Jake was born June 10th 2006. His mother was a pure bread Black Labrador and father a Mastiff. I picked up Jake in August of 2006 as a 9 week puppy for my daughters birthday. He cost the price of the vet fees, $100). It was a hard decision for me because it took 2 years for me to consider getting another dog after my 14 year old Akita, Max passed. If I didn't have kids, I would have chosen another Akita, although I would have been just trying to replace Max.
At 9 weeks old Jake looked just like a Black Lab puppy. He had more of a square muzzle like an English Lab. When we picked up Jake my children were 3, 9, and 11 years old. From then until now he has never had any aggression towards my kids or and other person. He gets along with other canines, loves to chase deer and squirrels, and spends lots of time looking in the air at birds. He has not had professional training, and for the first year and a half, we had problems with him wandering, or chasing deer and not coming back. Now, almost at 2 years we have not had any problems, and although he runs loose with me at work, he always keeps an eye on me, and comes back if I am not in sight. He has always been a shop dog, and although some people are pensive when they see him, he only wants to greet them with play.
I can let him out in the morning to urinate and if he sees deer, he now knows not to chase them, even though he wants to. He will only defecate in the woods at home and at work. He doesn't pull on a leash, and if not distracted will come on demand. It is a different case if he is preoccupied. Its like trying to get my kids attention when they are playing the Wii, when I call him when he analyzing the markings of another canine. He loves to fetch ball, frisbee, or stick, and doesn't bug me all day to do so. After a 10 min workout he is satisfied with a day long nap until another workout in the afternoon. I have been told by other Black Lab owners that he is not hyper like Labs. He love to sleep near the fireplace or wood burning stove. He likes to sleep at night next to my bed on a pad. Eats once in the morning and once in the evening. Food doesn't seem to be a priority, although if presented with something to fetch, he would play in a moments notice. He has droopy joules like a Mastiff, and gets the trademark drooling when playing or in presence of food. Takes a while to get use to, especially when it flips over his muzzle. One strange thing he does is when he lies down, he stretches on his stomach, crosses his front legs and stretches out his rear legs by pointing them straight back. He has done this since a puppy.
