• About
  • Contact

Dagny's Desk

Dagny's Desk

Daily Archives: 11 September 2017

Pair of turkey vultures

11 Monday Sep 2017

Posted by Dagny Gromer in birds

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

birds, turkey vulture

pair_turkey_vultures_grey_sky-20170910-100

A pair of turkey vultures circling overhead on a grey sky.

Advertisement

Labradors genetically programmed to be always hungry?

11 Monday Sep 2017

Posted by Dagny Gromer in Dogs, labrador retriever

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

dog begging for food, Dogs, labrador retriever

Our Labrador Shady begging for food, something she does all the time. The linked article suggests it is likely genetic.

When it comes to man’s best friend, science may finally have solved the mystery of their gluttony – some Labradors, it seems, are genetically predisposed to being hungry.
…
In research supported by the Dogs Trust, Dr Raffan and her colleagues have analysed DNA from the saliva of Labradors across the UK. They found that particularly greedy individuals possess a gene mutation responsible for increasing their appetite.
“We found around a quarter of pet Labradors have at least one copy of this mutation in the gene,” Dr Raffan explains. Their increased appetite manifests itself as a “food obsession”, familiar to dog-owners as begging or scavenging for food.
…
Dr Raffan cautions against any attempt to breed this “greedy mutation” out of Labrador lines. While it might predispose the dogs to obesity, a strong focus on food may also explain why Labradors are so easy to train and are such loyal human companions.
“If we try to get rid of the mutation, we might find we change the personality of the breed, and that would be a real shame,” she explains.

Link: http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-41161424

Pages

  • About
  • Contact

Recent Posts

  • Northern flicker in nest with young
  • Happy Mothers Day
  • Shooting pistols
  • Two turtles
  • Heathen truck at church

Recent Comments

Dagny Gromer on Northern flicker pair
sharonsiconictravelp… on Northern flicker pair
Dagny Gromer on Anya RIP
rachelmankowitz on Anya RIP
Dagny Gromer on macOS Monterey
RSS  Subscribe

Flickr Photos

indian_paintbrush-20230603-101male_house_finch-20230603-123female_northern_flicker_in_nest_cavity-20230603-236
More Photos
September 2017
S M T W T F S
 12
3456789
10111213141516
17181920212223
24252627282930
« Aug   Oct »

Archives

Posts by Category

Dagny on Twitter

My Tweets

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • Dagny's Desk
    • Join 645 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Dagny's Desk
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...