About the breed

🐕 Origin of the Labrador Retriever
The roots of the Labrador go back to the dogs known as St. John's Water Dogs, which lived in Newfoundland during the 18th and 19th centuries. They were medium-sized, powerful water dogs, mostly black, outstanding swimmers and known for their willingness to work.
Fishermen used them for:
hauling in fishing nets,
retrieving fish that slipped out of the nets,
bringing ropes and objects out of the water,
working in very cold water,
helping with hauling and the daily work aboard the boats.

Their greatest value lay in the combination of stamina, intelligence, an excellent nose, a soft mouth and a strong wish to bring things back to a person.
During the 19th century these dogs reached England, where sporting gentlemen began to use them as retrievers for shot game.
English breeders crossed and selected them into a dog particularly suited to wildfowling. It was in England that the type we recognise today as the Labrador Retriever took shape.
Certain aristocratic breeders and their kennels played an important part in the history of the breed, above all the Malmesbury, Buccleuch and Lorne lines.
It is worth noting that the first Labradors were, in practice, exclusively black. Yellow and chocolate dogs appear later in the history of the breed, and at first such puppies were often considered undesirable.
At the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century British breeders began to keep pedigrees systematically and to develop a breed standard.
In 1903 The Kennel Club in Great Britain officially recognised the Labrador Retriever as a breed.
The Labrador has developed enormously since then, but its basic purpose has stayed the same: a gundog — a dog that works with the hunter and retrieves shot game.

Later the breed developed into two main types, usually described as the working/field and the show/conformation Labrador. According to the original idea of the breed, however, a good Labrador should be a functional dog, not merely a handsome show specimen.
What sets it apart is not only its build. Selection has given the Labrador a whole set of qualities that make it an exceptional working dog:
• natural retrieving — a strong wish to bring an object back
• a “soft mouth” — the ability to carry game without damaging it
• an excellent nose
• outstanding swimming ability
• tolerance of cold water
• intelligence and trainability
• willingness to work with people
• a stable temperament
• stamina
The characteristic “otter tail” is not merely a matter of looks — the strong, thick tail works as a rudder in the water.

During the 20th century the Labrador grew from a hunting dog into one of the most versatile breeds in the world.
It came to be used as:
a hunting retriever,
a guide dog for the blind,
an assistance dog for people with disabilities,
a detection dog,
a police and customs dog,
a search and rescue dog,
a therapy dog,
a sporting and working dog,
a family dog.

At the same time its popularity in the show ring rose dramatically.

Today there are enormous differences between individual lines. Some breed Labradors primarily for field trials and work, others for conformation, while the best breeders try to preserve what matters most historically — the balance between type, health, temperament and working ability.
And that is exactly where the history of the Labrador matters.
The Labrador was not made to be a “pretty dog”. Its appearance came about as a consequence of its function. The thick tail, the water-resistant double coat, the compact body, the strong bone, the deep chest, the short strong loin and the characteristic head only make sense when they are seen through the purpose the breed was built for.

It is a sociable, patient and highly trainable dog — which is why you meet Labradors as guide dogs, therapy dogs and in search and rescue. But it is not a dog content with a yard: it needs exercise, a job and company. A bored Labrador becomes noisy and destructive, and the breed gains weight easily, so portion control is not a detail but a matter of joint health.