Labrador Retriever Dogs Blog

The absolutely best way to lay down the foundation for preventing your puppy from biting is to let them remain with their Mom in the litter for the first three months. Mom will be a far better teacher about bite inhibition than you would be during this time.

That being said, it is a completely normal behavior for puppies to 'mouth' and bite. Humans have arms to grab onto things, dogs only have their mouths. So don't mistake 'mouthing' for biting. Ongoing aggressive behavior and biting from a puppy is generally rare, but if your normal training methods are not working and aggressiveness continues, you might want to reconsider whether you would want to keep such a puppy, especially if you have children around. An aggressive puppy will most likely grow up to become an overly aggressive dog. And please don't think that just showing the puppy love and affection will correct their behavior, or that it is something that they will just outgrow. Professional help will certainly be needed, sooner rather than later. You may love your dog but it is up to you to be responsible and not just sentimental. Read the rest of this entry »

We humans are very fond of getting the odd treat now and again, especially when we feel we have been especially good or done something really well. It shouldn't really be a surprise that our pooch pals feel the exact same. With that in mind making a special dog treat for fido should be on our to do list.

The pet supplies store are full of off the shelve dog treats that we can just scoop up and head for the checkout. The other option is to make one at home from a dog treat recipe.

I have yet to come across any breed of dog that didn't love a treat and even more so when it's home-made. All we need to do is Google "homemade dog cookies," and hundreds of easy to follow suggestions are there to choose from.

To be on the safe side I always check all ingredients from dog treat recipes that I find online, that way I feel 100% secure that everything in it is safe for my dog. Read the rest of this entry »

Not all foods edible to humans are safe for Labrador Retrievers. Sometimes, what we thought is safe and healthy for us is also safe for our four-legged friend to consume. But since dogs and humans do not have the same metabolism, some foods pose threat causing mild stomach upsets while some may cause severe illness and worst, death. It is important for every dog owner to know which foods are safe and not.

Listed below are some of the foods safe for human but not for dogs:

Chocolate and Caffeine

Chocolate, cocoa beans, cola, tea and even milk chocolate and unsweetened chocolate contains theobromine. Caffeine can also be found in coffee, tea, chocolate and colas. Theobromine and caffeine affects animals the way they affect humans. Too much ingestion of these foods increase the breathing and heart rate, sometimes causing irregular beating of the heart. Signs of too much dose include vomiting, diarrhea, panting, hyperactivity, restlessness, ataxia, muscle tremors, increased or decreased heart rate, irregular heart rhythm, increased body temperature, seizures, coma or even death. Read the rest of this entry »

Same with humans, Labrador Retrievers and other breed of dog can be affected with different types of skin problems. These skin problems vary depending on the allergen and how it affects your beloved canine friend.

Inhalant Allergy

Inhalant allergy, also referred to as atopy is the most common type of allergy. This allergy is caused by things such as tree pollens, grass pollens, weed pollens, molds, dust mites and chemicals- the same things that cause allergy to humans. Inhalant allergy may present itself in the form of scratching, biting, chewing at feet and constant licking which may lead to irritation and later infection.

Atopy is life-long condition and there is no known cure for this disease. However, there are ways to manage the problem:

Read the rest of this entry »

The winner of the April contest will choose the theme for May and also receive a collar with a heavy duty black, plastic buckle from our photo contest sponsor, www.3dirtydawgz.com The dog does not have to be a Lab — it can be any of your own dogs, or a friend's dog(s).

Contest is going to be closed on Friday, April 25th. Good luck to all!!