Labrador Retriever
Labrador retrievers are big lunky dogs that love to run, swim, play, and chase the stick. I try to avoid them as they may swat me a good one. I hate that. Anyway, I do love the Labradors though as they are friendly and prefer to play with humans and a stick than bother with me. And if another big problem dog arrives, their energy will occupy each other, while I can hang with my harem.
Labradors were bred in Newfoundland, Canada (where s that?) by mixing the Newfoundland with small water dogs. Hmm. It seems that water dogs were common to breed with and we’re still mixing them with pudeln, one of the original water dogs.
The fisherman who colonized Newfoundland brought big and small dogs from Europe. Over time the large Newfoundland was bred into a longer haired waterdog that assisted with fishing and hunting as retrievers of fish and game.
A breeder noticed that the short haired waterdog stayed warm and dried off quickly so he bred them with Newfoundlands and over time, the Labrador retriever was born. A great waterdog and when trained correctly will help with the hunt, fishing, or anything that requires an energetic waterdog who can retrieve.
To see the AKC standards for Labrador retriever’s click here.
Labrador Facts
Medium breed
Sporting Group
Born in Canada
Happy playful fun
Gentle and loyal
Males 22.5-24.5 inches, 65-80 pounds
Females 21.5-23.5 inches, 55-70 pounds
Highly energetic and strong
Short fur with lots of shedding
They love a good brushing but don’t really need it
Throw the ball, c’mon, throw the ball
Strong tail that can clear a coffee table
Labradoodle
When you mix a Labrador retriever with a poodle, you get a labradoodle. Now most of the labradoodles I’ve seen are good sized dogs with long hair. However, it is possible to breed a Labrador retriever with a miniature poodle and toy poodle (What?) but I have not seen anything like that before. If you have one of these, let me know, I’d love to sniff them.
Now you could end up with the poodle look and short fur, which again is an interesting mutt. What you will get is an energetic water retriever that is easily and happily trained. Remember, us dogs want and need to be trained. We need to know our place and how to behave with the pack.
So, if you’re looking for a new puppy or to adopt an older one, think about what you can offer us. The best living conditions for a labradoodle or other larger dog is to have a yard, where they can play, near a park or waterbody so they can get a long session of running and retrieving, and in a home where food is a plenty.