Considering a Yellow Lab

by Mel
(Laguna Beach)

Question

After doing some research, I have zoomed in on Yellow Labs, for their companionship potential, for their trainability, especially for their potential to work as therapy dogs.

A Yellow Lab+Golden Retriever F1 cross might be a possibility to reduce potential for genetically transmitted health problems.

My question is how "cat friendly" are they? They don't have any inbred prey instincts do they? Were they only bred to retrieve what had been killed by hunters, without actually contributing to their deaths, but only to their retrieval unharmed?

Could they chase, catch, and injure other household fuzzy beings, in the act of retrieving them? Cats more specifically?

Could they be trusted home alone with a cat without any supervision? Should they be kept in separate areas of the house?

I have encountered two deviating lines of training approach. One approach still buys into the dominance behaviour theory and recommends establishing the pecking order in the household as a foundation. The commonly held belief supports this approach.
The other approach, sponsored by the Association of Pet Dog Trainers, claims the new behavioural studies disputed the existence of dominance model in wolf packs, they believe insisting on that model injures the bond between a canine and its human family.

Which approach in training would work better for Labradors? Do they display dominating behaviour when they are with other dogs, are they always cooperative, and doing whatever is necessary for survival? The second sounded more like a Lab characteristic. Am I idealizing?


Answer

Wow, great question Mel, and one that could be up for a lot of discussion.

There is no doubt that each breed carries its own characteristics, but I think a large part of how the dog will turn out as an adult will depend on how it has been brought up.

There will always be some conflict over the best training methods. You should go with what you feel comfortable and confident with. Your dog will sense your confidence and that alone can go a long way.

Labradors are quite big dogs and I think their size may give off the impression of dominance around smaller dogs, especially when they are young and their energy levels are high.

A friend of mine in South Africa has a yellow lab with four other dogs. His lab hasn’t taken a dominant position over the other dogs.

If you want your dog to be comfortable around cats, it will need to grow up around them from a very young age. If you don’t have cats in your house when the dog is growing up, the chance is the dog won’t get used to them.

The dog needs to learn that the cat is part of the family and if you do it right, you may find a strange bond forming between the two.

My husband loves cats, but we have held off from getting one as we are aware of the potential conflicts it may cause in an established household.

Ideally we should have got the cat first and the Lab a bit later, after the cat is a bit older.