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The name ‘Labrador’ is simply shorthand for the breed known as ‘Labrador Retrievers’ – they are the same breed but it’s often easier to use the shortened name.  So if you see Labrador puppies for sale, they are in fact Labrador Retrievers.  Their name can be shortened even further to just ‘Labs’.

Labradors are probably the most popular breed of dog in the UK and it’s not hard to see why when you get to know one.  No breed of dog can be absolutely guaranteed to be friendly, loyal and obedient or good with children – Labradors included.  But Labradors would be the breed to put your money on if you were to bet whether it would make a good family pet.

They are very intelligent, despite their rather daft and dopey appearance – they want to be friends with everyone and are unfailingly cheerful and happy to see people (they are deliriously happy to see their owners, even if they have been apart from them for only five minutes or so). 

They learn skills well and can be taught basic commands such as ‘sit’, ‘stay’, ‘fetch’ and ‘lie down’ very early on as puppies.  Their instinct to retrieve stems from when they were originally gun dogs: their job was to bring back whatever prey had been shot by their masters.  The prey would be no good with teeth marks in it or chewed to bits: Labradors have very soft mouths and will retrieve anything with great care and gentleness.  Be warned though that Labradors have been known to drown from the exhaustion of continuing to search for items thrown for them (sticks or balls) when these have been lost in a pond or stream.  They won’t give up easily unless commanded to return without an item that they have been sent for.

Labradors generally enjoy swimming and splashing in the water and they love spending time with their family.  They have bags of patience for children and it really takes an awful lot to get a Labrador annoyed – and even then, they will normally just retreat. 

There are plenty of Labrador puppies for sale, but consider adopting one from an animal charity such as the RSPCA.  This is a much cheaper option than buying from a breeder or pet shop, and is a more responsible choice: it reduces the demand for new puppies to be bred, and you won’t be inadvertently supporting a disreputable breeder.  Some breeders can keep puppies separate from their mothers and each other and fail to socialise them properly.  It is very important that you meet the mother and the puppy itself before committing to buying from a breeder or pet shop: if adopting, the RSPCA will already have carried out extensive assessments of temperament before allowing a dog or puppy to be rehomed.

Labradors are gentle, loyal, friendly and fun to be with: what more could you ask for in a family dog?