Are Labradors Good for First-Time Owners? The Honest Answer

Ask a trainer for a good first dog and the Labrador is usually the first name out. Friendly, biddable, forgiving of mistakes, good with children and other dogs, and easy to feed, which is the polite way of saying they will do anything for a biscuit. Most of that is true. Here is the rest of it.

What makes them a good first dog

• Temperament. Steady, social, eager to please. A Labrador wants to be on your team, and a first-time owner's mistakes rarely dent that.
• Trainability. Food-motivated and quick. Recall, sit, loose lead, settle: all achievable by someone who has never trained a dog, with a class and some patience.
• Robustness. Not fragile, not precious, happy in rain, mud and cold. A Labrador bounces back from a bad day.
• Family fit. Famously good with children, with the usual rule that the child needs teaching as much as the dog.

What makes them a hard first dog

• Energy. Bred to work all day. An adult needs two proper walks and something for the brain, every day, for twelve years. A bored Labrador chews, barks, digs and pulls.
• Size. Twenty-five to thirty-five kilos of enthusiasm. Jumping up, pulling on the lead and knocking over toddlers are the breed's classic problems, and all need teaching early.
• The mouth. Puppies mouth hard, adolescents chew, and adults eat socks, corn cobs and the bin. Labradors are the breed most likely to need surgery for a swallowed object.
• The adolescence. From six months to two and a half or three years, the recall disappears and the manners go. It is temporary, and it is why so many Labradors end up in rescue at eighteen months.
• Weight and joints. Many carry a gene that blunts fullness; the breed is the fattest in most vet surveys. Hips, elbows and cruciate ligaments are the breed's weak spots, and weight makes all of them worse.
• Hair. A double coat that sheds all year and blows out twice. On everything.

Show type or working type

Two Labradors in one breed. The stockier show or 'English' type is calmer, heavier and easier for a family. The leaner working or 'field' type has more drive, more speed, and a real need for a job; wonderful for an active, experienced home, a lot for a first one. Ask which lines you are looking at, and be honest about your energy.

The questions to ask yourself

Do you enjoy an hour or more of walking every day, in every weather? Is someone home most of the day? Will you train, play and give a dog a job for years, not months? Can you cope with hair, mud and a bit of drool? Can you keep food, bins and socks out of reach, forever?

Five yeses and a Labrador could be the best first dog there is. Two noes and you will both be happier with a different breed.

If you go ahead

Buy from a breeder who health-tests: hip and elbow scores, clear eye tests, and ideally the EIC and PRA genetic tests. Or adopt an adult whose energy you can see. Insure before the first vet visit. Read the first thirty days before the puppy comes home, and the adolescence guide before you need it.