How long do Labradors live and what does it depend on?

The Labrador Retriever is an ideal pet for keeping in a family with children. This is a harmless dog, which is distinguished by its friendliness, cheerfulness, and devotion. The task of each owner is to provide the pet with the correct conditions of detention, because the life expectancy of the Labrador directly depends on this.

The life span of a dog of this breed is influenced by several factors that do not always depend on the owner. For example, genetics. So, it is common for retrievers to suffer from hereditary diseases. Breeders are responsible for the selection of individuals for breeding, avoiding crossing genetically inferior dogs. But puppies are still born with joint dysplasia, epilepsy, retinal atrophy, diabetes and skin ailments.

To avoid buying an unhealthy individual, when meeting a puppy, it is important to study the entire set of documents of the parent couple's club registration and the test results.

The factors affecting life expectancy are the conditions of keeping the dog. Only proper care and balanced nutrition will provide your pet with health and a long life. If an animal for some reason is forced to lead a homeless existence, then its life expectancy will be significantly less than that of a dog kept at home.

Owners are always interested in how old the dog is, if we translate its years into human indicators. So, Labradors up to one and a half years of age can be considered "youths". You can equate such a puppy with a 20-year-old human age. After 3 and a half years, the dog will "knock" 30 human years. At 6 years old, it is a 40-year-old dog. 16 years old - a dog that has passed over 80. A twenty-year-old dog can be considered a long-liver, because by human standards it is already 100 years old.

The average lifespan of a Labrador Retriever in a normal home is 10-14 years, but more often it is 12 years. Considering that the breed belongs to large, these are not bad numbers, since it is believed that large dogs live less than miniature ones. For example, 10 years for a shepherd is already a very old age, and Great Dane rarely live up to 8 years. Therefore, in comparison with such dogs, Labradors belong to long-lived breeds.

Of course, among them there are long-lived dogs.... For example, the labrador dog Chilla from Australia died at the age of 32, which is 150 years old by human standards. There are even dogs that got into the Guinness Book of Records because of their age. So, the Labrador Butch from the United States lived to be 28 years old, and for the first three years he was kept in very poor conditions.

Bella, the UK's dog, died of a heart attack at the age of 29 and was not surrounded by human attention in the last years of her life, otherwise she might have lived even longer. This dog did not become the record holder of the Book, since the owners did not have documents confirming the age of the animal.

Before buying a Labrador Retriever puppy, you should familiarize yourself in advance with the conditions of detention that you can offer to your pet. He needs a lot of space, a cramped "odnushka" will be small for the active life of a large dog, which will significantly affect its life expectancy. Long daily walks with games and jogging will help to extend the life of the dog. An animal that lacks vigorous activity is prone to weight gain and the development of diabetes, such a dog will not live up to 10 years.

Labradors, especially in old age, are required to be regularly taken to veterinary examinations. Self-monitoring of the pet's condition also plays an important role. It is necessary to comb the coat every week, timely identify fleas and ticks, pay attention to the condition of the skin and coat.

An important factor in extending a dog's lifespan is proper nutrition. From an early age, the daily feeding rate should be observed. Usually a puppy appears in the house at the age of 1.5-2 months. Up to 3 months it should be fed about six times a day, up to 5 - five times, up to 9 months - four times, up to a year - three times, after a year it is enough to feed the animal twice a day. In terms of nutrition you can not listen to the desires of the dog and feed it from the table or overfeed - this can negatively affect her health.

It is allowed to feed the Labrador with dry food, but it must be a class not lower than premium. Your veterinarian will help you calculate your daily allowance correctly. Usually, responsible manufacturers provide these data on the packaging, but if the feed is bought by weight, then a veterinarian can help. Do not try to calculate the portion yourself, focusing on the wishes of the dog, she will eat as much as you give. Remember that dry food swells in the stomach.

If the dog eats natural food, then the diet must necessarily include veal, skinless chicken, lean fish, cereals, eggs, cottage cheese, vegetables. Be sure to add vitamins and mineral supplements to food. All medications must be prescribed by a doctor, taking into account the health status and age of a particular individual.

It is important to walk your puppy at least five times a day. Two or three walks are enough for an adult dog. Labradors enjoy training on dog trainers, but it is important to start such training no earlier than the teenager is 10 months old. Until this age, the dog has a fragile spine and weak limbs, and active jumping can provoke injury. These dogs love to spend time in nature and swim, so be sure to take your pet with you on a picnic.

The life span is also determined by the emotional background of the animal. Stress or longing for the owner can shorten the lifespan of a Labrador retriever. Therefore, it is important to devote a lot of time to the dog, to scratch, caress, play with it, and avoid frequent separations. Stress by itself does not affect longevity, but it can lead to exacerbation of chronic diseases or the development of new diseases.

Therefore, when planning a child, you need to think many times whether it is worth getting a dog during this period. It is important to understand that with the appearance of the child, the owner will no longer be able to pay due attention to the animal, therefore it is recommended to have a Labrador in the family, where there are already children.

The following diseases can cause the premature death of a four-legged friend.

• Volvulus of the stomach. It is an enlargement of the stomach due to weak walls. In this case, the stomach enlarges, swells, as a result of which the diaphragm is compressed, blood circulation is disturbed. All this together becomes the cause of death of the pet.
• Collapse of the trachea. In this chronic disease, the lumen of the airway tube, which connects the larynx and lungs, narrows.
• Tumor of the spleen. With a tumor of this organ, even a minor injury can provoke a rupture of the spleen, which will lead to the death of the pet.
• Heart disease. The most common occurrence in retrievers is delegation cardiomyopathy.

These are the most common diseases for Labradors. But this can also include, for example, the ingestion of a foreign body into the pharynx. These dogs are distinguished by their curiosity, they want to taste everything: scattered socks, cutlery, small parts of toys, bones. Seeing that the dog has difficulty breathing, it lies with its mouth open and suffocates, immediately take the pet to the veterinary clinic.

On a walk, the dog also faces many dangers. Dog owners know that there are more frequent cases of dog hunters on the territory of the country, scattering poison in the yards and on dog grounds.

However, a dog can also get poisoned in an apartment. For example, during a renovation, the owners may not notice how the pet tasted the building chemical material, which can cause death.

It is very important to walk the animal on a leash. Labradors are intelligent dogs, but very active and curious. In search of adventure, the animal may end up on the road or follow a stray pack of dogs. All of these situations can lead to the premature death of a pet.

The following video will introduce you to one of the most popular dog breeds. He will tell you how to maintain and care for the laboratory.