I just don't get why labrador retrievers are the most popular dogs in America

They're happy-looking. What's wrong with happy, Mr. Sourpuss?

Get one and you' learn quickly why.

R2 no thanks, my aunt had one and several other people I know have one. How do you think I know so much about them?

Btw, for a breed that's supposed to be so intelligent and easy to train, my aunt's lab was one dumb, obnoxious, clumsy oaf. Fat as hell, too (she owned multiple pets and the lab was the only one with weight issues).

I’ve had Labs for decades, before everyone and their brother did too. My favorite breed. That said, you have to know what you’re getting into. You also have to get one from a good breeder because they’ve been so overbred that some of the traits that make them what they are get bred out in less reputable hands.

Pros: Sweet, affectionate, laid-back — unless you get the odd one that’s high-strung — loyal, gentle, playful, happy rolling along with whatever you want to do. And beautiful. (Bland-looking? Seriously?)

Cons: Yes, they’re high-energy and they shed a ton. They can be stubborn. Also, as puppies, they will drive you up the fucking wall. Good thing they’re cute.

Article about a couple who adopted a neurotic lab and ended up re-homing it after 4 months. The lab, Bo, sounds a lot like some of the labs I've known.

^"How reading about neurotic, clueless dog owners taught me to hate people"

Have you ever had one? If not shut the fuck up. The reason they are so popular is because they usually have very pleasant temperaments, are loving, loyal, obedient, not particularly high maintenance, the perfect size for cuddling, great with children and the elderly, easy to train, not fussy eaters...amongst many other things. They are popular for a reason, if they weren't all these things then they wouldn't be popular!

Dogs are excellent judges of character, OP. Maybe that’s your problem.

Big dogs=big dog poops. I can't do it.

Give me a Shih-tzu or Pekingese any day.

I enjoy visiting with other people's labs, though.

I agree with most of what R5 has said - though, they are not always high-energy, mine is not (though he was in his puppy years - which lasted until about 4!)

Definitely agree with stubborn. Not sure about shedding a lot - I haven't owned other breeds to compare to but they don't strike me as overly-shedding, like true long-haired breeds for example.

Oh and definitely agree about the puppy comment, in fact I have said that myself plenty of times, that it's lucky they are so cute as puppies because they are nightmares, though that might just be puppies in general!

[quote]They are popular for a reason, if they weren't all these things then they wouldn't be popular!

Yes, everything that's popular in this country is popular for a good reason. That explains the popularity of the Kardashians. Dumbass.

R12 No one except an unfortunate few has to feed, walk, bathe and live with the Kardashians on a daily basis, dolt.

My shih tzu was a great dog and she lived 17 1/2 years. Unfortunately she had to spend a lot of time at the vet's--dogs that are bred that far from the natural wolf, with short snouts, dwarfism, etc., have a lot of serious physical problems.

it's not the goldens that are bad. It's when people mix them with poodles and it brings out the worst, instead of the best of both breeds. I was a groomer..I don't know too many that liked "Doodles"

Have ya got a Labrador?

Know where you can get a Labrador?

Then shaddap.

I’ve only had one Labrador Retriever, and I disagree with your characterization of the breed given my personal experience with my dog. Not all dogs are the same just because they belong to the same breed.

I also think that judging dogs from the sidelines without owning a dog yourself, Downey exactly quality you to make informed statements.

*doesn’t exactly qualify*

I loathe most small dogs. They are little bags of barking bones and I hateses them, I do!

Labrador retrievers have the cutest puppies!!!!

Their POOPS are enormous.

Comparing a breed of dog that's a family pet to millions across the globe to the Kardashians makes no sense whatsoever, I don't think it's me that's the dumbass but I'll grant you that popularity is not always a good indicator of quality.

GENERALLY though things that are popular with people are popular for good reasons, which have been explained in this thread to address the original point raised. If you cannot comprehend that simple exchange then I don't know how to help you. If anything is truly terrible it's unlikely to be globally popular.

R22 they're cute as pups, I'll give you that. But it doesn't last.

Other dog breeds stay cute their whole lives.

[quote] My shih tzu was a great dog and she lived 17 1/2 years.

I will admit that’s one other drawback to Labs or any large breed. They don’t live as long. I have had Labs that made it to age 14 but it’s uncommon.

Before I begin, let me say that I am not a dog person. I don't dislike them, but I don't get all gooey about them, either. When my partner moved in with me, he brought his female black Lab named Summer. She is the sweetest, kindest animal. The cats all love her, especially our young male tuxedo cat, Dax, who will curl up next to her and snuggle with her.

Summer is extremely intelligent, but her biggest asset is her kind nature. She is a wonderful companion and very loving. In her younger days, she was also a great companion to take on a short hike.

