A breed apart

Northwest Herald - like you have a big heart Charlene, but too many pit bull owners have bought these dogs for the wrong reasons, wrong breeder The first woman in France to receive a face transplant was mauled in her sleep by her pet LABRADOR retriever. The news media
Source: www.nwherald.com

This transaction should always raise suspicions
Jacksonville Daily News - I recently placed an ad in the Daily News selling Labrador retriever pups. I have gotten some wonderful responses and have I am an individual breeder that does not deal in consignment sales. I do not ship. My puppies are not products to be sold to
Source: www.jacksonvilledailynews.com

Rescue-dog handlers share strong bond with their canine charges
Inside Bay Area - BOB DEEDS, a FEMA worker out of Texas, comforts his Labrador, Kinsey, before the search dog undergoes an MRI at the Iams Pet But my breeder that bred him - none of his dogs have ever died from cancer. Ever.” Rookie’s fate is not lost on the
Source: www.insidebayarea.com

Fatal Labrador Issues: Gastric Dilatation & Gastric Torsion Complex

Gastric dilatation and Gastric torsion complex is a condition that may occur in any breed, at any age. Commonly known as bloat, this syndrome is most often encountered among large and deep-chested breeds. The complex results from the dog’s inability to pass food (or other ingesta) through the stomach into the lower intestines, or lack of capacity for emesis (vomiting) if torsion has occurred.

Initial clinical signs of gastric torsion can occur suddenly, normally a few hours after a meal. The dog may become restless, excessively salivate and have unproductive attempts at vomiting. As the abdomen distends, pain manifests. Reluctant to move, the dog may also refuse to lie down. As the case advances in severity, the onset of shock becomes evident with pale mucous membranes, a rapid heartbeat (tachycardia) and a weakened pulse. A dog with this condition is headed toward a rapid and painful death. This is a true veterinary emergency.

Dogs that have survived are prone to recurrence. Studies of gas present in afflicted labradors‘ stomachs indicate a primary cause to be accumulated swallowed air. Gulping eager eaters appear to swallow more air than finicky, picky eaters. Exercise shortly after eating has also been associated with gastric torsion. Other factors that may produce gastric torsion can be general anesthesia, abdominal surgery, traumatic injury, spinal injury, overeating, ingestion of foreign materials, whelping, vomiting and malignant tumors.

Recurrence of the torsion complex because of dietary indiscretion is inevitable unless faulty feeding practices are amended. The dog should be fed light brothy meals three to five times daily for approximately three days before establishing a more normal diet. Relatively soft foods should be offered no less than three times daily over the following few days. When “normal” feeding resumes, the dog should be fed at least twice daily, and in small quantities each time. Raising the food dish on a platform to a level of the lower chest is also recommended, helping to reduce air intake during feeding.

There are a few points that bear emphasis with gastric torsion. The time factor in discovery and treatment by a veterinarian is critical because the dog’s total collapse is imminent with this condition. An immediate diagnosis by a veterinarian is imperative to effect initiation of rapid treatment for survival. Delays in presentation, diagnosis and treatment must be avoided or the condition will prove fatal.

Once successfully treated, labradors can continue to lead normal healthy and productive lives providing daily concessions are made. Animals suffering an occurrence of this complex must lead as stress-free lives as possible. They should be fed several times daily throughout their lives. They should not be fed dry food alone: any kibble must be fed “wet.” Dry food that does not swell once water and meat are added to it is recommended. Certain labradors may, however, require a special diet that is available only through the veterinarian.

School bars deaf teen’s dog

Newsday - That’s when the Westbury teenager will meet his new friend, a yellow Labrador retriever named Simba. But Cave, who is deaf, won are traveling to Princeton, Mass., where Simba is being trained by the nonprofit National Education for Assistance Dogs
Source: www.newsday.com

False Pregnancy: Understanding When Your Labrador Goes Through Pseudocyesis

Your female Labrador was in heat about two months ago, and now she’s behaving as if she were pregnant. Her breasts are somewhat enlarged and have a thin yellowish fluid or actual milk coming from them. She seems unusually nervous and excitable, can’t settle down, and may even try to make a “nest.” Finally you notice her carrying a shoe, toy, or other object around with her, much as she would a newborn Labrador puppy. But wait a minute! She hasn’t been near a male dog - she can’t be pregnant! And she isn’t. She is going through a false pregnancy.

