by Perry McCarney

Created on: August 15, 2008   Last Updated: November 27, 2009

There are a truly astounding variety of dog breeds available for the dog lover to choose from when it comes to finding that loyal, devoted companion to share your life with. Choosing purely on the basis of breed is likely to result in possibly significant surprises; the personality and temperament of an individual, even within a breed, can vary dramatically. However understanding the typical characteristics of a breed is a very good starting point in the selection process. Just don't let it inhibit you from selecting that individual dog, of a breed you had not really considered, that reaches out and grabs you by the heart!

That said, the various breeds have been bred by people to meet certain requirements, and as such tend to have certain characteristics that can generally be expected to surface in the individual animal. The traits that Labrador receivers have been bred for, while initially intended to make them good at retrieving game, predominantly shot birds, have also led to them being the most favored breed selected as guide dogs for the blind.

So what can we take from that? Well, for a start, they are one of the most stable dog breeds. Dependable and intrinsically loyal to their pack leaders, their humans, even though the person may technically be physically inferior to them. Their ability to be lovingly loyal and dependable is legendary. A relatively sedate dog as an adult, they can get by on a minimal level of exercising, but are just as capable of being as energetic as their human partners. This does require a careful management of their diet however, as they are famous for eating all that is offered, meal sizes should be determined based on the energy levels required by their lifestyles.

Labradors are renowned for their love of food, and are not known for being fussy eaters. You must be very careful not to overfeed them, obesity is a very real threat to their well-being as they are highly unlikely to regulate their own food intake. Over-weight dogs are as prone to diabetes as people are. Meal sizes should be increased during the colder weather of winter to provide for their increased metabolic maintenance energy requirements, just as they should for any other dog breed.

Labradors make excellent family pets. Most are very tolerant of young children, putting up with intrusive behavior that would stress the most patient and tolerant human adult. They do expect better treatment from older children, snapping at or maybe even taking a nip from those

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