Labradors - what do you like in a dog?

[Briarscratch]

I love Labs and grew up with them. I shot my first pheasant over a Lab as well as many other species of birds - Ruffed Grouse, Woodcock, ducks, geese....etc.

 

So I was curious what those of you who have Labs look for in a dog. I'm talking about conformation, pedigree, temperament, etc. I ask for a few reasons. Here in the US the Lab is the most popular dog among pet owners, in many cases to its detriment. There are so many people breeding them that the quality and health of the breed is at risk to some degree. Sure, you can get one just about anywhere but as a person who actually used their Labs as working dogs I think it's important to be very selective.

 

Even among solid working dogs here in the US, I find that many of the Labs are pretty huge. It's not uncommon to see 100+lb. dogs in the uplands and duck marshes and many folks like them. This works well when hunting out of a blind but in my experience those big dogs have shorter careers and are less suited to walking up / upland bird hunting because of issues related to endurance and joint health. I have one of these larger Labs now (85lbs.) and sadly what has been an exceptional upland bird hunting career has come to a screeching halt at the age of 8 due to arthritis and joint problems.

 

That said there are a small but growing number of Lab breeders who are committed to breeding dogs for the uplands. In some cases these dogs have pointing abilities and are advertised as pointing Labs, but many are just smaller, lighter more athletic dogs intended for long days running afield. The retrieving instincts are as strong as ever but these dogs are also expected to quest for game, quartering and working more like a spaniel and hunt in a variety of conditions. My new dog follows this line of thinking. She's 65lbs of solid muscle, fast and happens to come from strong pointing Lab bloodlines. I chose not to finish her a pointing Lab to let her do her thing naturally - which translates to a dog who will often point/stand sitting birds but flush birds that are moving. It works for me as I've always loved flushers but don't mind if she points a woodcock or pheasant now and then. I also *knock wood* think this dog will have a much longer career due to her athletic, lighter build.

 

So what do you guys and gals in the UK look for in a working Lab? What kind of traits do you see breeders focusing on? I'd love to hear your general thoughts and opinions on working Labs.

[lurcherboy]

All I would look for is the right lineage.

 

A Lab pup out of two known and well established workers be them Kennel Club registered or not is what concerns me most.

 

Ben, my Lab is my first and other than having a very strong urge to mount every bitch within sight I can't fault him. He is the one I take out when I am shooting, the Cocker is the one I take when I a want a dog to work for someone else shooting.

 

I will stick some pics up for you tonight Briar.

 

 

 

 

LB

[Highlander]

Ben, my Lab is my first and other than having a very strong urge to mount every bitch within sight

LB

 

Wonder where he learned that trick LB

 

IMO Labs are about the best all round gun dogs. I use mine for all sorts, hunting, setting, picking up, on all types of game/wildfowl and pigeons and as far as I can remember he's never refused to pick any shot quarry. Unfortunately lost one last year and the other is a bit crook but try stopping him. He's always first in the driving seat when we're off out. Has one of the best noses in the business but like all 'well trained' dogs is selectively deaf

 

Picking up two pups (one black one yellow) from LB in a couple of weeks or so...another bitch Ben couldn't leave alone!

[gundogpa]

Here is a picture of 'Scratch's upland lab. LOL Just kidding brother.

 

[dazza]

he's a big lab here's Ben....

[Briarscratch]

Chuck, isn't that one of your soccer mom girlfriend's Pigadors? I thought so. Come clean, you know you like a little extra cushion for the pushin' - when it comes to Labs.

 

Here's my little blue-flamer...

 

 

[Briarscratch]

I forgot to mention, I also like a Lab with a big tongue....

 

 

 

 

dazza, Ben looks pretty good. What are his "specs"?

[gundogpa]

Lockie sure does have a kick-*** toungue.

 

I know it was her first year, how did she differ in handling woodcock and Ruffs?

 

Boston will point Woodcock and any preserve birds pretty well…….grouse are another story. Although I did have a handful of suicide birds last year, I am hoping that’s a trend that will continue. BTW my Boston dog is not from pointing lines.....he just likes to point once in a while, I neither engourage nor discourage it.

