I couldn't resist commenting on this. I was amazed to see a lab with no recall at all causing havoc in the park. It ran about 100 yards from its owner and wouldn't go back and covered me in mud. Then ran around the park pouncing on other dogs with the owner whistling and calling but not coming to get him. I HAD to mention he is black because it suddenly occurred to me that we have lots of tongue in cheek comments here about crazy chocs . Actually the dog just wanted to be sociable and play but just had no training - a real shame as he was lovely. Anyway, he got a good run as he was still at it an hour later
Yes I don't think the colour' s relevant. My last dog was a choccie Lab and he was much quieter and more laid back than Molly. He also wasn't as quick to pick up words as Molly (he was Rolo nice but dim to us!) but I don't think that was down to his colour. I'd have felt sorry for the owner you're describing if they'd been making efforts to get him back.
I agree totally with Joy re he colour having no relevance . I know that the black Lab was supposed to be the colour of choice for gundog purposes years ago , Sam is my first black lad and is certainly calm and biddable but I put this down to two things , his lineage plus training , and not because of colour I do hope that the owners try to put in a little more effort ,a dog with no recall is a real danger to itself , plus they do love training so much, it creates a real bond x
It interests me, the ideas around behaviour and colour. I wouldn't think it would have any bearing on behaviour; it sounds ludicrous ! However, if I were doing an MA in Anthro-zoology I would be inclined to choose this. All sorts of environmental conditions apart from breeding could influence our perceptions.
That's not what I mean when I say my dog is crazy. I think that just sounds like a completely untrained dog that could be any colour and even from quite a few different breeds. Charlie's craziness is not really about him being untrained - well, it is a way of course in that the more training I do, the more I get a grip on his craziness. It's more, that the level of his excitement, and the ease with which he is distracted is extreme - and his addiction to fun, he is so driven to making people laugh. I think he does things that other dogs just wouldn't really think of doing. Like, in impulse control exercises he'll be more excited about retrieving the bowl that the exciting thing is going in, than the exciting thing. If I send him to a post, he'll bring back the post. And his obsession with remote controlled cars, and the pleasure he gets from nicking peoples' towels on the beach (including his impressive ability to learn how to carry them so he can still run....).
Don't forget the oven knobs.... Obi has been communing with Charlie I think as last night he retrieved our Bluetooth speaker from the bathroom. Crazy and untrained are absolutely two different things, the former being about the dog and the latter about the human. I have met a number of crazy black, yellow and chocolate Labbies over the years, with degrees of training ranging from barely nothing to very high.
