chocolate lab

cannylass_2

thanks, mineallmine for all those links.

i had thought of a rescue doggie, but have almost always had a rescue dog and thought that the time is right for me (and the family) to cope with having a dog from puppyhood (must be mad:eek:)-but it is very exciting, i am so looking forward to training her and having some doggie company again!!!

ka7e

We're currently on our second choc lab - she's 12 now and still tottering about! She has had numerous minor health problems and is now totally deaf. Our first one had to be PTS after being diagnosed with a very aggressive cancer at only 5 years of age.

The choc colouring is attained through a recessive gene, and choc labs don't generally seem to last quite as long as black and yellow. The breeder of our current dog bred blacks that carried the choc gene, and never bred choc with choc.

Training-wise, I don't think they are headstrong - just a bit "dippy". There have been a few choc field-trial champions (working dogs), but I think the some of the working-dog community have a deeply-ingrained prejudice against chocs. Our breeder told us that choc puppies were culled in the past, being a bit of an aberration. Labs were yellow or black, occasionally cream or fox-red, but chocolate was a no-no.

The bigger the dog, the longer they take to mature - I would say ours weren't even fully-grown until at least 18 months old. Both ours were so terribly destructive that they slept in the utility where there was nothing to chew! They didn't quieten down until they were about 3-4 years! But they have been great family pets, putting up with vagaries of children and numerous cats.

Given the choice, I would go for a choc lab again. A totally brown dog is still something of a head-turner and you make lots of friends when you go out on walks!

marybishop

linzi_h wrote: »

He has also got dandruff but since we have changed his food from iams to james wellbeloved this seems to be getting better.

Ooh that's interesting! Our 2 yr old choc lab has dandruff too! I switched him to JW about 6/8 weeks ago - how long was it before you noticed a difference? His dandruff seemed to be much worse after one course of antibiotics for an infection and then again after an op to remove his anal glands(!) and another course of antibiotics/painkillers. Just wondered if it's related to the drugs or being poorly?

Sorry - didn't mean to hijack! He came to us at 19 mths and had obviously had some training and he's had to learn new stuff since joining us. He's been an absolute dream and I wouldn't be without him. But like all labs you have to be firm - give 'em an inch and they'll take a mile!! Wish you all the luck with your new puppy - enjoy!

chrwil

Getting a chocolate lab is one of the best things I've ever done. Training him has been very easy, in the house he will do anything you tell him. Although get him outside and he just tends to do what he wants. He's quite big and scares some people when he goes running over but he only ever wants to play. He doesn't make much noise either, he only barks if you wind him up. As for them being less intelligent, he once went running over to another dog and didn't see some railings and crashed straight into them and got his head stuck. I read somewhere that chocolate labs have a higher pain threshold than others...

We've had minor problems with him, he had an abcess, some skin infection under his eye and recently got conjuctivitis.

One last thing, they love being cold!

piratess

:O ............. Hehehe ... it never ceases to amaze me how all the ole wives tales stick! You would be amazed at how many people when im out walking with me "choccy lab" tell me "ohhhhh hes a chocolate one! there worse than the others! eeeeeeeeekkk!!! .. there not atall! lol .. Mine is 11 months old and is adorable! he hasnt chewed anything from being tiny apart from some shoes! but this is only a recent thing since being de-crated ... he doesnt pinch food doesnt chew the walls or anything !
altho he does still pull like a trooper and loves other dogs! .. (were still attending classes)
they are a wonderful dog so sociable, friendly and great company to! ..

As others have said ! be sure to check hip scores eye scores etc ..
Umm somone mentioned dandruff! ... I always give mine 2 eggs a week (in their shells) and he also has sardines in with his Burns 3 times a week and no dandruff just lovely shiny coat ... x
I also use the ladforums ! ... great site and full of info

cannylass_2

thanks to you all for your replies!
i have put deposit down on a little girl and will collect her in just over 3 weeks time!!!!
SOOOOOOO EXCITED!!!:j:j:j:j:j:j
will post pics (if i can work out how).;)

pamperedprincess

We have a female chocolate lab. She is 6 now. She has had some health problems - phantom pregnancies, skin problems - she loses her coat in patches on her sides. However we insured her when she was a puppy so vet cost us very little. She had to have surgery to remove a stone from her stomach. When she was having a phantom pregnancy she would pick up stones from outside and carry them around in her mouth - she must have swallowed one!!!

She is very very intelligent and was really easy to train. She is a gorgeous rich, dark chocolate colour with a dark brown nose and gorgeous dark brown eyes. She is very loving and a pleasure to come home to every day! Can you guess how much I adore her?

Good luck with your puppy and please let us see photos.

Forgot to say - watch her diet. My dog would eat until a) she bursts or b) she gets tired - whatever comes first! Her greed combined with her big pleading eyes are the reason she is now on a strict diet!!

TangledMemories_2

We had twin chocolate labs when I was growing up. They were fantastic!
One of them would sit by the front door when we came home from food shopping and would carry things into the kitchen and put them where they belonged.

Also, you could go into the kitchen, get a half empty bottle of coke from the fridge and say "take it to dad" and they would carry it into my dad and gently place it in front of him.

I wouldnt believe a word of the hearsay about them not being as intelligent as golden or black labs. The gold one we had was an absolute psychopath!

We got told the brown Newfoundland we were getting would be nothing but bad news...truth is, he's a big baby. Stubborn sometimes and totally addicted to water...but nowhere near as bad as the books say.

SuzySu

You have had a lot of good advice already and I bet you can't wait to get your gorgeous girl home!

We have had our choccy lab since she was 12 weeks old and she was a doddle to train - sort of did it herself. She will be 3 in two weeks' time and we're still waiting for her to 'grow up'. She still jumps up at people if we don't give her 'the look' first, but she is the most loving, loyal, rewarding dog we could wish for.

Something I did hear from a policeman was that the police never choose chocolate labs as police dogs as they were more accident prone - don't know how much truth there is, but I've never seen a choccy guide dog either. Keep us posted.

LillyJ

linzi_h wrote: »

I have a chocolate lab and he is fab! Absolutly off his head! He loves his food, the skirting boards, table legs, chimney breast ..... hehehe

Hes 10 months old now and hes very well trained really. He knows what looks to give you if he has been bad though but we just have to get passed that.

We seem to have a bit of trouble finding any lab proof toys though as he just kills them all! So if anyone can find any then please let me know

We have had trouble with him though.... hes got hip dysplacia (spelling??) (apparently a common problem) and hes had an op on his left back leg and he might have to have his right back leg done soon but we just have to wait and see. So I reccommend that you get insurance for your new puppy (we are with argos and they paid out very quickly)

He has also got dandruff but since we have changed his food from iams to james wellbeloved this seems to be getting better.

I use a site called www.labradorforums.co.uk that has a lot of lab info on so if you have not seen it before then give it a go

Hope this has helped a little

Have you tried Kongs? We have a black kong it is like an indestructible rubber toy that you can stuff with food and they can get the food out then chew the toy. They are the only thing that our dog can't destroy (lab cross but much bigger than a lab). Luckily he doesn't chew anything apart from his toys that he knows are his (like his kong).

We fill it when we are going out with ham, cheese, peanut butter, sausage, banana, anything really and he loves it. He also chews it when it is not full of food.
You can buy special pastes that you can spread inside them but IMO they are a waste of money as my dog would be just as happy with peanut butter or something.