Look at it this way, these dogs must be in perfect
harmony with their hunter/owner in order to follow specific
directions to track and fine birds that have fallen
to the ground and out of sight. This need for the dog
to have hand-held direction carries over to all aspects
of a Labrador's life, especially at home.
This is great for people who enjoy and need constant
canine companionship. However, it is bad for dog owners
who have a Labrador Retriever but expect the animal
to entertain itself with little interaction from the
owner.
There are some hunting dogs that were bred to be independent
hunters with little interaction and instruction from
humans. Examples of these types of dogs are Terriers
and Hounds, which lead the way by use of their senses
(by smell and sight) with the human hunter striving
to keep up with the dog's pace.
This is not how the Labrador is built. Labs are designed
to retrieve, and in doing so they must have a connected
attention link directly to the hunter. If a retriever
ignores the hunter's commands then they may hit the
water and swim far past where the bird has fallen, and
possibly keep swimming out and away.
Well trained retrievers do not make these types of
mistakes because they have the innate ability to attend
to and follow detailed directions from the hunter. This
skill is absolutely critical to being a trustworthy
retriever and is one of the reasons that these dogs
make excellent service animals and obedience trainees.
This Is Also The Reason Why Many Labs Do Not Do Well
With Some Families
You can probably understand by now just how connected
and dependent a Labrador Retriever becomes to its owners.
It constantly looks to people for leadership and must
have human interaction.
Every dog breed is sociable to some extent, some more
than others, but Labs require much more attention than
most dogs. They do not cope very well when left alone
for long periods of time, whether indoors or outdoors.
Many families who are away all day and come home to
find out that their Lab has destroyed a side door or
window trying to escape does not understand why this
is happening.
These people are understandably upset and then punish
their Labs. A properly educated Lab owner will not react
in this way because they know the truth. And the truth
is that what causes a Lab to try to escape like this
is simply wanting to search out and find its owners.
They consider their ˆ¨packˆÆ missing and make an attempt
to find them outside.
The biggest lesson to take away from this information,
especially if you have not yet decided on what type
of dog to own and are considering a Labrador Retriever,
is to make sure that you have plenty of time to devote
to your Lab, day and night. If not, then consider a
more independent dog breed. Otherwise, your lovable
Lab may soon become increasingly unhappy and will end
up a very destructive house pet, or worse, a runaway.
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