Male or female?

[ducksak]

I am looking to get my first lab puppy. I think I want a yellow lab just not sure whether I should get a male or female? Any opinions? Thanks

[Mark Evans]

I've got a yellow male I wouldn't trade for anything. In fact, I just got a puppy off him. Guess what it is??? Another yellow male.

In all seriousness, I don't think it matters which sex you get. Just love em to death and work with them daily and you should have a good dog and tons of fun. I hope you have as much fun with yours as I've had with mine.

Good luck.

Mark

[ross632]

ive had a male yellow and a male choc...they love to escape and run off for weeks at a time...pretty sure a racoon got the best of my yellow b/c my choc came back mangled...i think my next one will be a female in whatever color i go with...

[southernmallard]

I've always had females. Don't get me wrong, they are many many male labs out there that are just as loving, but they're something about a female dog. Just my .02

[digger]

Female.

[levi127]

I've always had females. Don't get me wrong, they are many many male labs out there that are just as loving, but they're something about a female dog. Just my .02

My female dog is plumb wild! She only cares about loving on you when you have her ball or a duck in your hand. She is 7 months old now and full of energy.
Ive had a male lab also. He was just as crazy as she is but now he is old and lazy. Wants to do nothing but sit in your lap and roll over.

I say female. Always heard black lab females are the best with things so I took that route. I think I lucked up with her. We will see openning mornin!

[Dux Be Us]

I kept an open mind...color, and sex should be down the list. I was looking for a good disposition. I ended up with a chocalate male

[mharville]

Just keep heat cycles in mind. I've got a female and it's something you have to think about when it comes to hunting or hunt testing, but males are in heat year round.Also i've seen soft male, and likewise i've seen stubborn females. I think Male or Female is pretty high on the list after you pick the right litter, but finding the right litter is most important.

[fishduck]

This falls into personal preference. Females come into heat at the worst possible times. Got one in heat now who missed a hunt test last weekend and will miss the LA duck opener this weekend. Males on the other hand are ready, willing, and able to hump on a moments notice. It can be quite an emberassment. My decision to buy a female came when I watched a guide's dog hose down his gun before a hunt one morning. Males will mark there territory on the worst possible items.
Mark Land

[digger]

Kinda off track but on the same subject,why do you not hunt your female's when their in heat?I understand no hunt test cause it would mess with the male dog's,I hunt my female in heat or not but she's the only dog that we (my group) hunt's with so messing up another dog.She's like most female's (dog's and human) can be alittle hard headed at that time but she still loves getting them duck's with no ill effect that I'v seen.

[mharville]

Hunting in heat isn't a problem unless u're hunting public land. You had better pay extra close attention to that female cause a male dog will be on u're dog and that's prolly not the litter you want. It's never the good dog's that get loose and breeds.

[GulfCoast]

Funny how you can train in a group with a bitch in heat (we do it all the time, darn inconsiderate bitches), and hunt our property with a bitch in heat with male dogs in the camp or in the same timber hole (we do it every year), and its no big deal with trained dogs. Yet, let a male dog goof up anything at a test, and "certain handlers" who shall remain unnamed (and do not frequent this board) will start SCREAMING about a bitch must be in heat, even if a bitch has not even run yet....

[fishduck]

Kinda off track but on the same subject,why do you not hunt your female's when their in heat?I understand no hunt test cause it would mess with the male dog's,I hunt my female in heat or not but she's the only dog that we (my group) hunt's with so messing up another dog.She's like most female's (dog's and human) can be alittle hard headed at that time but she still loves getting them duck's with no ill effect that I'v seen.

Not really a problem hunting while in heat. The problem is we are a dog poor duck camp. We will probably have 15 or more dogs at the camp on the opener. Just to keep things on an even keel it will be easier to leave her home. Ditto with public land hunting. My other dog still hasn't come in season so I can hunt her anyway. Always good to have a back up plan.
Mark Land

[rawalley]

male

[ducksak]

I have been looking for my first puppy but all of them I am finding are $1000 and up. That is out of my budget to spend on a dog with all the other expenses that will follow. I know im not going to find a world champion duck dog at $300-$400 but that is expected. Thanks for the input guys.