Labrador retrievers are one of the most popular and beloved dog breeds in the country, and also around the world. They are easy to get along with and are very good with children. If you have decided to on purchasing your new pet puppy from a yellow or black Labrador breeder, it is good to know that not all breeders are alike. Think of it as purchasing a vehicle; you would check out the dealership and the salesman just as much as you would check out the car he is trying to sell you.

The Bad Apple Black Labrador Breeders

No one wants to buy a lemon car, and no one wants to end up with a bad-tempered “lemon” puppy either. You tend to avoid the bad reputation of the used car salesman, and you should look to avoid the Labrador retriever breeders who only want to make money and do not care for the animals they are selling at all. Some places are known as puppy mills, where a lot of interbreeding happens and the moms are kept caged and not cared for while they are turning out the puppies.

Many of these breeding businesses also tend sell to anyone and everyone. This includes pet stores who might stuff three or four Lab pups into one cage, puppy brokers, and even those who participate in dog fighting. This kind of

black Labrador breeder

really is the bad apple that could spoil customers on the idea of buying from anyone. It may sound like a little scary, but the sad part is how true that scary side is.

Despite a darker side to the force, decent and dog loving black Labrador breeders are out there, and they have the affiliations and customer testimonials to prove it. You may have begun your search online, but it might not be a bad idea to do a little leg work as well. You will need to choose a veterinarian anyway for your new pup, so check with their staff about any black Labrador breeder recommendations they might have.

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For a bit of fun I have been doing some agility courses in Delaware, Michigan and at McCann's Training School in Flamboro, Ontario for the past few months. My little friend Tarnation has also been taking up some of my time with my master but he is a nice guy and I still get to ride in the front seat of the truck and get my special snacks from Ronald McDonald's.

Went out with some friends last weekend for a little hunter trial practice in Valens . Me and my little friend Tar had some good slogging through the marsh but had no problem finding those dead ducks they were throwing out for us.

For the real thing we were down in the Port Dover,Ontario for the real thing. Just luv them ducks, and I get to have a real swim too.

Here I am at Dover with a prize:

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Food And Water

Among the most essential things that need to be addressed with regard to providing proper Labrador dog care, you may include taking good care about feeding your pet as well as keeping them well hydrated. Just like other dog breeds, Labradors too require good food and plenty of water. It is therefore necessary that you set up a schedule for his feeding and this schedule should be established as soon as he becomes your pet. In addition, you need to ensure that your Labrador pet always has easy access to water 24x7x365.

As far as feeding your pet goes, proper Labrador dog care requires that he is fed once or twice in a day and he should also be given good as well as healthy dog food that must be given to him exactly according to instructions on the dog food labels.

A second aspect to providing good Labrador dog care is ensuring that your pet has a place to call his own and this is the place where he will be able to rest and get his sleep without being disturbed. Though it is common to let your pet Labrador share your bed it is nevertheless, always a good idea to give him a bed of his own, and even a big sized kennel that has a blanket or a dog bed in it will do just fine. You may also need to train him to sleep in his bed and it also makes good sense to teach him that his bed is where you would like to see him get his sleep.

Other Labrador dog care tips include training him – either personally or by sending him to a dog training class. Also, you need to groom as well as bathe your Labrador on a regular basis, and you also need to ensure that he is given plenty of exercise on a regular basis.

Finally, proper Labrador dog care also means giving your pet his shots and getting his licenses in good time. Rabies shots as well as heartworm checks must be done in order to ensure his wellbeing because these measures can even end up saving the life of your Labrador.

Make Sure The Pup Is Tired

Best portraits of an all-black Lab puppy are best done outside in natural light, where there are a lot of distractions. You need to get a good play session in with your puppy before you attempt any kind of photography – unless you have high-speed film! Puppies have short attention spans, so also bring noisemakers or squeaky toys to get their attention.

Location, Location, Location

You need to get your black Lab puppy against a lighter colored background such as green grass or clear blue lake water. You definitely don’t want him against anything about as dark as he is. The viewer will have a hard time discerning the puppy from the rest of the picture.

