Once upon a time in the 1800's, an all-purpose hunting and companion dog breed was being developed. Eventually, this breed would be called the Labrador Retriever. At first, all of the best specimens that people adored were all black in color, or black with very tiny white spots. But every now and then, a yellow Labrador Retriever was born. Back then, it was thought that a yellow Labrador retriever was sickly. Any yellow puppies in a litter were taken from the mother and killed.
Someone Takes A Chance
We do not know the name of the first person who decided to not kill his or her Labrador Retriever puppy who decided to give it a chance to live just like its black siblings. Eventually, it was obvious to everyone that a yellow Labrador Retriever was just as healthy and intelligent as a black Labrador Retriever. Some trainers even prefer yellow Labrador Retrievers over any other color in a sort of reverse-prejudice.
And then the tide turned. Now, when the public hears the name "Labrador Retriever" it is most likely a yellow dog that they think of first. Their sunny color perfectly reflects their sunny dispositions. You'd be hard pressed not to find someone who doesn’t know a great yellow Labrador Retriever from somewhere in his or her past.
Search And Rescue
Yellow Labrador Retrievers have never taken the actions of humans to their kind and color personally. Neither do black Labrador Retrievers, chocolate Labrador Retrievers or the so-called golden Labrador Retrievers. All Labrador Retrievers (unless abused) love people. Their first love is for their own people, but they willingly extend this love to complete strangers.
This has made the yellow Labrador Retriever one of the most desired dogs in search and rescue organizations. The yellow coat makes them easier to spot in the shadows of a collapsed building or other rescue site. But rescue organizations will take on a dog of any color, as long as they have the right attitude and abilities to stay focused.
However, it is hard not to notice that many of the most awarded search and rescue dogs and other service dogs are yellow Labrador Retrievers or yellow Lab crosses. In England, a successful breeding program to train dogs for the blind uses crosses of Labrador Retrievers (of whatever color) and Golden Retrievers.
One such heroic yellow Labrador Retriever was the only dog to die in the 9/11 attacks. His name was Sirius and he was on a daily routine mission at the World Trade Center to sniff for explosives with the NY/NJ Port Authority. His body was recovered on January 22, 2002.
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Having decided on owning a Labrador pet dog, it is then a good idea if you did your research on the breed beforehand and gathered as much Labrador dog information as you could. There are a number of things to keep in mind in this regard, and for more information, you should check out the Internet where there is a lot of pertinent information available. Many sites, in fact, deal only with providing Labrador dog information and these sites can be found by using the popular search engines such as Google and MSN.
Sociable Breed
You should not however expect that the Labrador dog information you obtain from online sources to exactly match with the real information on this dog breed. Perhaps the first bit of useful Labrador dog information that you will come across is that this is a breed that is very sociable and friendly. In fact, the breed is so friendly that it is safe to let little children play with Labrador pet dogs, especially those that have been well trained and know how to socialize.
A second useful piece of Labrador dog information relates to the size of this breed. Labradors are big in size and therefore, before brings him home you need to be sure that you have enough space to accommodate a large sized pet. He is also going to need plenty of space to walk and run about and he also needs to be taken out for regular exercising. Also, it is not recommended that you leave your pet Labrador at home for the entire day without his having some company because this is a breed that demands to be around people and he needs to have fun as well as play with others.
All it really takes to keeping a Labrador happy is to give him plenty of love as well as to train him so that he learns to understand house rules. As long as you are aware of how to go about his training and upkeep you will not have any difficulties in raising and keeping him and he will in fact soon become a great addition to your home.
If you have any doubts about the suitability of keeping a Labrador for a pet, you will need to study Labrador dog information related to his needs as well as care and then decide if he is the type of pet dog you want to bring home.
Becoming the proud owner of a Labrador is sure to be a great experience and it only requires that you do your best to provide proper Labrador dog care for these sweet and loving animals that are faithful and friendly and who deserve nothing but the best from you. The bottom line is that if you have plenty of space, and can devote time to keep him exercised and active, there is nothing that should stop you from keeping a Labrador as a pet.
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One of the most popular dog breeds for pet owners is the Labrador. The reason for this is because labs are loyal, intelligent, and very friendly. They make outstanding companions and are the choice for pet owners around the world. Because of this it makes Labrador mix dogs almost as popular. Labrador mixes like their full bred counterparts are extremely popular. Generally speaking a Labrador mix will keep the qualities of the Labrador breed and balance those qualities against the qualities of the mixed breed.
Examples Of Labrador Mix Breeds That Are Popular
One of the most popular Labrador mix breeds is a lab and golden retriever mix. Both of these breeds’ possess similar qualities, are similar in size, and make outstanding companions. Goldens are among the smartest of all dog breeds and are frequently used as seeing eye dogs because they are so easily trained. A golden and Labrador mix will not have as much hair as a pure bred golden and therefore will be easier to care for and maintain. This makes them very popular and there is a lot of ways to not only find information about but find places to get this mix.
