Dogs Are a Girl’s Best Friend

I love dogs; I can take or leave cats. The difference between cats and dogs is that if you were decorating a room, a cat would be watching you and thinking: “This is so boring, you are are doing that completely wrong - fool”. A dog would watch you and think “No idea what you are doing, but it’s sooo exciting and you are brilliant.”







Dogs are so rewarding, all the love you put in, a dog will give you back ten-fold. There are also proven advantages of owning a dog:

• Dog-walking improves fitness and health levels.
• Dog-walking increases social interaction - many people make friends with the fellow dog owners.
• Dogs provide us with a sense of emotional well-being thanks to the unconditional love they give.
• Dogs are reassuring and protective; they help people to recover from personal trauma, such as bereavement.
• People recover faster from illnesses and have a higher survival rate after a heart attack if they have a pet.

• Pet-owning children have fewer days off school due to sickness.

The recent story in the papers was so wonderful: Iggy the Labrador puppy disappeared on his walkies. He has just been found, five years later, 130 miles away!

There are few things in life that, on sight, completely melt my heart. One is Robbie Williams - sad, but true - and the other is Labrador Retrievers. They are gun dogs, originate from England and can be yellow, black or brown and in my ideal life I would have one of each. Labs do seem to be a middle/ upper class dog of preference. Go to Windsor Great Park on a Sunday afternoon and count the Yummy Mummies and Delicious Daddies wearing Boden with a Lab. I also think it's part of the uniform as an army officer to have a black Labrador and signet ring.

I grew up with black Labradors: Oscar and Boris. They were both such characters, and the mention of their name evokes such happy memories and funny stories in our family. Ours definitely thought they were human and were known to climb up onto a chair and attempt to join us at dinner. Oscar - or "the Canine Hoover", as my friend referred to him the other day - was a master manipulator when it came to food, often conning every person who came home that he had not been fed. (We think he managed four different meals on several nights.) I believe somewhere back in time one Labrador missed a meal and since then, they have all been trying to make up for it. The gift of a dog brings so much fun into a home and their loss is like losing a member of the family, it is devastating.

What I love about Labs is they are such a wonderful breed. Some of their many qualities are:

1. Highly Intelligent and eager to please

2. Devoted, loyal and affectionate

3. Sociable and patient with children

4. Good natured and great fun

5. Energetic and thrive on exercise

6. Dependable and easy-tempered

7. Peaceful but also very strong and protective 

Things to bear in mind if you are considering a Labrador, as they

8. Can be independent and stubborn and require patience to manage
9. Need mental stimulation and interesting activities

10. Need attention and affection, they can get distressed when left alone for too long

11. Have a tendency to run off, in search of bitches

I have just realised this list describes my ideal man too...with the exception of No.11. Perhaps I should just go to the park and shout “Max” or “Rufus” and see whether a dog or my future husband comes running towards me!

All about Labrador Retrievers

Iggy Article