OK - My Lab isnt velcro-ish but he knows when he's getting spoiled. He lives outside in a 30ftx10ft kennel run, he has a sturdy dog house with hay inside for bedding, he has a 10 gal. bucket of water out at all times his food bowls are rotated daily, his kennel run is cleaned daily, and he has plenty of toys in the kennel run to keep him occupied. He's an outside Lab, but he's well taken care of. If it drops down to freezing temps (Im talking 32 or below) he gets put in his crate in the garage that is attached to the house where its about 50-60 degrees in there. On hunts he wears a vest that keeps him warm, and he is throughly dried before being put back in his kennel during the winter to keep him from getting hypothermia since water cools the body 25% faster.
-Dix