tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684843.post5767297887541137880..comments2024-03-26T22:16:26.572-04:00Comments on Terrierman's Daily Dose: Who Messed Up the Labrador Retriever?PBurnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05781540805883519064noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684843.post-42570423355621734592017-05-30T16:14:22.920-04:002017-05-30T16:14:22.920-04:00I have complained about the ruin of the labrador r...I have complained about the ruin of the labrador retriever for years. they are a water dog and should be breed by their ability to retrieve and take direction foremost. conformation should be last.<br /><br />Hunters mainly want pups from great hunting parents and whether or not they are AKC, ultimately doesn't matter. If a hunter has a friend or know locally of the prowess of another sportsman's dog, they will wait patiently for a pup of their lineage. Also, hunters will often buy "finished" Labradors from a trainer.<br /><br />As for the overall size, hunting labs will vary in size depending on where the dogs hunt. a goose hunter may desire larger labs to carry lots of heavy geese out of a dry field. A marsh hunter may want a light longer legged lab with big feet to see over grass and not sink in the mud. A lake hunter may want a smaller lab with a deep chest for getting in and out of a boat all day and making many swimming retrieves.<br /><br />Another problem today is breeding labs for field trials. these dogs are often too energetic for duck hunting and require a lot of work to keep happy. <br /><br />it is just really hard today to find a good lab for hunting and family. which is sad because in my mind that is what a lab was and should be.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06185860675313491141noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684843.post-48331101671684292402015-02-24T01:49:21.971-05:002015-02-24T01:49:21.971-05:00A great way to screen lab breeders is to ask what ...A great way to screen lab breeders is to ask what brand shotgun they favor and what size shot they use when hunting. You will discover a great many breeders of bench labs have spent no time in the blind and even less time in the field. A fair number can't even identify waterfowl species from each other and have never so much as shot a gun in their life. They don't know that you use different shot sizes for different birds. <br />When I was researching waterfowl dogs I noted a great many dogs pictured in my state were showing their field prowess using chukars and other small quail. The photos were also fantastically clear - as if taken by professionals. The problem is there are not a great number of locations to hunt these quail and not one video or picture of someone with a gun and none of what I would assume people would hunt most being mallards, teals, widgeon, snow, or canada geese. Then it dawned on me. These are frozen quail and the reason the pictures are so clear is that the photos are about image and not about hunting. <br />Fakers just faking for the rubes and their friends. Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03586861234754647712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684843.post-53677867751551151482015-02-23T21:48:35.016-05:002015-02-23T21:48:35.016-05:00I found this trolling the internet- they're no...I found this trolling the internet- they're not Labs but weirdly actual working Bassets! http://www.nicomorgan.com/-/galleries/hunting-photography/westerby-bassets/season-2012-13/westerby-bassets-hill-top-farm-30jan13Jeff T.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01520811975339950553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684843.post-63404448357397584002015-02-23T21:33:24.609-05:002015-02-23T21:33:24.609-05:00Do the people who use actual hunting retrievers an...Do the people who use actual hunting retrievers and pointers buy AKC dogs or do breeders breed non-AKC functional healthy specimens for work? I know the JRTCA is non-AKC but are there others? Are people coming to their senses?Jeff T.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01520811975339950553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684843.post-86881318551987956192015-02-23T15:54:01.753-05:002015-02-23T15:54:01.753-05:00There are widely considered to be two types of Lab...There are widely considered to be two types of Labs: the English or "show" Lab, and the American or "field" Lab. Needless to say, the field Lab is much better off than the show Lab. It has a leaner build, more stamina, higher genetic diversity due to outcrossing, and therefore a much lower incidence of hip and elbow dysplasia. In a word, field Labs get to be dogs, while show Labs have become victims. One thing the show Lab does have going for it, is that they tend to be lower energy (understandably) and have a calmer temperament, so they are lower-maintenance and many people prefer them as family dogs, as opposed to hiking and hunting companions, etc. Nothing wrong with having a calm family dog that needs less exercise than a working one, but you don't have to cripple them to attain that.<br /><br />Going beyond Labs, what saddens me is how their ancestor, the St. Johns water dog, got split up into a whole bunch of different breeds and went extinct. The St. Johns gave rise to the Lab, Newfoundland, Chesapeake Bay retriever, and flat-coated retriever. All of those cool genes the St. Johns had are now split up into several related populations that don't get to mix anymore. A lot of anatomical and physiological problems could be prevented if they could just mingle again and become more like the St. Johns once more. (Ditto for other breed families, like certain terriers and mountain dogs.)AmericanLionhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10224557937576435963noreply@blogger.com