I've wanted one for a long time, but couldn't have a dog where I used to live. Got a new house and new rules... So, meet Blazer! Sorry, pic is from my daughter's cell phone. He's an 8 week old lab. New friend for the kittens to hide fro... i mean, play with!

Congratulations. I love dogs. I think they are amazing.

Here's my little man. He's training in blood tracking and won 5th of 38 Dachshunds at his first and only dog show so far.

Axel (WireHair Dacchshund)

Is he going to be a hunting dog??

Really, he's just going to be a pet. I may take him shed hunting though. I'm not into waterfowl and I do my turkey hunting in the spring. He is going to give me a good excuse to get in the woods more often though.

labs make great dog very friendly and lots of energy

Be ready for the puppy stage. I raised Labs for hunting for years, they go through a chewing up everything in site stagefor almost two years.Patience Grasshopper!

i have been wanting a new lab for a while now and i think i might have to take the plunge early next year

Labs are great dogs don't get me wrong, but as stated I think their puppy stage is longer than any other dog. Betterup your home owners and make sureeverything thatyou may think is chewable is covered.Not to mention the things that he chews that you just sit and scratch your head and wonder "why in the hell would a dog want to chew the legs off of my sofa"...."all four of them in one day". [:'(] They also have WAY too much energy for me.

Beautiful pup though.

Congrats. Labs are great dogs. You need to channel that energy to constructive behavior when they are small. When the dog isn't under your direct supervision, he should be in the crate. No questions asked.

I'd suggest buying the book Puppy Preschool by John Ross.

http://books.google.com/books?id=DY7-TgAaQw4C&dq=puppy+preschool+book&pg=PP1&am p;ots=IjWQJeyGzE&sig=8s80-o_OeT_88DZ1rLTXn0b_O20&prev=http://www.google.com/search%3Fhl%3Den%26q%3DPuppy%2Bpreschool%2Bbook%25 22&sa=X&oi=print&ct=title&cad=one-book-with-thumbnail#PPP1,M1

This one book will greatly simpify your life. It's an easy read and gives insight into how dogs think. If you follow it, you won't have destruction problem, house training problems, etc. It's a no brainer.

The great thing about Labs is they are good workers and eager to please. That is half the battle. Good luck with the new pooch.

i have trained three great labs with the richard wolters books. best stuff ever. and they hunted everything from geese to upland birds.