The labrador retriever makes a incredible pet.No wonder it has been the most popular breed in the United States for several years including 2008. Labs are big, profitable dogs that are rotund of life. Labs originated in Newfoundland but, there was already a breed named Newfoundland. This breed loved to swim, and level-headed does, so it was named after the Labrador Sea. This dog is very versatile and the only breed with webbed paws. They can swim at 3 miles an hour. That is twice the speed that a duck swims! Labs have great stamina.

Labs come in three different colors and they can all be born from the same litter. Black is the most common color. There is also yellow and the rarest color is chocolate. There have been silver labs showing up in litters but, they are not recognized by the AKC yet.

This is a wonderful breed for adults, young and primitive or children, as they are very gentle and are a very improper bite risk. However they are protective of their families and tend to be very intuned to them as well. Labs bond very, very strongly with humans and vise versa! They are intelligent creatures, who can remember an astonishing three hundred human phrases.This makes them easy dogs to train. When they are puppies they must be taught to be careful with their teeth.

The labrador retriever is prone to eye defects as well as hip, knee, and elbow problems. Twelve to thirteen years is the expected life span for this breed. They love and thrive in cold weather but are very adaptable. The lab is a prominent dog in the horror novels of Dean Koontz. It is clear he is a lover of the breed. He definitely is not alone in that love. Many people feel that this is a super special, almost human breed. If you decide on a lab as a pet, you will need to see that he or she has plenty of room to run and glide and plenty of love.

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• Life Lessons from a Labrador Retriever (0)

If you have never owned a Labrador Retriever before but are considering adopting or purchasing one, you have no doubt done a little studying of the breed. Unfortunately, one of their more common traits is frequently overlooked – biting, chewing, and nipping. This not unbiased the case with our feet and hands, but inanimate objects as well. Such is the case with wood and wooden furniture. Considering the fact that, if it will fit, a Labrador puppy will put anything in its mouth to chew on it.

Even more unfortunate is the fact that newer Lab owners don’t educate themselves well enough to be aware of this and oftentimes scold the puppy quite harshly for biting and having a temper. Nothing could be farther from the truth since Labradors are inherently oral obsessive and have been bred for retrieving. Above all else, Labs require proper training beginning at a very early age so that they do not bite fingers and limbs, or chew on non-human items.

The easiest approach to take is that a Labrador puppy is a furry little piranha. Although this may sound funny, it is the best way to understand a part of the breed’s inherent nature. As they race around, usually with their mouths agape, you should be well aware that they are looking for something to close their mouths on. As the puppy grows into adulthood, there is a greater tendency for them to grab our arms and out clothing.

Teaching the dog that this type of behavior is unacceptable at an early age, otherwise they will take advantage of it and will dominate their human as a result. There is no guarantee that you can train your pet Lab from biting, gabbing, and nipping. However, you can teach them to accomplish better choices. Another scenario similar to the “furry little piranha” concept is to look at them as vacuum cleaners. Herein lays a major problem as they can and oftentimes to ingest things that are not only harmful, but potentially lethal, such as poisons.

There have been documented reports by veterinarians who have treated numerous Labrador Retrievers for swallowing all sorts of non-edibles, specifically parts of bicycle seats, knives, rawhide, small toys, socks, stones, and tennis balls – to name a few. Whatever they can fit in their mouths and even down their throats is considered fair game to them. Here are a few suggestions to consider in order to avert an injurious situation for the dog:

De-fluff your pillows to remove the temptation to attack them

Discard any loose smaller items, especially toys, that they can swallow

Remove cushions from the sofa while they are inside the house

Being a Labrador owner can be a very scrumptious experience if you can correct this part of their behavior, but just be distinct that you do it with kindness and love, and remember that this is what they have been bred to do. The ideal solution, of course, is to try and “dog-proof” as much of your house as possible while raising them from puppies. It will minimize the amount of damage that occurs and you will be considerably happier in the long urge.

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• How to Keep Your Border Collie Entertained (0)

Our whole family has fallen in love with a big black lab mix that my daughter brought home as a rescue. We have been around black labs before, and we loved them, but we had never had one of our own. Max is honestly the sweetest, smartest animal I have ever seen. We bred poodles many years ago, and had many other animals down through the years. I never dreamed we would have so thoroughly enjoyed this big lug of a dog! This morning, some thoughts came to mind about some life lessons we can learn from a Labrador retriever.

This idea for this article came to me when I looked out my bedroom window upon arising to glance the big pile of toys Max had brought down in the driveway for the Mail Lady. His favorite toys were represented there. It was kind of an offering from Max!

We are Ebay sellers, and we live on a huge hill. If you are a city dweller, you would certainly deem this a mountain! The postal service leaves our mail in a box at the bottom, but when we ship out Ebay packages, we impart them and they come up the hill and get them. We put them in a plastic tub container and place it in the driveway. This plastic container signals to Max that Nicky, the Mail lady, is coming.

