19d (edited) • Breed of the Week
Labrador Retriever
The Labrador Retriever that we know and love today has quite the interesting history. The Labrador Retriever how they are recognized today is originally from England but they actually go back further than that not only in time but also distance.
The Labrador Retriever goes back to the 18th and 19th century but went by a different name and look entirely. The St. John’s Water Dog, named after Newfoundland’s capital, had a dense, oily waterproof coat and thick tail with more forward-facing ears. They loved the cold and the water and were more than happy to retrieve anything from lost fisherman hats to fish that managed to get away despite temperature and conditions. These hardy and useful dogs lived on the island of Newfoundland but are thought to be the result of Europeans coming over with their own hunting dogs and they are the ancestors of Newfoundland dogs.
It is thought that, much like the spaniels, there were two distinct size and appearance of dogs, one that was large and long coated, and one that was smaller with a short oily coat, which the fishermen preferred as it was easier to maintain. The smaller dogs became known as St. John’s Water Dog and were very important and essential to the fisherman in Newfoundland.
How the St. John’s Water Dog turned into the Labrador Retriever began with one man named James Harris, the 2nd Earl of Malmesbury, and he imported some of the St. John’s Water Dog dogs in the early 1800s and began breeding them for shooting companions. Later a man named Walter Scott, the 5th Duke of Beccleuch, also imported some St. John’s Water Dog dogs to Scotland and started his own breeding kennel, which is still in operation today. It wouldn’t be until a generation later, in the 1880s, when these two men’s sons met at a shoot and decided to work together and breed these two lines of St. John’s Water Dog together and thus the Labrador Retriever was born.
The Labrador Retriever got their name from the Earl of Malmesbury who is thought to have been a little rusty on Canadian geography. It is also said that Newfoundland and Labrador were also used interchangeably when referring to the region. When he first saw these dog’s he, correctly, thought that they would be good at duck hunting.
The Labrador Retriever originally was a black dog with white on their chest and toes but also came in solid black. It wasn’t until 1892 that the chocolate (or liver as they use to call it) and yellow started showing up in litters. The chocolate was an undesirable color and so those puppies were more than likely drowned but the yellow was more accepted and its popularity grew steadily after its first appearance in 1899. The chocolate wouldn’t gain popularity for another 60 years.
While the Labrador Retriever lives on today the St. John’s Water Dog is now extinct with the last two having passed away in the 1980s. They were both male and in their teens by the time they were “rediscovered”. Part of the reason for their path towards extinction was the new taxation on dog ownership in North America and the rabies quarantining in the UK so selling across the pond became quite difficult.
It is said if you would like to know more about Labrador Retrievers to grab yourself a copy of Richard Wolters’ book.
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Labrador Retriever
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