About Labrador

About Labrador Labrador Retriever
Breed Characteristics

The Labrador Retriever (also Labrador, Labby or Lab for short), is one of several kinds of retriever, a type of gun dog.
The Labrador is considered the most popular breed of dog (by registered ownership) in the world, and is by a large margin the most popular breed by registration in the United States (since 1991), United Kingdom, Poland, and several other countries.
It is also the most popular breed of assistance dog in the United States, Australia, and many other countries, as well as being widely used by police and other official bodies for their detection and working abilities.
Labradors are exceptionally affable, gentle, intelligent, energetic and good natured, making them both excellent companions and working dogs. Although somewhat boisterous if untrained, Labrador Retrievers respond well to praise and positive attention, and are considerably "food and fun" oriented.
These dogs are as well loyal and great with little children. They may be used in shows.
With training, the Lab is one of the most dependable, obedient and multi-talented breeds in the world.

Appearance
Labradors are relatively large, with males typically weighing 30–36 kg (65–80 lb) and females 25–32 kg (55–70 lb). Labs weighing close to or over 100 lbs are considered obese or having a major fault under American Kennel Club standards, although some labs weigh significantly more.
Their coats are short and smooth, and they possess a straight, powerful tail often likened to that of an otter. The majority of the characteristics of this breed, with the exception of colour, are the result of breeding to produce a working retriever.
Like any animal, there is a great deal of variety among Labs. These characteristics are typical of the conformation show bred (bench-bred) lines of this breed in the United States, and are based on the AKC standard.

Size
Labs are a medium-large but compact breed. They should have an appearance of proportionality. They should be as long from the shoulders back as they are from the floor to the withers. Males should stand 22.5-24.5 inch (55.9-62.5 cm) tall at the withers and weigh 65–80 lb (30–36 kg). Females should stand 21.5–23.5 inch (54.5–60 cm) and weigh 55–70 lb (25–32 kg).

Coat
The Lab's coat should be short and dense, but not wiry. The coat is described as 'water-resistant' or more accurately 'water-repellent' so that the dog does not get cold when taking to water in the winter. That means the dog naturally has a slightly dry, oily coat. Acceptable colours are chocolate, black, and yellow.
A small white spot on the chest on black labs is the only acceptable variance from a solid colored coat, but it is not ideal. There is much variance within yellow Labs. Colours should be solid, though varying shades of yellow on the same dog are acceptable in yellow labs. There has been an increase in the demand for "white" Labs, which are simply Labradors with a very light yellow coat.

Head
The head should be broad with a pronounced stop and slightly pronounced brow. The eyes should be kind and expressive. Appropriate eye colours are brown and hazel. The lining around the eyes should be black. The ears should hang close to the head and are set slightly above the eyes.

Jaws
The jaws should be strong and powerful. The muzzle should be of medium length, and should not be too tapered. The jaws should hang slightly and curve gracefully back.

Colors
There are three recognised colours for Labs: black (a solid black colour), yellow (anything from light cream to gold to "fox-red"), and chocolate (medium to dark brown).
There is no such thing as a silver Labrador or a Golden Labrador, a common mistake for the Yellow variant. There is also a black-and-tan coat type, but this coat colour is the least popular as it renders the Labrador un-showable except in the UK.
Chocolate and black Labs' noses will match the coat colour.

Temperament
Labradors are a well-balanced, friendly and versatile breed, adaptable to a wide range of functions as well as making very good pets.
As a rule they are not excessively prone to being territorial, pining, insecure, aggressive, destructive, hypersensitive, or other difficult traits which sometimes manifest in a variety of breeds, and as the name suggests, they are excellent retrievers.
As an extension of this, they instinctively enjoy holding objects and even hands or arms in their mouths, which they can do with great gentleness (a Labrador can carry an egg in its mouth without breaking it). They are also known to have a very soft feel to the mouth, as a result of being bred to retrieve game such as waterfowl. They are prone to chewing objects (though they can be trained out of this behavior).
The Labrador Retriever's coat repels water to some extent, thus facilitating the extensive use of the dog in waterfowl hunting.

