Retriever or Destroyer

Labrador Retriever as the name suggests are retrievers. They are used by the hunters to retrieve birds or other prey.
But Nyx, my lab, is less of a retriever and more of a destroyer. She enjoys chewing and tearing things apart. This was a big problem when she was a pup. It was impossible to leave her alone at home even for an extended period of time. We would return home to find shredded paper lying everywhere. Shoes, socks, kitchen towels, anything that was within reach was meant to be destroyed.

But over the years Nyx has matured. Now she is not so much of a Destroyer. But she still has moments of pure joy tearing apart stuff. The latest in the list being a lovely stuffed bunny. For the first couple of days, she was very gentle with the bunny. She was very 'soft-mouthed' while carrying the bunny around. 'Soft-mouth' (a desirable characteristic of a retriever) is the ability to carry the prey gently without damaging it.

And Nyx was so gentle handling the bunny. But a couple of days later she was determined to gauge out the eyes and nose of the bunny. And she succeeded. She gauged out the bunny's nose and pulled out all the stuffing. And then had this gleeful look on her face which said - I DID IT.

Cocker Spaniels

I had been to the Annual Dog Show in Hyderabad. Got to see a lot of dog breeds there. One of my favourites was the Cocker Spaniel. They are such lovely dogs. I later learnt that there are 2 types of Cocker Spaniels - the American Cocker Spaniel and the English Cocker Spaniel. I guess I saw the English Cocker Spaniel.


The most fascinating feature of the Cocker Spaniel,I feel, are its drooping silky ears and those large expressive eyes. I noticed Cockers in a myriad of colors, ranging from - jet black to black & white, to tan, to brown to white and brown.

Cockers are well known for their friendly, quiet, playful and affectionate nature. They make very good family pets. But are equally good as flushing dogs. They are used in hunting to retrieve birds. They do well as performance dogs in the Dog shows too.

One of the most famous Cockers is the character of 'Lady' in the Walt Disney movie - Lady and the Tramp.

Labrador Retrievers

Labrador Retrievers

The Labrador Retriever is a devoted, friendly, lovable, tolerant dog. They are highly intelligent and good-natured. They love to play, especially in water. They cannot do without human attention and need to feel as though they are part of the family. You must include them in all your family activities. They enjoy being a part of the group.

I have a Lab. Her name is Nyx and she is 4 years old. We live in an apartment and Nyx gets little exercise indoors. We take her out to play with another female lab called Todo in our apartment. Todo is an year old and is bundle of puppy energy. In general Labs are energetic and love to play hard. But I can say that Nyx is an exception. She doesn’t enjoy long sessions of play. She prefers shorter play times.

There are many labs in our apartment apart from Nyx and Todo. Labs are becoming very popular. They are mainly house pets but are also popular as assistance dogs. They are also widely used by police their detection abilities.

Some info about Labs
Color – they can be black, chocolate or yellow
Coat – short and dense and is water repellant
Temperament – steady, devoted, lovable
Health Problems – they are prone to hip and elbow dysplasia, knee problems, eye problems and ear infections.