Do You Know Why Labrador Retrievers Absolutely Love Food? It's Science - Here's Why!

Are you the mommy or daddy to a labrador pup? If so, you’ll be well aware of a labrador fur ball’s undying love for food.

They’re always begging for scraps from the table, and food is the best motivator for these pups! It turns out that there’s a scientific explanation for this. A study was conducted about two years ago where scientists examined 35 labrador retriever pups – 15 obese and 20 lean – in order to examine their genetic structure. They searched for genes connected to human obesity, and found that one particular gene known as POMC had an odd variation.

Obese pups lacked the end portion of it! Later on, another study with 310 labrador retriever pups did confirm these findings. Genetic variation does affect a pup’s response to food. Fur balls with missing DNA naturally weighed more and were more heavily motivated by food. So cut your own pup some slack! It’s all in their genes, after all! Do like and share!

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Feature Image Source: zolathelab