Different breeds of dogs.

LABRADOR RETRIEVER

by Dennis Fisher.

 This article is one of a great many articles written by Dennis Fisher about a very wide variety of subjects concerning different  dogs, such as obedience training, breeding, showing, health matters, training problems and other subjects.  All these articles appear on Dennis Fisher's websites.   Visit  http://www.allaboutgermanshepherddogs.com the site that has been set up specifically for German Shepherd Dog enthusiasts, or http://www.freedogadvice.com  if you interested in a breed   other than German Shepherd Dogs

  This retriever, though not as quick and agile as the Golden Retriever, is also a remarkably intelligent, easy to manage animal that responds well to training.

It is a most versatile dog and is the favorite choice as a guide dog for the blind in many Guide Dog Organizations, including the well-known  Guide Dog  training Center at San Rafael in California.

I can recall visiting this truly outstanding Guide Dog Training School, where  my nephew happens to be Training Director. I was surprised to see that  more Labradors were being trained for guide dog duties than   other breeds.  

Clearly this Training Center for guide dogs, where  facilities are quite superb,  must feel that  the Labrador’s  temperament  makes it  more suitable for guide dog training purposes than other breeds.

Apart from the Labrador’s value as a guide dog for the blind, there other fields where this versatile dog is used,  such as the detection of drugs.  It is of course also a very  useful gun dog.

Then Labrador is a medium sized dog of about 22 inches in height.  It can also be a  somewhat greedy dog and there is a tendency for the dog to put on too much weight if the diet is not controlled.  Because  it is also sometimes rather a lazy dog, the Labrador  should be encouraged to exercise by being involved in active play.

There are Labradors who have been trained to be effective guard dogs, but this is not  natural characteristic of the breed. But if is a lovable,  friendly, affectionate, easy to manage and easy to train is what you require the Labrador is an excellent choice.