Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: boats, dogs, For sale, labrador, labrador retrievers, labs, lake, lake living, Lake Norman, nc climate, Properties
Labrador Retrievers are ideal dogs for lake lovers living on Lake Norman. There are two types of Labrador Retrievers, the English Lab and the American Lab. The English lab is typically shorter, stocker with “block” heads. American Labs are taller with smaller heads. Labs come in varying shades of yellow, chocolate and black. These dogs love water. They have webbed feet and otter tails which aid in swimming. My first lab, “Shady” lived to a ripe old age of 16. Originally named “Sadie”, but our daughter couldn’t pronounce the name, so it quickly became Shady. Shady was black, however later in life, turned gray around her eyes and face. She enjoyed lake living until the very end. Her favorite outing was a trip to an island on the lake. Her favorite island was fairly large and in the main channel closest to I-77. She would spend hours searching the island for ducks and if any were found, a good amount of energy was used swimming in an attempt to catch them. She had a passion for ducks. Once she dove off the moving boat when she spotted a few swimming. I have had many dogs, of varying breeds over my life, but my lab, Shady was different. Her intelligence and loyalty was unquestionable.
After Shady’s death, any other breed was unthinkable. Shady had big shoes to fill, so the family started the quest to find the perfect dog for our family (it would be a lab of course). We contacted a breeder who had a large litter of active, healthy puppies. Upon our arrival, numerous puppies ran and played with each other, except for one. We had decided another female would be best for our family. But as the next few minutes unfolded, that notion went out the window. A large white male decided the perfect spot to sit while his siblings played was… my husband foot. He perched there and looked up with those big brown eyes separated by his large pinkish brown nose. Well, its obvious, who came home with us, who actually picked us instead of us picking him. Samson, who is now 4 years old is large, 100+ pounds, white with yellow gold edging around his ears and down his back. He is tall, an American lab, but has a block head, a characteristic of an English lab. Samson’s passion is fishing. He has zero interest in ducks. Fish is the only thing on his mind around the lake. He fishes off the dock, waiting for one to pass, when one is spotted, he dives in. After 4 years of not catching a single fish, he hasn’t become discouraged. On the boat, he intently searches the water for any sign of movement or reflection. If he is on shore, his favorite pastime is retrieving every stick, branch or stump. These end up all over our yard. No yard of the month for us. When coming home, he will quickly pick one up, and offer it as a welcome home gift. His loyalty and intelligence is also unquestionable.
Two completely different dogs, same breed and the same wonderful characteristics that make this breed the ultimate Lake Norman dog. What do you think is the ultimate Lake dog?
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