Labrador Retriever Dogs

It is probably a question every potential Labrador owner asks themselves when trying to find the perfect Lab puppy. “Does color make a difference?” As we all know the Labrador standard includes three distinct, acceptable colors for the breed. Here we will try to find if the color of the dog has any relevance in choosing a Lab.

The first item most think about in regards to the color of the coat is which color they prefer. This should be a minimal consideration in choosing your Lab as heritage and health should always be the first consideration. It is still not hard to wonder though if the color of the Lab has anything to do with it’s trainability and personality.

The Easy Answer
The easy answer to age old question of color would be that it simply does not matter in regards to anything other than appearance. With this opinion we can attribute the Labs ability to its’ bloodline, and environmental factors such as training, upbringing etc… Many tend to believe this and it is a very possible that whether Chocolate, Black or Yellow a Lab is a Lab!

Digging Deeper
What if we dig a little deeper and look at the genetic make-up of the breed. The black coat color is the dominant gene. Could this in turn lead us to believe that possibly this pigment could also lead to a dominant black dog? Of course not, but what it does lead to is a numerical amount of the Labrador Retriever breed that excels in both confirmation and field sports being black. Of course this domination numerically can also be attributed to the many more black in color.

A more meaningful relationship would be to look at the percentage. By doing this we could say that 80% of Yellow Labs are easily trained for field work while only 75% of black Labs are standouts. Of course these are just some random numbers I have thrown out for illustration purpose. The real question is how could one tell what entails “Easily Trained”? Could this be accomplished by taking a Black and Yellow pup and comparing them? It would not be that easy. How about a yellow, black and chocolate Labrador that are litter mates and trained and judged by the same person. Basically the same heritage, same training and upbringing and same judge. This would not even be a good indicator, for several reasons. It would require a large sampling and a very controlled environment for any type of conclusion like this to be drawn and to my knowledge, nothing like has ever been conducted.

So What Color to Choose?
All the thinking and researching in the world will eventually lead us all to the same conclusion, color does not matter. What does matter is that you have a healthy pup that will become your best friend and you will share years of joys and triumphs with, regardless of the color.

One of the first training lessons your Labrador Retriever should receive is how to properly heel beside of you. The first step of this process is deciding which side the Lab should be on. Some Labs will naturally want to heel on the left of you while others on the right. So where you should you start training your Lab to be?

Conformation Training
If you are planning on showing your Lab in the confirmation ring it is standard for the dog to heel to the left side of the handler.

Hunting and Field Trials
There are no set rules as to which side the Lab should heel. This usually depends a lot upon the hunter and Labs preference. The vast majority is taught to heel on the left. The reason for this is most owners are right handed and carry the stock of the rifle in the right hand freeing the left hand to be free for hand signals.

Before starting to train consider these few safety concerns. If you are right handed and carry the stock of the rifle in your right hand then the barrel will pointed to the left where you are training the lab to heel. Obviously this is not an ideal situation and I would consider teaching the Lab to heel to your strong side.

Everyday Pets
If your Lab is simply your household pet it will not matter which side they heel. The most important thing to consider in this situation is comfort and ease of training. If your Lab prefers the right side of you, then do not try to fix what is not broken and begin training from this side.

Tendency to Heel Left
Most Labs and dogs in general have a tendency to heel to the left side of their owner. The reason for this is unknown but many believe can be traced back to dogs being used in protection work. Since most attackers would be right handed, a dog coming from an owners left would be in direct line with the potential hit to the attacker. Some believe these traits have been somehow passed through the generations, but we will that for another discussion.

Once you have your new Lab home one of the first and most important training steps is teaching it to relieve itself outside. By nature, most Labs are easily trainable and will not have any difficulties learning this important rule. The one thing that is critical to your success is that a firm time schedule and reward system is put into place early.

Where to Start
You should make up a schedule of times your new Lab puppy will need to go outside. If your puppy is around 10 weeks of age or younger, it will need to urinate about once every two hours. At this age it has not developed a large bladder so it is unable to hold water for a very long period of time.

For the best success the trips outside should be at the same time each day. Dogs in general are creatures of habit and it will only take a few days for your pup to realize, it is 10:00AM, time to go potty if you stick to a strict schedule.

Where to Go?
The first step once outside is how to convince your Labrador puppy to concentrate on using the restroom and not explore this whole new world. Labs are very curious by nature so it is important that you establish a routine early on of when it is play time and when it is time to concentrate on using the restroom.

The best method I have found is by taking the puppy to the same spot each time it is to use the restroom. I usually mark this area in my backyard with a rope so I too can remember the location. Other items that can be used are hula-hoops, tape and anything else that can be used to easily mark a location.

What to Do?
When entering the rope you should use your potty command, usually saying something like “Go Potty”. Each time your Lab starts to stray its attention, get its attention and again repeat the command. This will take some time but does work.

Once the puppy has went to restroom outside it should be immediately rewarded with lots of praise and treats. By doing this it starts to associate going to the bathroom outside with getting praised. A helpful tip is to also leave some stool in the area. This often will trigger the Lab to go to the restroom when it enters its bathroom area and smells it.