They are adorable as puppies, and very high energy as they grow. If you can make it through the first couple years, you'll have a great, much calmer dog. Or, of course, you can opt for an already-grown-up Lab at most shelters, they are, on the whole, a wonderful, sweet breed, will retreive until your arm is ready to fall off, love water, and, depending on the individual dog, can be sharp as a whip (which a happy lab's tail feels like against bare legs), or dumb as a rock, but are great dogs!