You also don’t want the background to be "busy", with a lot of objects and colors and things to distract the viewer's eye from your magnificent black Lab puppy. You want the background to be as uniform as possible. Be careful with really bright white backgrounds, as they can throw light back into your camera and ruin the shot.

In The Studio

It is certainly possible to photograph your black Lab puppy indoors, although this requires very specific lighting so your puppy doesn’t look like a silhouette in a three dimensional world. If worse comes to worse, take your black Lab puppy to a professional photographer. They have the lighting equipment to make the portrait look life like.

If you'd like to give a go, you need to get what's called a "key light", sometimes referred to as a "hair light", so you can see the hairs on your black Lab puppy instead of just one glob of demon-eyed darkness. This would be placed behind and to one side of the puppy. Then, you need to take a lot of pictures to be sure you get that perfect shot that will forever record the magic of when your Lab was still a little black Lab puppy.

Christmas Dinner

Usually every year out of England just after Christmas, you read about a dog who ate the family's Christmas dinner, desserts, decorations and some of the gifts.  Almost without fail, the dog winds up being a Labrador Retriever.  Christmas dinner in England is given even more hoopla than Thanksgiving in America.  Although some Labrador Retrievers can eat such a massive amount of food with just a few belches, most just vomit it all back up.  How festive.

Gucci Watches

Some dogs have incredible taste.  Lulu the Labrador Retriever didn’t just eat anything in April of 2002 – she chose her owner's $1500 (US) Gucci watch.  Worried for both watch and dog (and about the inevitable puns in the press), Lulu was taken immediately to the vet, who confirmed that the dog was ticking.  A successful operation removed the watch but not Lulu's appetite.  She has also eaten socks, dice and almost swallowed a diamond engagement ring before she was stopped.

Cat Poo

Most dogs are attracted to cat droppings, although some prefer to roll in them while others eat them.  Almost all Labrador Retrievers will not pass up a chance at "kitty pate".  This is because cats cannot digest all of their food, so their droppings still has meat in it.  This can be dangerous to your Labrador if your cat is on medication, which can also turn up in the poop.

Poison

Labrador Retrievers are like babies in that they explore the world with their mouths.  They also think many poisonous substances like slug bait and antifreeze taste good.  You need to keep these out of reach or stop using them entirely.  You also need child proof locks on your cupboards, because Labrador Retrievers can learn to open almost any kind of cabinet door.
Include your medications in on the list of poisons.  Human medications are made to be taken by creatures that weigh a lot more than the average black Labrador Retriever.  They will wind up getting a dose that may make them very sick.  Call your vet immediately if you suspect your Lab has eaten human medication.

Superstition

Although we claim to not believe in superstitions, our subconscious proves we do.  Quite often, we pass over anything black because of the negative bias towards the color black.  The only things that seem to escape this bias are diamonds and horses.  However, there are a lot of myths, legends and stories about black dogs being somehow bad.  One of these is that vampires can change into black wolves – or black dogs (even black Labrador Retrievers).

Probably the most famous bad black dog was the Hound of the Baskervilles, which went after the legendary Sherlock Holmes.  Many scholars and psychologists think the reason why the Hound of the Baskervilles is so famous is because a large black dog fits our subconscious idea of what an evil creature looks like, even a dog with floppy ears like a black Labrador Retriever.

Hecate And Paganism

In some pre-Christian pagan religions, black dogs were seen as sacred.  One of the most powerful and respected Goddesses (still worshipped by modern day Pagans) is Hecate (or Hekate), known as the Goddess of Witches.  One of her symbols was the black dog.  It was said that She could appear to people in the form of either a black snake, a black mare or a black dog.

Whenever Christianity overtook paganism, anything associated with the old Deities was immediately demonized.  This is probably what happened to all black dogs, even in this modern day and age, causing the black dog syndrome seen today in pet rescues and animal shelters.

