Book Review: Labrador Retrievers: How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend

"A dog is the only family member you get to choose."

So you're thinking about getting a Labrador Retriever?

Make sure that your choice is right both for you and your dog.

Let me ask you this. How much effort did you invest into choosing your car or your plasma TV? You should give at least as much thought to getting a dog.

But where do you start?

Labrador Retrievers: How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend by Lorie Huston, DVM is a great guide to lead you through such decision.

I love that this book starts with a quiz. The quiz has two parts through which you'll find out whether you can be your dog's best friend, and, whether you can be a Labrador Retriever's best friend.

This is very important. 

It will help you reflect on your expectations from your dog. Owning a stick shift is cool, but only if you know how to drive it.

Getting an inteligent, active dog is awesome, but not if you're a couch potato.

Is a Labrador Retriever a good match for you and your family?

Best find out before you get one.

Labrador Retrievers: How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend then goes on with the history and overview of the breed.

Now, that you're sure a Labrador Retriever is the perfect breed for you, how do you go about getting one?

What do you do when you bring your new dog home? How do you train him? What do you feed him? How do you care for his health? How do you tell if your dog gets sick and needs a veterinarian? What are the diseases typical for Labs you should watch out for? Should you get a pet health insurance?

When we got Jasmine, I had all these questions and I had to research a number of resources to get the answers. Now, with Labrador Retrievers: How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend, you have all the answers in one easy-to-use book. I wish I had one like that on Rottweilers back in the day.

So before you get a Labrador Retriever, get Labrador Retrievers: How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend.

It is false expectations that make divorce lawyers rich. It is false expectations that are filling the shelters.

Yes, a Labrador Retriever will be a loving and loyal friend. No, a Labrador Retriever won't spend his life sitting pretty on a couch. Yes, a Labrador Retriever is great with kids and eager to please. No, a Labrador Retriever won't go AROUND that muddy puddle.

I love some of the questions in the quiz, such as "How important is a clean house to you?"

Think about it. We live with two Rottweilers. They are pretty clean; even if they do get into some mud, when it dries it comes right off. But they do shed. And they do get sloppy. And they do come home with muddy paws sometimes. And they do throw up sometimes. And right now we have carpet full of yellow stains from Jasmine's betadine foot spray.

And I wouldn't have it any other way.

But what are you listening to me for? Go get Labrador Retrievers: How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend. All the information you need when getting a Labrador Retriever.

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Lorie Huston, DVM currently blogs at Pet Health Care Gazette. She specializes in providing pet health care information to pet owners to assist them in making educated decisions about their pet's health. Her work has been published in many venues both online and in print.

Huston is a practicing veterinarian and works in a busy animal hospital in Rhode Island. She holds a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Iowa State University and a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Nebraska.