While a Lab's appetite cannot be helped it is up to his or her master to make certain they do not over-eat. Even if they give you “Puppy eyes” you need to be careful! Check out this study:
Starting with an initial cohort of 15 obese and 18 lean Labrador retrievers, Raffan and her colleagues selected three obesity-related genes to examine, all of which were known to affect weight in humans. This first analysis turned up a variation in a gene called POMC. In more of the obese dogs, a section of DNA was scrambled at the end of the gene. The deletion is predicted to hinder a dog's ability to produce the neuropeptides β-MSH and β-Endorphin, which are usually involved in switching off hunger after a meal.
In humans, common variants in POMC have been associated with differences in body weight. “There are even some rare obese people who lack a very similar part of the POMC gene to that which is missing in the dogs,” says Stephen O'Rahilly, co-director of the Wellcome Trust-Medical Research Council Institute of Metabolic Science and a senior author on the study.
In a larger sample of 310 Labrador retrievers, Raffan and her colleagues discovered a host of canine behaviors associated with the POMC deletion. Not all Labs with the DNA variation were obese (and some were obese without having the mutation), but in general the deletion was associated with greater weight and, according to an owner survey, affected dogs were more food-motivated–they begged their owners for food more frequently, paid more attention at mealtimes, and scavenged for scraps more often. On average, the POMC deletion was associated with a 2 kg weight increase.
“We've found something in about a quarter of pet Labradors that fits with a hardwired biological reason for the food-obsessed behavior reported by owners,” says Raffan. “There are plenty of food-motivated dogs in the cohort who don't have the mutation, but there's still quite a striking effect.”
As it turns out, overall the POMC deletion occurs in roughly twenty-three percent of Labrador retrievers. Thirty-eight other breeds related to Labrador retrievers, with comparable weight and behaviors were similarly affected.
However, the POMC deletion was markedly more common in the 81 assistance Labrador retrievers.
In the end, it is just a good idea to watch your Lab’s intake, check his weight occasionally, and if it gets out of hand and you are not certain what you should do – see a veterinarian. To read more visit Science Daily.
