A Dog For All Seasons

A Labrador Retriever occupies quite a big space in the average family home and an even bigger space in the nation’s hearts.
There can be very few shoot gatherings in the UK that do not include the presence of the ubiquitous black Labrador. Recently pronounced America’s top dog for the 21st year running, the Labrador is as crucial a part of the shooting community on the far side of the pond, as it is on ours.

I must confess to being a ‘spaniel person’ at heart. Anyone who knows me will tell you that spaniels are ‘my thing’. I love that crazy spaniel enthusiasm, the ‘never surrender, hunt til I drop’ mentality and the sheer zest for work. I love the way a spaniel simply consumes life and all it has to offer.

But the dog who shares my home and who has her head firmly pillowed on my feet whilst I type, is a Labrador. My three spaniels are snoozing in a tousled pile underneath their heat lamp in a kennel outdoors.

What breed of gundog shall I get?

People often ask me for advice on which breed of dog they should buy as a first shooting companion. More often than not, they have already made their minds up to purchase something a touch more ‘interesting’ than the run-of-the-mill Lab. After all, who wants what everyone else has?

‘Get a Labrador’ I advise, followed by a whole string of very sensible reasons that you have heard a million times before. The big day comes soon enough and they proudly stumble through the front door with either an exotic Hpr or a stunningly beautiful Springer puppy. They then spend the next six months trying to turn it into a Labrador. I am aware that there are exceptions to this rule, but that is life!  

Seasons come and go

When we are choosing a shooting companion we spend a lot of time thinking about its future role in the field. The problem is, we usually vastly overestimate how much of this dog’s life will actually be spent out shooting. Many guns shoot only a dozen or so days each winter and even a busy ‘picker up’ will usually work on no more than two or three different shoots. Most of us have a living to earn after all. That leaves several hundred days each year, both in and out of the shooting season, when the dog is not working. Seasons come and go with frightening rapidity and as winter shifts to spring many working dogs take on a very different role. That of ‘walking buddy’ and all round household friend. 
 
What about the all purpose Springer?

I have a very soft spot for Springers. Sadly,  working Springers adopted into novice families sometimes get a very rough deal out of life, with far too many ending up in rescue centres with behavioural problems.

Whilst it is true that the well trained Springer is a superb all round gundog, fitting into family life does not always fit in with the kind of supervision that spaniels needs 24/7 whilst out walking, if it is not to become out of control.

If your Springer is immaculately behaved then that is grand. But of all the pleas for help received by the Gundog Club over the last six years, by far the majority of those pleas have been from owners of Springers. This is despite the fact that both labs and cockers outnumber them in terms of dogs registered each year.  

You can relax with a Labrador

A Labrador is as at home charming your friends by the BBQ on a warm summer’s evening as he is on your peg on a crisp winter’s morning.  He is as content to play Frisbee with your kids in the park, as he is to retrieve a pheasant.  

It won’t break his heart if he has to walk at heel all day whilst you hike up mount Snowdon and even without intensive training, he is less likely to hunt himself across three counties each time you let him off the lead, than the untrained high octane trial-bred Springer. 

Your Labrador will be happy to dream away a Monday morning beneath your desk as my lab is right now and will probably not need to accompany you in a whirlwind of activity each time you get up to make a cup of coffee or use the bathroom.

If you sprain your ankle and can’t take him for a walk for three days, your Labrador will accept it with good grace and not devote all his energy  into breaking his personal best for the fasted circuit of your sofa.

A tribute

Though my true passion is for working spaniels, I am simply in awe of the Labrador retriever. These dogs have been taken into the service of mankind in almost every capacity imaginable. There are Labradors in Afghanistan saving soldier’s lives, Labradors working for the police, for Customs & Excise and of course in the service of disabled people. 
I have friends whose Labradors are as happy working as PAT dogs in the summer as they are in the beating line in the winter.   

There are Labradors all over the UK visiting old people’s homes and brightening up their days and there are Labradors going into schools to help children read. There are Labradors living with epileptic children and alerting to them to an impending seizure and yet others living with autistic children, helping them to cope with the world.   
 
These dogs are surely one of the most versatile and useful creatures ever to share the human world. 

I hope if you are looking for your first shooting companion, you will not discard the Labrador as being too common or ordinary. Their vast popularity is a simple testament to the Labrador’s keen intelligence and biddable nature, resulting in a splendid amount of choice and a wide support network for Labrador owners everywhere.    

As you run your eye down the ‘puppies for sale ads’ do take into account that it is not through chance that the lab is the most popular companion dog of modern times. It is worth bearing in mind that your dog’s primary role, like that of the vast majority of shooting dogs in the UK, will be first and foremost as a member of your family.

If you have a small house, bear in mind also that a small spaniel in perpetual motion may take up twice as much space as a Labrador asleep on your hearth rug!

Don’t get me wrong

Spaniels are not unhappy as pets, on the contrary, a spaniel makes it his business to be happy from the minute he opens his eyes in the morning. He will throw himself into any role you can dream up for him with enthusiasm, but he may not be the most relaxing of housemates.

Outdoors, a working spaniel has some ‘special needs’ and if you are not willing initially to concentrate fully on the dog every second he is off the lead, keeping him closer than you ever thought a dog should be, at all times, you may run into trouble. If dog training is not really your first love, then a young spaniel may not be for you.

A dog for all seasons

Everyone’s situation is unique of course, but for most families most of the time, the humble and honest Labrador is simply the ideal and best choice for a first gundog and to fulfill the complex role of shooting companion/family dog.

A healthy Labrador Retriever with some basic training, will give you a lifetime of service and friendship with and without your gun. He really is ‘A dog for all seasons.’

About the Author

Pippa has been training and working Spaniels and Retrievers for over thirty years. She is the co-owner of, and a regular writer for The Labrador Site, a healthcare and training resource for Labrador owners.