My dog has a great life! She is a chocolate Labrador and is a huge part of our family.
We bought her from friends who bred chocolate labs particularly, and she came with a good pedigree. As a six week old puppy she looked like a chocolate button; all gorgeous and cute.
The only down side of having a puppy of this age was the house training. Maybe I was a bit green at this but it seemed to take longer than other people, to have her completely dry at night. Until someone gave us advice about locking her in her cage at night. She lived in this large cage and loved sleeping in it. The idea of locking her up was that dogs will not soil where they sleep. Well, I have to say that it certainly worked and we never had a problem after that, even when we left the cage open for the first time one night.
As a chocolate lab we were told that they can be more loopy and boisterous than their black and golden counterparts. I have to agree to this in some way but on the intelligence level I would say that our dog is very intelligent and smart. I think she is quite headstrong and so requires careful handling but she responds well to this.
Recently we have wondered about putting her in pup but have shied away from it because of the work involved and also having to find reliable homes for the puppies that we are happy about. The worst thing would be rearing puppies and having them going to unloving homes or to people who mistreat them.
My dog and I are happiest roaming over the hills and in the woods. She is an endless source of fun and entertainment for me and I love her dearly. I could not imagine not having a dog and I would recommend having one to anybody who is interested in sharing their time with an honest, loyal and loving friend.