It is frustrating sometimes. I've had a number of people tell me they have a Golden Lab too. I just smile and think to myself "You can't fix stupid". :doh:

 

I have Irish Setters..LOL..go figure:uhoh:

 

No way...I have Irish Setters too!! :wavey:

 

I had my VET ask if Flip was a golden/lab mix. I've also heard the term "golden lab" many times. It doesn't really bother me. If I tried to talk about sports I'd mess that up. I bet the one that really drives people crazy is how I always hear Bernese Mountain Dogs being called Swissies.

 

I bet the one that really drives people crazy is how I always hear Bernese Mountain Dogs being called Swissies.

That one doesn't bother me as much as hearing (or reading) about Berners being called Burmese Mountain Dogs!

 

Now...I've done it:doh: Yep..mistaken a golden for a lab. The lady was cool and I was embarrassed. Of course....now I'm educated. I know Goldens. I know labs. So based on my past ignorant experience....I'm tolerant of mistakes.

BUT if someone is going to argue with me about it.....that is going to tick me off.

 

It does annoy me. A lot of people say, "I used to have/currently have a Lab too" and I say, "Oh, mine are Goldens" and they say, "Huh? Same thing" and that's usually when I let it go.

My Whippet (33 pounds in racing weight) gets called a "Great Dane" a lot. ***? lol

 

My Whippet (33 pounds in racing weight) gets called a "Great Dane" a lot. ***? lol

LOL, I could see greyhound or IG, but Great Dane? That's almost as bad as my golden being called a bluetick coonhound. But I chalk that one up to extreme ignorance on someone's part.

 

That always used to annoy me before Tucker started getting his golden feathering and more of an adult coat. When he was probably around 15 weeks old and had just blown his puppy fuzz and had next to nothing for a coat, we had an employee of a locally owned pet store insist that he was a yellow lab. When we told her that he is a golden, she got this really confused look on her face and said "Really????? Are you sure??? He really looks like a lab to me!" Yes Einstein...I think we are perfectly aware of what breed of dog we have, thank you! Our nextdoor neighbors also thought he was "some sort of lab mix." :doh:

 

Yeah, it bothers me a little. The other week Scout was playing with this young puppy. I asked the owner what she was and she said 'lab retriever' and I was like, oh, ok, she looks like she could be a lab. But then, when she confirmed that Scout was a golden she mentioned her dog being part golden. Huh? Yeah it was a cross between a lab and a [golden] retriever so it was lab retriever! :doh:

 

Yeah, it bothers me a little. The other week Scout was playing with this young puppy. I asked the owner what she was and she said 'lab retriever' and I was like, oh, ok, she looks like she could be a lab. But then, when she confirmed that Scout was a golden she mentioned her dog being part golden. Huh? Yeah it was a cross between a lab and a [golden] retriever so it was lab retriever! :doh:

Oh yeah, I've heard this one, too. My nephew has a purebred yellow lab. He was confused because he recently was looking over the dog's papers and noticed they read "labrador retriever". So he thought that his dog actually was a lab/golden retriever mix. I explained that the breed is actually labrador retriever, but it is commonly shortened to labrador or lab. With all these crazy designer dogs, people automatically assume its a cross when they hear two names put together!

Kris

 

Hudson has been refered to as a wooly mammoth (??) and a "what kind of dog IS that?" When I tell people he is a Golden Retriever they are impressed though so it kinda makes up for it.

 

Nope, doesn't bother me at all. I stand at the dog park and can't identify the breed of half the dogs there. So I don't expect anyone to identify my dog's breed.

 

Them confusing the breed in the first place wouldn't really bother me. It's happened to me when Mojo was a skinny little pup. What would bother me is the people arguing and asking if I was "sure" he's a Golden. THAT would bother me.

 

When we first got Sam, I had family members who knew that he was a Golden, ask sheepishly where his long hair was. I had to explain that Golden's are not born with a full flowing coat. The same question was asked again by the same family members when we got Ike.

 

It does not "bother" me as I realize OBVIOUSLY these are not dog people. However the other day I was shopping at a dollar store and I over heard a conversation on a cell phone, the mother was saying that her daughter wanted a puppy. So OF COURSE my ear prick. Then she said she want either a pit bull, rott, german shepard, or a golden retriever. :uhoh: Yeah they belong in that group. I then decided any dog for these people would probably be a bad idea. Ignorance.

 

LOL, didn't you just want to go slap the cell phone out of her hand and walk away? That would be my forbidden urge.

 

It doesn't bother me. When I walk my dogs at the park, I have people ask me all the time what breeds they are. Jasmine is half golden, but she looks almost all lab, so I tell them that the boys are goldens and Jasmine is a lab. Sometimes they like to guess and think the boys are labs, too. I just let them know that labs and goldens are both retrievers so they are mostly right. I take it as an opportunity to educate people (who usually have kids with them, which is why they have stopped us in the first place).

