Chelsea Ross
Labradors have long established themselves at the top of the world’s cynological ratings. The secret of the publicity of toothy apporters is simple: these animals are beautiful and charming, intelligent and good-natured, optimistic and sociable. The Labrador breed has great working potential, a balanced psyche, an agreeable character, bright charisma, and exceptional intelligence.
Gorgeous Labradors come from the Canadian island of Newfoundland, but perfected the breeding type and created a new branch of the retriever English zootechnicians. It was the British breeding school that “cut the diamond” of personal and working talents, created one of the most beloved and popular breeds in the world. Consider a psychological portrait of famous dogs: features of disposition, advantages, and disadvantages of character, pros, and cons of a Labrador Retriever.
Character and Temperament
The Labrador Retriever breed is rightfully considered universal and multifunctional. Initially profiled as gun dogs, Labradors, thanks to their numerous talents and conditions, are ideal as urban family pets, companion companions. Kind, quick-witted, and very accommodating dogs are actively used by units of the Department of Emergency Situations, customs structures, social and medical services.
Labrador psychological type (a set of dog character traits) is based on:
- on a balanced, strong nervous system;
- indicative of friendliness;
- optimism and cheerfulness;
- obedience;
- tolerance, tact, and sensitivity;
- boundless hard work and a desire to please a person.
The highest intelligence of the Labrador has been confirmed many times by IQ testing: due to intelligence and intelligence, dogs instantly react to stimuli, assess the situation, and make decisions.
Labradors are typical sanguine guys: calm, peaceful, sociable dogs, able to rejoice and play all their free time.
The nature of the breed is declared by the reference register: the standard oversees not only the exterior, but also the temperament, behavioral advantages, and disadvantages. In accordance with the FCI regulations, an ideal Labrador of good blood should be friendly, loyal, obedient. Labradors should not leave their face with a good-natured “facial expression” and “smile with all their teeth”, and an intelligent and understanding look must inform the world about the quick-wittedness, optimism, and kindness of this breed of retrievers. Both aggressive malice and cowardly timidity are considered disqualifying parameters: the dog must be harmoniously balanced, completely self-confident.
There is a whole series of methods for controlling young Labradors. Reputable kennels and professional breeders strictly monitor the personality parameters of puppies, ruthlessly reject dogs with deviations from the psychological canon. Testing a puppy’s personality includes monitoring:
- the behavior of puppies in a calm environment;
- reaction to conditioned stimuli;
- natural behavior, self-sufficiency, self-confidence;
- balance of temper (balance of lethargy and excessive emotionality).
The rest of the predictors and psychological characteristics of the Labrador are formed by the owner in the process of socialization, education, and training. Labradors are well trained, lend themselves well to various training, work with pleasure, performing commands, and assigned tasks. An aggravating factor for training is the restlessness, hyperactivity, and playfulness of the breed. The problems of the Labrador breed lie on the surface: the dogs sincerely want to serve (please) the owner, but the energy splashing over the edges prevents the animal from concentrating on the service, “to give all the best in work.”
In Labradors, there is no service and strict discipline, as in the icons of the style of guard dog breeding – shepherds. You should know and take into account that Labradors are not a “breed of one owner”: an intelligent, but very trusting Labrador will obey anyone who gives a familiar command. Experts coaches recommend basing the training, building a headliner/pet relationship on trust: a dog who is faithful and loyal to the leader will show miracles of control and manageability. For Labradors, communication with the owner-friend, sincere sympathy, sympathy are very important.
For this world-loving variety of retrievers, proper socialization is very important. It is necessary to adapt the dog, to educate a restless and very sociable Labrador from an early age. The first lessons of “living in the world of people” are taught to Labradors by a toothy mother, later all responsibility rests with the owner. It is very important to create a comfortable background for the tailed baby and, in an atmosphere of patience and love, gently adjust the pet’s behavior. It is not difficult and is accessible even to novice Labrador owners: the main thing is to rely on sociability, cheerfulness, curiosity, and kindness built into the gene level.
