We've been raising labs for better than 40 years. You start with an infant puppy, so cute and nearly helpless. Then comes the "destructo" stage and house breaking. Some figure it out quickly, some take a while. Young Mate is doing quite well, is now going to the door, your fair warning! Then comes the "teenage delinquent" stage where lots of training is your only hope for survival. My Skipper girl is in that phase now. You're right, about 3 or so they settle down and keeping them begins to sound like a good idea. By 4, if you did it right, you have a great companion, guardian of the house, and solid working dog.
For folks that haven't had labs my Skipper dog would have been a monster! You've drowned her in a bucket and gone and bought a small poodle. Jury is still out on Mate BUT, we've done this all before with great success. I have full confidence once we get thru the trials early on he's going to make us a great dog.
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