Dog's Name & Age:
Sir Lucas Caisse
In a Word, My Labrador Is...
Gigantic
Best Characteristics of the Breed
Smart, family pet, protective, playful, strong, funny, easy to forgive.
Most Challenging Characteristics of the Breed
Headstrong, sheds, thinks he's a lap dog, train to heel, smells everything
When, Where and How I Got My Labrador Retriever
We had lost our female lab to cancer. Later on we went to a breeder. He was the pick, but she also wanted a Chocolate Lab, so the husband said him or the Chocolate lab but not both. So, we got the pick for $500. He was 9 weeks old, 28 lbs and beautiful. We traveled to get him, never considered a pet store for many reasons. We got Luke on December 27, 2004. We love him so much - he is the best dog in the world.
I'd Describe My Dog As…
Lovable, loyal, gigantic, great watch dog. My Lukey peed in the house 3x and pooped once and he was trained. He never chewed up anything, which is unusual. I have trained him to sit, stay, give each paw to the correct hands. Lays down, knows what 'off' means - I almost changed his name to off. He will speak, back up, and sneeze on command. I also trained him to search. Luke is 132 lbs but is not overweight - he just never stopped growing. Someone thought he was a bear, ha ha. If I say "get your toy," he will bring one to me, but I will say "not that one, I want the red one," and he will drop that toy and come back with the red one. He loves to get petted and has a soft coat. All he has to do is smell something cooking and he drools unbelievably. We had to paint our walls with the best paint we could get our hands on, because after he drools he likes to shake his head and let the drool fly - grosses out my wife so much. With a soft coat, he sheds ridiculously, so lots of brushing. He loves the vets office and knows where each bone jar is and will sit in front of it until they give him one, then pulls me into one of the exam rooms right in front of another bone jar. He is very sneaky when it comes to food - if you leave it unattended you lose it. He thinks he is also a lap dog, but he is so heavy and doesn't really fit on our laps. Luke was very easy to train. He loved it and always wants to learn more, and not for treats - I give him praise. The only medical problem he has is ear infections, they can come on strong and he needs antibiotics and a wash and anti-itch cream. At 132 lbs he is not overweight, he is just a big lovable sweet dog who wants to go every where with me. When I am getting ready to go out, he takes my shoes and hides one and lays on the other, but never chews them. He has to sleep with some part of my clothing, like it's his teddy bear. He is also very beautiful with a shiny coat and all though he is huge he can run extremely fast. His bone structure is very large to support his enormous body. But what a klutz when he was younger, he would run and just fall over like a flip and he would trip on his huge feet.
Advice
- Labs are excellent family pets no matter what size they get.
- They socialize easily, but they are also protective of you and your children, mostly they warn someone with a growl.
- They eat and poop a lot. When they are young and want to go for a walk bring a big baggy to pick up several poops, out of excitement and nervousness they can poop a lot.
- They need to be socialized and are not good dogs if you are just going to leave them in the house.
- They are driven by smell and like to run like crazy. If you have a big fenced-in yard, that's perfect, because they like to explore.
- Great lovable, loyal, easy to train dogs.