Labradors have a reputation as a very mellow breed and an excellent family dog (including a good reputation with children of all ages and other animals), but some lines (particularly those that have continued to be bred specifically for their skills at working in the field rather than for their appearance) are particularly fast and athletic. Their fun-loving boisterousness and lack of fear may require training and firm handling at times to ensure it does not get out of hand - an uncontrolled adult can be quite problematic.
Females may be slightly more independent than males.
Labradors mature at around three years of age; before this time they can have a significant degree of puppyish energy, often mislabeled as being hyperactive.
Because of their enthusiasm, leash-training early on is suggested to prevent pulling when full-grown.
Labs often enjoy retrieving a ball endlessly and other forms of activity (such as agility, frisbee, or flyball). They are considerably "food and fun" oriented, very trainable, and open-minded to new things, and thrive on human attention, affection and interaction, of which they find it difficult to get enough. Reflecting their retrieving bloodlines, almost every Lab loves playing in water or swimming.

Although they will sometimes bark at noise, especially a degree of "alarm barking" when there is noise from unseen sources, Labs are not on the whole noisy or territorial, and are often very easygoing and trusting with strangers, and therefore are not usually suitable as guard dogs.

Labradors have a well-known reputation for appetite, and some individuals may be highly indiscriminate, eating digestible and non-food objects alike. They are persuasive and persistent in requesting food. For this reason, the Lab owner must carefully control his/her dog's food intake to avoid obesity and its associated health problems.
The steady temperament of Labs and their ability to learn make them an ideal breed for search and rescue, detection, and therapy work. Their primary working role in the field continues to be that of a hunting retriever.

Use as working dogs
Labradors are an intelligent breed with a good work ethic and generally good temperaments (breed statistics show that 91.5% of Labradors who were tested passed the American Temperament Test.
Common working roles for Labradors include: hunting, tracking and detection, disabled-assistance, carting, and therapy work.
Approximately 60–70% of all guide dogs in the United States are Labradors; other common breeds are Golden Retrievers and German Shepherd Dogs.

The high intelligence, initiative and self-direction of Labradors in working roles is evinced by individuals such as Endal, who during a 2001 emergency is believed to be the first dog to have placed an unconscious human being in the recovery position without prior training, then obtaining the human's mobile phone, "thrusting" it by their ear on the ground, then fetching their blanket, before barking at nearby dwellings for assistance.
A number of labradors have also taught themselves to assist their owner in removing money and credit cards from ATMs without prior training.

History
The early Labrador originated on the island of Newfoundland, now part of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
The breed emerged over time from the St. John's Water Dog, also an ancestor of the Newfoundland dog (to which the Labrador is closely related), through ad-hoc breedings by early settlers in the mid to late 15th century.
The original forebears of the St. John's dog have variously been suggested to be crossbreeds of the black St. Hubert's hound from France, working water dogs from Portugal, old European pointer breeds and dogs belonging to the indigenous peoples of the area.
From the St. John's Dog, two breeds emerged; the larger was used for hauling, and evolved into the large and gentle Newfoundland dog, likely as a result of breeding with mastiffs brought to the island by the generations of Portuguese fishermen who had been fishing offshore since the 1400s. The smaller short-coat retrievers used for retrieval and pulling in nets from the water were the forebears of the Labrador Retriever. The white chest, feet, chin, and muzzle characteristic of the St. John's Dog often appears in Lab mixes, and will occasionally manifest in Labs as a small white spot on the chest or stray white hairs on the feet or muzzle.

The St. John's area of Newfoundland was settled mainly by the English and Irish. Local fishermen originally used the St. John's dog to assist in bringing nets to shore; the dog would grab the floating corks on the ends of the nets and pull them to shore. A number of these were brought back to the Poole area of England in the early 1800s, then the hub of the Newfoundland fishing trade, by the gentry, and became prized as sporting and waterfowl hunting dogs.
A few kennels breeding these grew up in England; at the same time a combination of sheep protection policy (Newfoundland) and rabies quarantine (England) led to their gradual demise in their country of origin.