A Good Dog Is Never A Bad Color

If you are considering adopting a dog (and good for you), then please be sure to take a second look at all of the black dogs in the shelter.  Perhaps they will look ordinary, but that's only on the outside.  If you specifically want  to adopt a Labrador Retriever, be sure to tell the breed rescue or animal shelter that you would accept a black Labrador Retriever.  You will certainly gain not only the shelter worker's respect, but the friend of a lifetime.

Location, Location, Location

You need to get your black Lab puppy against a lighter colored background such as green grass or clear blue lake water. You definitely don't want him against anything about as dark as he is. The viewer will have a hard time discerning the puppy from the rest of the picture.

You also don't want the background to be "busy", with a lot of objects and colors and things to distract the viewer's eye from your magnificent black Lab puppy. You want the background to be as uniform as possible. Be careful with really bright white backgrounds, as they can throw light back into your camera and ruin the shot.

In The Studio

It is certainly possible to photograph your black Lab puppy indoors, although this requires very specific lighting so your puppy doesn't look like a silhouette in a three dimensional world. If worse comes to worse, take your black Lab puppy to a professional photographer. They have the lighting equipment to make the portrait look life like.

If you'd like to give a go, you need to get what's called a "key light", sometimes referred to as a "hair light", so you can see the hairs on your black Lab puppy instead of just one glob of demon-eyed darkness. This would be placed behind and to one side of the puppy. Then, you need to take a lot of pictures to be sure you get that perfect shot that will forever record the magic of when your Lab was still a little black Lab puppy.

But, like PT Barnum said, "There's a sucker born every minute", and they will believe whatever they are told. If they are told that there is such a thing as a purebred golden Labrador, they will break open their wallets and buy one. Even when they can clearly see that the puppy's color is yellow, they think the "golden" label means "premium" and they will buy the so-called "golden Labrador Retriever" over the identical-looking "yellow Labrador Retriever."

Nothing Wrong With A Yellow Lab

If you do discover that your pricey "golden Labrador Retriever" is simply a yellow Lab, take heart. Your dog will still be loyal and comical and loving. Keep the dog. But by all means, complain to the Better Business Bureau about how the dog was represented. It would help if you had a copy of the original ad that lead you to the kennel and a copy of the contract. You did get a contract with your "golden Labrador Retriever", didn’t you? If not, there's ANOTHER thing to complain about.

If you go to a rescue shelter and see a dog listed as a purebred golden Labrador Retriever, the staff just made a common mistake. Don't rip into them about it – they are doing the best you can. You could write a thank you letter about how well you are getting on with your rescue dog and just casually mention that, officially, there is no such thing as a purebred golden Labrador Retriever. Once that is done, concentrate on building up a great friendship with your new Lab of whatever color.

Probably the most famous bad black dog was the Hound of the Baskervilles, which went after the legendary Sherlock Holmes. Many scholars and psychologists think the reason why the Hound of the Baskervilles is so famous is because a large black dog fits our subconscious idea of what an evil creature looks like, even a dog with floppy ears like a black Labrador Retriever.

Hecate And Paganism

In some pre-Christian pagan religions, black dogs were seen as sacred. One of the most powerful and respected Goddesses (still worshipped by modern day Pagans) is Hecate (or Hekate), known as the Goddess of Witches. One of her symbols was the black dog. It was said that She could appear to people in the form of either a black snake, a black mare or a black dog.

Whenever Christianity overtook paganism, anything associated with the old Deities was immediately demonized. This is probably what happened to all black dogs, even in this modern day and age, causing the black dog syndrome seen today in pet rescues and animal shelters.

A Good Dog Is Never A Bad Color

If you are considering adopting a dog (and good for you), then please be sure to take a second look at all of the black dogs in the shelter. Perhaps they will look ordinary, but that's only on the outside. If you specifically want to adopt a Labrador Retriever, be sure to tell the breed rescue or animal shelter that you would accept a black Labrador Retriever. You will certainly gain not only the shelter worker's respect, but the friend of a lifetime.