rescued labrador

Question
I recently(about a week ago) rescued a full blooded lab retriever and upon bringing him home i noticed that he has is polydactyl on both rear legs (7 toes on one foot and 6 on the other). I didn't think this was a big deal but when mentioning it to a vet tech of she stated this was often time an early indicator of early arthritic and muscular problems i have researched it and can't find much info on labs but did find info on this being an indicator for german shepards and many other large breeds. Also the puppy is 9 weeks old and is shedding fur in small clumps but very often he has a very thick coat so it does not appear to be thinning at all and i have read that labs shed a "puppy coat" but not til 6mths to 1 yr do you have any knowledge on either of these issues? thanks so much!

Answer
I know nothing of the polydactyl problem.  I might only suggest some of the Lab links at www.akc.org.  You could try http://www.lab-retriever.net/board/

As for the shedding, puppies whelped and kept inside seldom shed much.  If he spend much time outside before bring him inside, he might shed.  Or it could be a health problem.  I might mention I am used to late summer puppies that don't shed much until the following spring.