Comments on: The Truth About Labrador Temperament

By: Roisin

Roisin — Wed, 20 Aug 2025 10:58:43 +0000

Sadly the labrador temperament can no longer be ‘a given’. Nervous dogs or bitches should never be used at stud or as a breeding bitch. My lad is entire but he’s wary, so he won’t be used at stud.

By: Lucy Easton

Lucy Easton — Tue, 17 Jun 2025 10:29:47 +0000

In reply to MaryLu Luce.

It is not unusual to be excitable at that age. You can use training to help your lovely Lab to calm down, there is some help here: https://www.thelabradorsite.com/how-to-calm-down-a-dog/

By: MaryLu Luce

MaryLu Luce — Sat, 14 Jun 2025 17:25:59 +0000

My lab is 12 months old and can be uncontrollable at times. I will admit that I did not see his parents , and like you said, we were just anxious to get him. Is it too late to help him become a calmer , more obedient dog?

By: Trisha

Trisha — Wed, 24 Mar 2021 03:52:42 +0000

I have a dochsudor his head and yellow fur is all lab other than his short legs. He is the kindest, smart and funny friend.

By: Barbara kelly

Barbara kelly — Tue, 18 Feb 2020 17:58:39 +0000

I have a 3 1/2 old chocolate female lab, named Lucy. Lucy is near perfect. I give her a B+ , she would have an A BUT she eats socks and underwear then either poops them out or throws them up, she has done this since a puppy. Will she ever grow out of this ? My daughter and her 2 kids live with me and it’s a struggle to get everyone on board to keep their clothes out of Lucy’s way. I can’t say she would be perfect if not for this , but she would be close. Anything I can do to stop it? Thank you

By: Zahroo

Zahroo — Sat, 20 Apr 2019 05:09:22 +0000

I have 4 Labs currently; Lyra, Lily, Lola and Lata. We had Lyra’a mother, Louella before. She passed away in December 2016. Lyra was born with several problems; she was deaf, blind, rare skin disease, very weak hind legs to the point where she couldn’t walk until she was 3 years old. All the other puppies were perfectly fine. We visited thousands of vets and they all said she would die. We took care of her, fed her through syringes, took her to physiotherapists. She got better. She is now 10 years old in May and can walk and trot, loves all of us and is so sweet. She has always been on meds for her skin- but she doesn’t mind. She eats a specially catered homemade diet approved by our vet. Her mother ate it too. I love Lyra so much. She was and still is a difficult dog to look after- but she made it. Now let’s talk about Lily. Ah, Lily. She was born with a defect (the vet concluded) that caused her bones and teeth to grow larger than normal. She’s huge now- but normal. She’s the most loving dog I’ve ever seen- but a bit of a drama queen! She HATES needles. She’s basically a gentle giant but very smart! She opens handle type doors by jumping up and pulling the handle down in a way that the door is pulled open by the residue of her weight. It’s hard to explain, sort of how a human opens a door but quicker. She’s very very kind to all her sisters. Lily is however scared of cats- she has PTSD from when a cat scraped her nose. Very attached to me.
Lola and Lata, the puppies were rescued from an irresponsible breeder. He sold them to us flea infected, two puppies with litter mate syndrome and he had given them their first shots “homemade”. Because of this Lata was infected with Parvovirus (a HUGE outbreak was going around in my country). Thanks to her controlled environment (THANK GOD) it was a very mild case. After 4 days on IV fluid treatment she was fine. Parvovirus was truly awful though. Lata loves cuddles and is playful but less outgoing than her bundle of energy sister; Lola. Lola loves to explore. Lily is like her mentor. She learns all her tricks from her. Lola is the more boisterous sister but falls asleep quicker….. The puppies are now 3 months and 2 weeks. I know I’m very late but I have a question- how do I get the puppies to stop chewing Lily’s face? They do it all the time and Lily lets them but I don’t want her to get hurt. Thx for listening to my ramble.

By: Roxanne

Roxanne — Mon, 15 Apr 2019 22:09:21 +0000

I have a yellow English lab that is 6 1/2 months old. The first 2 months with her were absolutely brutal! She bit us mercilessly. She has gone through puppy class, and we even took her to a dog behaviorist. She is quite an anxious puppy. She hates the car, getting her harness on is a challenge as well. She is overexcited in almost every situation.She complained and barked during all the puppy classes. She gets very bored and distracted during training. Now the good news! She is very smart, and she loves everyone and plays nice with other dogs. The behaviorist says she’s a nice puppy with a sweet personality. We love her very much, but boy has she been a challenge to live with. She also steals and jumps on people. She demands a lot of attention and excersize. We have been very dedicated to her training and educating ourselves about current positive training methods. Please tell me this gets better!!!

By: missourisam

missourisam — Thu, 11 Apr 2019 13:31:41 +0000

Someone dumped two young female labs in the country area where we live, one grown yellow, and a six to seven month old chocolate. Both were coming into season, and neither had any socialization or training. The yellow was fearful and showed aggression, while the chocolate was just cowed, both I would say from abuse and because the older of the two was supper dominate toward her. I fed and watered both of them, and finally was able to get hands on both. The yellow was mouthy and food aggressive, and the chocolate was just needy for affection. We had to leave the house for a few hours the next day, and wen we returned both were gone. That evening the chocolate returned and took up residence. She has come out of her shell, is loving, confident, and is Velcroed to both my wife and I. I have to tie her if we leave or she will follow the car or truck, but if she knows either of us is in the house she will stay at home. She would love to be a lap dog, and the only problem I have with her personality since she has learned to trust humans is that she will go to or with anyone, and won’t even bark at strangers. We have always, until the last couple of years had guard dogs, but this will never be anything but a lover, even of a burglar, but is super good with kids. This is the first lab we have ever had, and while sweet and lovable and good company, will never be a dog that is loyal to the point of protecting anything or anybody. Despite that, she will have a home for life here.

By: Larry Kirkpatrick

Larry Kirkpatrick — Fri, 08 Mar 2019 21:25:52 +0000

I rescued a black lab from a neighbor who kept her chained outside in the cold.i asked her if i could buy her but she just gave her up. Shes just a year old and shes jumping on everybody and tearing things up. Will she grow out of this? I give her pets and talk to her all the time….

By: Anne

Anne — Mon, 22 Jan 2018 00:46:44 +0000

In reply to Daniel Ellsworth. I rescued a black lab over two years ago and when he came into our home with two small dogs, One 4 lbs. he was fine, but he is aggressive around other dogs, always has been, and I am sad because I would love 5 more labs, but he wont let us. Next time I will adopt at a young age. Never owned a big dog, We adore him. He has brought so much love to home. He was abused, and bones. He is beyond spoiled. He has issues, and feels safe at home. he wants to go out but after driving a mile down the road he becomes sick. We dont take him anywhere. I am SO glad i adopted him, I adore this boy! Our baby <3