Thanks to my Father, I have owned dogs of various breeds, starting from Rottweilers and Dachshunds, Bull dogs to French bull dogs, to English Mastiff and Fox Terriers, from Rhodesian Ridge backs to Pugs to Shih- Tzu and Harlequin Great Danes. But the breed that has always been in our family is the Labrador Retriever,in all the three primary colors but mostly black.
The Labrador Retriever belongs to the family of Gun Dogs and is also popular as ‘Lab’ or just ‘Labrador’. This breed originated from the breed called St. John’s Water Dog which is also known as Lesser New Found land. The dogs were christened thus after the geographic area of their origination called the ‘ the Labrador’. Another reason behind calling the breed so was also because they were ‘retrieved’ in the Labrador Sea. But the breed actually originated in the Island of New Found land and the creation of the New Found land Dog {the breed} took place around the same time in the Labrador. So basically the two Breeds’ names and their origins have been royally confused. The short of the long is that actually the Short coated dog from New Found land became the Labrador Retriever and the large long coated one that originated in the Labrador, came to be known as the New Found land Dog.
Labrador Retrievers are very well behaved dogs and can be trained easily. They are also very agile, athletic and playful. Labs prove to be the ideal family dogs since they are well behaved around children and the elderly. Due to their alertness they are trained as assistance dogs for the physically and visually impaired or mentally unwell people including people who are suffering from Autism. Labs also serve as efficient police dogs.
The Labrador retriever comes in three primary colors that are, Black, Chocolate Brown and Golden or yellow. But of course there can be variations in their shades, but these variations are not considered to be the signs of a pure specimen. There is another color called Silver that exists in Labs but is discouraged and considered impure. We had one male Golden Labrador, a female chocolate brown and the rest so far have been black. This article is actually about a black Labrador, who changed my perspective towards dog training and habits. Okay, I’m talking about our darling Fendi (picture at the end of the article ) a three year old black Labrador Retriever who simply refuses to behave like a grown up, since it just doesn’t appeal to her. Just like any other lab she too has a knack of getting her way and she uses her manipulative eyes to lure us into doing her work (mostly giving her bits of what we’re eating).
Now some general information, Fendi like all other labs, has a considerably long coat, which needs constant care. It has to be brushed twice every day. Since labs are very fond of having baths, they should be either given a plain water bath every day (only during summers) or taken for a swim. Swimming and running shall maintain the agility of the dog and keep its limbs working perfectly fine. Their nails should be clipped regularly to prevent breakage.
Don’t depend on dog food for your dog, give it home cooked food such as chapati and chicken broth or butter milk. To broaden the dog’s head and strengthen its jaws you could treat them with meat chew sticks available in the market.
Till your dog is 6 months old keep it on a halter when and if you tie it , since collars are capable of damaging the tender neck of the dog. Also on the completion of 6 months by your dog, you should make it wear a tick collar to prevent ticks and fleas. I suggest after six months because the harsh chemicals on the tick collar may lead to rashes on the pup’s soft skin.
You must be wondering why I chose such a title if I had to give general information on dogs, well, you shall see the relevance of the title now when we discuss the behavior of the Labrador retriever. Labs like any other dogs are very greedy, all they think about is food (mostly), so when we brought Fendi home, she was obviously very fond of eating. We thought she ate so much because she was a growing pup but later we realized that it was one of her natural traits. So, whenever she saw us eating she would constantly beg. So sometimes we teased her by pulling away her bowl of food, just to see her reaction, on seeing this she would bark and whine but then she would do the same when we didn’t share our food with her. This trait helped me come up with the title that describes one of their most prominent traits, “what’s mine is mine but what’s yours, is definitely mine!!”
Labs are basically ‘Grown up pups’, I say that because the chances of their mental maturity is 10-11 % and sometimes not even that. I talk with experience, trust me, Fendi is now 3 years old and a mother of 4, but still hasn’t matured. Her toys just like for most labs, are her priceless possessions and she only trades them for food or to sleep on our beds.
Training labs is not a hassle at all, they are fast learners and if taken into hand at an early age of 3 months (by tenderly talking to them, toilet training them), they can be well trained by the time they are three years old. Treat your lab like a child and keep talking to them, they understand around 30 words and commands, but if you keep conversing with them, they begin to understand and respond to day to day phrases. Apart from ‘sit’, ‘stay’, ‘come’, ’lie down’, Fendi understands sentences like ‘Go to mama’, ‘Who’s toy is this’, ‘Don’t touch that’ and much more.
When your lab begs do not lose your temper with it, since they are sensitive dogs. Be patient and train them by telling them to go away and when they do go away treat them with a biscuit or a meaty chew stick. They will soon stop begging. DO NOT RAISE YOUR HAND ON YOUR DOG.
All this and more has been taught to me by our darling Fendi.