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This breed is strong, medium sized, has a passion for life and
an amazing ability to hunt and track on land and water. The Labrador Retriever
is one of the most well known and popular breeds of dog in the world.
Healthy adult Labrador retrievers can weight up to 80 pounds and can move at
great speeds, despite their size.
Labrador Retrievers come on three different colors; Black Labrador Retrievers,
Yellow Labs, and Chocolate Labrador Retrievers. Black Labs are the most common
color of retriever and also the original color gene of the breed. Yellow labs
are the second most common color of Labrador Retriever and their color is the
result of several different genes working in several different ways. This gives
the Yellow Lab the widest range in color; from white to fox red. The least
common color of Labrador Retriever is the Chocolate lab, which can have a coat
that ranges from light to dark brown.
There are also two other colors of lab; Silver Labrador Retrievers and Charcoal
Labs. These two colors are not officially recognized by any kennel associations
or by breed registers because experts have been unable to verify the source of
these colorings and the pedigree of breeding. One theory that seems to have
credit is that a line of black labs was bred with silver/blue Weimaraner dogs by
a breeder in the 1950’s.
The average person will often confuse the Golden Retriever breed with the Yellow
Lab. This mistake is easily made thanks to the similarities between the
personality, size, and facial structure of the two breeds. The thing to remember
is that Yellow Labs, like every type of Labrador Retriever, have short thick
coats of waterproof fur. Golden Retrievers have longer, shaggier fur and
although they too love water, their fur absorbs much more water than a Lab’s
will.
The Labrador Retriever is one of the oldest recognized modern dog breeds still
in existence. It’s recognition as a breed dates back to about 1800, but the
roots of the dog stretch back to settlers of the island of Newfoundland in the
1400’s.
In the 1400’s a dog known as the St. John’s Water Dog,
now extinct, was very popular among the settlers of Newfoundland. Over time
these settlers would begin to breed the St. John’s Water Dog with other ancient
breeds of dog that were popular among the Native tribes of the area. It is
believed that this new breed of dog would eventually split into two branches and
be bred in different regions with other breeds for different reasons. One branch
would eventually become the Newfoundland dog breed; the other branch would be
bred with the St. Hubert’s Hound from France. This second line would eventually
become the Labrador Retriever.
Originally The Labrador Retriever was known as the Lesser Newfoundland Dog.
The first time that the word “Labrador” was used in order to describe the breed
was around 1800. In 1814 a book called “Instructions to Young Sportsmen” was
published and highlighted the Labrador as one of the best dogs for use in bird
and wild game hunting.
In 1823 famous painter Edward Lansing was well known for his paintings depicting
dramatic scenes with Newfoundland and Labrador Dogs.
The popularity of the breed became immense. Everyone from
working men to wealthy land owners admired the Lab for its positive disposition
and alertness. People of all classes owned Labradors and the popularity also
took off among the wealthy members of society in Britain. British aristocrats
would purchase the dogs from Newfoundland fishermen when they arrived at British
ports to sell their fish.
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In 1830 the Earl of Malmesbury officially changed the name of
the breed from Lesser Newfoundland to Labrador Retriever.
Fishermen and hunters found the Lab indispensable as a work
dog. Labs were often seen on the landscape of Newfoundland pulling fishing nets
into shore and in the wilderness retrieving wild game and waterfowl that had
been shot by hunters.
Despite its immense popularity the Labrador Retriever of Newfoundland would die
out by the mid-1800s. This was caused by a heavy new dog tax being charged by
the governing body of Newfoundland. Unfortunately this meant many fishermen
would have to choose between the light duty Labrador Retriever and the Heavy
work done by the Newfoundland dog. Ultimately fishermen would choose the
Newfoundland for its ability to perform heavier work and haul heavier loads.
A couple decades later the dog tax had been lifted, and by the mid-1870’s
breeders began to import Labrador Retrievers back into Canada from England,
where they had remained popular among hunters and aristocrats.
The Labs popularity again began to quickly take off.
The first recorded Yellow Lab was born in 1899 and named “Ben of Hyde”. Ben of
Hyde’s line continues today and can be traced to many modern lines of Yellow
lab. In the 1940s a light brown line of labs began to show up. People began to
refer to this new line as Chocolate Labs. Chocolate Labs would not be recognized
as an official breed until the 1980s.
Scientists have discovered that the coloring variations in the Labrador
Retriever are caused by two genes in the dog’s DNA that work together. The first
gene determines color. There are three variations of this gene, one for black,
one for yellow and one for chocolate. The second gene controls pigment and is
either “on” of “off”. The second gene always trumps the first gene. If the
second gene is “off” it will always produce a Yellow Lab. A Lab with the yellow
color genre and the pigment gene that is “turned off” will have a pale yellow
coloring that is almost white.
The presence and form of these genes is random in every Labrador Retriever’s
DNA. This means that any litter of Labs can have puppies of different colors
despite the coloring of the parents. Even breeding two Black Labs together can
result in Yellow or Chocolate Lab pups.
Although the Labrador Retriever is no longer used in fishing and rarely in
hunting, the breed has still firmly established itself as a work dog. In modern
times Labrador Retrievers are used as work dogs for the blind and visually
impaired. Their patience, intelligence, laid back disposition and excellent
learning skills make them the ideal breed of dog for this type of work. Labrador
Retrievers are also used with the hearing impaired, epileptics and as therapy
dogs.
Labrador Retrievers can be distinguished by their short shiny waterproof coat
and their distinct “otter-like” tail used as a steering rudder when swimming.
Other distinguishing features are their medium size and build, the squared shape
of the top of their skull, floppy ears set close to the head and their total
alertness in most situations.
Labrador Retrievers are generally mellow, patient, laid-back and well tempered.
This makes them the ideal pet for families with young children. Like all dogs
the Lab can have bad habits such as chewing, but the high intelligence of the
breed makes it easy to train this behavior out of them. Labs are generally not
aggressive, possessive or ill tempered. They are often calm in the presence of
children and even strangers.
Over the centuries the Labrador Retriever has proven itself to be one of the
most desirable and family friendly breeds of dog in the world.
In most cases the intelligence and patient demeanor of the Labrador Retriever
makes it a welcome addition to any family of dog lovers. |
