just curious...about labs...

[Emma Warbuton]

Just something I have often wondered...thought I may as well ask! Ive often seen many different looking types of labs out and about..some of them look really short and stocky, others look tall and lean, some have really wide heads, others have long thin muzzles...are there just many different looks that labs can have?? I only know 2 people that own labs...and they couldnt look more different! (well, considering they are both purebred dogs of the same breed!!) Im a 'Golden' girl myself and I know in goldens you get 'fieldy' types, 'English' types, 'American' types, show goldens...ect...so is this the same in labs...that you just get different types?? hmm....anyway, just wondering....slow day at work....mind tends to wander...!

[Jill Ramsey]

Emma,
Yes, you have the different types of labs also. The shorter, stocky labs are English labs. The taller thinner ones are the blocky head, field labs or I guess American labs. I've never really seen any with the longer thinner muzzle. The conformation shows are for the breed standard, which is the English lab. The hunting dogs are usually the field labs.

[Emma Warbuton]

Thanks Jill! makes sense! dont know why I didnt just think that of course you can get different types!

Oooh and I have just seen some pics of your two and they are just beautiful!! They're my second fave breed..after goldens of course!

[Suni Brown]

There are deffinitely different types. Even mine and Jill's lab look different. Gwen has a thinner body and face as Jill's yellow (Fischer) has a stocky build.

[Beth Pladson]

Both my labs came from a purely gundog stock with field trials and titles. They breed for hunting only and even tell the buyer that if you want a showdog, their dogs aren't for you. My yellow has a very long, slender nose and ears that point out instead of to the side and a rounded top of her head. My black is more "lab" looking, with a squarer nose, but still isn't at all blocky. They both are very lean and leggy.

[Jill Ramsey]

. My black is more "lab" looking, with a squarer nose, but still isn't at all blocky. They both are very lean and leggy.

That's how Finnegan is. I got both from the same breeder. But out of different parents. I saw both sets of parents. They also do alot of hunting stock.
Fischer probably won't be as tall and slender as Finnegan, as his parents were more stocky. Both have blocky heads. Of course, if Fischer ever grows into his ears, he could be pretty big!!!

[Sharon Alcon]

I have also heard that the labs bred for hunting sometimes have a higher energy level because they want to work and have to have a job to do, Hunting. If you get one of those and you are not a active person or hunter you might be unhappy, you should be looking at the labs bred for show instead.

[TimberWolf]

Well they weren't really bred for hunting exactly. They were bred for retrieving which can be great for someone. True an inactive person might find this type of dog higher energy and may prove tiring, but a golden retriever is great for the less active. The dog has a general calmer characteristic whereas the black labrador retriever is the highest energy of the lab/retrievers. A yellow lab has high energy but not as bad as the black lab but higher than the golden. The chesapeake bay retrievers are also in this category from what I understand. All of these types though were made for retrieving and are not known for their hunting skills like the German shepherds, sheepdogs, certain hounds, and border collies. They aren't known for killing but they use their natural hunting skills for herding. So if someone were to try to put these dogs to use. A lab/golden is great for finding stuff in the house or Easter egg hunting (searching for eggs), or finding people in a aftermath of a traumatic situation. While shepherds and other herding breeds can do the same they are great for organizing groups of people and property and keeping things in line...making them a great guard dog too ;)

Lets put it this way, a retriever will not "hunt" for anything, they will just pick up things killed by a hunter. Hence the name labrador/golden retriever. Pointers and other similar sight hounds will find things because they have incredible eyes sight. Shepherds use the natural wolf-like ability to hunt by circling the animal it's focused on. Instead of killing it like a wolf would, it will keep the herd of cattle (or whatever) together and guide them to the place their farmer human instructs them to do. Another hunter is the greyhound, wolfhound, borzoi, afghan, etc.. They were built to kill wolves. They have a great guarding ability and a great eyesight not to mention herding skills but they were not built to retrieve. That's why greyhounds are not always as into fetch or a good game of frisbee. Some are but that's all in the personality and not part of their nature.

This topic always did fascinate me. I hope I'm not stepping on toes by talking about it but sometimes it does get me thinking about why specific dogs just do what they were bred to do and how they do similar things around the home.

[Jill Ramsey]

Anne,
Thanks for clearing things up. That's what I meant when I said hunting. Not that the dog hunts, it retrieves what the person kills. And yes, most labs are high energy dogs, especially when it comes to retrieving. I'm not sure if the different colors have any difference. I'll let you know when Fischer gets older. Right now, at 5 months, he runs all of us ragged (me, hubby, and Finn!). :dog:

[TimberWolf]

I had actually heard that the colors do make a difference. THey are different breeds and not just different colors and each one has a little difference in energy. I dont' know if they were bred like that on purpose but it had been found that the black labs are more high evergy than the others and the goldens were a lot more calm...which is why goldens tend to be considered the best around kids because they are less likely to jump on them while they are adults whereas the labs just get excited more and that may happen more often. ALL are supposed to be great with kids though.

