u/Public-Apartment-750

Hi!

Í would love to see photos of your IC’s, where they live ❤️

I had 2 a male and female who have now crossed the rainbow due to old age 🥺🌈

Milla the female was short haired tan/fawn with white face-marking (half of head/chee

Villingur (means Wildling) was longhaired red with dark overlay/sable. I’m not really familiar with the colors in English so I’m just guessing on the likely names 🙈

The Icelandic sheepdog is in my opinion among the best breeds I’ve known but I’ve fostered 40 dogs through the years. Mine were always happy, followed my tempo and were ready in action as well as loving cozying at home. Loves EVERYBODY and everything and loved playing with the kids and were patient and gengtle around them.

I now have a Labrador and they have much in common with the Icelandic sheepdog .

Though the Icelandic sheepdog has a reputation to bark a lot, mine didn’t even bark when someone rang the doorbell. They barked when playing but besides from that, not at all.

I’d like to share with you some interesting facts that I have learned about the Labs when seeking knowledge about my Ella

Reference list below

1.They have an actual “food gene” (to nobody’s surprise 😂

POMC gene is a mutated gene that causes the Labrador to never feel completely full and be more food-driven than many other breeds.
It is more common in guide- and servicedogs and can explain why many Labs are overweight since they always act like they are starving. 🥺

2. They can remember where food is hidden months and even years later 👀

3. Their double coat consisting of a dense insulating undercoat and short oily guard hair that repels water make them able to swim in icy water, staying remarkably warm.
   This oily guard hair is also a reason why the should rarely be shampooed since the soap absorbs the oil, making the coat drier and repel less water and dirt doesn’t “dust off”. 🧊

4. Their tail acts like a rudder. Making them able to steer and keep balance while swimming 💦

5. Their tail acts webbing between their toes is more pronounced than in many other breeds making them able to swim more efficiently. Downside is though that this webbing can also make it easy for for objects to get stuck between their toes and paws so check their feet often! 🐾

6. Although most Labs stop growing physically around age of 1 they mentally develop up to the age of 2 or 3. (My Ella turned 3 in February though and still acts like a puppy 😂). But this also makes it crucial to stimulate them mentally and train them even after they have grown up.

7. The labs have a great bite-force but still you could make them carry an egg without damaging it since they used to carry preys like birds gently on their mouth without damaging it. I highly doubt this will work for balls or sticks though 🤣

8. They were built for endurance rather than speed. Can hike for hours and swim long distances.
   I have to discuss this with Ella since she usually races other dogs when roaming free and run with breeds like Whippets and BC’s rather than other Labs 💨

9. While a human has up to 5-6 millions scent receptors. A Lab has up to 300 millions (I believe 290 of them are food related 😂)

10. Their floppy ears help funnel scent particularly toward their nose while tracking which finally explained to me the dumbo ears on breeds like Bloodhounds 🕵️‍♂️

11. Researches show that Labs score exceptionally high in: 🥇🏆

- trainability
- cooperative behavior
- social attachment
- human directed communication

Making them exceptional service dogs like my Ella 🦮

11. Their sense of smell is so good that they can smell ever types of cancer, blood sugar, seizures and even change associated with conditions such as Parkinson’s 🐽

POMC gene: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4873617/

https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/genetic-mutation-in-a-quarter-of-all-labradors-hard-wires-them-for-obesity

Otter tail, Waterproof coat: https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/labrador-retriever/

Scent receptors : https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/how-dogs-use-smell-to-perceive-the-world

Food motivation: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/493265?

Scent detection: https://www.bmj.com/content/329/7468/712

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0250158&

Social communications skills: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/12/2001

The labrador personality: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/261919973\_Management\_and\_Personality\_in\_Labrador\_Retriever\_dogs