Hi! As the thread title says, I'm a newcomer to both the breed and forum. So I guess I will tell you a little background, lol... I've had dogs my entire life. My first dog was a golden/border collie mix and afterwards my family decided smaller dogs would be easier to manage, even though my father was partial to large breeds having grown up with GSDs. We had a Lhasa and we still have a Shih Tzu (she's 15!) but I sort of always wanted a big dog to get out and do things with. Then when I went to college I became really intrigued by bird hunting and my best friend's father happened to be an avid hunter/shooting instructor who trained his own lab; I met the dog and she was fabulous! A couple of years later I started dating a guy who is from a hunting/military family and I started seriously thinking about getting a bird dog. After much research, I decided on a lab and the boyfriend agreed to foot the bill for a pup. However, the more I thought about it, the less I wanted a puppy because I didn't have the time as a student. As a compromise I began browsing local rescues for a young lab and found several. We went to visit one of the dogs but he got adopted out from under us; I was disappointed but I insisted we go to another shelter to look at this yellow male I had viewed. Turns out he was available and it was love at first sight! We adopted Teller (formerly Buster) that afternoon and the rest is history! We didn't expect much as far as hunting ability because he was a rescue and the shelter told us he wouldn't fetch. Fortunately we were incredibly wrong! Teller is currently being trained as a flushing retriever and doing great. Anyways, I fell in love with the breed over the past year and plan on adding another labbie boy to my family in the future.
Thanks! I'm currently waiting for imgur to upload several photos, but I will post the ones that have made it through.
He is so handsome I have a 3.5 month old black lab named Titan (LOVE the name Teller! Wish I would have brought that one up to the bf ) Sounds to me like it was meant to be with you and him!
Thanks for all the kind comments! I'm glad I'm not alone in thinking he's a handsome boy. Even though he has pretty terrible conformation, I think he has a very nice head and expression, haha. Yes, I definitely believe T and I were made for one another and he has grown into quite the mama's boy, lol. As for the name, I actually had my heart dead-set on getting a lab named Forrest but the boyfriend vetoed it. At first he wanted to name him 'Chill' because he was so wild and I flat-out told him I would absolutely not allow my dog to be called, 'Chill'. We reached a compromise with the name Teller. He's a big science nerd and told me to choose between Bohr (after Niels Bohr) and Teller (for Edward Teller). His name grew on me and I love that it's unique; although I've had a lot of people call him, 'Keller' and one, 'Feller'. So Forrest is reserved for his future brother, lol.
Welcome from me and Pongo! LOVE that photo of him jumping up in the water. That is the happiest happiest happiest happiest lab face EVER.
@Rosie - Believe it or not, he had never encountered water before I adopted him. The first time I ever took him to the river, he was so happy! It took him a little bit of time to get comfortable with swimming around. He would wade into the water no problem but would only swim after geese and ducks. Around 6 months later, something just clicked and now he will swim for hours.
Hi from me and Ella in Melbourne, Australia Great photos, Teller looks like a very happy, handsome boy
I'm late to the party but wanted to say welcome and thanks for sharing the wonderful story of how you found Teller and his pictures. What a boatload of personality he has! I especially like the photo of him in the water with the big old grin on his face. And compliments on the doggie-print sheets, too - cute!