The next lab mix information to look at is the Chow and Labrador mix. The Chow is a very popular breed of dog, but most people do not know there can have a bit of a mean personality. They make good guard dogs, but can be dangerous to have as a family pet. By mixing them with a lab you can temper this and have a pet that is not only great around people but is a good guard dog as well.
My personal favorite, although I might be a bit biased because I have one at home, is the Rottweiler and Labrador mix. Rots are generally views as mean guard dogs but nothing could be farther from the truth. One of the problems with the full bred Rottweilers is that they have a short life expectancy do to problems with their hops and other physical issues. In addition they tend to not be warm and cuddly dogs. Again both of these characteristics can be improved on by mixing with a Labrador. My lab rot mix is extremely friendly to people she knows. Kind to my son, great around the neighborhood kids she will defend the home against strangers with full force, so while not for everyone she is wonderful in my home.
There you have three examples of some popular and effective Labrador mix breeds. If you have any questions on how to get specific mixes, contact your local SPCA and I am sure they will be more than willing to help you.
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Many people choose Labradors as a pet for their family because of the ease of training Labradors to be good house pets. Labrador training is considered simpler than training other types of dogs because Labradors are intelligent, attentive, and are generally eager to learn and please their owners. There are several different avenues that can be used to accomplish Labrador retriever training and each type of training has its pros and cons so owners will need to choose the type of Labrador training that is right for them and their pet.
Personal Training
Many people choose to train their Labrador dogs themselves by using training materials and techniques created by expert dog trainers. Personal training is preferred by many people because it allows the training to be done at the pace that is comfortable for both the dog and the owner. It also allows the Labrador training to take place at a time that is convenient for the owner, as the hectic pace of daily life may make it difficult to devote the same amount of time each day to training the dog.
Personal Labrador training takes a great deal of time and dedication on the part of the owner to teach the dog everything that they will need to know to make good house pets. Teaching a Labrador to perform certain actions takes repetition and positive reinforcement for the dog to learn what is expected of them and how to signal certain desires and needs in such a way that the owner understands. Labrador training also takes a large amount of patience as some tasks put to the Labradors are learned faster than others and tasks that the dog is having trouble with may mean that the techniques used for teaching the dog that task will need to be revised.
Professional Training
There are many professional dog trainers that have experience in Labrador training and are willing to teach your dog the things that you want them to learn. Professional trainers often have years of experience and can obtain results much more quickly than an owner attempting to train the Labrador on their own. They can also devote more of their time to the Labrador training because it is their job and they are getting paid to take the time to teach the dog properly.
The biggest drawback to using a professional for Labrador training is the cost, which can cost hundreds of dollars depending on what the owner would like the trainer to teach the dog and how long the training takes. The Labrador training will need to take place when the trainer is available for teaching, which may be difficult to schedule if the owner works long or abnormal hours. There are some training centers that will keep the Labrador at their training facility for a week or several weeks to complete the training quickly, but the owner will not be present for the training and may forget how to reinforce the training that the dog received from the training facility.
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Out of all the creatures in the world to clone, a Labrador puppy certainly seems a lofty goal. Unlike people, the world certainly could use more Labrador puppies. But cloning is an expensive and resource-heavy process. And which dogs do you clone? Although the early death of Dolly the Sheep was thought to be because she was a clone of a six year old sheep (rather than a lamb), dogs are still cloned from adult or aging dogs. Raising a cloned Labrador Retriever puppy is truly going where no man has gone before.
They're Here!
The first dog to be successfully cloned was an Afghan Hound named "Snuppy" in 2005. Snuppy currently behaves like a normal, happy dog. Snuppy's success was the inspiration for the next well-publicized batch of cloned dogs – cloned yellow Labrador puppies from a top drug-sniffing Lab in South Korea. A cloned Labrador puppy in that drug-sniffing project is affectionately called a "toppy" – short for "tomorrow puppy".
Japan has also followed suit in the summer of 2008 with the successful birth of a black Labrador puppy cloned from a caner-sniffing dog with the English name of "Marine". Some cancers make the patient's urine give off a distinctive odor. Well, it's distinctive to a Labrador Retriever puppy, but not to human noses. This is a big gamble, to see if they will grow up to me a Marine puppy platoon, but if it pays off, this could wind up saving millions in cancer detection and care.
Problems With Other Cloned Animals
All fingers and paws are crossed that the effort and expense of gaining a special cloned Labrador puppy will pay off in more easily trainable dogs. Only about 10 – 15% of dogs who try out for specialty sniffing jobs like drug detection actually pass the program. Just like people, not all dogs are the same when it comes to trainability.
There is also good concern that a cloned Labrador puppy will not life the normal, reasonably healthy life of a naturally born Labrador puppy. Dolly's early death has already been mentioned. Cloned dairy cattle have failed to live up to expectations in being able to produce as much milk as the original cow. Also, according to the Center for Food Safety, about 90% of all cloning attempts fail.
Also, having great genes does not guarantee a great Labrador puppy. Genes only play a part on making a great animal. Experience and circumstance also play a major role in shaping the character and ability of any animal. For now, cloning puppies is a gamble. But if the cloned dogs do not suffer and perform up to expectations, then it will be worth the cost.
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