Comments on: The Emotional Intelligence of Labradors: Understanding Their Empathy & Connection

By: Sammie@LabSiteHQ

Sammie@LabSiteHQ — Tue, 30 Sep 2025 10:17:09 +0000

In reply to Teresa.

Hi Teresa. I think most puppy parents would say their bond grows over time :). But in the meantime, why not work on connecting with Maggie in other ways? Some dogs aren’t big huggers but form a fab bond with their family through training activities for example :). There are lots of good suggestions for this here: https://www.thelabradorsite.com/bond-with-your-black-labrador/ – I do hope it’s helpful.

By: Teresa

Teresa — Mon, 29 Sep 2025 10:26:16 +0000

We adopted our second Labrador, Maggie, 4 months ago – she is now 10 month old. She is affectionate, but I don’t feel a strong connection to her yet. She doesn’t like to cuddle and mostly sits away from us. Our first Lab was always in between us, always affectionate. She died at 15.5 years. I honestly cannot remember if that affection grew over time or if it was always there. We also got her at 2 months. She was a big cuddler and I definitely felt she knew my emotions.
Would you say it is possible this isn’t Maggie’s character and that we may form a stronger bond over time? I mean that makes sense, but I’m concerned she’s just independent.

By: Donna Hixon

Donna Hixon — Fri, 08 Aug 2025 06:33:14 +0000

Is there any way to know early in a labs puppy years that they have the special ability to sense out people who have cancer? I had a black Lab and he would gravitate to the person who had cancer in the room. It was amazing to watch him go nap by the person who had cancer in the room at the time. He was a brilliant dog and wish I could have sent him to school so he could have visited children in the hospital. I just didn’t know what signs to look for.