The Labrador Retriever didn’t start developing into its current form until about the mid-1880’s in the United Kingdom.
It is a true “Dual Purpose Breed” and should be bred as such – to be a working retriever, on FC AFC Field Trial Host and in FC AFC Field Trial Host, and to compete in FC AFC Field Trial Host.
Retrievers in the UK were primarily used on shooting estates, where land-based game birds and lagomorphs were their main quarry. Some were used to retrieve waterfowl, but the British retriever culture was primarily that of a land-based working dog.
Although the Labrador is considered a water dog, (which is in part accurate), its ancestor the SJWD was solely a water dog.
The St. John’s Water Dog
The Coast of Newfoundland was the St. John’s Water Dog’s place of origin. Identified as a landrace, the St. John’s Water Dog (“SJWD”) was a forerunner and ancestor of all retriever breeds, as well as the Newfoundland. They were heralded for unsurpassed working ability in Newfoundland’s coastal waters, effortlessly swimming through the frigid Atlantic to pull fishing lines and heavily laden nets back to their masters’ boats.
St. Hubert’s Hound
A book written in 1576, Booke of Hunting, by George Turbervile, discusses various hunting dogs used by the West Country hunters. One of the available dogs was a black dog called a “Saint Hubert’s hound” in honor of the patron saint of the hunter. While not definitive, available data makes it likely that the St. John’s water dog descended from the St. Hubert’s dog.
Newfoundland Retrievers
The earliest account of the water dog from Newfoundland being used as a retriever is from Col. Peter Hawker’s Instructions to Young Sportsmen in 1814. Hawker was a celebrated shooter and a veteran of the Napoleonic Wars. He recommended the “true Newfoundland” as the best retriever, which he describes as being “scarcely bigger than a pointer.”
1st Small Water Dog Reported
The reason why the long-haired dogs became common in England and disappeared from Newfoundland can be found in the writings of William Epps Cormack, the first European to walk across the interior of Newfoundland in 1822. He wrote of the settlers of Newfoundland using their smaller water dogs to hunt waterfowl and game birds, but they preferred to use the short-haired dogs for this task because “in frosty weather the long-haired kind become encumbered with ice.”
Imported to England & The “Labrador” Name
Early in the nineteenth century the Earl of Malmesbury imported these “small water dogs” to England. The 3rd Earl of Malmsbury in a letter written to the 6th Duke of Buccleuch said, “We always call mine Labrador dogs and I have kept the breed as pure as I could from the first I had — the real breed may be known by their having a close coat which turns water off like oil, and, above all, a tail like an otter.”
American Kennel Club Formed
In 1884, a group of 13 breed clubs (10 American clubs and three Canadian clubs) founded the American Kennel Club.
Crufts Dog Show Established
Crufts is named after its founder Charles Cruft. Back in England in 1886 he took up the management of the Allied Terrier Club Show at the Royal Aquarium, Westminster. It was in 1891 that the first Cruft’s show was booked into the Royal Agricultural Hall in Islington and it has evolved and grown ever since.
First Field Trial & Munden Single
The first documented field trial was held in England in 1899 and consisted mostly of Flat-Coated and Curly Coated retrievers. Four years later Munden Single became the first Labrador to win a Challenge Certificate. The following year she became the first Labrador to run in a field trial.
Royal Kennel Club Recognition
Labradors were recognized as an official breed by the Royal Kennel Club in the United Kingdom.
Crufts Champion Labradors
King George V (Wolverton) Labrador Retrievers shown at Crufts in 1922.
First Breed Standard & Parent Club
The first breed standard was a rather spartan document. Its most detailed section concerned movement. During this time, The Labrador Retriever Club, the AKC Parent Club of the breed, was incorporated. It adopted its own breed standard, which was accepted by the AKC.
AKC Recognizes the Labrador
The AKC accepts the Labrador as a registrable breed under its rules.
United Kingdom Field Trials
Retrievers in the UK were primarily used on shooting estates, where land-based game birds and lagomorphs were their main quarry. Some were used to retrieve waterfowl, but the British retriever culture was primarily that of a land-based working dog.
Amateur Owner Wins Field Trial
In the early years in America, field trials were the sport of wealthy families and they were a closed group. Sometimes trials were held on Mondays so few working people could attend. In 1936 the Amateur Open finally allowed everyday owners to compete.
AKC Specialty Show
The AKC Labrador Retriever Specialty Show was held in Tuxedo Park, New York with 43 benched Labradors.
First National Specialty
The word ‘national’ was added in the 1970s, after AKC created the local “specialty club” program. The Labrador Retriever Club of the Potomac hosted the first “rotating” National Specialty Show in 1975 at Gaithersburg, Maryland.
St. John’s Water Dog Extinct
These are the last two of the St. John’s water dogs. They were found in Newfoundland in the late 70’s and were featured in Richard Wolters’s The Labrador Retriever…The People…The History…Revisited. Because they were both males, there were no bitches to breed them to. Labradors today with a permissible white spot on their chest can thank the SJWD.
The Last Dual Titled Labrador
The last dual titled Labrador was Dual CH AFC Hiwood Shadow. He earned his Championship Conformation title AND his Amateur Field Champion title. With such specific line breeding of conformation bench bred dogs (English) and field performance dogs (American), we no longer have dogs that easily earn the all-mighty dual title.
Jessup v. AKC & The Breed Divide
The intended purpose of revising the standard in 1994 was to create a blueprint for a dual purpose Labrador. It was revised to exclude dogs less than 22 inches at the withers. Some breeders whose dogs no longer met the standard were part of an $11 million class-action suit against the AKC which was eventually denied. Bench Bred Labradors and Field Performance Labradors have continued to be selectively bred for one purpose, creating a large divide in the breed.
America’s Most Popular Dog Dethroned
The Labrador Retriever ranked as the Number 1 most popular dog breed from 1991-2021. It was unseated recently by the French Bulldog.
