The Labrador Retriever is the most popular dog breed in the world, but did you know that there are two unofficial varieties of this lovely dog breed? The American and the English Labrador. Why i say unofficial? Well, officially, the english and american breed standard is essentially identical with one slight difference, which is the height – the American standard allows taller dogs than the brittish standard.
But even though the rest of the breed standards is basically the same, when you put English and American Labrador side by side, you will spot some important differences.
The English Labrador is typically stockier dog with shorter legs and deep barrell chest, wider neck and thick straight tail. On the other hand, the American Labrador looks much more athletic, they are thinner, taller and they have visibly longer legs. The tail is also thinner and can have a slight curl. You can also find some differences in face, because the American Labrador has longer muzzle and narrower face.
I would love to mention that this is a generalization and even pure English Labs can be very athletic with longer legs. This is my pure English Labrador i previously owned and most people would say that he was American Labrador. It is because every dog is different. Most of them will fit the criteria for English and American Labs i previously mentioned, but not all of them.
With that said, the difference between the American and English Labs goes deeper than height, body shape or face shape. There are even slight differences in temperament. Why? It is because of the differences in breeding practices in America and England.
The English Labrador was primarily bred for a long time for show and conformation and they are bred to fit the breed standard criteria as much as possible. On the other hand, the American Labrador was primarly bred for generations to be the best hunters companion, worker and retriever. This not only cause differences in appearance, but also in temperament. So what are those differences?
Well, British Labs are calmer, quieter, softer and less active as opposed to the American Labs generally being more active with higher energy and greater drive.
When i say it like this, it sounds that the difference is quite big, but these two varieties are much closer than most people think. Both – American and English Labs – share the same loving, eager to please, empathetic, gentle, trusting and outgoing temperament and the differences are rather subtle.
Vast majority of Labs, i would definitely say that more than 90% of them, lives as companion dogs today and for a good reason, they are just amazing companions. And you will not make a mistake if you will choose an American or English Labrador.
But if you are very very active person that loves long hikes, walks, jogs, swims, who would possibly do some kind of dog sport or maybe even go for a hunt with the dog, than the American Labrador is better choice.
If you are looking for calmer and more relaxed dog, than you should go for English Labrador. But even the English Labrador is active breed, be prepared for it. They still need daily longer walks, vigorous playtime or fun training sessions to stay in good mental and physical health. Neither of these two varieties are coach potatoes.
In conclusion, both types of Labs make terrific active family dogs and even though there are some slight differences between them, they are not that big. If you are ready to meet the exercise needs of Labrador and you want loving, trainable and always fun to be around companion, you will be happy with either American or English Lab.

 Social media is flooded with pictures of chubby dogs labeled as 'cute' or 'adorable,' but have you ever stopped to think about the message they are sending? While these posts might get a lot of likes, they are also helping to normalize something dangerous - obesity in our pets. Today, we're diving into why this trend is dangerous and what we can do to promote healthier, happier lives for our dogs.

Obesity in dogs is becoming more common than ever, with studies showing that over 50% of dogs in the United States are overweight or obese and unfortunatelly the obesity is considered the most common and preventable disease in dogs. While a few extra kilograms might seem harmless or even cute, the reality is that obesity can lead to a lot of health issues, including diabetes, heart disease, joint problems, and a shortened lifespan.

Think about it - our dogs rely on us for everything, including their diet and exercise. When we allow them to become overweight, we're putting their health at risk. And that's something no pet parent wants.

Unfortunatelly social media has played a big role in normalizing obesity in dogs. We often see pictures of chubby dogs with comments like "adorable" or "so cute!" But while these dogs might look cute, they're actually at risk for serious health problems. By continuing to praise and normalize this, we're sending the wrong message.

We need to start changing the conversation around dog obesity. Instead of celebrating chubby dogs, let's focus on promoting healthy, active pets. Share success stories of dogs who have lost weight and regained their health, and encourage others to do the same.

The sad part of this problem is that it is completely preventable problem. Obesity can be relatively easily fixed by lowering the calory intake, which means feeding your dog with lower portions of food and by exercising your dog more. The ammount of exercise depends on a breed, but if your dog has a problem with weight, walk him more, play with him more, run, swim, hike… Any activity will help him.

