Advantages: Faithful, obedient pet
Disadvantages: Loads of energy!

...About 3 years ago I set off in my car to Devon. I returned £200 lighter and with a bundle of brown fluff! Yes, I'd bought a chocolate Labrador. The Labrador is one of the most popular breeds of dog. It makes an ideal family pet. Originally it was bred as a working dog. These days you see them used more frequently as guide dogs and search and rescue dogs. The breed originated in the early 1800s when fishermen from europe travelled to Newfoundland. There they found a large heavily built breed of dog, known as the Newfoundland, and a lighter built smooth coated dog - the Labrador! Whilst making excellent pets, Labradors are a large breed. This means that they need a great deal of exercise, eat a lot of food, and should be trained well to enable control over the dog. As with any breed, the Labrador can be expensive to keep... Read review

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Advantages: great family pet
Disadvantages: hip problems

...other dogs toys instead. They then develop jaws of steel and a good grip and lots of treats are required to retrieve the ball or toy. My dog is a yellow labrador (golden) but you can also get black and chocolate labs. I believe that the chocolate labradors can be slightly more expensive to buy because of their colour. Labradors can cost £300 to £350 to buy from a breeder but I know that there is a labrador rescue centre in Sussex that rehomes all age labradors that have lost their owners or who are sadly unwanted. Remember, if you purchase a puppy they will remain very lively for the first 18 months. They will chew everything, slippers, furniture, carpets, absolutely anything!! After 18 months they suddenly calm down and spend most of their time sleeping. Labradors make extremely good guard dogs as they have a really deep bark... Read review

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Advantages: Loyal , Gentle
Disadvantages: Tend to go off if they get a sent of something

...Thinking of getting a dog but unsure which breed to go for ? well, let me tell you about the labrador retriever. *History* Labrador retrievers originate from Canada.They were originally bred as gun dogs.During the 17th century they used to swim across frozen lakes to get fishing nets for the fishermen. *Appearance* Labrador Retrievers come in three colours : Black , Golden and Chocolate. Male labradors' average weight is between 27-36kg. Females average weight is between 23-32kg.They are medium sized dogs.They have smooth coats. Labradors have 'good heads'. They have strong tales.They have tails like otters and web feet which is the reason why they're good swimmers.They were also bred to be gun dogs that can swim well. Labrador's eyes are most of the time brown or hazel. *Health* Because of their large floppy ears... Read review

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Advantages: Loyal and loving
Disadvantages: Very expensive, needs a lot of time

...My dad has always kept dogs. At the moment he has two: Charlie, a Chocolate Labrador and Roger, an Old English Sheepdog, before them there was Jasper, a King Charles Spaniel, Magic, Border Collie and Cassie a German Shepherd. If you take all the pets we had growing up throughout our childhood we could easily have run a farm! Anyway, I fell in love with Charlie the moment I saw him. He was the most beautiful, loving dog we had ever had and so I thought id write this review with some information about how to look after and care for this breed properly as despite how loving they are, they are also very high maintenance! ~*~ History ~*~ The Labradors are a kind of working dog, they were (and still are) used to hunt game and waterfowl. Labradors were recognised in England as a Kennel Club breed in 1903. There are three different... Read review

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Advantages: Will be your best friend!
Disadvantages: Hips and eyes

...A Labrador would not have been my first choice of dog, although they are very good natured and good with other dogs and people especially kids, I prefered German Shepards personally but my husband talked me into looking at other breeds which included a little brown bundle that has resulted in being my shadow. About 6 months ago I injured my back, left my job and moved to a different county due to my husbands job. As you can imagine there was a lot to take in and get sorted, 1 month and a bit later still no job due to my back I persuded my husband to get a dog, being on my own alot with him away and not knowing many people I felt that I needed a companion of the 4 legged kind. We looked in the paper and on the internet for puppies for sale etc after deciding on what breed to go for and found a place in the sticks about an hour... Read review

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Advantages: Unconditional love, loyalty and beauty
Disadvantages: Slobber, mess, smell, fur, cost

