Labrador Retriever Health Issues

Three factors stack up against a Lab here. First, the floppy ear shape limits airflow and traps moisture inside the canal. Second, Labs genuinely love water, so every swim in the ocean, a lake, or a rainy-day puddle gets water where it should not stay. Third, the breed has a real tendency toward allergies, and allergic inflammation is the underlying driver of many chronic ear infections. Layer Vancouver damp on top and you get a dog that needs ear care built into the weekly routine.

Signs to watch for and discuss with your vet:

• Head shaking and scratching or pawing at the ears
• Redness inside the ear, or dark waxy or pus-like discharge
• A yeasty or foul smell
• Head tilt or balance changes in worse cases

A sensible home routine:

• Dry the ears thoroughly after every swim and every bath
• Check weekly for redness, discharge, or odour
• Use a vet-recommended ear cleaner rather than improvising with anything from the cupboard
• If infections keep coming back, ask your vet about controlling the underlying allergies, because that is usually the real fix

When a Lab gets ear infections two or three times a year, the question stops being “which drops” and becomes “what is driving this.” That root-cause work, and any medication, belongs with your vet. For the seasonal coast-damp picture that drives skin and ear care year-round, see our Pacific coast winter dog care guide. A Lab who swims often also needs a sober look at water safety, which we cover in the Lab swimming safety guide.

Signs to watch for: a bunny-hopping gait, reluctance to jump or climb stairs, stiffness after rest, lower exercise tolerance, weight shifting off an affected hip, and lameness that comes and goes. Severe cases can show by age 1 to 2 years; milder cases may not appear until middle age.

Diagnosis is an orthopedic exam plus hip X-rays read by your vet, scored through PennHIP or OFA.

Conservative care for milder cases combines several things your vet selects:

• Weight management, which matters most, because overweight Labs do dramatically worse
• Joint supplements and controlled low-impact exercise
• Physiotherapy or hydrotherapy, which suits Labs because they love water
• Vet-prescribed pain control when needed

Severe cases may be referred to a Vancouver veterinary specialist centre for surgery such as femoral head ostectomy or total hip replacement. Cost depends on the procedure and the centre, so have that conversation with the surgical team.

The strongest lever an owner controls is keeping the Lab lean and avoiding forced, high-impact exercise on a still-growing puppy. Screening, conservative care, and surgical decisions all belong with your vet.

The common forms your vet may name:

• Fragmented coronoid process, where a fragment of cartilage breaks off in the joint
• Osteochondritis dissecans, a cartilage abnormality
• Ununited anconeal process, where a piece of bone fails to fuse during development

Signs to discuss with your vet: front-leg lameness that is often worse after exercise or rest, reluctance to use one front leg, swelling at the elbow, and gait changes. Severe cases often show in the first year.

Diagnosis is an orthopedic exam and elbow X-rays, sometimes a CT scan, read by your vet.

Milder cases are managed with weight control, supplements, controlled exercise, and vet-selected pain relief. More severe cases may be referred for arthroscopic surgery at a Vancouver veterinary specialist centre.

As with hips, the prevention an owner controls is keeping a growing Lab lean and avoiding forced, repetitive exercise before the growth plates close. Treatment decisions belong with your vet.

Combine that gene with the strong food motivation that makes Labs such good guide and service dogs, and you have a breed that overeats easily. A large share of pet Labs in North America carry extra weight, the highest rate of any breed in most surveys.

Why it matters so much: extra weight is not cosmetic for a Lab. It worsens hip and elbow dysplasia, raises the risk of arthritis, diabetes, and cardiac disease, and shortens lifespan. Carrying a Lab lean is one of the few breed health levers almost entirely in the owner hands.

The Vancouver angle: rainy stretches cut walks short, and cozy indoor winters tempt extra treats. Both push the wrong way on a breed already wired to overeat.

What works:

• Measure food in actual cups instead of eyeballing the bowl
• Keep treats under roughly ten percent of daily calories
• Weigh monthly and use body condition score, not just the scale
• Keep exercise consistent even on wet days, with indoor games when the rain wins

If your Lab is gaining weight despite normal feeding, ask your vet to rule out a thyroid problem before assuming it is just calories. Weight is the single highest-leverage thing a Lab owner manages, and we go deep on the Vancouver routine in our Lab weight management guide.

