think that the correct solution to his problems would have been his early demise. (I am not kidding.) We managed to keep the world safe enough from him-in the places where he is dangerous-until he aged, however.

I never heard that chocolate Labs were supposedly worse than other Labs. My yellow one is darling. He is loving and sweet...as long as you do not come in through one of our front doors or jog on our street. If you have jogged and stop or have been on the porch, but come inside, he is delighted to see you and very, very bouncy and gentle.

A bottle of hot sauce when I answer the door was one of my many, many solutions. So was wrestling the dog (110 lbs) into the bathroom before I opened the front door.

I could go on and on and on. He is 11 and we adopted him at 2. We have been at this with trainers for almost 9 years although, as I said, he is nice and calm now.

Deb

 

[AmberGretchen]

Samantha - its wonderful that you are rescuing this dog, it sounds like it hasn''t had an ideal life up until this point and its good of you to try to give it a better one rather than having it end up in a shelter.

I think storm and the others have given you some really excellent advice, particularly that 80% (I would actually say even more than that) of a dog''s behavior comes from its training and handling through its owners. I would just add that consistency, and only using positive reinforcment will make huge differences. The dog should know from day 1 in your house that it gets nothing for free, i.e. it has to sit for treats or meals or whatever, and that behaving well gets it all the good things, walks, food, attention, while behaving badly leads simply to being ignored (punishing dogs does not work and can often make the problem worse). It sounds like you already have a really good pack order going in your house, just watch carefully to see where the new girl is fitting herself into it and behave accordingly - if your terrier really is the alpha, she should get fed first, get to go through doors first, etc...

This website has some really good training tips and resources and is a great reference for all kinds of behavior issues.

Good luck, and please come back and post pictures - I love labs, of all colors

 

[Samantha Red]

Thank you everyone for your wonderful advice and anecdotes. I am still giggling at the story that involved wrestling a 110lb dog into a bathroom. They are wonderful dogs in the right hands. I am just hoping this one settles well and becomes a happy, disciplined member of our family. It won''t be for want of trying if she doesn''t. She is going to get lots of love, lots of exercise, boundries, discipline and a lot less food than now as she is rather fat! She will have time in big fields, Sherwood Forest, come to the seaside with us when we go and have lots of doggy friends. I hope it will become an idyllic doggy existence, rather than life as an unsuccesful fashion accessory.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I have heard the chocolate labs have more health problems but never heard they behave differently.