 

As I was leaving the pet store one day I saw a lady carrying a young blond puppy, I asked if I could pet her golden, she said it was a GSD. Oops, did I feel stupid. And at the time Hank was about the same age so it wasn't like I hadn't seen a golden puppy in awhile.

 

LOL. Oh yeah... People used to think Cooper was an Irish Setter. And I've had people ask me the million dollar question when meeting Riley -- "He's a Golden Lab, right?" Honestly, it doesn't bother me one bit. There are a lot of people out there who just aren't that familiar with the different dog breeds. If they're not a 'dog person' I can see where they might not understand the difference, or might be confused by the difference between a yellow lab/labrador retriever and a golden retriever. I just politely tell them that he's a golden. I mean, it's not like they're insulting my dog - they just don't know.

Now if someone decided to argue with me, it would definitely annoy me. I think I know what kind of dog I have.

 

The funny part is, the guy that argued with me said he has a golden/lab mix at home. Really? And you're going to question me about whether I know what kind of dog I have? Besides that, I get a lot of "Looks, it's Marley!". To which my standard reaction has turned into, "No, Marley is a lab, Murphy is a golden."

 

It does bother me a little. What realy does bother me is when they see Max and they say "he is lovely, I've had labrabors for years there great an't they" There something very idiotic about that sentance.

 

When I came home with Flip at seven weeks, all I heard at the airport was "It looks just like the puppy from the toilet paper commercial!" And I know that's a lab in those commercial.

 

Yep, I got that a lot when Flora was a puppy too. It didn't bother me, though. Lab puppies are just as cute as golden puppies, and I knew once Flora filled out she wouldn't be mistaken for a lab anymore... and I was right!

 

My Sophie is a Nova Scotia Duck Toller, but when both the dogs together, they are golden labs.

It doesn't bug me too much when they mistake them for these breeds because at least they're all retrieving breeds. The funny thing is, the "Golden Labs" comment came from someone who actually had a beautiful little girl lab, and they didn't look the same at all. That's when I realized that he calls "Golden Retrievers" "Golden Labs"... must just be a habit due to his having a Lab.

As for the Nova Scotia Duck Toller, I could see the confusion... so many people are not used to seeing a small Golden due to the "Super Sized" Goldens that are so popular now a days. This just gives me a chance to explain to people that Goldens are actually a "medium" sized breed, rather than large breed (even if they've been categorized as large breed).

People are also very amazed to see 2 goldens with such different sizes together. Once again, it's my chance to explain that Sophie is a well bred golden and they're actually supposed to be her size, and my Duke is a backyard breeder dog who was bred just to be bred (as much as I love him to bits).

 

Yes it bothers me a little! I had a lot of ''Is it a lab?'' Comments and even ''Is she purebreed?'' I don't get it! Goldens and Labs don't look THAT much alike. Their coat is very different.

 

I dont mind it so much. One time I was walking Dodger with my friend's border collie cross (golden/white coloured) and some boys asked me what kinds of dogs they were. When I told them one is a golden retriever and one is a border collie, they pointed at the border collie and said "she must be the golden retriever".

More often than lab, Dodger gets called "a Marley dog"!

When I had a yellow lab people constantly called him a golden lab...and one time insisted he must be a st. bernard mix....he was a little overweight.

 

I usually just get asked if Vito is a girl and if he's a puppy, lol. He's almost 2.

I do get the golden lab thing sometimes. I don't get annoyed unless they argue with me.

Oh, when Vito was little, kids would start singing the song from the K9 Advantix commercial with the lab pup.

 

I don't have a problem with people who are ignorant with dog breeds, it's when they try to tell you that YOU don't know your dog's breed or they know better!
As Rob said"You can't fix stupid"
I would have to tell them they don't know what they are talking about!

 

Molson gets called a Lab quite often. His coat is very flat, shorter than normal and looks a bit different than most GR's I've seen. He does have lots of feathers on his bum, tummy and a thick tail, however, to easily istinguish him from a Lab!

I was walking home from the dog park one day with Molson and we walked by a park with a bunch of big tough-looking guys in a parking lot in their mid-40's. One of them shouted "Nice Lab you got there!" and he turned back to his buddies and said "Mine looks just like that one". I quickly replied with "Thanks, it's a Golden Retriever, not a Lab".

It bothers me when people don't know what breed he is, or just assume. Come on, people, it's in the Top 5 of the most popular breeds in North America!

It's a different story if they aren't a dog person, and I'm more than happy to tell them a little bit more about the breed when they express interest. Likewise, when I meet new breeds of dogs at the park, I always ask the owner what it is instead of guessing, in hopes to not offend them. I'm always curious to learn about other breeds of dogs, so I ask them for more information about it.

ETA: I guess I shouldn't complain too much that our Goldies get compared to Labs. I love labs and think that they are beautiful dogs too.

It could be worse... he could get confused for a Golden-Doodle one day!!!!! :doh: :doh: :doh:

 

What drives me nuts is people who can't spell Shepherd. Uh... they're a member of the herding group- not the "arding" group. They're not Sheppards, Shepards, or Shepperds. Makes me crazy!