Sadly, she's now 13 and her shoulders are arthritic. Other than that her health is excellent. When she passes, we will miss her terribly.

How odd. I was just thinking this morning that I've never met a Lab that wasn't sweet as pie. So... there is that.

Now, hold on a minute there R15. One of my all time favorite dogs was a Labraoodle. He was so smart and sweet and funny. Gorgeous too. He was tan and gray and had the most amazing gradation of those colors. I couldn't do it justice by description, you'd just have to see him. Always getting stopped when we were out walking because people were amazed by his good looks and coloring.

All I had to do was give him the tiniest change in facial expression and he knew it was time to rumble. Lord I loved that dog.

[quote] Their POOPS are enormous.

Weird that multiple people have mentioned this.

Seems like most queens want a stuffed animal that occasionally moves and has poops smaller than a Chicken Nugget.

R29 Right? Picking up dog shit is picking up dog shit, no matter the size of the pile.

R28 I've had only one experience with a Labradoodle, and I was totally smitten. The lady down the street has one, and I've met him several times. What a sweetie!

My dog (golden) plays with a couple of goldendoodles and labradoodles and they are great dogs. Smart, love people, love other dogs. Incredibly easy going. Like all mixes, they have a range of looks and colors and sizes.

Wow R14, my girl will be 17 in February; I joke that I am her Senior Shuttle to the vet.

Man is she feisty, though. She leaps through the house like a spring lamb. A blind spring lamb, but still.

Hey, did you ever post a picture of your Shih-tzu here?

R6... there was nothing wrong with that dog. Those people were the mistakes. Even they admit it.

The people who complain about picking up dog poops may someday be in a situation where a caregiver is tending to their poop. And don't say, "But I'm a human!" Poop is poop.

Scooping big human-sized poops into a plastic bag makes me retch.

My uncle had a black lab when I was a kid. I loved going over to his house and playing with the dog. The dog was very well trained. We would also take him to the lake so he could swim and play fetch. He was such a fun dog!

Since then I’ve never met a lab I didn’t like.

Obesity in dogs is always the fault of the owner. Too many treats and not enough exercise. That being said, many people love Labradors whereas I strongly suspect that OP is just merely tolerated.

[quote]I strongly suspect that OP is just merely tolerated.

LOL. Bad, OP! Bad!

I adopted a late-midlife dog with thyroid disease and arthritis, who later developed congestive heart failure due to a leaky valve to which he was genetically predisposed.

It was easy for him to gain weight and hard for him to exercise and it wasn't really anyone's fault. Shit happens. It happens to people and it happens to dogs,

I have known a number of Labs and they do come with varying degrees of intelligence. Everything uis better when your dog pays attention to what is going on in the room.

A good friend had a beautiful chocolate Lab that was absolutely 'special needs.' Dogs usually have curiosity. Not this one. Nuthin'. It was kind of sad. My basset hound always had the upper paw with that Lab. If you know bassets, you know that is a big thing.

Thanks for the thread OP. Have been researching dogs - and lans are really popular. But I do have issue with dog poop size - one big reservation about getting one. I’m tending towards smaller. Any recommendations on smaller dogs - poodles and King Charles Spaniels look interesting.

These dogs are fine for those who like big dogs. Personally I don’t want a dog who can jump up on me and knock me over and like a portable dog I can carry around if I need to.

I always had labs growing up and they are great dogs. But breeding has harmed their health. My cousin continues to buy dogs from a friend who breeds them and they all get cancer at 7-8 years old. I had a lab-mutt (looked like a lab with a white streak on her chest) that lived to 18.

They do shed. I'd say on par with the Husky I have now, but Huskies are known as "shedders." They claim Huskies are high on the intelligence scale, and I'd say the one I adopted it, but I'd say labs are right up there. The difference is labs have an innate desire to please their owners.

Cavalier King Charles Spaniels are a genetic mess now due to overbreeding. Look into that before you consider them further, R42.

[quote] Obesity in dogs is always the fault of the owner

Most dog issues are the fault of the owner, though some dogs are high strung, aggressive and/or have health issues due to inbreeding.

Labs are great as long as you have a yard. I grew up with one from the time I was 8. She would play when I wanted to, cuddle when I wanted to, and leave me alone when I wanted her to.

For exercise, we had a big fenced in yard. She never got fat.

I apologise for making a generalization and saying obesity is always the owner's fault. However, I still stand behind my observation of OP.

You people talking about large lab poops should see my Newfoundland’s waste. Sometimes gets to be a good handful, despite being a small eater. But there’s nothing like a gentle large dog.

Newfs are wonderful dogs, R49. My cousin had one and when you saw her with the dog, it was as if she had a bear by her side.

Are labs better when they're pit-lab mixes?

R51 In a word. No

Pit lab mix? Fuck no!

If their poops are enormous that means you're feeding them cheap kibble and are a terrible person.

