retriever

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Showing Your Lab: The AKC Standard “Look” For The Labrador Retriever

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The general appearance of the Labrador should be that of a strongly built and a very active dog. He should be fairly wide over the loins and strong and muscular in the hindquarters. The coat should be close, short, dense and free from feather.

The skull should be wide, giving brain room; there should be a slight stop, the brow should be slightly pronounced so that the skull is not absolutely in a straight line with the nose. The head should be clean-cut and free from fleshy cheeks. The jaws should be long and powerful; the nose should be wide and the nostrils are well developed. Teeth should be strong and regular.

The ears should hang moderately close to the head, rather far back, should be set somewhat low and not be large and heavy. The eyes should be of a medium size, expressing great intelligence and good temper, and can be brown, yellow or black, but brown or black is preferred.

The neck should be medium length, powerful and not throaty. The shoulders should be long and sloping. The chest must be of good width and depth, the ribs are well sprung and the loins wide and strong, stifles are well turned, and the hindquarters are well developed and of great power.

The legs must be straight from the shoulder to ground, and the feet compact with toes well arched, and pads well developed; the hocks should be well bent, and the dog must neither be cow hocked nor be too wide behind; he must stand and move true all round on legs and feet. Legs should be of medium length, showing good bone and muscle, but not so short as to be out of balance with rest of body.

The tail is a distinctive feature of the breed; it should be very thick towards the base, gradually tapering towards the tip, of medium length, should be free from any feathering, and should be clothed thickly all round with the Labrador’s short, thick, dense coat, thus giving the peculiar “rounded” appearance which has been described as the “otter” tail. The tail may be carried gaily but should not curl over the back.

The coat is another very distinctive feature; it should be short, very dense and without wave, and should give a fairly hard feeling to the hand.

Movement should be free and effortless. The forelegs should be strong and true, and correctly placed. Watching a dog move towards one, there should be no signs of elbows being out in front, but neatly held to the body with legs not too close together, and moving straight forward without pacing or weaving. When viewing the dog from the rear, you should get the impression that the hind legs, which should be well muscled and not cow hocked, move as nearly parallel as possible, with hocks doing their full share of work and flexing well, thus giving the appearance of power and strength.

Showing Your Lab: The AKC Standard “Look” For The Labrador Retriever courtesy Dog Articles.

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The Combination Approach To Feeding Your Golden Retriever

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Although you can get commercial food for your Golden Retriever, the ideal way to feed is to use a combination approach of both commercial food and fresh people foods.  Most commercial food is good for your Golden, although it lacks nutrients and vitamins that fresh food has.  Vets will tell you that fresh food is good, providing you don’t overdo it.  Golden Retrievers love fresh food as well, as they can smell it a mile away. If it smells good to them – they’ll want it.

Most commercial foods will offer your Golden great sources of protein and vitamins, although fresh food contains far more essential sources.  Chicken and meat for instance, have far more protein and minerals than any type of commercial dog food.  Fish is another great choice, as it contains a lot of the protein your dog needs to maintain a healthy brain.

All dogs are well within the capacity of staying healthy, although you need to provide them with the minerals they need.  Each dog is an individual, meaning that you can’t continue to feed him the same food on a daily basis.  Golden Retrievers love people food, and they also love variety.  What they need one day may vary the next, so you should always mix it up a bit and give them something different each day.

To be on the safe side, you should give your Golden a little bit of everything.  This way, he will get everything he needs with his diet.  When you design the diet for your growing Golden Retriever, you should always make sure to include animal protein.  This is very important for your Golden, as he has to have it.  Without animal protein, your dog will find himself literally struggling to stay healthy.

To keep your Golden Retriever healthy, it is very important that he gets quality nutrition.  Although quality nutrition is very important, you should never him eat so much that he gains weight too fast.  If you monitor his diet and know exactly what you are feeding him, he should remain in his weight class.  Sometimes this can be hard to help though, especially if your Golden starts to develop allergies to a certain type of food.

If you ever have any questions regarding the diet of your Golden Retriever, you shouldn’t hesitate to ask your vet.  Your vet could make some recommendations for you, even tell you the best type of commercial food for your dog.  Depending on his individual needs, what he requires may be totally different than what another dog needs.  As long as you keep your dog on a healthy diet and make sure he gets the food he needs – he should grow to be a healthy dog with plenty of energy.

The Combination Approach To Feeding Your Golden Retriever courtesy Dog Articles.

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Grooming Your Golden Retriever

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Grooming your Golden Retriever is a never ending process.  The entire process should be down once or twice a week, and will take you around a ½ an hour of time.  Brushing your dog while he is shedding will help to control shedding quite a bit.  While outside, if your Golden Retriever manages to get burs or other defects in his hair, you should instantly take a few moments of your time and get the burs or other matter out of his coat.

When you groom your pet, you should always start with a good brushing.  Brush his entire body, then once you have finished brushing you can switch to a comb to get out any loose hair that remains in the coat.  While you are getting out the hair, you can also inspect your pet for ticks, fleas, and other types of skin ailments.  If you wish, you can also check his ears and trim his nails as well.

Bathing your Golden is essential to grooming, and can be somewhat complicated.  Before you attempt to give him a bath, you should always brush him first, to get rid of tangles.  During shampooing, you should always use shampoos that are specifically for dogs, since human shampoo can dry a dog’s skin out.  You don’t need to bathe your dog often, once every other week is good enough.  If you properly maintain your Golden’s coat, you’ll find it’s much easier to clean.

