The Labrador Retriever is a sturdily built, medium-sized dog characterized by its balanced proportions. Its physical attributes include a broad skull, a deep chest, strong loins, and powerful rear legs. Female Labrador Retrievers typically stand 55-60 cm tall at the shoulder and weigh between 25 and 31.5 kg, while males generally measure 57-62 cm in height and weigh 27-34 kg. They possess a short, dense, and somewhat coarse outer coat with a soft, water-repellent undercoat, which can be solid black, yellow, or chocolate. Unique to the breed are their webbed feet, aiding in swimming, and their distinctive “otter” tail – thick at the base and tapering to the tip – which functions as a rudder in the water.
Labrador Retrievers are characterized by their affinity for water, natural retrieving instincts, and a strong desire to please their owners. Highly intelligent and eager to learn, they are renowned for their trainability. Their gentle, friendly, fun-loving, enthusiastic, and outgoing nature makes the Labrador Retriever an excellent choice for a family pet.
From Water Dogs to Beloved Companions
The journey of the beloved Labrador Retriever to America was indirect, involving a transatlantic crossing and a return trip. This breed’s story begins in Newfoundland, a Canadian province, despite its name linking it to the Labrador Territory, which lies northwest of Newfoundland. This geographical quirk is further complicated by the existence of the Newfoundland dog breed, also originating from the same island.
To understand this, we must go back roughly five centuries, to the arrival of Europeans on the Canadian coast. Before Canada was officially colonized, European fishermen from Spain, France, Portugal, and England frequented its Atlantic shores, likely accompanied by their dogs. These diverse breeds intermingled on the large, isolated island, giving rise to a distinct canine type known as the St. John’s Dog, named after Newfoundland’s capital city.
The Labrador Retriever’s history begins with the St. John’s Water Dog
Today, the St. John’s Dog exists only as bronze statues in Harbourside Park, located in the Newfoundland city that gave the breed its name. These dogs, native to Newfoundland, varied in size, with the larger ones becoming known as Newfoundlands and the smaller ones as the St. John’s Dog, a precursor to the Labrador Retriever.
Quickly, these early Labrador Retrievers gained recognition for their love of water and aquatic skills. They worked in Newfoundland’s thriving fisheries, hauling nets and long lines. They were also adept at diving for lost cod and even retrieving fishermen’s hats. Fishermen favored the shorthaired dogs because their water-resistant coats prevented ice buildup. Typically, these dogs were black with striking “tuxedo” markings on their faces, chests, and legs.
The fishermen of Newfoundland took great pride in their canine companions. Upon reaching Poole on the southern English coast with ships full of salted cod, they would showcase their dogs’ abilities to captivated audiences, retrieving items thrown into the water.
H.D. Richardson, an Irish dog expert, noted in 1847: “These dogs are remarkable for their diving powers. I witnessed one, belonging to an officer stationed at Portobello Barracks in Dublin, repeatedly dive to the bottom of the canal between the lochs, retrieving stones and other objects thrown in.”
Eventually, Canadian sailors began selling these dogs, and the St. John’s Dog became a sought-after export to England. They were integrated into various dog breeding lines, becoming the foundation for all modern British retrievers, including Flat Coats and Curly Coats.
The Earl of Malmesbury, an admirer of these dogs from his observation of their harbourside performances in Poole, believed they would excel at duck hunting on his Heron Court estate. Subsequently, he initiated a breeding program, ultimately leading to the association of the name “Labrador Dog” with the breed, thanks to this aristocratic family.
A Chance Meeting
Despite the Earl of Malmesbury’s geographical inaccuracies regarding Canada, his descriptions of the emerging Labrador breed were remarkably accurate, noting in letters its water-repellent coat that “turns the water off like oil” and distinctive “tail like an otter,” a trait still valued today. Ironically, the lesser St. John’s Dog, as it was sometimes known, faced extinction in its native Newfoundland, as the 19th-century government implemented taxes on non-herding dogs to promote sheep breeding.
Further hindering the breed’s survival, Britain’s 1885 rabies quarantine on imported dogs severely curtailed trans-Atlantic dog trade. Fortunately, the Earls of Malmesbury weren’t alone in their appreciation for these Canadian sporting dogs; the Duke of Buccleuch and Earl of Home in Scotland also imported Labradors and diligently maintained their pure bloodlines. A fortuitous encounter between these families in the 1880s proved crucial to the breed’s survival.
During a visit to a sick aunt in England, the sixth Duke of Buccleuch and the 12th Earl of Home attended a waterfowl shoot at Heron Court, where they were so impressed by the Malmesbury dogs’ performance that they discovered a shared ancestry with their own Labradors.
The third Earl of Malmesbury gifted the Duke of Buccleuch in Scotland with two dogs, “Ned” and “Avon,” which played a crucial role in establishing the modern Labrador breed. (Despite facing near extinction in recent times, Buccleuch Labradors continue to be bred today.) Subsequent breeding with dogs from different lineages resulted in chocolate and yellow puppies, colors initially disregarded but eventually embraced by kennel clubs worldwide.
A captivating story recounts the tale of “Brandy,” a St. John’s Dog brought over from Newfoundland by the 5th Duke of Buccleuch and his brother, Lord John Scott; during the Atlantic voyage, Brandy fearlessly leapt into turbulent seas to retrieve a crew member’s cap, swimming tirelessly for two hours until rescued and revived with doses of brandy, his namesake, showcasing his extraordinary resilience.
Tragically, the St. John’s Dogs remaining in Newfoundland met a different fate, declining in numbers until only two elderly males were discovered in a remote region in the late 1970s; named “Lassie” and another, their advanced age and lack of breeding females marked the sad end of their line; Nevertheless, these dogs’ amiable nature, retrieving instincts, and remarkable fondness for water live on in the Labrador Retrievers we know today.
