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  1. #1
    Senior Dog Labradorks's Avatar
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    Health tests before starting field work?

    Linus will be starting field work training in about six weeks, and because I've never had a particularly athletic Lab (so, this might be a dumb question, actually), I do worry about all of the exertion and excitement that goes along with this type of work. His parents have all health clearances - hip, elbow, eye, heart, etc. Is there anything special I should ask my vet for at Linus' next vet visit, coming up in a couple months? Besides the fact that we are working on his endurance (he's a city dog) I have not seen anything that concerns me.

  2. #2
    Senior Dog windycanyon's Avatar
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    Are you sending him off to a pro, or are you going to do the actual handling? If it's you, then you'll be able to see how much he can handle and put him up when he's tired. August can be hot and humid over there, and I know from experience, not all the west side dogs can handle the heat well. I guess that's one positive thing about the god-awful 100F++ heat we've had over here the past 10 days or so.

    I think most importantly is to check his weight/body fat level and make adjustments to his diet if needed. If you can start running him in open fields or on off lead walks in advance, that's a good start. Swimming of course as well. Anne

  3. #3
    Senior Dog Labradorks's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by windycanyon View Post
    Are you sending him off to a pro, or are you going to do the actual handling? If it's you, then you'll be able to see how much he can handle and put him up when he's tired. August can be hot and humid over there, and I know from experience, not all the west side dogs can handle the heat well. I guess that's one positive thing about the god-awful 100F++ heat we've had over here the past 10 days or so.

    I think most importantly is to check his weight/body fat level and make adjustments to his diet if needed. If you can start running him in open fields or on off lead walks in advance, that's a good start. Swimming of course as well. Anne
    No pro. My breeder suggested it, but I don't think I could let him go! Right now it's just his WC and we'll go from there. See how we both like it.

    The heat is tough! We've been swimming a lot with the weather and have been making an effort to get more open field running in. At an outdoor show recently, all of the Lab people in obedience had swamp coolers, so I bought one, too. Hopefully that helps.

    Thanks for the reply!

  4. #4
    Puppy labby's Avatar
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    How old is he?

    If you pursue this field stuff, I would do normal clearances (hips, elbows, heart) on him to make sure you won't be doing damage to him.

  5. #5
    Senior Dog Labradorks's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by labby View Post
    How old is he?

    If you pursue this field stuff, I would do normal clearances (hips, elbows, heart) on him to make sure you won't be doing damage to him.
    He is a year old.

  6. #6
    Chief Pooper Scooper JenC's Avatar
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    If the breeder didn't test for EIC, I would check on that.

  7. #7
    Senior Dog Shelley's Avatar
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    I second knowing what his EIC status is, field work gets my dogs really jacked up and is a common trigger for EIC episodes. At a year old, I would also do OFA hip and elbow Prelms, just to be sure, before starting him. I use a specific vet for my OFA's because he takes a lot of films for breeders, and does very good positioning, so ask your breeder for a referral to a good vet for OFA's, and send them in for grading.

    Have fun, field work is really addicting!

  8. #8
    Senior Dog Labradorks's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JenC View Post
    If the breeder didn't test for EIC, I would check on that.
    Just checked the paperwork and no tests were done for EIC. So that's one I will do. That was actually the one I was thinking of though I can never remember if it has to do with the heart test or not (those were done). Thanks!

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Shelley View Post
    I second knowing what his EIC status is, field work gets my dogs really jacked up and is a common trigger for EIC episodes. At a year old, I would also do OFA hip and elbow Prelms, just to be sure, before starting him. I use a specific vet for my OFA's because he takes a lot of films for breeders, and does very good positioning, so ask your breeder for a referral to a good vet for OFA's, and send them in for grading.

    Have fun, field work is really addicting!
    It is addicting! So far I'm just buying cool stuff online. :-)

    Yes, mine gets jacked up, too. The first time I was like, "who is this dog?" The EIC was the one I was thinking but couldn't remember what it was. The breeder did not do those so I will have it done.

    Regarding hips and elbows, I know they drive hard going after the bird, but if he has underlying hip and elbow problems, despite being from excellent lines and having parents that are OFA certified good, wouldn't it happen either way? Whether he was a semi-active or active dog? And prelims wouldn't give me the whole story anyway, would they?

    At this time I'm training for a WC. Yet to be determined if we go further than that.

  10. #10
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    While always good to have as much info as possible....its just a WC. The distances are not long, very few field factors, etc. If he's a young and healthy boy I bet he'll be fine! I think the best thing you could do is just make sure he isn't carrying extra weight.

  11. The Following User Says Thank You to indybindy For This Useful Post:

    windycanyon (07-18-2014)

 



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