My gosh.  Twice now I've seen a lady walking her dog and I nearly wrecked my car.  Head, body and tail he must be mostly black Lab.  But his legs can't possibly be any longer than 4 or 5 inches.  Basset legs?

There is a uncommon but defiantly persistant problem in our breed called 'dwarfism'. It can affect the dog in certain degrees and real skeletal deformities CAN occur, but in the milder cases you have a perfectly normal labrador but with very short stumpy legs.

This is not to be confused with some of the short fat hairy hippos some of the show lines are producing in our breed ;-) This is a actual medical problem often linked and associated with MRD (an eye problem). The gene appears to be linked.

They often have other medical problems internally (liver and heart) and rarely make old bones sadly.

Di

There was a lab with dwarfism in the paper a couple of years ago - yellow boy, very nice looking if a little vertically challenged!!  He didn't have any other problems though, very healthy, happy dog.  It was someone well-known who owned him - though not well-known enough for me to remember...  The medical term for people is achondroplasia (sp? been a while since biology classes!) - I think it's the same for dogs but I'm not sure.

Yes that is the correct term :)
Was't it whatsisname........um...........sports presenter........got a bit of a chin?

Jimmy Hill.

Well found JG or should I say well Googled, I bet that's not a site you frequent often ;)
Had a go at the vet satisfaction vote while I was in.  Poor Emma bet she wasn't especting those results ;) perhaps all her readers wish their vets were more like her :D
What did I vote? 9/10, nobody's perfect ;)

>I bet that's not a site you frequent often

Gosh, however did you guess. ;) What a load of tripe is written there! :rolleyes:

thats more than a bit of chin

>>  The medical term for people is achondroplasia (sp? been a while since biology classes!) - I think it's the same for dogs but I'm not sure.

Chondrodysplasia is the technical term for dwarfism :) (Malamutes are affected by this condition :( Though thankfully not in the UK).

I think either term can be used :)

Thanks.  I had no idea, and my girl is a Lab.  Here I was suspecting a randy basset hound, LOL.  I tried to find a photo on the internet without success.  Did find a link between dwarfism in Labs and "focal retinal displaysia."  So now am curious as to what MRD stands for?

Multifocal Retinal Dysplasia

I mean, my dear, it could BE a cross, I've not seen her of course so am just guessing from your description... but it does conjure up a clear imagine from what you say of a dwafism affected Labrador rather than a cross, however could be! Could be...! I'd have to see to tell - couldyou just lurk around on street corners till you get a decent picture ;-)  ;-)  ;-) Just kidding...

Di

I remember years ago there was a very short Black Lab in one of the Country Pubs near here.  He was absolutely gorgeous - till he stood up and then there was a certain lack of er - height :D :D  everything else was apparently normal Lab size, except the legs, Bless! :) :)

Achondroplastic Dwarfism is probably the least problematic form causing least health problems. 

In fact many of our breeds are actually deliberately bred that way from original chance mutations.  Bassets, Dachs Bulldogs etc.

The only worrry about the Labrador in question, is that after the case was publicised of the celebrity with oen people actually wanted to buy Dwrf Labs and I am sure there woudl ahve been unscrupulous people ready to deliberately breed them if they could.

friends of mine have a dwarf yellow lab. not deliberately bought as a "designer" version of the breed i hasten to add, though! he's a lovely chap but distinctly odd looking because his upper half has all the bulk of a lab but his legs are seriously shortened and comparisons with a coffee table always spring to mind.

THere's a certain vet that needs putting down in my opinion!!  Notice she doesn't mention one of her vet school colleagues who's got a SWD.  Oooh, but there again their tails are hacked off aren't they, which is illegal and the owner and vet should be reported!

She can't even put the simplest of facts on that site, never mind the truth.

Yuck, yuck, yuck, that bloke she married certainly had a lucky escape.

Whoops, sorry hope that this thread doesn't get stopped but boy does she annoy me.

If crosses are so much healthier and better for people then how come so many of them are in dogs homes.  PLEASE NOTE I HAVE NOTHING AGAINST CROSSES!!!!

I have never dared to get on that site as I am certain it would cause me to throw my computer out the window -and I like my computer!

However visited another site the other day, was trying to find photos of undocked Rottweilers (my stepson wanted to see some) and found a certain site were they are anti docking and have posted photos of how wonderful dogs look when ther tails are left on. Several photos were of Cavaliers. Um, yes, the breed standard says it can be docked ("optional" as opposed to "customarily docked"), but how many are?? I've only ever seen ONE -and Cavalier is of course a breed that most of us see frequently and probably have seen hundreds or thousands of. :rolleyes:

I've never seen a Cavalier docked, King Charles yes, but not a CKCS.

There's a poster in the waiting-room where I work with pictures of undocked 'docked' breeds - and yes, there's a Cav on there too! I've never in my life seen a docked Cav. (The poster's from the BSAVA.)

They were docked the same way the KCS were docked when the breeds split, but they haven't been docked as a breed for a very very long time

was trying to find photos of undocked Rottweilers (my stepson wanted to see some)
Did you find any pics????
Wouldnt mind seeing them if you did.
would much rather have a docked Rottie than an undocked one.
lea :)

There are several on the AntiDocking Alliance Web site.

Thanks Isabel.
Just looks like my Rottie Crosses tail. not as bad as i thought. I assumed they would be thin but that doesnt look the case.
Would still rather have one docked though.
Lea :)

No photo, but I did stop my car tonight and spoke to the lady.  She says the pet store she bought him from told her he was part Lab and part Dachshund.  :rolleyes: