5 Reasons WHY YOU SHOULD NOT Get a Labrador Puppy!

number one labs were bred to be hunting companions and primarily used to retrieve birds from water or marshy areas so they have a water repellent outer coat and a warm insulating undercoat having a dense undercoat means that they will shed constantly and really blow their coat twice a year and that comes out like a carpet bomber fur so if regular grooming isn’t something that you have the desire or time to work on then a lab probably isn’t going to be a good fit for you and your family

another reason why a lab might not be a great fit for your family is if you’re not willing or able to set clear and consistent boundaries with your wonderful canine companion now many lab owners report that they or a family member have tripped over the dog when it lays down behind them really closely or walks too closely to them labs absolutely love to be around their people but can become an absolute nuisance because of their size now also know that their tail is thick and it will clear everything off the coffee table very easily and it can even hurt you when they get really excited and that thing really starts to swing now unfortunately we have had quite a few instances where our labrador sully has got very excitable we’ve got a one-year-old at home that’s just started to learn to walk and he’s waddling and toddling around all over the place and if sully doesn’t quite know he’s wandering behind him and he’s excited there’s been a few times where that tails whipped him in the face and has we’ve we’ve had some tears to have to deal with so again it’s just something that’s worth being aware of and wherever possible trying to be proactive and preemptive with it.

in fact at number three is that labs were bred to swim and run all day retrieving game for hunters so they do have a lot of energy that needs to be worked out with appropriate levels of play and exercise every day they do fit in great with active families that bring them along with them for all the adventures but they’re really not a great choice for families where their people have gone at work or school all day and if you don’t have an active lifestyle you’ll likely come home to a very destroyed house or yard.

the labradors are extremely friendly and tend to like everyone that they meet without question now this might not seem like a negative trait and certainly it isn’t but it means that labs aren’t really typically very good guard dogs their size and bark can be intimidating which can make them potentially good watch dogs but their trusting and friendly nature means that they aren’t likely to defend your home the way maybe a bull mastiff or a coney corso or a rottweiler or a german shepherd would so if guarding skills are incredibly important to you maybe one of those breeds might be better suited

as with many larger kind of pedigree dog breeds labs are prone to some genetic conditions and may be more costly to take care of over the course of their lives labs very commonly suffer from hip and elbow dysplasia eye and heart problems and they are more prone to cancers and blood disorders and some other breeds the breed is also no stranger to food allergies and obesity so they are not going to be a low maintenance breed and that naturally comes with higher levels of fee so if you’re not necessarily in a stable financial situation right now definitely doesn’t mean you can’t have one in the future but maybe you should be focusing on getting that more stable before bringing a labrador into your home