To prevent matting, which is very common with Golden Retrievers, you should always make sure that you brush your pet on a daily basis.  Metal combs and brushes work extremely well, and will help you to get a great deal of the hair out.  Although some people choose to use scissors and cut the mats, you can easily injure your Golden if he happens to move or jerk.  Scissors aren’t recommended, as brushing and proper bathing will help to prevent matting of the hair better than anything else.

When you cut your dogs nails, you should trim them a great deal, all the while avoiding going down into the quick.  You should never let your Golden’s nails get too long, as long nails can easily take the shape of the dog’s foot, resulting in a splay.  Therefore, you should always check your Golden Retriever’s nails and trim them every few weeks.  If you trim them just right, you’ll have at least 2 weeks before they need to be trimmed again.  If you do happen to trim the nails past the quick, bleeding will occur.  To stop the bleeding, always keep some styptic powder on hand to make sure that you are prepared if you do make a mistake.

With other types of grooming, you should also make sure that you clean your Golden’s ears as well.  They can get ear infections quite easily, if you don’t clean their ears on a regular basis.  To get the best results and protect your pet from ear infections, you should clean his ears once a week using a quality cleansing solution.  This way, you can rest assured that your Golden has healthy ears.

Grooming is an essential aspect to the health of every Golden Retriever.  All it takes is a little bit of time from your day to groom your pet and keep him healthy.  If you don’t have the time to groom your Golden, you can always take him to a professional.  Whether you do it yourself or take your Golden to a pro – grooming is something that simply must be done.

Grooming Your Golden Retriever courtesy Dog Articles.

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Crate Training Your Golden Retriever

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You’re going to have to get over your old idea that crates are punishment for dogs. The truth is that your Golden Retriever will love his crate. It’s a safe place that satisfies his natural instinct for his den. All dogs are instinctively den-dwelling creatures, and his crate may be an excellent substitute that meets your Golden Retriever’s genetic need for a warm, safe place, particularly when he’s afraid or confused. At the same time, it’s not a good idea to let your Golden stay in his crate for hours on end, as this could cause other behavioral problems that will be difficult to solve.

When you bring your Golden Retriever puppy home for the first time, the open crate should already be there in the spot you want it to be permanently. The crate should probably be located centrally in the house but not in a high-traffic area. Many people leave their crate near an outside door so that their Golden Retriever can go outside to potty when h needs to. Put a toy, a dog treat, or a blanket in the crate to provide a point of interest or comfort.

But don’t take the puppy to the crate or put him in it. Just let him roam the house, sniffing everything and finding his way around. Your Golden Retriever puppy will find the crate, and he’ll probably want to visit it often. When your Golden Retriever puppy finds and enters the crate, give him lots of praise. If the puppy seems to want to stay for a while, you can close the door to see how he’ll react.

Stay nearby at first and, if the puppy whines, reassure him with gentle words. If he gets upset, excited or is barking, don’t let him out of the crate. This will reward the puppy for bad behavior. Rather, leave your puppy in the crate until he calms down. Then opening the door will be a reward for good behavior. Once the puppy is comfortable with the crate, it’ll be safe to leave him in it now and then, for example when you have to leave the house for a little while. After your Golden Retriever puppy gets used to his new home and family, you can leave the crate door open. He’ll probably start to wander in and out of the crate. Remember, praise him while he’s in the crate to reinforce the behavior.

It will take some time to crate train your new Golden Retriever puppy, but not nearly as long as you may think. Crates can be a safe haven for your puppy, so never use it as punishment or a “time out.” Consistently show your Golden Retriever that his crate is his own private home, his place and his alone. Natural instinct and positive reinforcement will accomplish the desired behavior.

Crate Training Your Golden Retriever courtesy of Dog Articles.

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Neutering Or Spaying Your Chesapeake Bay Retriever

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Neutering or Spaying your Chesapeake Bay Retriever is probably on of the most important steps you can take as a responsible pet owner if you’re not planning on breeding. As these dog breeds are more aggressive than most other Retrievers, regular socialization from a young age is quite important.

Male Chessie’s are generally more aggressive than the females but neutering and spaying has calmed this trait or even prevented this problem from developing. Some owners may believe that altering their Chesapeake Bay Retriever and in particular males, that this alters their charm. This is not the case. It actually helps your male Chessie to ignore the urge to wander for a female on heat. Having the urges in check will considerably make your dog much happier to stay by your side.

Spaying your female Chessie before their first heat season has been known to prevent breast cancers and uterine infections, while neutering males at puppy age will prevent testicular cancers as well as continue to maintain a healthy prostate and subdue their aggression.

Neutering and Spaying can reduce or eliminate serious illnesses in your Chessie and are said to live longer and healthier lives which also makes a happier companion for you.

The physical traits of spayed females are that they require less food, although a proper diet and outdoor exercise will prevent them from becoming obese, it also means that they will never come in season which will avoid an accidental breeding or unwanted puppies. While the temperament of spayed Chesapeake Bay Retrievers may become more dominant with other dogs but normally not the case.

Male Chesapeake Bay Retrievers if they are neutered less than 6 months of age tend to become taller with less muscle mass than intact males. They also require less food and a quality diet with regular exercise to avoid obesity. The good thing about neutering a male Chessie is that they are usually less aggressive towards other male dogs as well as their dominance with people is quite reduced. However, this shouldn’t be taken as a cure for dominant behavior, regular training and leadership is still required while still young.

In general you’ll find with these dog breeds that by neutering and spaying your pet there are a lot of benefits for both you and your dog. Training your Chessie is also a lot more civilized as they are usually more consistent and focused than a Cheesie still intact. Look after your Chessie and they’ll reward you with years of love, fun and companionship for you and your family.

Neutering Or Spaying Your Chesapeake Bay Retriever courtesy of Dog Articles

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