 

 

Boston

[v-max]

Hello there are 2-3 type's of lab's here as in the show type like the dog in the pic from gundogpa then we have the trialing & working which is based of trialing dog's but bred back a bit with wildfowling/working lab's like mine are.I like my lab's quite big & bold/smart/temprament & with some thing that a dog is realy good at like marking pricked game & going way back.My lab dog of my 1st litter is 10yrs now & 80/90lb & his daughter is in the 60/70lb mark like my other black bitch which was was my 2nd litter & now in pup.There is many bitches that are quite sharp & pointy on the go now & all quite timed.My black bitch is a good known bitch in my area as a good/bold/steady & very good running game finder.Here is my dog jan 2006.

His daughter

My black bitch which point's game like her mother my first lab.

My cocker

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[Briarscratch]

Good looking dogs V-Max. They look both intense and fit. How do you keep them in good shape in the off season?

 

Chuck, the first season went well with lots of progress but you know how it is with grouse. It usually takes a dog a few good seasons before they start to dial in. We killed on pheasant - wild and released, we did well on woodcock with several solid points and we shot a handful of grouse that she put up too. In the coming year I expect to see her become more bold when it comes to working heavy grouse cover. She stays pretty close and generally hunts ahead of me but I'd like to see her start relying less on me for direction and more on her nose. It's good that she's tuned in to me but I'd like to switch the balance a bit to where I'm more tuned into her. I'm confident it will happen, she's very bold in every other respect. She also really shined in the retrieving of dead and crippled birds. She marks really well and has made some excellent retrieves - some big ones on pheasant and some really tough ones on grouse.

 

The bottom line is we've got a lot to look forward to and I can't wait to get to it!

[simonp]

As previously mentioned there are two main lines over here.

The show line and the working line. AFAIK the show line are plumper and have shorter legs (from what I can tell just looking) but I guess a read of the breed specification would be in order to fully find out. Good working dogs come from good and well bred lines.

 

Here are my two in their prime :

 

 

Unfortunatley we lost the yellow one (Tolly) just before last Christmas, he was an awesome dog, just had a domination issue

Murphy is now 10 and very very grey but infintley gorgeous (he was going grey when he was 4). For us its down to behaviour and

 

Will definatley have more

 

(oh and the wife made my butch dogs look gay by making them sit on the garden bench for the photo...)

 

Si

[lurcherboy]

 

 

 

Bohasset Hillside Moss or Ben the randy one

 

 

 

 

LB

[gundogpa]

oops double post

[gundogpa]

Nice dogs!

 

 

Here in the US many people mistakenly call any lab that is “blocky†looking an English or a British lab. There is a decided break here between the show labs and the field labs as well. The huge lab I posted earlier is an example of what some people are breeding here. While I am sure they are good family dogs and might well have that lab temperament, I am also sure they can’t work as well as a more athletic dog. One thing that some folks are doing here is trying to put some hunt test titles on their show dogs, and then claim that they are “huntersâ€â€¦â€¦.generally they are not. The good news is that there are many, many field bred labs to be found who are put together really nicely, by folks who really know what a shooting dog is all about.

 

For a while there was some folks talking about a split in the breed…..field and show…..of course it causes an uproar whenever it’s brought up. I guess we’ll see what happens.

 

Do any of you Lab guys here know anything about Wildrose kennels here in the US. They propose to breed and train a “Gentlemans gundog†like you might find in the UK. It has caused quite an uproar here in the hunt test and trial crowd, because they claim that the us bred field trial labs are too high strung or have too much “GO†for a regular hunter. Actually all they are trying to do is model after the UK type of hunting or trialing which is very different than ours……….two very different games as I understand it. Wildrose has the official Ducks Unlimited duck dog and that set the trial folks off again….it’s really kind of comical, if you’re like me and don’t have a dog in the fight.

 

Nose to the wind,

 

Chuck

[v-max]

Hello a lot of the working lab's here are going quite skinny/pointy looking & i like head/chest nae bum & otter tail & dull eye's just my think i dont like bright eye's.There is many good unknown dog's owned by normal people that just work them.I hope to go to a FTCH dog that i know for my next litter of my yellow bitch which is hip/eye tested.I have worked my dog's from 15/16month's on & it's then i say they start there apprentice ship as the first year they find there feet & you learn your dog & abilites.