My dog ate a raw organic diet, lived a long life and her poops were not like chocolate ice cream.

You should be ashamed of yourselves.

Labs are popular family dogs because they almost never bite kids or the mailman. Same with goldens. Babies can use them as chew toys and they will just take it.

Great temperament ROP

I’m watching my black lab and my fox red lab in a death match for a ball right now. It’s adorable.

It’s impossible to make generalizations about breeds. I was bitten by a golden retriever and no one believes me! I’ve known a few mean ones. I have the cutest, sweetest dachshund. She is an angel and really doesn’t have any flaws, but I had one as a kid who was a neurotic hell hound.

R57 your house must be completely covered in fur, and your yard covered in shit

R58, I believe you, but the fact that no one else believes you says something. I’m willing to make generalizations. It’s rare. If a family gets a lab or golden with no history of abuse its very, very unlikely the dog will bite.

A PUPPY of any breed can break the skin because their teeth are so sharp and they don’t have the same mouth control an older dog has. They can grab for a treat or toy and end up catching your hand or finger.

[quote]Inconveniently huge, high-energy, shed a lot, food-obsessed even by dog standards (as a result they're prone to obesity which just adds to their size), loud-ass bark, bland-looking. I just don't get it.

Are you sure you aren’t talking about German Shepherds?

R51 Pit lab mixes are great, and most non-purebreds have better temperaments.

But there's a huge anti pit lobby on the DL so unless we officially call them homicidal death machines, caftans will flap and eldergheys will hiss.

Because they adore people. They have been bred for their responsiveness to and dependence on love and companionship of people. Unless horribly abused, you won't find one with a nasty bone in its body, and they stand near the top of the Doggie IQ list, which is why they made such great guide dogs. They are playful, clownish, loving, intelligent creatures - until you have had one for a long time you can't know how utterly loving-hearted they are.

I'm always amused by OPs that can basically be summed up as "I just don't understand how other people can have preferences that are different from mine! Why doesn't everyone feel exactly the way I do about everything?"

R71, German shepherds are not any of those things besides being large and shedding a lot.

And the loud bark. But they are not overly energetic or food obsessed. And bland-looking?!

Well, you're not so great yourself, Mr Fancypants!

in the straight world particularly the midwest its a status sort of yuppy preppy old money thing to do (forgive the outdated terms).......plus you can hunt with them and they look great with tweeds.............I am basically speaking from childhood family experience over the last century.

R59, no, it’s not. It’s called cleaning up and I do it.

They are basic.

Doodles are the absolute worst. I wish that trend would die.

I volunteered for years at an animal shelter and never met a Lab that wasn't a sweetheart.

Here's my baby boy. He's half black lab.

Now there's a face R73. He looks smart too.

R73 he looks like he would bite hard!

I got my lab when he was 3. He's now over 10, and doing pretty well. He takes Rimadyl, Gabapentin and Dasaquin, and gets at least 3 walks every day. I know the average lifespan for Labs is 10-12, but I'm glad to hear about some reaching 14. I don't know how owners of Great Danes deal with their pets only reaching age 7 or so.

So, which is the most popular..Yellow, Black or Chocolate?

I'm not sure where you all live. The most popular dogs where I live are pit bulls. Give me a lab over a pit bull any (and every) day.

The Black Dog sweats and T's from the Vineyard really helped popularize them in the Northeast during the 90's.

[quote]So, which is the most popular..Yellow, Black or Chocolate?

Where I volunteered it was yellow labs, followed by chocolate ... there always were plenty of sweet black Labs languishing in the shelter.

Newfoundland’s are gorgeous to look at but dear god the shedding and slobbering. People who own them must have absolutely disgusting homes.

Everyone should get pugs instead

I’m a cat person and dogs usually give me the cold shoulder. Except Labs; they don’t discriminate, the sweet things.

[quote]Labs are popular family dogs because they almost never bite kids or the mailman. Same with goldens. Babies can use them as chew toys and they will just take it.

A friend of mine in college had a golden retriever/chow mix, and the personality was all golden retriever. If the sweetness can dominate in THAT mix of breeds, you know they're a lovely-tempered dog!

My father had a black lab before he was married, and he got one for me when I was a kid. They are very sweet dogs, and smart. They are hunting dogs so if they catch the scent of something they are gone. I would take mine out in the woods and she would run off when she got a scent, but she always came back.

American people like something enormous to go with their obese bodies like big dogs, big cars, big phones, etc.

I had a half lab/half boxer and he was a phenomenally wonderful dog. Totally laid back, but also energetic to go for a run with me, swim, and do lots of athletic stuff. I worked with him for a while on agility training, and he loved it, but I'm not very competitive and just couldn't get into the whole idea of trying to do everything faster than everyone else and faster than we had done it the day before. He and I just had fun working the obstacle course.

