Hi I have just become the owner of a wonderful little labrador puppy, the only problem is his eyelids on the bottom of his eyes are very droopy to the point of making him look like a bloodhound (I have nothing against bloodhounds that is the only way to describe what his eyelids look like), is this normal in young lab puppies?

I breed golden retrievers and can't say I have come across this before. Sometimes as they are growing they almost have too much skin that they grown into but I haven't noticed droopy eyes. Perhaps you should have it checked.

Hi yappy, I did go to the vets and he said what you said about them having too much skin and he might grow into it, I hope so coz it doesn't look very pleasant, it isn't all the time just now and again but it is noticeable.  I just thought or hoped it had happened to somebody elses dog and they grew out of it, I will keep my fingers crossed.

Their rate of growth is so fast you notice changes daily. Their heads constantly change from being broad to narrowing and then broad again and then obviously the skull will fill the skin.

With entropian the eyelashes curl in on the eyeball and cause irritation and ulcers on the eyeball and must be corrected but you hopefully would notice this problem because it should cause the eyes to run and weep and possible get infected if it is really bad.

A Labrador should never be loose eyed though Yappy. Their head development should not permit it. It is a bad fault in them and dogs which exhibit this should never be bred from.

Regards, John

Actually if your pup is quite young any breed can get what appear to be droopy eyelids which look loose when the puppy is tired, This would give you the appearance of it being something you see occassionally rather than all the time. If it is the same when wide awake then you may have a potential problem developing.  If it is tight it could be that it is more connected to head development and age.

Hi Polly, it isn't all of the time but seems to be more prominent when he is relaxed or looking down towards the ground.

Unfortunately what you describe sounds to me like Entropion which is an inherited condition where there is either loose eyelid or small eye ball. (Flatcoat puppies often go through a phase of "loose eyes" due the development of their heads and in this case it often corrects it's self as the head grows.) Or Ectropion, again inherited but usually affects Bloodhounds and St Bernard's. Either can be surgically corrected.

Incidentally it can affect old people but in that case it is an aging process where the muscles loose much of their strength. My mother was operated on for this condition just two weeks ago!

Best wishes, John

Thanks John, is it a big operation for the dog?  Have you ever seen it in labs?  His eyes weren't like that when I went to choose him but they kept him for me for 2 weeks extra while I went on holiday and it was when I brought him home at 12 weeks that I noticed it.  How old are they when they can have the operation?  Sorry for all the questions.  Julie

It does happen in Labs although I have not seen that many. The operation is relativly straight forward but unfortunatly it would perclude showing, because the KC would not issue a "Permission to Show" in a case like this. I think it would be usual to wait until the head is fully developed before operating. Your best course of action would be to see a canine Opthelmologist and get the full chapter and verse.

Incedentely, in the operation on my mother, she went into hospital at 12-30pm and I brought her home at 4-15 so you can tell from that how serious or otherwise it is :)

Best wishes, John

Hi there,
Guess what my lab puppy has! Same thing! I'm guessing that you only really notice it when your pup looks at you from a certain angle?Vet says it's nothing to worry about, and I have to say it seems to be getting less pronounced as she is growing - she is just over four months now so I'm hoping it will decrease although I also think it's part of her character so it's not the end of the world for me. Be interested to know if you find anything else out about why this happens though! 

Ali

p.s my lab is chocolate

Hi Ali, guess what, mine is chocolate too, coincidence or what?  Maybe its down to the colouring, probably not though,but its odd that both the chocolate labs have it.

Not really, In fact it is almost par for the course. Meaning no disrespect to your dogs but with the alarming breeding going on by less than responsible breeders trying to cash in on the popularity of what was always a minority colour hereditory problems are almost bound to occure.

This is not meant to reflect on you but is a very sad fact and does not bode well for the future od a wonderful breed.

Best wishes, John

"the popularity of what was always a minority colour"
I remember when we had labs as a child that "liver" (as I remember them being called) were a minority - in fact I can't remember ever seeing one.  Is it really that referring to them as "chocolate" rather than "liver" has caused such and explosion in popularity?
best wishes, Jenny

Very many years ago, must have been in the early 60's i would think, a woman came to club with the first choc Labrador I ever saw. (And he was an evil brute who bit my leg whilst trying to get to the throat of a poor yellow dog who was trying to get away!) Her comment when she first brought him into the club was that she had to go 300miles to get him and paid around double the going rate but as chocolates were so rare he would do well in the show ring! I must say he put me off chocs for life and she did not endear herself to me. The dog was used quite a bit at stud and I often wonder just what his genes put into the breed.

Best wishes, John

I do think that the name has something to do with their popularity. :rolleyes: People like chocolate, so it has good associations. People tend not to like liver ...

I always think of liver as being much more grey - like weimeraner (excuse the spelling!!) .Anyway, I wonder if jules's pup and mine come from the same lines? The breeder seemed very reputable but as someone has already said I think there is some abuse of the 'colour' (ie Millie would have been about £100 cheaper if she'd been black or yellow - ridiculous since colour wasn't important to us!)

I've also noticed today that the loose-ness is much more prominent - maybe her head has changed shape again!!

Interestingly the Labrador Breed Standard actually lists the colours as:- "Wholly black, yellow or liver/chocolate" So liver is an acceptable colour discription although I have never seen it used.

Best wishes, John

Hi everyone, thanks for all the comments, I did buy from a reputable breeder, and the black labs were the same price as the chocolate.  If its alright with you John can I come back to you if I have anymore queries on anything, cheers Julie.

Of course you can Julie, either here, PM or email and I will always try my best to help. I don't doubt for a minute that you brought from a reputable breeder. It saddens me to see some of the Labrador breeding though. I love my breed but sometimes despair. Take last year for example, over 40000 Labs born! How many from tested sires and dams? Trouble is, good breeders tend to only breed occasionally, the irresponsible, often so it is not difficult for irresponsible to outnumber responsible!

Best wishes, John

Yes, when you have a very popular breed, the odds go up for irreputable breeding practices. I'm not saying this in connection with your dog. I don't think that sounds too serious...the eye thing.

But, I just wanted to say that I have a 13 yr. old Chocolate Lab. I like chocolate, but that's not why I chose the color. I just love that color. Anyhow, she is lovely, correct conformation, has never had any lose skin, even as a pup, and the most marvelous temperament, sweet, relaxed and can be playful at times....even still at her age. She's been 100% trustworthy around my kids and their friends when they were young. She's smart and very willing....very trainable. She's so laid back and obedient that she has always been invited to people's houses where I visit. Everyone loves Bonnie. I will be very sad when she has to go to the bridge. She is getting on.

My Dad had a friend who had a female Chocolate and he trained her for hunting. My Dad and this friend would go Chucker hunting together and this dog was incredibly well trained and also a lovely disposition.

In the 70s here, Dobermans were the "in" breed, very popular. Then out of the wordwork came irresponsible and lousy breeders. They sacrificed good temperament as well as health and that's where a lot of problems came and contributed to their undeserved reputation. They do have a lot of health issues. In the last couple of decades, their numbers have gone down and we're seeing great improvement in their breeding. GREAT!

So, with a popular breed, (Labs being #1 in the U.S. for many years, the dogs registered in AKC far outnumber other breeds) I think one has to be extremely careful who they go to, no matter what color is one's preference.

If it's not a medical problem and you're not planning on breeding, I wouldn't worry too much about it. She might just grow into her eyelids as you say.

Carrie