American and British Lab Mix

That's really interesting regarding calmness especially when choosing a pup. When you add in the mix of working(field) vs show (English) lab.
When we chose our latest addition at 8 weeks, all her siblings were there as the breeder was planning to keep them all until about 10 weeks. We were allowed to take Bramble because of the distance we travelled..6 hours!! They were all socialised with other dogs/cats/children/visitors and of course mum and the sire visited regularly . Everything was hectic in the household but in a very comfortable way. The pups lived in the farmhouse kitchen. They also had a resident "old dog" which was good, as we had older dogs at home.
We chose the boldest and most inquisitive of the litter. She has also turned out to an exceptionally calm and thoughtful pup, despite her natural high energy levels. I do wonder how much influence those formative weeks has on a pup. We deliberately were looking for working line, however also just as important to us was how the pup was raised in those early weeks.
I mention this as some litters are kept in barns or kennels, and I wonder how much this affects pup in terms of early socialisation and experiences?

 

@Beanwood I've just read an interesting chapter in 'In Defense of Dogs' which relates to puppies, socialisation with people and also about puppy temperament testing. I'm just about to start an assignment but when that's out the way I'll try to do a quick resume of the chapter together with the finding from studies, interesting discussion points

 

Thanks for sharing your story, Kelsey!

 

No problem! Good luck and have fun picking a puppy!

 

I think this is really interesting. My dog is most definitely calm around dogs, kids, trains, fireworks, street parties, gunshot etc....nothing at all seems to faze him. He is totally untroubled by stuff like that.

He is not though, low energy (he isn't as fast as working line dogs, but that's not the same as being low energy). He is a busy dog, he wants to do stuff, he finds doing nothing the hardest thing ever, steadiness has been a terrific challenge.

 

You've described Snowie to a T, and he also finds doing nothing very challenging -- unless at home after a good walk, then he's happy to snuggle into his blankie and sleep. I would suggest a more apt descriptive word for many Labs would be: tolerant.

 

I equate calm with "confident" . I think you can have a high energy dog who is also calm

 

All of our Labs have been working line dogs, and all have been pretty calm. They have all been high energy when young, but are perfectly willing to sleep all day or just walk around the house with us most of the time. When they get to water, or a tennis ball everything changes. Also if they are off leash they will cover a lot of ground.

 

Hi, Odin is cross breed between English and American Labs. Could not wish for better dog. The only thing is he is very large Lab. 105 punds. He is not fat at all, has he's waist and no muffin tops Unfortunately I don't know how to add a photo

 

But I managed to get him on my avatar

 

I have a 13 month old black lab female I purchased from a breeder in Virginia, Deep Run Farms. The owners were a vet and a dog trainer both who are very well respected. Their dogs perform at show and field trials and they have produced many champions from their breeding lines. They have a 100 acre farm out side of Fredericksburg Va. and have over 25 years experience. My Cassie is our 3rd lab. The first 2 were American from another breeder with hunting lines. Our current pup had an English field and ring champion sire and an American field champion damas parents. The breeder chose our dog from a litter of 11 based on a questionnaire we provided. Breeder told us she breeds for temperament first. Since this was our 3rd lab and we are seniors we knew what we wanted in a pup. This is strictly a family dog. We met the parents the day we got the pup. So far she has been the best hands down. Her confirmation favors the sire (English). Her temperament is fantastic. She loved the training classes and is very eager to please. She is very well behaved and we are working hard on the leash walking. Just a great dog and we are so pleased to have her in our family. My advice to anyone is research the breeder and understand the commitment you have to make when you take on the responsibility to bring a lab pup home. If you put in the work with training and give your dog daily exercise you will have a great companion.