BREED HISTORY
From Fisherman’s Friend to America’s Sweetheart
Freezing temperatures, frigid winds, icy waters, little to eat, constant invasion, lawlessness, oppression, colonization…and really excellent fishing. Welcome to Newfoundland, the birthplace of the Labrador Retriever. This conveniently located (if awfully chilly) island off the coast of Labrador in eastern Canada has been home to cod fisherman, and a stop-off for traders and explorers, for hundreds of years.
And for hundreds of years, right beside their resilient human owners, the equally resilient ancestors of the Labrador Retriever lived and worked. Learn More
BREED STANDARD
The Labrador Retriever is a strongly built, medium-sized, short-coupled, dog possessing a sound, athletic, well-balanced conformation that enables it to function as a retrieving gun dog; the substance and soundness to hunt waterfowl and much more. Learn More
ILLUSTRATED STANDARD
This publication is approved by the Board of Directors of the Labrador Retriever Club, Inc. It constitutes the only official illustrated interpretation of the Standard and it is intended as an educational aid for judges, breeders, exhibitors and owners of Labrador Retrievers.
In no way does this publication create any change in the breed Standard. Learn More
THREE COLORS ONLY
It is the opinion of the Labrador Retriever Club, Inc., the American Kennel Club Parent Club for the breed, that a “silver” Labrador is not a purebred Labrador Retriever. The pet owning public is being duped into believing that animals with this dilute coat color are desirable, purebred and rare and, therefore, warrant special notoriety or a premium purchase price.
Over the past few years a limited number of breeders have advertised and sold dogs they represent to be purebred Labrador Retrievers with a dilute or gray coat color—hence the term “silver labs.” The AKC has accepted some of these “silver labs” for registration. Apparently, the rationale for this decision is that the silver coat color is a shade of chocolate. Interestingly, the original breeders of “silver” Labradors were also involved in the Weimaraner breed. Although we cannot conclusively prove that the silver Labrador is a product of crossbreeding the Weimaraner to a Labrador, there is good evidence in scientific literature indicating that the Labrador has never been identified as carrying the dilute gene “dd.” The Weimaraner is the only known breed in which the universality of “dd” is a characteristic. Learn More
ABOUT THE LABRADOR RETRIEVER