If you have the slightest doubt about your pedagogical talents, you should entrust the training and training of your pet to experienced dog trainers. Poor socialization and indistinct behavioral training will “shake” the hereditary personal foundation, spoil the temper, and show unacceptable extremes of character (anger/cowardice). It is very easy to spoil a young dog with weak leadership, systemic connivance, and insufficient pressure.
Cheerful Disposition
Labradors are not a cynological absolute: to become the standard and the best on the training court, shaggy beauties are hindered by their playful and “cheeky” disposition, infantilism, and restlessness. All reference books and manuals state: this type of retriever matures very late, the doggie can be considered a fully formed personality only upon reaching the age of three. “The concept of age landing” declares: having overcome the three-year Rubicon, the Labradors settle down, “change the flight horizon”, learn training better and more easily. The theory does not correspond to reality: from birth to old age, Labradors remain playful energizers, playful puppies, carefree merry fellows.
Distinctive features of the Labrador retriever include a persistent intolerance to loneliness. These dogs are ideally oriented towards humans: abandoned in a confined space, Labradors fall into depression, embark on a “slippery” path of negative behavior, destructive actions. A dog abandoned for a long time, left without attention and communication ceases to adequately respond to the environment, loses controllability, begins to act as it sees fit.
Personality
Sexual dimorphism of the breed is weakly manifested: females are more graceful and graceful than males, but nothing more. The main differences lie in the nuances of temperament. The character of the female Labrador is homely, affectionate, and loving. Toothy young ladies are obedient and calm, they are strongly attached to the owner and his household. Problems with maidens of the Labrador breed arise twice a year, during periods of pauses. At this time, a nervous and tense dog should be kept on a leash, given more attention and love.
The character of the male Labrador is impulsive, playful, curious, and restless. If a dog is poorly educated, he will endlessly run away, get lost, fall into bad stories. At home, the aristocrat Labrador is magically transformed: imposing mannerism, tact, comfort, charm, and complaisance.
Regardless of the gender choice, the Labrador breed has so many advantages that the disadvantages are simply invisible.
Who is the Labrador for?
Labradors are unique in their versatility and adaptability. Companionable dogs easily fit into various formats of life, they easily fit into any family hierarchy, tradition.
The Labrador community still draws a dividing line: there are a lot of people on the planet for whom Labradors are not recommended.
The main contraindication may be an allergy to the coat of a Labrador (a hypoallergenic Labrador is a myth). Also, driving dogs are not suitable for elderly people and all those who cannot realize active walking, high-quality life support for a toothy pet.
Labradors are a breed for fans of a dynamic lifestyle, cheerful optimists, families with children, athletes, tourists, hunters.
Two Sides of the Coin
Like most pets, the Labrador breed has pros and cons: factors you need to know and consider before you go to the nursery for a puppy.
The undoubted virtues of character and disposition include:
- Kindness: Dogs are amazingly friendly and peaceful. It is an ideal choice for families with small children;
- the highest intelligence. It is fun and productive to train and train Labradors: the dog catches everything on the fly;
- versatility: thanks to their innate intelligence and hard work, Labradors can easily master any “profession”.
The Cons of the Breed
- excessive friendliness: the breed is too trusting;
- restlessness, hyperactivity, and speed of change of target designation of a Labrador: in order to “live on a volcano” you need exceptional patience and talent.
Summing Up
The character of a Labrador is the sum of hereditary and acquired, physical and mental parameters, positioning the dog, determining the relationship of the animal with the outside world.
Labradors are individual, bright, and charismatic: this should be taken into account when choosing a dog for home and soul. But you also need to know and constantly remember: the temper lends itself to correction by socialization, education, and training. In the case of Labradors, patience, a sense of humor, and love are very helpful in correcting character defects.