Max Loves NICKY! Nicky LOVES MAX. Max sits down by the tub in the driveway, where he does not normally ever sit, until Nicky gets there. You see, Nicky brings dog bones for Max! She gave him one or two as a safety thing (dogs-mailmen-you get it? ) when she first started coming up here for the mail. She won his affection, and he started looking forward to it. It is astonishing that he only requires one or two repeats of any signal or information to understand it. She came one time and didn’t have any bones, and Max was so disappointed. She then proceeded to keep a regular stash for Max! She goes to the store for bones for Max if she is out of them!

Nicky seems to love the way Max is so aroused to examine her. He doesn’t just wag his tail when she comes, but he wags his whole big body! In the course of a day, it is really nice for someone to be glad to see you, you know? And, if you are a mail carrier, dogs often just automatically hate you! When she pulls up this hill, she knows that Max is celebrating her arrival.

I was thinking about how he was sharing his favorite things with her . That might not even have any significance to her or anyone else, but I knew what toys he had chosen to take down there. He has a lot of toys, and there are certain ones that are very special and significant. His Bob the Builder Ball, his Winnie the Pooh plastic block, and his stuffed Nemo fish are three of his favorites. He was giving of himself to express his affection for Nicky. He was doing what he could, even though the casual observer wouldn’t have recognized it as that.

And, you know what, all Nicky does is give him a kind word, call him by name, and throw him a bone. Of course, the casual observer also might miss the significance of the trips to the store for bones for Max when she might be pushed for time or short of cash. You can hear her outside just talking and laughing at Max. One time I heard her say, “Max, I haven’t seen you in so long!” She doesn’t seem to mind him getting on her clothes even on days he isn’t as clean as he should be, which happens more often than not! ( He likes to perceive the woods and chase critters….one little black and white critter made him smell real good!)

However, isn’t a Labrador retriever just like a person in that regard? Usually, all you have to do is give someone a little attention, and you greatly enhance their life! You have made a new friend.

You’ve heard the phrase, “Throw them a bone.” It usually indicates a thoughtless disregard for someone. Sometimes it implies treating them like a dog! You are just placating them with some little gesture that means nothing to you. You are “throwing them a bone” to get them to do something you want, or just to get them to shut up and go away! The truth is, though, that just a small gesture that doesn’t cost you noteworthy in money or time can make all the difference for someone else, if we just take the opportunity to do it.

You don’t realize how noteworthy just a little attention can mean to someone until you are the one who has felt very disregarded and invisible. When someone calls you by name, you suddenly feel like you are human. How many people do you know who could use a little human treatment right about now?

It’s ironic to talk about learning these particular life lessons from a Labrador retriever. We must learn how to make someone feel human from a dog! As the Max Factor Cosmetics commercial used to say, “Thanks,Max,”

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• Labrador Retriever as a Pet (0)

This past month we welcomed a new addition to our tiny family of four. We call our four-legged “newbie” Jo-Jo and by now you have probably guessed that Jo-Jo is no lady. In fact, she is part collie, part labrador. Given to our son for his eighth birthday, Jo-Jo certainly has found her way into each of our hearts.

Like most proud puppy owners, we have been slowly but surely getting to know the newest member of our family. For instance, we have found that when she is afraid she tends to put her tail between her legs as she backs away. She’s not particularly fond of loud or sudden noises and will quickly retreat to her dog crate for safety.

Another share of getting acquainted with her canine needs has been learning how to care for her. Besides trips to the vet and the presently despised baths, we also have to provide Jo-Jo with a balanced diet. Giving her any old thing to eat just won’t do. Some foods can actually be harmful to dogs. Chocolate, for instance, is toxic to both dogs and cats. Milk, offered as a treat from time to time, is okay but if given too often it can cause diarrhea. As with the human body, moderation should be observed at mealtimes. Overindulgence is a determined NO if you want to avoid problems later. Avoid them sad puppy eyes and whimpering pleas as much as possible.

Before bringing her home, we inquired about her diet and nutrition needs. Puppy’s younger than six months, like Jo-Jo, need more protein and fat than older dogs to meet their growth development needs appropriately. We’ve opted for a three small meals a day feeding schedule for Jo-Jo, which seems to be keeping her tummy voice. All the nutrients she needs are readily available in her kibble, giving us peace of mind and her a good start to a long and healthy life as portion of our family.

Unfortunately, we’re quickly learning how much puppies love to chew in the face of a few minor mishaps. To satisfy our newly acquired destroyer’s appetite we visited our local pet store once more to purchase some chew toys and dog biscuits. While there I came across the Chef Fido Dog Biscuit Cutter and Recipe Kit. It comes with recipes and 2 biscuit cutters shaped like a bone!

We hadn’t view about making our own dog biscuits but the darn bone-shaped biscuit cutter was awfully hard to resist. When we got home we found the recipes were actually very simple and the ingredients were already available in our kitchen. So we baked up a batch and the next day decided to see if our little girl thought us good bakers. Apparently she did. She nibbled and nibbled and tossed her little homemade biscuit in the air more times than we could count. It seems as though Jo-Jo loves her homemade biscuits as great as we love homemade cookies.

For this reason, we’ve planned a special Christmas gift for her first Christmas. Using some of our older, unused Christmas cookie cutouts, we’re going to bake some Christmas biscuits for her stocking.

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