Spin off of dog whine-- would you still recommend a lab dog as a pet?

[diamond]

My kids are excited about getting a lab puppy soon. We have not committed but closer to... Never had a dog before. Would you recommended a lab dig inspite of the hair shedding issue?

[mom2binsd]

I'm not sure how much you've looked at various breeds, but I can't recommend looking at adopting from a local rescue. There are so many amazing dogs and a good rescue will help you find a dog that suits your family. Labs are great, but they shed a lot, we had a golden retriever, she had longer hair but we never had the shedding issue that another poster is dealing with.

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[dogmom]

I’ve had hounds and Labs, pure bred and mixes. I would never recommend a hound as a first dog, I would without hesitation recommend a Lab. Of course I’m not OCD about my house being clean, but then you should not have a dog IMO. The shedding isn’t as bad as a husky or the like. It’s usually only bad two times a year. I just think they are the best overall family dog with the widest and deepest gene pool. I’ve got a rescue Basset Hound which I could never get from a breeder because those dogs just shouldn’t exist.

[wendibird22]

I've got a lab pit mix and he hardly sheds and practically seems water resistant, which is great for us in NY with all the snow and slush.

[DualvansMommy]

I would go the rescue route, a puppy is hard and tons of work. I’m bit hesitate to go that route if you never had a dog previously ever in your life.

My parents got a lab 9 months old when I was 9 months old, and grew up with him. He died when I was 13, the best dog I ever had to have as a child. If you’re OCD about clean house, etc. it’s hard to say how much lab will shed as it really seem to vary dog to dog. Don’t get a hound dog, as they’re not mellow and always wanting to be hunting something. Good luck! Another great family dog are boxers; and they don’t shred as much a lab do. Both require fair amount of exercise, so daily multiple walks, dog parks etc every week is gonna be in your life.


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[Kindra178]

Labs are just excellent with kids. I don't really care about shedding.

My dog's biggest issue these days is food. You can't leave food unattended or she will eat it. It's super annoying. I read that labs have a gene such that they are unable to determine if they are full.

[MommyAllison]

Hands down yes, labs are worth it despite their shedding! Our lab has such a sweet temperament, she is rock solid around kids and adults of all ages and she is so versatile - loves to go on a hike with us, equally happy to hang out at home and snuggle with the kids on her bed. IME, labs love two things above all else - their people, and food. We do walk our dog daily, usually one 30 minute walk (especially this time of year when it's freezing) but more than anything she just wants to be where we are. I would be selective about where you get your lab - we chose a breeder whose dogs are more on the mellow side, and get compliments all the time about how calm our pup is (she turned 2 this month). If you end up rescuing one, really watch their personality so you don't end up with a hyper dog (unless you want a high energy dog, but for your first dog, I wouldn't recommend that).

All of that said - we got our lab at 8 weeks old, and lab puppies are a ton of work. A ton. My husband was ready to throw in the towel during puppyhood (FIL was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer a week after we brought our puppy home, and passed away a week later, so timing ended up being really difficult) but once we got to 5 months, she got easier, and she has been worth all of the training. I found these forums super helpful: https://thelabradorforum.com/forums/labrador-puppies.8/ and the sister website has a ton of good info on lab puppies: https://www.thelabradorsite.com/

[Kestrel]

In general, labs make great family dogs. However - they are infamous for eating things that are not food! In my opinion, not a good fit for homes that have infants/toddlers because they eat toys, pacifiers, stuffed animals - whatever they can get a hold of. You can work with them if you do good crate training, but be aware! Puppies much more so, but my brother's lab ate weird things until he was fifteen - I think the only reason he stopped was because he got old and it was too hard for him to get on the counters to get things.

[smilequeen]

Think honestly about what you can handle. If a lot of shedding will stress you out, you need to research other dogs that will fit. There are a lot of great dogs that will be great with a family. Shedding doesn't really bother me that much. I get more stressed about the mud they drag in in the spring when it rains a lot...But they are worth it

[dhano923]

We have a chocolate lab and love her to death. (English labrador, so the bigger stockier body build) But she comes with her fair share of issues too! They do shed, so if being able to see dog hair everywhere is a problem, then don’t get a lab. When we got our hardwoods, we actually chose a darker brown wood so her fur wouldn't show as much! But we still see it on the beige kitchen tiles. It doesn’t bother us but we do brush her almost daily and swiffer every day but its just part of the package.

They do eat voraciously. And not just food. Ours will eat paper towels and napkins, and she used to eat my daughters socks and throw them up a couple days later. The socks are bigger now, so she stopped with those but we always can tell if she ate something she shouldn’t have becuase of how she’s acting. Now its usually hair ties that my daughter left lying around. One time was a red satin hair bow and i freaked out thinking there was blood in her poop but my husband figured out it was a ribbon. She’ll sneak into the kitchen when she thinks no one is watching and try to see what she can get off the counters. She has plenty of toys and things so she doesn’t eat things out of boredom - its just how labs are!

We always tell people she’s our third child and a permanent toddler. She gets into things she shouldn’t, we have to put the breakables higher up so she doesn’t knock them over when she gets too excited and have to watch what she eats. Just like you would do with a two year old. But, we adore her and she brings us so much joy!