When your female dog is in heat, a yellow body is formed in the ovary, whether or not conception has taken place. During pregnancy, this remains active and functional, secreting the hormone, progesterone, until whelping time. In the non-pregnant dog, this usually degenerates in about a month. For reasons still not well understood, the corpus deteriorates much slower in some females, and its prolonged presence is believed to trigger the false pregnancy. Symptoms can vary from being hardly noticeable, through all those mentioned in the previous paragraph, to severe painful engorgement of the breasts with milk freely flowing from them.

Pseudocyesis occurs at all ages from the first Labrador puppy heat on. It may happen only once and never recur, but in most cases, once started, it tends to recur about two months after each, or most, of the successive heat periods. This can be a special problem in the older dog. The additional stress it produces can result in vomiting, diarrhea, self-nursing, inflammation and infection of one or more breasts, and loss of appetite. Dogs with chronic kidney disease may be stressed enough to precipitate a uremic crisis and renal failure. Dogs with cardiac disease may develop potentially dangerous abnormal heart rhythms.

Mild to moderate cases will run their course in three to eight weeks, depending on how rapidly the corpus luteum degenerates, and require little treatment. The more severe cases will be helped by alternate hot and cold moist compresses on the swollen breasts to relieve the pain. Therapy with estrogens, testosterone, and progesterone injections have all been effective to varying degrees in terminating the false pregnancy. If fever or breast infection is present antibiotics will also be prescribed.

There is no hard evidence to prove it, but many veterinarians in companion animal practice are of the opinion that repeated false pregnancies, especially the severe ones, are likely to predispose your dog to the eventual development of pyometra, a serious and hazardous uterine infection. For that reason, your family veterinarian may recommend an ovariohysterectomy for your Labrador.

A dogs best friend 

BEFORE he died of heartworm in early December, Miracle, a dog who resembled a black Labrador, was undergoing treatment with Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) veterinarian Henry de Pedro.
Source: showbizandstyle.inquirer.net

Black Labrador recovered from seventy foot mineshaft by Coastguard rescue teams 
At quarter past two this afternoon, Holyhead Coastguard received a 999 call from a man reporting that his dog had fallen down an old mine shaft on Rhiw by ty Croes Bach on the Lleyn peninsula.
Source: www.gnn.gov.uk

Guard maneuvers to offer aid 
DECATUR - Two young soldiers step out of their Humvee, keeping an eye on the two large yellow Labrador retrievers in the driveway. They mount the steps of a well-kept farmhouse, knock on the door and look inside the window.
Source: www.herald-review.com

Pets of the Week: Dec. 17 

Source: www.naplesnews.com

Rescue-dog handlers share strong bond with their canine charges

Tribune-Chronicle - BOB DEEDS, a FEMA worker out of Texas, comforts his Labrador, Kinsey, before the search dog undergoes an MRI at the Iams Pet Imaging Center in Redwood City. Deeds says when Kinsey goes under anesthesia, it tears his heart apart. “It kills me
Source: www.insidebayarea.com

A Labrador’s Favorite Place: The Park (Part 2)

City parks have some wonderful challenges for training if you use your imagination.

For example, look and find an empty trash bin in the park, tip it over on its side and teach your Labrador pup to jump over it. Start a few feet from the trash bin and run toward it while holding the motivator close to his nose so he will follow it. When he approaches the bin, use the hand in collar technique (place your fingers between his neck and collar with your fingers pointing up), lift him forward and say “Hup,” as he climbs over the bin. After he has gone over the garbage bin, circle around and make him climb over from the other side and place him in a sit. Do this a few times so he is comfortable with this maneuver. With continued practice, he will eventually make a clean jump over the bin. Smaller or less agile labrador dogs will only be able to climb over it.

If he is shy about going over the bin, then place him on top of it so he will feel comfortable touching the garbage bin with his paws. With your right hand holding the motivator, lead him downward to come off the garbage bin. Repeat this pattern a few times to build his confidence level. After a few repetitions, your pup will feel comfortable climbing over the garbage bin.

