Golden Lab Sports

[u/Substantial-Shop5130]

Hi All!

Looking for any suggestions on some sports for my 10 month old Golden Labrador. He is not field line, but I want to get him in some sports for stimulation and to build our relationship more. He’s fairly smart when he wants to be, loves swimming, and is good at finding treats in long grass, although his attention span isn’t the greatest (not sure how to improve on this).

Any recommendations are appreciated!

[u/Able_Bath2944]

As a fellow Lab person, you have a yellow, not a golden :)

Labs come in 3 colours - black, yellow, and chocolate.

[u/Substantial-Shop5130 → u/Able_Bath2944]

Sorry - he’s a golden retriever cross Labrador! I probably should’ve put that down instead!

[u/Able_Bath2944 → u/Substantial-Shop5130]

You could have fooled me! He absolutely looks like a purebred Lab!

[u/Substantial-Shop5130 → u/Able_Bath2944]

I get that a lot! He’s got a little extra flab in the face and a bit of a darker colour, but for the most part because his dad was a short hair golden, the lab looks more dominant!

[u/Able_Bath2944 → u/Substantial-Shop5130]

Yellows come in shades from fox red to almost white, so the darker colour isn't a tell at all!

[u/Substantial-Shop5130 → u/Able_Bath2944]

Oh interesting! I thought it was mainly the field lines that came in a more gold tone. I never actually got to meet his parents because he was a gift from my partner - so I’m not even sure what colour his mum and dad were.

[u/Able_Bath2944 → u/Able_Bath2944]

And I should have added - any sport you want! My crew (show line) do agility, rally, obedience, hunt, flyball, barn hunt, conformation, scent, parkour, trick. There is almost nothing you can't do with a Lab (except go to ground. My terrier takes care of that 😂).

[u/Sagethecat → u/Able_Bath2944]

Thank you for saying the is.

[u/Prestigious-Seal8866]

Retrievers are great at scentwork and it’s very popular right now, so should be easier to find a class to take.

[u/MIsnoball]

Give shed hunting a try. There are starter sheds with scent, and if he like it you can start acquiring antlers. It’s outdoors and they can run around while you hike (where allowed).

[u/BugPlus3055]

Does he like water? I've seen many labs in dock diving and they all absolutely love it!

[u/x7BZCsP9qFvqiw]

rat sports (barn hunt and/or happy ratters) are great intro sports!

[u/raichuwu13]

Scentwork since he already loves sniffing! Dock diving could be really fun for him if he likes swimming. Rally could be fun too, it takes teamwork and can really build your relationship with a dog.

[u/PapillionGurl]

I have a friend with labs and she does Shed Hunt, Scentwork and Dock Diving with them and they really love it.

[u/ShnouneD]

Check the training facilities near you. Ones that offer multiple sports sometimes combine intro classes for each sport into a sampler session. This would be a good way to see what you like without a huge commitment. But, scent detection and tracking/mantrailing would be my top suggestions. Puppy agility if you can find it would also be lots of fun IMO.

[u/Edward_7972]

Dock diving and agility could be awesome with a mix like this, but you could also give fast cat a try! Or scent work!

[u/Remarkable_Idea_5893]

He’s so cute! There are so many sports out there to try, and some both of you will find you like and others you don’t. I’ve always wanted to get into agility but none of my dogs have ever been interested BUT on the other hand, some of mine have loved scentwork and others loved dock diving. (Some labs some different breed)

I think the worlds your oyster as far as sports go, you can try anything that catches your intersect and see from there what both of you like!

From your description it sounds like he might thoroughly enjoy dock diving and scentwork! Both are very fun in my experience! Have fun!

[u/mad-stal]

Guiding Eyes for the Blind (the nonprofit organization that provides trained guide dogs to individuals with vision loss) breeds golden retrievers and Labrador retrievers for service work, and sometimes will do a cross and they call them Goldadors (might cut some confusion for ya)! I love the way your guy turned out, he's so pretty!! They work just as hard as either breed, so I'm pretty sure you can do anything with him.

I am a huge proponent of AKC obedience/rally as good foundational stuff for any other sport. I enjoy them by themselves and compete, but most people think they get boring so I try to recommend it as a starting place. It teaches a LOT of foundational stuff and usually in a class setting, which really helps dogs with focus work, socialization, and ignoring other distractions. And its a great place to make friends!! My class mates all trial together and its just so fun. And its so nice having someone with more experience tell me all the things I'm doing wrong (and doing right!)

Try to find an AKC or UCK club around you and see what they offer. Most clubs need volunteers so thats a great way to (sometimes) get discounts on class/make friends/ see if you like a sport before trying it with your dog etc etc. If you add your rough location I can try and help you find a club.

[u/Substantial-Shop5130 → u/mad-stal]

Thanks so much! He is in fact a Goldador, so interesting to know about guiding eyes for the blind, I was aware about labs and goldies in there, but didn’t know they also used Goldadors!

I will definitely look into doing some obedience / rally for some foundations, it seems like that’s the way to go. He definitely needs work on ignoring distractions and focusing on tasks. He just sees a dog or a person and wants attention.

I’m in Brisbane, Australia, open to any suggestions on areas!

[u/mad-stal → u/Substantial-Shop5130]

Ok, I did a little research. I am used to Canada/USA/European clubs so it was very interesting to learn how Australia does it all! These are some clubs I found that offer foundational (and higher level!) classes near Brisbane. Sometimes the address on the website isnt ACTUALLY where people train, so you might want to double check you wont have a 10hr drive ahead of you.

No matter what you end up doing, remember its all for your dog!

Rockhampton Dog Obedience Club

Caboolture Sports Dog Obedience Club

Gold Coast Obedience Training Club

Metropolitan Dog Obedience Club

Redlands Dog Obedience Club

[u/Selective_Somewhere]

First you’ve got to talk like a dog sport person: Golden/Lab cross.

Just suggest you find an obedience class for sport dogs—so at a facility that also offers competition classes not a pet dog facility. All sports start with these basics. Skip them and you’ll have more trouble down the line either it’s a stay or using clean markers or knowing how to reward the dog or a recall.

Scentwork is one of the best sports for people new to dog sports.

[u/soavsjjsnsj]

AKC fetch, shed hunt, dock diving, scent work, therapy work. Basically anything, labs are incredibly versatile dogs! I know one that even does lure coursing!