That you point out the attitude difference between a field trial lab and an AKC “show” lab (with the show lab making the better pet) tends to emphasize my point. Adherence to looks and performance in shows and being a pet has diluted that drive to excel that makes a good hunting lab (but sometimes not such a great pet).
>Adherence to looks and performance in shows and being a pet has diluted that drive to excel that makes a good hunting lab (but sometimes not such a great pet). <
Then working dogs should not be offered nor sold to the unsuspecting. If enthusiasts breed for hyperactivity and so much prey drive the dog is uncontrollable without a Tri Tronics collar, they have no business foisting their culls off on an unsuspecting, unprepared public as “pets”.
Hyperactivity like that of some field “champions” would be very undesirable to the average weekend duck hunter, anyway. They, too, want a steady, reliable, clear-headed partner who is perfectly willing to curl up in the kitchen when at home with the family.
There is room in the world for good, steady, clear-headed Labs. They are not some sort of defect.