All About Labrador Retrievers

Chloe Kathryn
Aug 18, 2023
3 min read

Different Types

There are two types of Labradors, the English Labrador and the American Labrador. The English-bred Lab comes from English-bred stock. Its generic appearance is different from the American bred Lab. The English bred Labs are heavier, thicker and blockier. Way less pretty, in my opinion. The American bred Lab comes from American bred stock and is tall and lanky. The coat is smooth and doesn’t have any waves. Generally, coat colors are solid black, yellow or chocolate. There is also possibly a rare silver or gray color, but that is actually a shade of chocolate. This color is very controversial and some claim it is a Weimaraner cross, a different breed entirely, while others say it is an actual mutation.

Geography

The breed originated between St. John’s water dogs and British hunting dogs, the breed’s “parents”, off the northeastern Atlantic coast of Canada. While most dog breeds' origins impact the breed a lot, Labs are quite different, with the location of their breed’s “birth” hardly affecting the Labs at all.

History & Notable People

The Labrador Retrievers are at least as old as the 1830s, when St. John's water dogs bred by European settlers in Newfoundland, first came to Britain from ships trading between Canada and a city called Poole in Dorset. These “water dogs” were then bred with British hunting dogs to create what became known as the Labrador Retriever. Its early “patrons” included the Earl of Malmesbury, the Duke of Buccleuch, the Earl of Home, and Sir John Scott. A lot of writers have confused the Labrador with the much larger Newfoundland breed, and the Lesser Newfoundland. Colonel Peter Hawker says the first Labrador was not larger than an English Pointer, usually black, with a long head and nose, plus a deep chest, wonderful legs, and a short and smooth coat, and didn’t have its tail as high as the Newfoundland Hawker. This separates Newfoundland from both the "proper Labrador" and St. John's breed in the fifth edition of his book Introductions to Young Sportsman.

By 1870 the name Labrador Retriever had become pretty famous in England. The liver (a.k.a chocolate) Labrador was bred in the late 1800s, with chocolate-coloured pups documented at the Buccleuch kennels in 1892, and the first yellow Labrador on record was born in 1899 (in the Ben of Hyde, kennels of Major C.J. Radclyffe). The breed was officially its own breed by the Kennel Club in 1903.

Name Origins

As with many dog breeds, their name includes a geographic location linked to the dog. And, of course, Labs are made to retrieve.

Instincts & Habits

As genetic hunters, Labs are also known to be active and love exploring. Regular exercise is a great way to let out some of their energy and help them maintain a healthy weight.

Labradors also have a high “pack drive”, making them naturally social animals and very happy living within a pack environment.

Health & Care

Labs are overall very healthy dogs, if you give them the right care. However, they are vulnerable to diseases such as hip and elbow dysplasia, OCD, cataracts, PRA, epilepsy, TVD, myopathy, bloat, acute moist dermatitis, cold tail, and ear infections.

Labs vary in their activity levels, but all of them need activity, both physical and mental. Daily 30-minute walks, a bit of fun at the dog park, or a game of fetch, are a few ways to help Labs burn off energy. However, a puppy should not be taken for extra long walks and should play for a few minutes at a time. Labradors are considered “workaholics,” and will exhaust themselves. So you shouldn’t expect a puppy to end play and training sessions on their own.

Labs have really good reputations, so much so that some owners think they don’t need training. That’s a giant mistake. Without training, an energetic Lab puppy will soon grow to be a very large, overly excited dog. Luckily, Labs are good at training, so it isn’t AS hard as it is with other breeds.

A good starting place is “puppy kindergarten”, which teaches a puppy good manners, and helps them learn how to be comfortable around other dogs and people. Reward the dog for getting it right, rather than punishing them for getting it wrong.

You’ll need to take special care with a Lab puppy. You shouldn’t let puppies run and play on hard surfaces like pavement until they’re at least two years old (a.k.a. when their joints are fully formed).

Labs are VERY chewy, so it's best to keep really hard, chewable toys around so puppies don’t chew on things they shouldn’t.

In conclusion, caring for a Labrador puppy is hard work, but overall, the breed is an amazing one, so long it doesn’t chew up your favorite pair of shoes.