Labrador Retriever Information & Dog Breed Facts

Origins

It is believed that the St. John’s Water Dog is a direct ancestor of the Labrador Retriever and that the breed has evolved alongside the fishing business as early as the 1500s. At that time, small water dogs were bred with Newfoundlands to create the St. John’s Water Dog or sometimes called the Lesser Newfoundland.

These dogs were owned by fishermen and jumped into icy water to bring back fish that had fallen off the fishing hooks. They would also pull in fish-filled nets. The breed was perfect for these jobs because their coat repelled water and their webbed paws made them excellent swimmers.

However, since accurate historical documentation regarding the origin of the St. John’s Water Dog is very little, we can only examine the relevant known history and speculate as to its ancestors.

According to experts, the Labrador breed dates back to at least the 1830s, when the St. John’s Water Dogs, bred by European settlers in Newfoundland, were first introduced to Britain from ships trading between Canada and Poole in Dorsetshire.

The Labrador Retriever was developed by crossing these canines with British hunting dogs. The Earl of Malmesbury, the Duke of Buccleuch, the Earl of Home, and Sir John Scott were among its early patrons.

However, early writers have confused the Labrador with the much larger Newfoundland and the Lesser Newfoundland. Colonel Peter Hawker described the first Labrador as being around the size of an English Pointer, with a black coat, which was the most common color among them, along with a head and snout, a deep chest, and a tail that was not carried as high as the Newfoundland’s.

Moreover, both the Earl and Duke of Malmesbury used them in shooting sports and began to call them their “Labrador Dogs” around 1887.

The name stuck and the Earl’s son began breeding the dogs. Although the dogs were certainly known as Labradors long before this date, this is the first written record as they found a letter written by Earl in which he wrote; “We always call mine Labrador dogs and I have kept the breed as pure as I could from the first I had from Poole”.

Further development

During the second half of the 19^th century, British breeders refined and standardized the breed. The physical and temperamental breed traits recall the Labrador Retriever’s original purpose.

A short, dense, weather-resistant coat was preferred because during a Canadian winter longhaired retrievers would be encrusted with ice when coming out of the water.

In its ancestral homeland, the breed would be assigned to a fishing boat to retrieve the fish that came off the trawl.

Moreover, the breed’s thick, tapering tail serves as a powerful rudder, constantly moving back and forth as the dog swims and aids the dog in turning.

When it comes to characteristics, the breed is described as one of a kindly, outgoing, tractable nature, eager to please, and nonaggressive toward man or animal.

Furthermore, the breed began to grow in popularity in the early 1900s when hunters and farmers from the United States learned of the breed’s work ethic and began incorporating Labradors into their daily lives.

Why Labrador Retrievers are good guide dogs

The Labrador Retriever was bred to be a working dog from the beginning. Originally bred to retrieve items for their owners, the breed has subsequently expanded into a variety of roles.

The breed first found its way into the guide dog business in the early 20^th century, not long after the first guide dog schools arose with German Shepherds as their first canine students. Labrador Retrievers quickly followed suit and the breed today accounts for a sizable portion of the world’s guiding dogs.

The Labrador Retriever has a strong work ethic as well as an unusually high degree of intelligence and is known for being able to accomplish practically everything that a trainer or owner asks, given enough time and supervision. The breed has a personality that predisposes him or her to serve as a guide dog.

The breed enjoys following their owners around town, regardless of their destination, but they are very sensitive to every sensory input they come across. They not only detect all impediments and potential risks, but they go out of their way to be extra cautious until the danger has passed.

Recognition

The Kennel Club of England recognized the breed in 1903, and the AKC registered its first dog of the breed in 1917. The Labrador Retriever topped American Kennel Club registrations for the first time in 1991 and has reigned as America’s favorite breed ever since.