He was also stunningly beautiful. His tail had been cropped as a puppy, and although I would never get a dog's tail cropped, it did give him a more high-style look. He was black and white, and in a lot of ways looked like a young race horse -- that whole elegant carriage and high neck way they hold themselves.

I've had a lot of dogs, large, small, St. Bernard, Norfolk terrier, Cocker spaniel, Airedale, Maltese, Great Dane -- all but two were rescues -- and I loved them all, but he was the sweetest and most eager to please of any of them. I've never had a full-blood lab, but my boxer/lab boy was loved by everyone who met him.

Right now I have a cairn terrier mix and a German Shepherd mix, both strays that came to my house and stayed, and the shepherd is the smartest dog I've ever had, but my boxer/lab boy was a close second in intelligence, too.

I loved my first lab so much everyone is under orders to mix his ashes with mine, come the day. Right how he sits on my desk, in his treat jar.

I LOVED that fucking dog.

My home is perfectly clean and comfortable, R80. You just need to give your Newfie a decent daily brushing in the shedding months. Their fur dreads so easily! The good thing about their coats is that they shed in big clumps here and there, so you notice a big clump of fur right away in your home and pick it up and move on. The drool is very off putting if you’re not used to them, but it’s not constant. Only around food and when they’re barking or very excited. It’s true though the volume is shocking. When my girl is excited around guests I have to keep her separated so she doesn’t slime their jeans, but she calms down quickly enough.

R87 was he the only dog you've had?

R89: No, he was the first of two. Who will be the second of three. Or possibly four. I'm Lab adjacent now. But, you know what they say about your first... that dog and I... can't even explain it... I still miss him frequently.... how lucky I was. A man should be half as good.

When I was a kid we were pretty feral because the parents were drinking and not paying attention. My best friend had a black lab who was our babysitter, and accompanied us everywhere. We had great adventures, it was like a kids dream having so much freedom and a big black lab protecting us from kidnappers and snakes.

Your Lab/Boxer mix sounds wonderful R86. We love all our pets but every now and then there is just one that gets to you more than anything else. They're usually a little smarter, a tad better looking and more than anything, they just seem to know your moods (and when to love you up a little) more than anyone else.

Your story reminded me of an Uncle I once had. He was an ex- Pro Football player (Detroit Lions) and he used to paint these incredible oil portraits. They were always either of a horse or a Boxer dog. Those were his only two subjects (If my 10 year old mind is remembering correctly) and he really did extraordinary work.

Anyway, I bet he would have loved to paint your boy.

I love them but then again I'm needy. They're adorable as adults and puppies too.

I've never met a Lab that wasn't friendly, energetic, great with children and they're trained to have "soft mouths" for retrieving prey like ducks so they don't damage them. OP demonstrates general ignorance and prejudices typical on The DL.

R94 why did you feel the need to identify yourself as a Gen Xer...?

What a sweet post, R92. Thank you. You gave me a smile and a lump in my throat.

How I would love to see your uncle's paintings. I grew up with horses, too, and there are few things more wonderful than a good horse and a good dog.

Re the age issue: my father's Lab made it to fifteen and was still eating and responding and running to the door to greet, but he had a degenerative neurological condition common amongst older Labs. The day came that the dog was walking on turned under paws and didn't know it, he'd lost contact with what was going on with his back end, and, sadly, had to be put down as the day was not far off when he wouldn't have been able to get out of his bed.

It is said that Lab owners need to know that as soon as their dog turns seven, they are usually looking at his or her endgame. Not always, but often enough.

Lab puppies also take a little longer to mature than other breeds - they are rambunctious and will eat anything, they are often the ones at the vet overnight with little pebbles and rocks in their innards waiting to be passed out.

But once they mature they are the most loving, cheerful, happy dogs. They become members of the family because that is exactly what they feel they are: family members.

Sometimes it is hard to remember they are dogs because of that. I once saw my Dad whilst watching television turn around to his Lab and say, "This is a pretty good film, don't you think?" They were thick as thieves, and I was almost thankful my father predeceased the dog by a couple of years, as his pain at the dog's loss would have been a real emotional blow to the old man.

My best friend had a yellow Lab that was a good watchdog but devoted to me ... I'd stay at his house when he was out of town and the dog always was overjoyed. Very well trained — wouldn't get on the couch unless I patted the cushion and then she would be in my lap. All she wanted in life was to be included.

When she got older (11 or 12) she got doggy Alzheimer's ... on a couple of visits it took her a bit to remember me. The last time I saw her she was friendly but clearly didn't remember me at all. Broke my heart but she was still happy until the end.

Most people just want a dog that will be good with their kids and won't cost them thousands of dollars, labs are dirt common and have a reputation for being good with kids so families tend to get them.