Large boulder-like rocks can often be found in many parks. While walking your dog, teach him to jump on the rock. Again, you will need a motivator to get him to jump up there. Put him in a Sit-Stay or Stand-Stay position. This is a good exercise because it gives him a job to do - it keeps him from moving any further during a walk, especially through congested cross paths.

Park benches are also a great training tool. Teach your Labrador to jump over a bench using the same method as making him jump over a garbage bin. You can also teach him to crawl under a park bench. And you can train him to sit every time you approach a park bench with someone sitting on it. This teaches him not to pull toward strangers in the park.

A park is a good place to practice the hide and seek game with a whistle. Have your friend hold your puppy back while you run and hide behind a tree or some bushes and whistle for your Labrador. This exercise will get your puppy to pay more attention to you as he panics and tries to find you. This game is great because you are setting the foundation for him to come to you whenever you whistle. In all of these exercises, you are using the natural environment of the park as an agility course for your dog.

TEEN FACE

Santa Rosa Press Democrat - The family shares their home with Bailey, their yellow Labrador retriever, and Jouet, their cat. The family is also raising a At the most recent National American Rabbit Breeders Association gathering in Texas, she competed on the California team in More

OregonLive.com - Everyone seems to be desperately searching for a golden retriever or a Labrador or a Yorkshire terrier for a wife or son or dog shows are coming up Jan. 19 through 21 at the Expo Center and are a terrific opportunity to meet responsible dog breeders More

A Labrador’s Favorite Place: The Park (Part 1)

Parks are the most popular spots in the city for owners to take their labradors. It’s the one place where owners can let their labradors run loose and play with other dogs. Many dog owners like going to the parks because it gives them a chance to meet and chat with other dog owners. Most dog owners are amused by the fact that they remember the names of the different dogs but not the names of the owners.

Though I have no problem with dogs playing with each other in the parks, I do have a problem with owners who just congregate together and don’t play with their dogs. Dog owners often forget that they should be the main focus of their dog, not other dogs. The park is such a great environment to train a dog and owners who do no more than just stand together talking do their dogs a disservice. This also gives a Labrador a false sense of total freedom - your dog blocks you out while playing with other dogs.

You can alleviate this problem by occasionally whistling for your dog to come to you while standing with the other owners. When he comes to you, praise him and then let him play with the other dogs once again. By doing this, your dog learns that even though he is coming to your call, it doesn’t mean you are going to leash him and take him home. You don’t want your dog to associate coming to you with killing his good time. That is why owners have a hard time calling their dogs back to them in the park. Dogs know that the only time they are called by their owners is when it’s time to leave.

Instead of just standing there with the other owners, move quietly away from them and stand off to the side. When your dog looks for you among the group of owners, he will be alarmed that you are not there. You are preying on his sense of insecurity - he is going to panic as he looks for you. This is good - you want to be your Labrador’s main focus, not other dogs in the park. He will come to you full of excitement at having found you.

Another problem with groups of owners getting together in the park is that you can get some bad advice. When you get your dog, you will quickly discover how many owners act like experts about dogs, and you will get a lot of free advice. You will get all kinds of training and medical opinions - some of it good and some just a lot of old myths.

Labrador puppy owners need to understand the pack mentality of dogs. Any group of dogs playing in a park form a pack mentality within ten minutes of being together. Now if a puppy runs into the pack, the dynamic is thrown off balance and tension can easily develop. The dogs tower over the puppy to investigate. Some dogs don’t like puppies, especially if the puppy is hyper or cocky. There’s a good chance such pups can get bit. Pups also tend to get trampled on and can physically get hurt when playing with mature dogs. That is why I don’t like owners taking their Labrador puppies to parks to play with big dogs. puppies need to play with puppies in their own peer group. You wouldn’t let your five-year-old child play football with thirteen-year-old kids, so why have your pup play with mature dogs?

Torrance pays tribute to dog lover with a tree 

Walteria Park dog-lovers pay tribute to friend, adviser and canine trainer Joanne “Jose” Butzirus. Find Out More…

TAMPA - Brady, a rambunctious black Labrador mix, spent time romping at a Tampa dog park recently before doing what dogs inevitably do. Find Out More…