Labrador retrievers are known for their great kindness, gentleness, affection and loyalty. This breed is quite renowned for their great contribution in rescue work. So, what if we told you that this work is influenced by their great obsession with food? Here’s what makes the Labrador retriever a great dog to train and how this relates to obesity in Labradors.
Where does the obsession come from?
There are several studies dedicated to finding an answer as to why the Labrador retriever tends to be overweight. Eleanor Raffan, a researcher and veterinarian at Cambridge University, says they have been able to link Labradors’ obsession with food to a biological reason. This is due to a genetic mutation that makes these dogs obsessed with food, causing obesity.
The study was published in the journal “Cell Metabolism”. It consisted of a study of 3 genes related to obesity in people. To carry out the study, a sample of 310 Labradors, including assistance dogs, was taken. In this study they evaluated the food motivation of these dogs with food. At the same time, a questionnaire was given to the owners of these dogs so that they could provide some information about their pets.
The study concluded that a quarter of the smooth-haired retrievers tested had a section of DNA encoded at the end of the POMC gene, a gene related to weight, obesity and appetite. This coding hinders the production of a chemical in the brain that prevents it from signaling the body that it is no longer hungry. Dogs with the deletion of this gene were overweight.
Another similar study was carried out on a sample of 411 dogs from the UK and the US from 38 different breeds. The alteration appeared again in Labrador retrievers.
Rescue dogs
Of the 81 Labrador retrievers tested, 76% of them had the genetic alteration. Although this alteration is quite problematic, it has been shown that Labrador retrievers excel in rescue and relief work. Because of this mutation, it is possible that they are more stimulated by food, as they have already been trained using rich rewards. This makes the Labrador retriever one of the easiest dogs to train.
What to do if you have a Labrador Retriever with this alteration
The owners of these dogs should take into account the gene alteration and take care of their pet’s diet, being a little more rigorous than usual with the portions. In addition, since these dogs are never satiated, it is very important to be resistant to the Labrador’s requests when they look at us with pitiful eyes. If you really care about your dog’s health, try not to give in to their requests as you are only contributing to the development of obesity in Labradors.
As with people, being overweight is closely related to reduced life expectancy, diabetes, mobility problems, heart disease, breathing problems and even cancer. In addition, lack of physical exercise and caloric food intake can aggravate the situation considerably. It is very important to feed your Labrador Retriever a reduced-calorie food and force him to be physically active on a daily basis.
Although the biological gene alteration makes this breed an easy dog to train, it also makes them susceptible to Labrador obesity. Therefore, if you are concerned about your dog’s health and you still don’t have veterinary insurance, we invite you to join Petplan so you don’t have to worry about veterinary expenses and take care of your dog’s health as he deserves.
