This entry will be for those thinking about getting a Labrador or Golden Retriever (they're bred from Labradors and a breed of dog that is now extinct), I guess. Mainly for those who are thinking about getting one as their first dog. If you didn't realize, my Labrador looks a bit different than the standard yellow kind because he inherited either brown or black Lab traits and ended up with yellow eyes instead of the usual brown/black. It's sort of like I have a ginger dog...you know? get it? because you don't often see red headed white people around...
I've wrote several entries about how I scaled my decision down to one. Now after having raised one for a year, I'm a bit concerned for those who may want one too. I don't know. They are good dogs and I can see why they're ranked so high when it comes to being "America's Favorite Dog" but the time I spent raising him was pretty wild. He still is pretty wild, but I love my dog nonetheless. He's pretty obedient. He just...loves people too much...and other dogs...I guess...to the point where he can't really play with them...because he scares them...which is sort of makes him an outcast.
This may be just my dog specifically since I never actually got to choose my dog or visit him since birth, and was just given the most energetic little boy ever as my first dog. It was cute during puppy phase, then grew into fear when I couldn't walk him properly for a while. He would pull so hard and can't really control himself when it came to strangers approaching. I'm so glad prong collars aren't banned here. I've read people saying how they don't believe in it or such things as tough love but in my case, I had to. It's probably the best thing I ever bought for him because he could actually walk and I can correct him when he gets WAYYY too excited over strangers, other dogs, or animals. There's always still the occasion when he pulls really hard and ends up yelping (like when he sees my neighbor or we go to Petco or Petsmart) but it doesn't make him fearful of me or anyone else because he's rewarded when he's corrected. I'm also so glad my arm isn't like dislocated or ripped off and I didn't have to give him up because I couldn't control him. On my walk the other day, this lady asked if my dog was still young and just as I was about to state his age, my dog ran up to her and kept jumping on her because he can't stand still to get petted, if his life depended on it. After I got him to sit and watch us talk, she said how she had to send her Golden away for a week because she couldn't control it. Can't imagine me doing that. It must have cost a lot and they probably used shock collars or something (which was something I was considering but they cost almost $100 and I'm super cheap). After having spent time with quite a number of breeds, I think people who aren't ready for a possibly hyper active dog should consider either a Pit Bull, Rottweiler, German Shepherd, or Bichon Frise. Pit Bull first though because all the ones I've encountered are pretty well behaved and sweet, even the ones you see on the news that get abandoned or abused are almost always still trusting of humans.
My dog is so silly, it's funny. I think people think I'm joking when I say he's lazy at night or more chill at home because he's so like OMGAH!! to them. Either way, he still gets his multiple walks during the day from me, my brother, and my dad. I don't want him getting fat or having avoidable health problems. I also don't want him getting like hip dysplasia and stuff, so I don't exactly want to take him to a field and make him run extra hard...heh.
My dog is far from aggressive. He's been bitten twice or so (not to point of blood but yelp) and still wants to play with other dogs. There's no real trauma but he's so energetic that it freaks other dogs out. You can see it in their eyes, sometimes, when my dog is like *SNIFF! SNIFF! WAG WAG! DIPS IN AND OUT* and the other dog just stands still with their face like O_O. I think the only dogs that go well with him are the dogs that don't let other dogs mess with them and they are usually Pit Bulls or Bulldogs because they exude such strength or something.
Thankfully, he doesn't bark too much and when he does, I can just yell at him to stop. He can also just stand there and watch other dogs bark at him and he'd just want to play. His potty training is pretty much aced now. I can't remember the last time he pissed or pooped indoors. Sometimes, he leaves those "marks" on the sidewalk instead of the grass or tree on accident but that's no big deal. He's fine with being left alone at home. He won't destroy anything in the living room when he's locked in there while my brother goes to shower. He also knows what he can mess with and what he can't when he's left out in the patio during the day. He went through obedience class up to intermediate. I don't think he'd be able to go through advanced. I still can't imagine him taking advanced class or passing the Doggy Citizen test. One of the things is walking heel next to another dog. Nope. The jumping thing is hard to correct since he gets so happy, he doesn't seem to feel pain? I'm hoping he'll just grow out of it. The same lady who spoke about her Goldie said they don't get to be good dogs until they're around 4...
Long story short, even if people say this a certain breed makes for a good dog, don't forget to research how long their puppy behavior spans...in my case, 4 years?...
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