Your Labrador must stay healthy and active in his entire life. All you need to do is to vaccinate your dog on schedule and checkup by a veterinarian when necessary.
Observe your Lab daily for any abnormality, difficulty in walking or change in behavior. Labradors are one of the heavy and energetic dog breeds of the world. Due to their activeness and love for exercise, they are more prone to leg and joints problems.
The average lifespan of Labrador is 10-12 years. The interesting fact is that one day for us is equal to 7 days for a dog and one week for us is equal to 7 weeks for a dog. Time really passes slowly for them.
We The Labrador Dog team are ready to help you with any problem. Here we have written many articles and if you did not get anything related, please contact us or leave comments.
A happier dog is a healthier dog. Your Dog will stay happy if you give him proper time, exercise and diet. It is your responsibility to keep him healthy.
Provide your dog with hygiene conditions. Check the expiry date of food before presenting it to the dog. Check for parasites and any other external abnormalities. Take proper grooming steps and use dog shampoos.
Basic Health and Care
Basic health and care include general problems and diseases your Lab may face. Vaccination is also included in this section.
Please read:
- Vaccination of a Labrador Retriever
- Health Problems of Labrador
- How to care a Lab Puppy
- What to Feed a Labrador
- Caring for Adult Labrador Retriever
These are the must-read articles. As a dog owner, you must know how to feed and care a Labrador.
Labradors may have genetic or behavior problems. You can solve them through proper training.
How to know that your Labrador is Healthy?
It is not hard to diagnose that your Lab is normal and healthy. If you have properly vaccinated your dog and have a good diet plan for him, then he will not get any problem easily.
Normal Labrador Retriever will
- Be active and Energetic
- Have the normal temperature (101 – 102.5 degrees Fahrenheit)
- Eat easily and happily
- Enjoy going on exercise and jump
- Happily retrieve hand objects
- Have normal temperament like other healthy dogs
- Happily play with the owner and other family members
- Normally sleep and awake
You can face other problems like jumping and chewing, these may due to unprofessional training and can be solved with the help of professional trainers.
Your dog can have problems in his genetics. Like bad temperament, this can be solved while buying a Lab puppy. Carefully choose the Lab breeder and get the pedigree record.
How to know that your Labrador is Unhealthy?
By general signs, you can know that your Lab is unhealthy and abnormal and it is time to do something. In a Lab life, you can face many injuries and health issues. Take steps on time to solve them. Don’t worry because your sadness can’t solve your dog’s problems but a properly taken step can.
Your Labrador will be Unhealthy if he shows below signs and symptoms:
- Increased temperature – {How to check the temperature?}
- Excessive Hair fall
- Vomiting and Diarrhoea
- Off-feed – Not eating anything
- Aggressive and Rude
- Aggressively Bite and chew
- Not active and walk slowly
If you are an experienced dog owner and have much information, then you can find easily your dog’s problem. But if you are new to this, then you will slowly learn and will be able to diagnose and solve their problems later.
Your dog may show one or more than one above written symptoms. If you are unable to diagnose, then go for vet’s help.
To take a Dog temperature, you must have a thermometer. Thermometers are cheaper nowadays. You can buy one for $5-20 online easily. Insert the thermometer into dogs rectum (Below Tail) and wait for 30-60 seconds. Then note the readings. Normal dog temperature is 101-102.5 Degrees Fahrenheit. If it is below or above from that range, then go for doctor’s help.
Hair Fall may be due to one or combination of problems. Parasites can cause excessive hair fall. Labradors normally have shedding problem in their genes. Check for external parasites.
Vomiting and off-feeding problems may be due to change in diet, fever and any disease. Diagnose properly and treat accordingly.
What to do when Labrador is not Normal?
After reading the above-written information you can now easily know if your Lab is healthy or have some problem.
First of all, if you Labrador is not normal, you need to check if he needs any emergency medicine or urgent help. Like he has something stuck in his throat, try to take that thing out, otherwise, he will be soon short of his breath. other emergencies include lethal accident and injury, other breathing problems, abnormally high temperature etc. Try to solve the problem if you know how to solve it or get experts help as soon as possible.
If your dog has a fever or any other minor injury, then search on the internet about that specific problem or take our help by commenting or contacting us. If you get the solution, then go for it otherwise get the veterinarian or dog’s expert help.
Role of a Veterinarian
The veterinarian plays a very important role in problems diagnosis and treatment. Your diagnosis and a vet diagnosis may totally differ due to his experience which is much greater than yours. So always seek his help when you are confused and unable to diagnosis. Note that your one mistake can cost the life of your dog. Carefully choose medication and treat your dog, if vet help is not available urgently.
Other Articles related to Health and Care
- Grooming of a Labrador
- Inherited Diseases in Labradors
- Non-inherited Diseases in Labradors
- What are Parasites and how they affect the Labradors
- Traveling with Labrador
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