Labrador Retriever

The Labrador retriever has its ancestors in the dogs that worked for fishermen in the Labrador-area in Newfoundland a long time ago. Its main tasks were to fetch fish and nets from the cold waters of the sea. Back then it was very important that the dogs showed will to cooperate and serve his master. It was also important that it had good swimming skills and its fur had to be water resistant and thick. Dogs travelled from here to England and were mated with local working dogs. In England the breed was recognized in year 1903. In Finland breeding started in the 1950´s.

The Labrador can work with almost anything, but to get it to become a successful guarding dog can be quite frustrating… The breed is suitable for almost any kind of dog sport or activity. Just to mention a few; retrieving birds, to track down injured wild animals, to be trained in obedience, as a rescue dog, to search for drugs or as a leading dog. The Labrador is to be used in almost anything, just depending on his master’s ambitions!

The Labrador is one of the world’s biggest breeds in numerical order and therefore there is variation in looks, temperament and working abilities. The breed has been divided into three different lines; show, – hunting and dual purpose- dogs. The show Labradors are usually heavy and in type they are near the original breed standard. They do not have a as distinguished sense for hunting and retrieving as the hunting variant. Hunting Labradors are commonly less heavy in outlook and there is more variation in type. They also have a genuine interest in retrieving and working. The Dual purpose- dogs are a mix of the ones above, where breeders have been trying to get both good working abilities and correct type in the dogs.

Irrespective of which type the dog stands for, a Labrador should always have a love for water and swimming. It should always have a fur that is water resistant and of good quality and its tail should be like the utters, thick and work like a paddle when the dog swims.

About the breed standard; there is probably as many different opinions as there are dogs. I myself try to breed dogs that are as near the breed standard in both looks and temperament and are of good health.

About the breeds temperament one could write many pages, so happy and utterly lovely these dogs are! The Labrador should always be very open and friendly, active, eager and cooperative. It should love the water and to swim and eagerly retrieve the objects that has been thrown to him. This breed is one of the most known in the world, you need to look for a more lovely pet-and family dog! But it also has a lot of energy and eager to work, so it is not advised to make him a coach potato!

The health situation of the breed is quite good at the moment. In the breed it occurs different kinds of illnesses like the hip-and elbow dysplacia, different eye deceases, allergies and infections. The breeder can influence the amount of sick offspring with his or her choices, but there are never any guarantees.

Please read more about the breed at www.thelabradorclub.com