...Prepare yourself - this report is likely to be a biased account of my love for the furry freaks but I'll be brutally honest too. Custard (yellow) Tiffin (Chocolate) Guinness (Black) and Doughnut (baby chocolate) are the influences for this report. Firstly, I've always had labradors, they're the best quite frankly. I've got plenty of experience of a lot of breeds (I can't say 'most' because there are thousands of breeds and variations of, so...) and for the most part I feel I have the knowledge and experience to confirm my biased opinion. Please note, this is a review of the English Labrador Retriever as I've no personal experience of the American version. **** Origins ***** Contrary to popular belief, Labs do not originate from Labrador, Canada as previously thought - fairly recently in the grand scheme of things... Read review

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Advantages: A faithful companion
Disadvantages: Bags of energy and prone to chewing!

...was adorable and immediately snuggled into my neck. The breeder introduced us to his mother and father - his mother was golden and his father was a huge chocolate brown labrador. We went into the office to complete the paperwork and the breeder went over all the imporant information that we needed to know. We were informed of vaccinations, worming, flea treatment and information on the particular breed. She gave us written instructions on feeding and supplied us with enough food for him for a week. We knew that labradors were BIG chewers but that they were excellent with children. So, £250 lighter we left and set off for home. We found Harvey very easy to house train. They are so obedient and intelligent and so eager to please. Yes, we had problems with chewing! He ate his way through 6 pairs of training shoes and numerous door frames... Read review

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Advantages: FAITHFUL, LOYAL AND VERY TRUSTWORTHY WITH KIDS
Disadvantages: LICKS HIS BUM AND THEN TRIES TO LICK YOUR FACE

...will guard your house as if he owns it then look no further. I recommend the labrador retriever to you. You will never regret the decision to get one of these wonderful dogs. I have decided (after a few requests!) to add a bit to this. Labradors come in a choice of 3 colours- black ,chocolate brown and a golden yellow. If you breed different colour adult dogs the puppies still arrive in these 3 colours. There is no such thing as a 'mixture' of these colours. The puppies are ready to leave their mother at about 10 weeks. They need vaccinating before they are allowed out or in the company of other dogs.Usually 2 vaccinations 2 weeks apart, cost about £30.00. The dog will need booster vaccinations once a year. A good idea to ask your vet to microchip your dog-cost about £20.00 but well worth it if he/she gets lost. I have always fed my... Read review

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Advantages: Fun loving, playful, a great friend & company... plus more!
Disadvantages: Can be quite strong & uncontrollable if not trained correctly, shed alot of hair, greedy...

...favour their line over the other. If you want to own a Labrador for reasons other than a basic pet i.e showing, then get your dog from a showing breeder, and vise versa if you are interested in owning a Labrador soley for hunting/ field work. Labradors have been used as service dogs, guide dogs for the blind, and sniffer dogs. However, Springer Spaniels recently topped the Labrador as being the better sniffer dog as they are smaller and lighter. We used to have a Springer Spaniel too who sadly died this year, Ben, and strangely enough, I see some of his character traits within Jasper. Even though they are two seperate breeds entirely. ~~~ Looks ~~~ * Colour There are 3 recognized colours of the Labrador. Black Yellow Chocolate Yellow can range from a very light almost white colouring, to a deep fox... Read review

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Advantages: Loyal, Loving, Fun, Fantastic Temperament & Full of Energy
Disadvantages: Messy, Messy, Messy!!!

...I would without a doubt recommend a lab as a family pet. I grew up with dogs and have recently become the owner of a four month old chocolate lab named Bailey. She is excellent with kids and other dogs. We were very lucky as we purchased her from a great breeder. We were able to spend a few hours with the entire litter and to see them all individually and with their mother. The hardest part was deciding which puppy to have! Do BEWARE of so called breeders who charge more for one colour than another. This usually stands for PUPPY FARM!!! A reputable breeder will not charge more for one colour than another as they are all bred in the same way. The other major things to watch out for are Hip Dysplasia, PRA and epilesy. However, responsible breeders will have their dogs hip scored and have current clear eye test certificates... Read review

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