Well, 31 years of being the most popular breed at the AKC has led to over-breeding of Labradors. The result has been ADHD, especially in yellow males. The yellow male my grandfather gave my 6-WEEK-old son (of course my Navy husband was deployed!) 37 years ago next month, was the perfect, calm, loyal trainable Labrador retriever. The black female we added to the family 11 years later was incredibly intelligent, loyal, loving and a champion counter surfer. However, the yellow male who joined us in 2003 was so hyperactive that he earned a note on his medical records at the veterinarian’s office for being difficult to deal with. It wasn’t until I adopted a greyhound-Labrador mix (with issues) who needed a personal trainer (due to her issues) that I found out the yellow boy was also incredibly intelligent and trainable once I had his attention. In my professional life, as a gifted resource teacher, we call those students “twice exceptional” (2e), both gifted and ADHD. The students I worked with could be gifted with other issues, such as a learning disability like dyslexia, on the autism spectrum (what used to be called “Asperger’s syndrome”), or ADHD. Even a speech impediment would designate a gifted learner as 2e.
I see a Poncho story: Brilliant, ADHD Labrador with a stuttering bark, who has trouble communicating to the dogs at the Cafe.
Well, 31 years of being the most popular breed at the AKC has led to over-breeding of Labradors. The result has been ADHD, especially in yellow males. The yellow male my grandfather gave my 6-WEEK-old son (of course my Navy husband was deployed!) 37 years ago next month, was the perfect, calm, loyal trainable Labrador retriever. The black female we added to the family 11 years later was incredibly intelligent, loyal, loving and a champion counter surfer. However, the yellow male who joined us in 2003 was so hyperactive that he earned a note on his medical records at the veterinarian’s office for being difficult to deal with. It wasn’t until I adopted a greyhound-Labrador mix (with issues) who needed a personal trainer (due to her issues) that I found out the yellow boy was also incredibly intelligent and trainable once I had his attention. In my professional life, as a gifted resource teacher, we call those students “twice exceptional” (2e), both gifted and ADHD. The students I worked with could be gifted with other issues, such as a learning disability like dyslexia, on the autism spectrum (what used to be called “Asperger’s syndrome”), or ADHD. Even a speech impediment would designate a gifted learner as 2e.
I see a Poncho story: Brilliant, ADHD Labrador with a stuttering bark, who has trouble communicating to the dogs at the Cafe.