Wasted Labs

[JJD]

Singleshot,

Haven't ya heard?  Commitment is out of style. 
Marrige, paying your bills, it's always someone elses fault.
We are the instant society.
I haven't been able to get with it, but then I'm old and don't make changes very easy.

Wind at your back . . .
JJD

[Knocker of rocks]

My parents had a lab on their mini farm, and while she never hunted, she ran, swam and dug.  She was a wonderful dog and a full member of the family.  I think she had a great life, and I believe she would have agreed with me.

The most important thing with any dog is to love them.  Second is to properly care for them with the right food,  exercise and mental stimulation.  It is easy for a dog to get fat, especially breeds like labs who are prone to arthritis.  But as long as the owner loves their pet, all will be OK

[Rick]

The future of most seem to get either mistreated,don't get to hunt,

If we want to get technical,labs weren't bred for hunting. They were actually bred to work alongside fisherman,and their nets.

So unless you have your lab retrieving nets and fish,this whole "wasted" labs rant is a bit hypocritical.

[Happy Gilmore]

The future of most seem to get either mistreated,don't get to hunt,

If we want to get technical,labs weren't bred for hunting. They were actually bred to work alongside fisherman,and their nets.

So unless you have your lab retrieving nets and fish,this whole "wasted" labs rant is a bit hypocritical.

  get a chessie! 

[huntlakewood]

I have two labs and have never hunted them. I take them alot of places where I go. They are the kids that me and wife can not have. I dont think it is a waste to owne a lab ( or any other dog ) and not hunt them. labs are great family dogs. Mine get to go to the dog park, play fetch, sleep with us you name it my dogs are just plain spoiled. I had all means on hunting these dogs but do not have the time nor the money. My female I got off of Craigskist and my male from a friend (gasman). Some people would say when you are training a dog to hunt and never bring them in the house and all you do is freed them, take them out to train and right back in the kenle they go is mean and mistreating them. I do not think this cause every body raises there dogs different. so just because people do not hunt there dogs does not mean they do not care about them.

[singleshot12]

Singleshot,

Haven't ya heard?  Commitment is out of style. 
Marrige, paying your bills, it's always someone elses fault.
We are the instant society.
I haven't been able to get with it, but then I'm old and don't make changes very easy.

Wind at your back . . .
JJD

That's just the thing! most people are to busy for even their kids let alone giving a lab the life they deserve. It's a major commitment and priority when making the decision to get a pup. Most people think they can do it all and when they find out they can't it's usually the dog first that ends up getting neglected or discarded.

Knocker of rocks, well said and good to hear!

Rick, yes they were originally bred for fishing and hence why they are so good at water retrieves I'm sure. All dogs are hunters by nature and labs have been bred to hunt for man for many generations which makes them more birdy than fishy now.
My main rant is labs ending up in the pound,neglected,abused and not worked. It's fine if someone doesn't hunt the Lab as long as it gets love, good food, water, shelter, room to roam and having some kind of job. If it's just retrieving a ball that ok, it's work for the dog. Labs are very versatile and my personal opinion is they are more content having a job of some kind. I've had friends that don't exercise their labs, they just lay around eat,get fat, lethargic and depressed and usually die before their time. My labs I've always hunted and they've always been fit, content and happy to the end.

[singleshot12]

I have two labs and have never hunted them. I take them alot of places where I go. They are the kids that me and wife can not have. I dont think it is a waste to owne a lab ( or any other dog ) and not hunt them. labs are great family dogs. Mine get to go to the dog park, play fetch, sleep with us you name it my dogs are just plain spoiled. I had all means on hunting these dogs but do not have the time nor the money. My female I got off of Craigskist and my male from a friend (gasman). Some people would say when you are training a dog to hunt and never bring them in the house and all you do is freed them, take them out to train and right back in the kenle they go is mean and mistreating them. I do not think this cause every body raises there dogs different. so just because people do not hunt there dogs does not mean they do not care about them.

