Dogs

[Skandon]

I love my three year old beagle dearly.  I must confess I was against getting him at first.  I had just lost another beagle that I had for 13 years.  He died of liver cancer.  My ex husband pushed and pushed to get this one.  I finally gave in, and now I don't know what I would do without him.

[tammypete]

I also had a full blooded German Shepherd who was very smart.  I don't know much about labs except that they are really good with kids and make great family dogs.

[BMaston12]

I love dogs I once had a full blooded German Sheppard that died. I was told that  a Lab is just as smart. Is that true?

I had a Lab mix that was very smart. We taught him to fetch and other tricks. He minded too. His only problem was that he would run off. We ended up tying him up to a chain, but it did not make him mean. We had him 10 years before he died. I still tear up when  think about him. He was probably my favorite of all my adult life of over 50 years!
BMaston12

[lywb2168]

I owned an small dog, but the babysitter I had for my daughter about 15 years ago, she had a Lab that was the sweetest and very smart, if the sitter had to go to the bathroom, she sat the kids with toys in a corner and told the dog to watch them and she would, she did not let them even get up until she came back.  The other labs I have known are very smart and they are good ad protective without been overdone or attacking left and right like most pitbulls and doberman;s do.

[jmccaskill]

As a breed, Labs are near the top in the smarts department, probably on a par with the German Shepherd dogs without the 'attitude' problems the German Shepherd can have. The temperament of the Labrador coupled with its high intelligence is why the Lab has all but replaced the Shepherds' role as service dogs.

Shepherd folks please don't get mad with me, these animals are wonderful and when properly trained are some of the finest dogs there are. Sadly, the breeds instinct is to be aggressive and that is a very good thing IF the animal is trained. Unfortunately a lot of folks get these wonderful animals and ignore the fact that the dog will do what its instincts incline it toward. Shepherds are at the top of the list in 'dog bites' because they are not socialized and trained properly. The same can be said about many breeds that have 'difficulties', it is not really the dogs fault, but the lack of understanding of their master.