Many Labs carry one copy of the mutation and stay symptom-free. A smaller share carry two copies and are affected. Rates run higher in field and working lines than in show lines.

What an episode looks like: several minutes into hard, exciting exercise such as repeated retrieving or fast play, the hindquarters go wobbly, the dog may collapse, and recovery usually follows within several minutes of rest. Most affected dogs are normal at lower exercise intensity.

Why a diagnosis matters: EIC can be mistaken for heatstroke or a cardiac problem, and the management is different. A DNA test confirms status, and your vet can advise on testing. There is no medication that cures EIC. Affected dogs can live full lives with permanent moderate-intensity exercise and by stopping activity at the first sign of weakness.

For Vancouver adopters: a Lab whose collapse history or DNA status is unknown is worth testing, and most Lower Mainland rescues note any collapse episodes in a dog file. Diagnosis and management belong with your vet.

Warning signs that need an emergency Vancouver vet immediately:

• Unproductive retching, where the dog tries to vomit but nothing comes up. This is the key early sign
• A distended or swollen abdomen
• Restlessness and an inability to settle
• Drooling, pale gums, weakness, and collapse

This is one of the few problems where minutes matter. The window from onset to collapse can be just a few hours, so drive to the emergency clinic rather than waiting to see if it passes.

Reasonable prevention practices reported in veterinary literature:

• Feed two to three smaller meals rather than one large meal
• Use a slow-feeder bowl to slow down a fast eater
• Avoid hard exercise for an hour or so around meals

Whether a preventive gastropexy (a procedure that tacks the stomach to prevent twisting, sometimes done during spay or neuter) makes sense for an individual dog is a vet-by-vet conversation rather than a breed-wide rule. Discuss your Lab risk profile with your vet.

Signs to discuss with your vet: difficulty seeing in dim light, bumping into objects in low light, dilated pupils, and an unusually bright eye shine.

Diagnosis combines an exam by a veterinary ophthalmologist with a DNA test that identifies carriers and affected dogs. For adult adoptions, documentation through the OFA Eye Certification Registry (formerly CERF) is a useful signal.

There is no cure, but the reassuring part is that most dogs adapt remarkably well to gradual vision loss, leaning on smell and hearing to navigate familiar spaces.

Living with a vision-impaired Lab: keep furniture layouts consistent, use verbal cues, keep the dog on-leash in unfamiliar areas, and secure stairs and water. Annual eye exams are a sensible habit for adult Labs, and for an adult adoption it is worth asking the rescue what eye work a dog has had. All diagnostics and care belong with your vet.

Signs build slowly: stiffness after rest that eases with movement, slowing on walks, hesitation on stairs or jumping into the car, and a stiff or altered gait.

There is no cure, but a lot can be managed. A typical plan your vet builds combines:

• Weight control, the highest-leverage lever for a heavy breed
• Joint supplements and controlled low-impact exercise
• Physiotherapy or hydrotherapy
• Traction rugs on slippery floors, orthopedic bedding, and ramps
• Vet-selected pain relief when needed

Do not give human anti-inflammatory medication. Several common ones are toxic to dogs, and pain control must be vet-prescribed. If your senior Lab is slowing down, an exam can sort out arthritis from other causes and set up a plan that keeps the dog comfortable and moving.

Reasonable pre-operative considerations to discuss with your vet:

• Bloodwork, especially for seniors
• A cardiac check if a murmur is detected, more relevant in older Labs
• An honest body condition assessment, because overweight Labs have higher anaesthetic risk and drug dosing should be based on lean body weight, not the scale

Two Lab-specific notes worth flagging to the surgical team:

• If the dog is EIC-affected, post-op recovery activity needs care
• Older Labs have an above-average rate of laryngeal paralysis, which can affect breathing under anaesthesia

For major procedures, especially in seniors, a Vancouver veterinary specialist centre is the place to be. Final anaesthesia and surgical decisions belong with your vet.