I agree, but there does seem to be some kind of difference in a dog if he gets to hunt, "not saying it's better than just a family dog", they just seem more satisfied to me if they hunt.

[rasbo]

The future of most seem to get either mistreated,don't get to hunt,

If we want to get technical,labs weren't bred for hunting. They were actually bred to work alongside fisherman,and their nets.

So unless you have your lab retrieving nets and fish,this whole "wasted" labs rant is a bit hypocritical.

hey,been biting my tongue waiting for the right response.. dogs love to play and be loved.give any dog that and they are happy dogs

[Happy Gilmore]

Dogs need a job of some sort. If I couldn't hunt for some reason I still couldn't imagine not having a dog around as a pet. They add to your life no matter what you do with them. Some people will be what they are and get a dog for all the wrong reasons but, for the most part I think the majority of people have better lives because they have a pet. No matter what breed it is.

Does hunting make dogs happy? Sure. I've also seen a lot of labs that could care less about a live bird when put in front of them so..... call the breed police!!!

[huntlakewood]

I have two labs and have never hunted them. I take them alot of places where I go. They are the kids that me and wife can not have. I dont think it is a waste to owne a lab ( or any other dog ) and not hunt them. labs are great family dogs. Mine get to go to the dog park, play fetch, sleep with us you name it my dogs are just plain spoiled. I had all means on hunting these dogs but do not have the time nor the money. My female I got off of Craigskist and my male from a friend (gasman). Some people would say when you are training a dog to hunt and never bring them in the house and all you do is freed them, take them out to train and right back in the kenle they go is mean and mistreating them. I do not think this cause every body raises there dogs different. so just because people do not hunt there dogs does not mean they do not care about them.

I agree, but there does seem to be some kind of difference in a dog if he gets to hunt, "not saying it's better than just a family dog", they just seem more satisfied to me if they hunt.

Singleshot12 Sorry if I took what you was saying the wrong way. Your right people that abuse there dogs should not own one. People that get one just because they are cool to have and when they find out how much they cost vet bills, food  so on so on then they get rid of them. It comes down to being responsible. does this count on making your dog work. When i was in the bathroom and had no tolet paper I had the daughter give a role to my black lab and she braught it to me. She did not like it but she did it

[Stilly bay]

can we all agree its a bad idea/negligent to bring a high-energy Lab from hunting/working/purpose/ fish net dragging lines home and not work them or give them some daily outlet for their energy???  there are many labs that  just don't have any drive or excess energy at all and they are perfectly content sitting on the porch and picking up the occasional tennis ball, but Im pretty sure that is NOT what single shot was referring to in his OP.

another reason to meet the parents if you can.

here is what Robert Service has to say on the matter...

MY DOG

    'Twas in a pub just off the Strand
When I was in my cups,
There passed a bloke with in his hand
Two tiny puling pups;
And one was on me with a bound,
Seeking to lick my face,
And so I bought him for a pound
And took him to my place.

Three acres by the shore I own,
A hut, a pint wood;
And there for fifteen years alone
He shared my solitude.
It was his own, his only world,
And when with hunting spent,
Each night beside my bed he curled,
And slept in sheer content.

My dog is dead. Though lone I be
I'll never have another;
For with his master-worship he
Was closer than a brother.
My foot is frail and I am old,
Yet how my heart can pity
Pups straining on a short leash-hold
And pent up in the city.

From all thought of self above,
And purged of sex emotion,
I know no form of living love
So deep as dogs devotion.
I have no hope at all of heaven,
I've lived in sin and strife;
But thank God! I at least have given
One dog a happy life.

[singleshot12]

That is a good and touching poem Stilly bay!  It turned me slightly pale, but still a good poem

[Stilly bay]

That is a good and touching poem Stilly bay!  It turned me slightly pale, but still a good poem

yeahhhh figured I was stepping out on a limb posting a Robert Service poem on this forum... might be too many young- whipper snapper- heathen types on here to appreciate it.... then again im a young-whipper snapper- heathen type so you never know.

[huntlakewood]

Thanks for sharing that poem Stilly bay