The Dog Debate…

i say get the Yellow Lab. they are so adorable and friendly.

is there any difference personality wise, or is it just color? my parents have a dog that’s part lab retriever. he doesn’t retrieve very well. hehe. but he loves people and he loves to be loved. and he loves to shred paper, which i’ve heard is a lab thing.

golden… I think they actually might shed less than labs…

I’ve raised 1 Golden, 3 Labs, and now I’ve got a Lab/Golden cross, and both dogs are excellent family dogs. Goldens are a tad more needy and affectionate, where Labs are more “I’ll watch from here to make sure you’re ok.” Goldens require more grooming to prevent mats and still shed, but Labs shed like crazy. Golden fur is lighter and stays on top of the carpet, Lab fur is shorter, but it weaves into the carpet like a bazillion little needles. Goldens mature a little sooner, Labs stay puppies for a good 2-3 years – and a 80 pound puppy isn’t much fun.

Both breeds are hard working, love to please, goofy, playful, but very trainable. If you’re not looking forward to a puppy (some people aren’t – I don’t know why, LOL, but some people aren’t) try adopting a “career changed” service dog – a dog who wasn’t quite right for working, but still a great dog. They will be at least a year old, house trained, and obediance trained. There’s a guide dog school in TX (http://www.guidedogsoftexas.org/) that might have dogs that need homes.

If you need more info, feel free to e-mail me. Dogs are my life. 🙂

Ooo. Forgot to say in my last comment that I am and always will be a Golden girl. I dunno, there’s just something about them.

I had a retriever… get ready for HUGE POOP from either of those (my aunt had a lab).

Smaller dogs are good for a number of reasons, none of which I’ll hijack your blog to go through. 🙂

“get ready for HUGE POOP from either of those” lol! Ok, it is kinda true. I had a golden lab/retriever. She did poop kinda big. But so sweet! Her, not the poop.

I have a Yellow Lab and a Black Lab/Australian shepherd mix. Bailey, the yellow lab, is the sweetest, gentlest dog I have ever known, but he farts and drools like a drunken sailor, he is huge (90+ pounds), and sheds like crazy.

I’d say you can’t go wrong with either breed, or even a mutt like our lab mix. My only advice would be to get the pup through rescue or a shelter. It makes you feel good to know you are saving a doggy life.

To answer some questions:
– I won’t go through a breeder. There are too many dogs out there that need to be saved.
– The Golden are supposedly better with younger children, and they are less “watchdog” like – that is probably why my doggie test results all place the golden 15-20 points higher than the lab.
– Big poop is ok. That’s why they make a big poop scoop.
– I prefer an adult over a puppy. When adopting, everyone wants the puppies – adults have a harder time being rescued.
– Also with adults, you get more of a sense of their final personality. Of course that will change some in their new home, but you at least know adult size.
– Small dogs are great, but with two cats, I actually prefer a larger dog.

Labs are H-Y-P-E-R even in adulthood. Get a golden. After the puppy year, they are the most calm dogs and best trained. I’d only get a lab if I were going to be hunting all the time.

personally, I’m a fan of lab and golden mixes. purebreds have too many problems early on. my dad had a black lab/chow mix and he was the coolest dog in the world. completely calm and loved EVERYONE.

I have a black lab and, up until last Saturday had a yellow lab named Sophie who was 16. She was by far the sweetest dog I have ever known. Elvis the black lab is wonderful too but he is a bit goofy which is why I also love him so much. My sister gets goldens. They are both wonderful dogs. Labs shed short hair, goldens shed long hair. They all shed, especially in Texas, so if you don’t want shedding get a Mexican hairless 🙂

I think labradors are the most lovable and trustworthy of the dogs they’re great around chlidren and the elderly

We have a yellow lab who is the sweetest dog I’ve ever known. She is getting old now and I am looking for a puppy to add to the family and keep her company. I live in Concord MA.

My girlfriends parents have a chocolate lab. One of my old boyfriends had a chocolate lab. My mom’s friend has a chocolate lab. Every single one of those dogs is crazy. They jump, bite and go hysterical and are uncontrollable despite going to several dog obedience courses. They are also very smart, learn tricks (but don’t always listen) and are very loyal. Every lab MIX I have met has all the great qualities, but not the crazy psycho part. We just adopted a lab golden mix and he is awesome:)

My family adopted a golden/lab mix from the shelter two weeks ago. He is 2 to 3 years old and is the sweetest dog I’ve ever had. He was already housebroke, is very laid back and calm. He even gets along with my toy poodle and our cat. He sleeps in our son’s room every night, and has yet to chew on anything he shouldn’t. I have never had such a big dog, but my husband, son and I agree he is the perfect dog for our family. I would definitly recommend a golden/lab mix.

Thank you so much for all the wonderful comments on the lab/retriever mix. Our purebred black lab female is going to have puppies within the next 2 weeks and the papa is a beautiful golden retriever. We’ve only had purebred black/chocolate pups or purebred yellows in the past so we were really wondering if this was going to be a good mix. I’m convinced now that they will make wonderful companions and pets! Both of the parents are extremely smart and neither are hyper at all so I felt good about it, but I wasn’t sure. We are waiting now to see how they will look (long hair or short? black or light in color?) Anybody know?

I hope you adopted one, there are so many out there in need of rescue and adoption.