Labradors

I have a lab. Qualities? (in general)They are friendly, easy to train, want to please you, BUT they can be a puppy for 2-3 years. Originally, they were bred in Newfoundland to swim into cold water to retrieve fish nets. They have webbed feet and an otter tail so that they can swim well. Most labs LOVE to swim (I know mine does). Now, Labs are used as hunting dogs. They make great bird retrievers, because they have a natural instinct to retrieve. As for colors, the AKC recognizes 3-yellow, black, and chocolate. There is much debate about silver...and I think that people sometimes say "golden" when they mean "yellow." The standards are the same for the three colors except for stuff like a chocolate may have green eyes and a variation in the color yellow. You can find the standards on the AKC website. I heard they were excellent family dogs, that is why we decided to get one. We don't have children yet though (I'm due April 6). I have taken a lot of time to train ours...he can be very excited and playful...but with many training classes, daily walks, and love...he is actually a very well behaved dog. They are a high energy dog and will need daily walks (sometimes 2x per day). They will chew during the puppy time...I suggest crate training right off the bat. The Labrador retriever is the #1 AKC registered dog at the moment. There are a lot of breeders out there...do your research and find a quality one. I see a lot of overweigh Labs...that can mean they have been overfed or overbred. Look at the weight standards on the Lab they shouldn't weigh over 80-90 Ibs. at most. I love having a Lab...he has the best personality and funny facial expressions. Hope that helps. Good Luck![]

Qualities of a labrador? Their characteristics and what are they used for? What's the difference between a black, yellow, golden, chocolotae, silver and golden labs? Are they extremely good with children and family? Are they too playful and very fun oriented? What else?

There are black labs, chocolate labs, and yellow labs. No goldens. I've never heard of silver either. The only difference is the colour really. Black are black.... yellow can range from almost white to deep golden colour, and chocolate are brown.

They are all-around playful, goofy, happy dogs. They love people and their families, but are not a dog that gets attached to one person or family only - they generally like all people. They love retrieving, whether it is game or just a tennis ball. They are great with kids when trained of course.

Cons in my opinion: They have really high energy as puppies, and their puppy stage can last a long time (I've heard of labs that were 3 or 4 before they started to calm down). It's manageable as long as you can give an outlet for the energy. Depending on how big your kids are, it can be tough when he is a large 1-year old dog with a puppy demeanor, and constantly knocking over your kids by accident.

I think overall they are a great choice for a family if someone wants to give him exercise everyday. Fetching, walking, etc.

big downside of labs is that they are very popular "family dogs". And thus unethical breeders breed as many as they can from poor stock. Be very careful. A well-bred lab is a lovely dog. We have mostly not-well-bred labs around here. They are not lovely-- aggressive, oversized (labs are supposed to be 60 pound dogs, not 100+ pounds), non-retrievers with hereditary crippling joint problems.

Mudpuppy is right about weight...a female should be between 60-75 pounds I believe and a male between 70-80 pounds. Mine is 75 pounds. He's a nice size!

Another thing about poorly-bred labs...good god can they be stupid. There was a chocolate lab that lived next door to us when we lived in Maryland who was one of those gigantic (120 lbs. easily) crappily-bred assembly line labs who I actually had to rescue out of the river once for fear that he'd drown. He was in there chasing a soccer ball that was too big for his mouth to get around so ever time he'd grab at it, it would go further out and he'd swim after it. Given the dog's size and general poor health, I realized after watching him for a while that I was going to have to get in my kayak and go out there and take his ball away from him or he was going to swim so far out that he'd drown from exhaustion. No one was home at his house--he was an outside dog that was often given free-roam with no supervision. Seriously, this dog was freakishly stupid.
 
One thing that makes me not such a fan of labs is their intense handler-focus, which can often translate into extreme neediness. It's also what makes them very easy to train, though, so it goes both ways.

And be careful, as Mudpuppy suggested. They can so easily have skeletal/joint issues and that will end up costing you an arm and a leg to salvage.
 
Oops, edited to add that you don't always find out they have bone issues until they're over 2 years of age. Many breeders (at least around here) guarantee hips for 2 years. Hmm. Go figure.  

Houndlove--you gotta love those hounds, huh? []
 
I had a treeing walker coonhound until she died, of cancer, at age 12. Man, I loved that dog. They're great, huh?
 
Alright. Sorry about that intrustion from Labs to Hounds. Back to Labs again.

ORIGINAL: zaidoo

Qualities of a labrador? Their characteristics and what are they used for? What's the difference between a black, yellow, golden, chocolotae, silver and golden labs? Are they extremely good with children and family? Are they too playful and very fun oriented? What else?

 
First of all there is no such thing as a Silver Lab.  There is speculation that some unscrupulous breeders have been crossing Labs with Weims and selling them as the very rare "Silver Lab".  There is actually a Chocolate variation that somewhat resembles Silver, but I don't think that's what you're talking about. Golden is the color of a Golden Retriever, a completely different breed altogether.  Unfortunately, Labs have been so severely overbred that good ones are becoming difficult to find.  DO NOT buy a Lab from a pet store!  As Mudpuppy said, a well bred Lab is a lovely dog - everything you've ever heard about them is true.  One of the readily available, mass-produced, dime a dozen Labs... not so lovely.   Check out Woodhaven Labs for everything you ever wanted to know about dogs and Labs.   (Slick is NOT from Woodhaven kennels, but Laura is extremely knowledgable and her site is a wonderful reference for all dog owners.)

I have always admired the Chesapeake Retrievers although I've heard they tend to have a more aggressive attitude but anyhow I pressume they may have cleaner breeding lines due to being slightly less popular then the traditional labs you all have been discussing. I could be wrong though just throwing in some input. 

would it be advisable to get a 1yr old black lab? i'm afraid it would be too old at 1 yr old and tough to re-train and re-familiarize with it's new place and environment. or am i wrong? [8|]

A Chesapeake Bay Retriever is a different breed, just to clarify that.

But in answer to your question, I think an adult lab from a rescue would be ideal. You would get some background on the dog, and know in advance what he/she is like. Dogs are quite adaptable, I think adopting an adult lab is a great idea. Plus, you'd probably get a dog who was already housetrained, too.

just thought I would say that a friend of mine has been involved with breeding and showing labs for over 20 yrs and will tell you that BIG wins in the ring too.  Her current male 2+ is 80lbs and looks small next to some he's competing with.  He has done very welll (near champion status) but has lost some big events to some hUGE labs

ORIGINAL: jondextan

would it be advisable to get a 1yr old black lab? i'm afraid it would be too old at 1 yr old and tough to re-train and re-familiarize with it's new place and environment. or am i wrong? [8|]

 
You're wrong!  I've adopted and fostered at least 20 adult Labs in the past 15 years.  They adapt incredibly well.  

Some thoughts on labs, since thats all I've owned for eons...
 
Yellow, Chocolate, Black.
 
Weight: 60-100, depending on the sex and lineage.  Just because the parents are bigger, DOES NOT mean they are from inferior stock or will be dumb, etc.  But, check the parents for size, hips, temperment, along with papers, and, if possible, contact other owners of dogs who have come from the same breeder.
 
Disposition:  Family friendly, outgoing, typically passive and wanting to serve you, very loving.
 
Energy:  High level the first couple years when all they want to do is lay or chew on things.  Wonderful for training, and adept at retrieving on land and water.
 
As for getting a 1 year old, sure, so long as you know the health background of the dog.  Even though its already 1, it can still be trained and you can expect a good 10+ years of fun and love if its well cared for and genetically healthy.