My pet: pedigreed Labrador dog

by Lara Delia

Introduction:

Firstly I am going to give a few hints on how to keep your Labrador’s teeth healthy. Come through and stop it chewing on your furniture! Your Labrador puppy will need some indestructible objects like a rubber bone or ball to chew on. Make sure these are large enough so that it can’t swallow them. Avoid real bones as these can splinter and cause choking. Play games with your Labrador puppy and his chewing toy, and give it to him as soon as it starts to chew on a forbidden object, telling him ‘no’ firmly. Remember to praise him when he chews on his own toy.

To help your Labrador grow healthy, the best food is dry food. If your Labrador is a puppy, dry food will also help loosen his teeth and thus speed up the teething process. If your Labrador puppy has a sensitive mouth, soften the dry food by soaking it in warm water first. It’s important that your choice of dry food should be complete and balanced, with no extra supplements needed or artificial flavourings added. Just don’t be put off, at first, dry food seems more expensive. When you work out the cost per day, you’ll find that it’s actually highly economical. Should your Labrador puppy suffer a persistent loss of appetite while teething, check with your veterinarian before switching his food.

Labradors can be susceptible to all manner of contagious diseases, so on early as 6 – 8 weeks of age. For full protection, you will have to return to your veterinarian for a series of injections.

As Labradors grow they need a special diet and lots of exercise or it will gain excess weight. Diet and exercises are vital to the well being of your Labrador. As they are frisky and energetic creatures, you should make sure they get adequate exercise. The precise amount of exercise will naturally vary from breed to breed, and your veterinarian or breeder can advise you about this. You should also take responsibility for your Labrador nutritional need from the earliest stage.

Lastly I’ll advise something about the collar and lead. Get your Labrador used to wearing a soft collar on its own to begin with. After a while, attach a short, light lead and let it drag it drag it around for a short time over the course of a few days. The aim is to get it to walk along with you without straining. If he runs on, on legs behind, a gentle tug is all that should be used. Try and stay close to him, so he won’t feel the urge to break free.

Take care of your Labrador and good luck!

Donated by Lara Delia