Honey,one of the sweetest tastes in my life. Labradors in general and one in particular. (Labrador)

Member Name: GillMN

Product:	Labrador
Date:	04/02/09 (250 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Faithful, loving, intelligent.

Disadvantages: None really except moulting and chewing if bored.

I'm going to split this review into two sections, the first about Labradors generally and the second about one specific Labrador, my pet Honey. (Some of you will have read a little about her in my 'Most embarassing moments' review.)

Labradors were bred originally as retrieving dogs. They are soft mouthed (when they want to be!) which makes them ideal for bringing back game without damaging it. They like to work. They like to play too and in my experience of all the dog breeds, Labradors are the ones that stay like puppies the longest.

They are easy to train and they can learn a huge amount of commands. They are ranked in intelligence with German Shepherds and Poodles. ie. About as bright as a dog can get!

The downside of their high intelligence is that they can get bored easily and a bored Labrador is a destructive Labrador. Two friends of mine left their eight month old dog alone for the day and when they came home it had chewed the leg off a bed, a dressing table and a chest of drawers. All pine and all brand new from Ikea! (I took the dog out for a walk whilst they calmed down!)

Inbreeding has created a problem with hips and they need to be checked before purchase. A few years ago I met an unusually ill tempered black Labrador and it's owner told me that it was becoming a problem, again with inbreeding. I don't know if this problem has persisted with some Black Lab's.

Generally speaking Labradors are completely trustworthy with children and act as four legged nannies. They will endure any amount of prodding and poking, dressing up and mauling about from toddlers. Usually with a long suffering look on their faces.

Most of them are extremely good with other breeds but will be protective of their 'pack' particularly small children. Mine used to get between the kids and other dogs as a matter of course. Not threatening the other dogs, just very there!

They are bad at knowing when they have had enough to eat. In fact the concept is not even on their intellectual horizon. If they were humans they would occupy the waste bins at MacDonalds 24/7. I have never known any other animal with such a capacity for food. As a consequence of this, their incredibly appealing begging antics and soulful eyes, a lot of them end up overweight, this shortens their life spans and puts pressure on their hips which can already be a weak spot.

They are water dogs and their double coat insulates them from the cold. It also insulates your carpets, furniture, bedding and clothes if you don't groom them rigorously. (and even sometimes when you do!)

They need a lot of room and a lot of exercise. If you forget 'walkies' you are likely to be presented with the lead and a lot of slobbery kisses until you get the message. Labradors are experts at 'Mither power!'

They are the most faithful and loving of dogs. Of all the breeds that I have met and loved, Labradors remain my favourite.

~~~*~~~
My dog, Honey.

Honey was the grand-daughter of a dog I grew up with. Her Grandsire, Rusty, was owned by a neighbour and was a working dog. Rusty used to present himself at our front door at 4pm every afternoon for a jam butty. If I was very good I was allowed to take him for walks across the fields. Having Rusty around was what made me fall in love with dogs in general and Labradors in particular.

Honey came to me aged eight weeks and was a bundle of loose skinned, blond furred, adoration. Rusty's owner Mr Kerr, had promised me when I was a child that he would give me a dog when I had my own house and space for one.
I was visiting my Dad and Stepmum shortly after I was married and Mr Kerr arrived holding something in a bag. "Your wedding present Gill." he said, handing it over. That's all he said. In the bag, fast asleep, was Honey.

That was the start of an incredible journey together. Honey was with me for five years until a mistake by a vet took her from me.

In a way, Honey prepared me to be a Mum. She was certainly a very demanding baby! I learned patience as I trained her, I learned that her needs came first even when I didn't want to make the effort, she taught me so much about loyalty and forgiveness of mistakes. She was my constant companion even going to work with me. I loved her deeply and she very obviously loved me too.

I'll just give a couple of little anecdotes about her. I trained her to fetch items I wanted. There were twentyfour seperate things I could send her for. I used to say "Honey, go and fetch my ciggies please." and off she would go and find where I had left them, often upstairs on the dresser. She never failed to find them. If she found them and couldn't get them, say, out of a pocket, she would come back and let me know by standing at the door and woofing gently. then she would lead me to them.

Sometimes if she was feeling a bit cheeky she would get an empty packet out of the bin. She knew it was empty because she would look at me from under her brows, Princess Diana style! She had a sense of humour which I would not have believed a dog capable of if I hadn't seen her playing tricks on me.

She didn't like fetching hairbrushes and would throw them down the staircase and nudge them them to where I was, using her nose.
I trained her to put the kid's toys in the toy basket. If the kids were ignoring her she would drive them crazy by putting their toys away when they were still playing with them. It was so funny to watch!

If we went to the shops she had to carry something home. I usually gave her a can of soup or something like that. I gave her a Frey Bentos pie to carry once and after a few yards she stopped, put it down and looked at me with a "Who do you think you're kidding?" look on her face. She got photographed a lot and once the local paper did an article on her. She was a one off!

When our first child was born, Honey used to station herself outside his bedroom or under the pram. If Mark woke, Honey would come and tell us. If we didn't go to him immediately Honey would whine and get anxious. I waited once to see what would happen if I just stayed put. Honey took my wrist in her mouth and gently but very firmly started to pull me to the pram. I got the message!

My cat Percy used to rule the roost, occasionally he battered Honey. Honey never fought back even though she could have made mincemeat of him. However, Honey got her own back. One day Percy was asleep in front of the fire and Honey came in, looked at us, walked up to Percy very quietly, turned around and plonked her bum down on the poor unsuspecting cat. I'll swear she was grinning all over her face. The cat stalked out furiously and Honey lay down in her place. I wish I had a video of it. We cried laughing!

Once in a local cafe (where we had staff meetings) Honey was asleep under the table. (or so I thought!) There was a tap on my shoulder and a man was stood behind me looking a bit baffled.
"Excuse me," he said."I know it sounds a bit bizarre, but I think your doggy just stole my cigarettes. They were in front of me and the next minute they had gone and the dog is the only thing that's been near me!"
The poor man was terribly embarrassed to be making such a seemingly mad accusation. Honey chose that moment to drop a packet of Benson and Hedges onto my lap. She looked very pleased with herself! After that, the owner of the cafe used to 'borrow' Honey to play tricks on his new customers whilst the regulars looked on with glee! (As pets and cigarettes are not allowed in cafes any longer it's not a thing that could happen now!)

I was delighted to hear that a few months after this event, the man who had had his ciggies pinched went out and bought himself a Labrador.

Anyway, that's enough for now about Honey. They were just a few tales of hundreds I could tell about her. I was lucky to have such an extraordinary animal.

Thank you for letting me reminisce.

Summary: If you invest the time and love in a dog like this you will be repaid one thousandfold.