[Jill Ramsey]

That's really interesting. I have to admit Finn(blk) is kind of hyper around people at first, but settles down quick. Fischer (yellow) is actually more laid back already. He's a thinker, and will sit and study everything.
As far as the color, I always thought it depended on their ancestors. Finnegan had a yellow father, and a chocolate mother. All the puppies were black. Due to blacks being further back on the pedigree. Fischer's parents were both yellow. But if he ever fathered a litter, it would be interesting to see what color they were. But, in the next month, he won't be able to do that. :roll:
I saw something on the internet, it may have been on one of the forums, where it gave the percentage of the color of the puppies that the parents would have. It gave the different combinations of parents.
Oh, well, I have 2 great dogs, whatever color they are!! :D

[Suni Brown]

I know the kid part is true for my lab. My nieces came to my house and met gwen for the first time. They were terrified (first time around a puppy). One of my nieces is Deaf and I think Gwen kind of picked up on that. Whenever Gwen approached her, she made sure to approach from the front so Esperanza (my niece) would not be scared or surprised by her. She also followed Jerzie (7 months) around and licked her (supervised of course). Jerzie tried to climb these three steps I have separating my living room and kitchen. Gwen stood at the bottom of the steps like she was gonna catch her if she fell.

[Jill Ramsey]

That's cute!!

[Sharon Alcon]

You know I went to a fund raiser for the school for the deaf where they train the seeing eye dogs (santa rosa, CA). It was fun because you got to meet the trainers, the puppies in training and some of the dogs paired up with the blind. I didn't realize it until later when talking with co-workers about it but all the dogs there were either yellow or black labs, no chocolates?? One of the girls I work with has a lab and was told that out of all 3 colors the chocolates are the ones lacking in the smarts department. They just don't make good seeing eye dogs. I also had a friend of my husbands take their young Chocolate lab out while they were hunting just to see his reaction, he was not trained yet. The poor dog heard one gun shot and ran to hide under the car. He looked at the dog and the other men and said oops sorry thats my wifes dog. So Primo is just a happy housedog instead of the great duck retriever.

[Beth Pladson]

I've read in a few lab books that I've got that there really is no difference between the colors and that's just a myth surrounding the dogs. There is probably anecdotal evidence either way, though. My yellow (13 mos) is way more excitable than my black, who is only a 4 month old pup, and we've had to work really hard with her to halt her jumping up habit. Family members say that the black is much more laid back than the yellow was at the same age. I was looking at their pedigrees the other day and the black has a yellow sire and black dam, the yellow has the same yellow father as the black and a yellow mother. I ran into a lady at petsmart who had a black puppy that was the product of a golden reriever and a yellow lab and all the pups were black! I'm not sure how genetic works with all that. :? Chocolates in general are less popular, though I have no idea why. Maybe because less people know about that color as an option? I have read on rescue sites that blacks are harder to adopt out than yellows because they look less "friendly" than the yellows, or something like that. I dunno. It would be interesting to see a ranking of popularity by color.

[Kimberly Lyons]

I have noticed, that where I work, (at a pet resort) that the Chocolate labs, seem to be calmer quieter and friendlier, they are more willing to do what you ask without questioning you. The yellows, seem to be more dog aggressive, about 50% of the yellows we get are dog aggressive, which is unusual I thought, though all of the yellows loved anybody who came up to see them the just didnt like other dogs. There are a lower percentage of black dogs than yellow, but higher than the chocolates. The black ones tend to question you and though they usually end up doing what we ask (ie waiting before the door, sitting before being fed, etc, usually with a great big sigh, like I cant believe I have to do this!) they seem to like not doing what we ask, just as much as doing it! We also board U.S. Customs dogs, and the dogs (4 of them) that they board with us are a yellow lab, who sniffs out money, a golden retriver who sniffs out plants and things like that, a shepherd/lab cross who is a manstopper, and a black lab, who sniffs out drugs. All in all, the yellow is the most reserved, with the golden and black lab the most outgoing, the golden however has the lab beat because he will dance for you, he loves to play with you, while the black lab loves to be petted. The mix is a lovely dog as well but his favorite thing to dog is jump in your face and bark. He just wants you to throw his ball, but it is a bit intimidating!

[pandabear]

mmm... i wonder what type of lab my friend has yellow 55lbs big beautiful head, all inside an average sized body not thin but not thick. the only thing that folks comment on is that big head wide at the top between the ears and tapering with a wide eye set and a short muzzle. he also has the most beautiful light brown eyes.