truebred

MM - whilst not disagreeing with you, I was wondering if you would consider the fact that a dog with a score of 1:9 (for example) may have had an injury relating to the average score, vs the better score of 1 on the other hip? Would you take this into consideration if choosing to use a dog with such a score? I believe the incidence of injury is very relevant in determining the suitability for breeding etc, but unless you are the owner of the respective Labradors, it is a bit difficult to determine when to trust this as being the case for score variations to exist? Also, in the example given where there was a 9 on one hip, this should be closely examined, and I would look at each of the criteria being assessed for each hip, and if any of these were above a 3, then I would be very reluctant to use for breeding, unless the incidence of injury could be proven (eg Vet report etc) that could be taken into consideration for the poor score..

Puppies can be notorious for eating heaps of things that they shouldn't, and I think Labradors are possibly one of the worst for this. It is important, especially during the puppy-chew-everything stage that they not be left to have access to items that may be potentially dangerous if swallowed. Also, for breeds like Labradors, giving them a few suitable chew toys (like Kongs etc) is probably also a good idea.