Just Labs

Labradors are amazingly loyal, and are quite keyed into your emotional state and sense of well-being. As a person who sometimes suffers from migraines, I can attest that the dogs seem to reconize my symptoms and key their own behavior from this perception of the way I am feeling, being much more willing to simply take a nap with me than usual, since they seem to understand from past experience that the migraine will dirve me back to bed. They show many endearing and remarkable traits, and we find ourselves amazed by just how intelligent, perceptive, and attractive they are as a species.

Labradors also live almost exclusively in the moment, and are ethusiastic and energetic in their pursuit of fun and frolic. Anyone living in their company can attest to the fact that you are never at a loss for entertainment when your Labrador friend is around, and he or she are happy to just be with you, and are almost oo willing and too anxious to show you just how excited they are to have you around. Coming home after a long day's work means a kidn of instant celebration, with four Labradors jumping, barking, and wall-banging, so glad are they to have me back home with them. Find a human who is that glad to see you, and you have found true love, my friend. Yet it is all here in spades with the Labradors, and this entertaining little book will seerve to amuse you, educate you, and sometimes surprise you with its nuggets of information, parcels of knowledge, and bits of wisdom about just why it is that Labradors rule the roost around my house! Enjoy!


Dog photos...   May 15, 2001
9 out of 9 found this review helpful

Ask any photography instructor, and he will say, "I don't want to see any puppy and kitty pictures!" How wrong they are. Dale does a great job of presenting the working Lab in everyday situations, from the field trial to the duck blind and the upland field, and he does it with a great sense of humor.

This book, however, is not a training manual. If you're wondering how to train Labs to do what Dale shows them doing, check out Mike Gould's "The Labrador Shooting Dog". Another great look at working Labs is Paul and Julie Knutsons' "The Pointing Labrador." Both books have great photographs of Labs in action, by the way, and the training techniques to back them up.


... hmmm ...   March 15, 2001
Yeoh Siok Kee (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful

I was very much taken by the cover shot when I first saw this book on Amazon, the reviews too, seemed rather encouraging ... when the book arrived, I was expecting the rest of the photographs to be of similar or better quality ... am a little disappointed.

If this is an instructional book on how to raise or train Labradors, quality of photographs would not be so critical ... but its a pictorial book, and for some reason, quite a few of the photographs are missing that little extra ingredient which makes for really good photography ... perhaps if the photos had been more tightly edited, it might have made a difference ... At US$35 the book is not inexpensive, and there are better alternatives around ... just do a quick search, under photography and Labradors.


A perfect gift for the lab-lover, and a treasure in our   July 25, 2000
Reader (WI)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful

collection. The book is full of great photos paying equal homage to the "field" vs. "English" labs, and does not disciminate over color. His photography skills capture the personalities of the breed, and the depth of the relationships between dog and handler. The captions are perfect, and some will bring a tear to the eye of even the most stoic of us all.

The book is slanted toward field work, domestic life and hunting activities, rather than conformance or obedience work. My husband loved this as a gift, and he is nearly impossible to buy for. All in all, though, it is a beautiful tribute to this remarkable breed.


Just for your Enjoyment   July 25, 2000
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

Just Labs is a book of few words an magnificent photography. This is not a book that will tell you how to raise your dog, or what kind of food to feed it, or what dog won best of show 10 years ago. It will amuse you and is guaranteed to sit on your desk at work, your coffee table, or your nightstand as a book that will make you smile. It is very easy to read and quite humorous. One section reads:

"Someone once said that it's possible to train a Lab by treating him like a three-year old child; if so then it's no wonder Labs and kids are so inseparable. Imagine a guardian who never sleeps, one with the eyes and ears to rival the best security system ever devised, one that knows roads are bad things and will steer your youngster away from them. At the same time, they realize that a short little kid with an ice-cream cone is like a gift from God."

If you want a fun book to just make you smile, this book is for you.