Of course, some individual dogs will be prone to obesity more than others. There are some particular breeds known for being prone to obesity a lot. Those would include various Bulldog breeds, Pugs, Labradors, Bassets, Beagles or Rottweilers. But even these breeds can be in tip top shape – i am speaking from my own experience. This is a video of my previous Labrador and even though he had an appetite of a bear just waking from hibernation, he would literally eat non-stop, even than he stayed fit, lean and most importantly healthy and happy. Because i exercised him and fed him properly towards his needs.

It's not about body-shaming our or your dogs—it's about loving them enough to take their health seriously. By addressing obesity, we can help our dogs live longer, happier lives. Obesity is not normal, especially not in dogs, because they – unlike majority of people – do not choose to be fat.

Let's work together to stop normalizing obesity in dogs and start prioritizing their health.

 The Cane Corso and Neapolitan Mastiff are two powerful Italian dogs that share similar ancestry and appearance, but there are some important differences between them.
Both dogs can trace their origin back to ancient Italian farmdogs, catchdogs and guard dogs. Most of these dogs were some kind of Bulldogs that were traditionally used as versatile workers in Italy. Over the time, different people bred these old Bulldogs with their own vision and with their own breeding practices, resulting in two different pure dogs, the Neapolitan Mastiff and Cane Corso.
It is important to say, that Cane Corso almost went extinct in 1970s and the Cane Corso we have today is a result of modern selective breeding of the few surviving specimen and the Cane Corso from 1950s would be quite different from the Cane Corso we have today. But lets go back to comparison of the Neo and Cane Corso.
The easiest way how to tell these two dogs apart are their facial features. The Neapolitan Mastiff have massive head which is heavily wrinkled, droopy ears and very loose skin. On the other hand, the Cane Corso has more proportionate head size towards it body size, they have only few wrinkles that are not that deep, wide skull, a flat forehead.
Not only that the Neapolitan Mastif has large head, they are large overall. You can see the size comparison on the screen right now and as you can see, the size difference can be quite huge. The Neapolitan Mastiff is truly giant dog, while the Cane Corso is more athletic and less bulky.
Both dogs have short and dense coat. The Cane Corso is typically black, gray, red, chestnut or brindle. The preffered colors of Neapolitan Mastiff are black, gray and fawn and it can also be brindle. So as you can see, there are no big differences in coat and color.
The maintenance of both dogs is also almost identical. Their short practical coat only needs brushing from time to time to minimize the shedding. Of course, the deep wrinkles of Neo should be kept dry and clean in order to prevent infections and the Neapolitan Mastiff drools much more than the Cane Corso, so in this area, the maintenance of Neapolitan Mastiff is slightly harder.
Now lets compare the temperament. Both dogs have protective insticts and territorial temperament. But the Cane Corso is much more active, protective, we can say agressive and territorial. They are much better suited for guarding jobs. Cane Corso can also have stronger prey drive, as they were used as hunting dogs in the past as well and they can be succesfully trained to protect livestock as well. The Cane Corso is truly versatile worker, they have more practical body type for working and they need much more physical and mental stimulation than the Neapolitan Mastiff.
The Neapolitan Mastiff is much more laid back. They are still protective and need daily physical exercise, but not to the extent of Cane Corso. The Neapolitan Mastiff is known to be very gentle around family members, even kids. They are gentle giants. The Neapolitan Mastiff also does not have tendencies to hunt or chase other animals, so they are better fit for families with other household pets in comparison to Cane Corso who sometimes have high chasing instincts.
I can not tell you which breed is better, its up to your preferences, but the Cane Corso is better suited for active families or as working dog, while the Neapolitan Mastiff is more, lets say, typical companion dog.
Of course, due to the strength and protectivness of both breeds, proper early socialization and training is essential and i would not recommend neither of these two breeds to novice dog owners.
Last but not least, lets compare the health. The Neapolitan Mastiff has average lifespan only between 8-10 years. The Cane Corso lifepsan is slightly longer, betwene 10-11 years. Both dogs suffer from various health issues, such as some joint problems like hip and elbow dysplasia, bloating is also pretty common due to deep chest of both dogs. Eye disorders and skin problems are also common for both breeds. The Neapolitan Mastiff is also prone to cardiomyopathy.