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Labrador Retriever Breeders Guidelines Article
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Beloved Companion and Therapy Dogs
from: The Complete DogThe most common purpose of a Labrador Retriever is as a home companion, a role he excels at with flying colors. Surprisingly, the Labrador Retriever wasn't often kept just as a house pet until several decades after the breed's introduction to the United States. The people who first fancied the breed became acquainted with him through its ability as a hunter's companion. The breed became well established as a sporting companion an his docile, brainy nature eventually won his way out of the kennel and into the home.
With Labrador Retriever's ability to quickly adapt and respond to instruction, transition was quite easy. Currently, puppies raised in the home actually become so entwined in the lives of their owners they often suffer when relegated to the kennel life. (If you're planning to keep a kennel of Labradors, select puppies that are properly socialized but still familiar with kennel life.)
As a companion, the Labrador Retriever is good-natured and gentle enough to accept the roughhousing of youngsters without returning it in kind. If properly socialized while young, a Labrador will share his "home" with another dog, as long as there's enought affection available for all. It's more common for a Labrador to misbehave out of jealousy than out of dislike for another animal.
Labrador Retrievers have a lot of self-control and loyalty, but they don't make the very good watchdogs. As a rule, they're not overly suspicious of strangers or highly protective of loved ones, and when natural instincts aren't stimulated they can be inattentive to such a task. Always keen for a scent or sound, a Labrador Retriever would certainly give voice at the approach of an intruder, but he might be won over by a friendly gesture or a tasty hunk of sirloin. If left on duty, a Labrador Retriever may wander off in search of a scent that has caught his attention. In short, he's a people-dog. If you really need a watchdog, get your Labrador a German Shepherd friend!
The value of companionship with this breed shouldn't be underestimated. In recent years, obedience-trained Labradors as well as other breeds are being used as Therapy Dogs to enrich the lives of nursing home residents and even emotionally disturbed children. The process is simple: a group of experienced dog handlers, such as those trained by Therapy Dogs International, bring their dogs to visit, perhaps put on an obedience performance for the audience, and then let animals and humans mingle, if conditions permit.
These dogs are all obedience trained and have proven themselves to be very gentle and outgoing. Their job is to make people feel wanted, and it works wonders for alleviating the loneliness and depression that often burden these people's lives. Labradors love people and the few hours Therapy Dogs share with others enrich both dog and humans.
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