Quinta Jolumary

 

LABRADOR RETRIEVER

 

ORIGIN: Great Britain.

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE OFFICIAL VALID STANDARD:

13.10.2010.

UTILIZATION: Retriever.

FCI‐CLASSIFICATION: Group   8 Retrievers, Flushing dogs,

Water dogs.

Section   1 Retrievers.

With working trial.

BRIEF HISTORICAL SUMMARY: It is popularly thought that the

Labrador Retriever originated on the coast of Newfoundland where

fishermen were seen to use a dog of similar appearance to retrieve

fish. An excellent water dog, his weather‐resistant coat and unique

tail, likened to that of an otter because of its shape, emphasise this

trait.

Comparatively speaking, the Labrador is not a very old breed, its

breed club having been formed in 1916 and the Yellow Labrador

Club having been founded in 1925. It was in field trialling that the

Labrador found early fame, having been originally introduced to

these shores in the late 1800s by Col Peter Hawker and the Earl of

Malmesbury. It was a dog called Malmesbury Tramp which was

described by Lorna, Countess Howe as one of the ‘tap roots’ of the

modern Labrador.

GENERAL APPEARANCE: Strongly built, short‐coupled, very active;

(which precludes excessive body weight or substance) broad in

skull; broad and deep through chest and ribs; broad and strong over

loins and hindquarters.

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BEHAVIOUR AND TEMPERAMENT: Good‐tempered, very agile.

Excellent nose, soft mouth; keen lover of water. Adaptable, devoted

companion.

Intelligent, keen and biddable, with a strong will to please. Kindly

nature, with no trace of aggression or undue shyness.

HEAD

CRANIAL REGION:

Skull: Broad. Clean‐cut without fleshy cheeks.

Stop: Defined.

FACIAL REGION:

Nose: Wide, nostrils well developed.

Muzzle: Powerful, not snipy.

Jaws / Teeth: Jaws of medium length, jaws and teeth strong with a

perfect, regular and complete scissor bite, i.e. upper teeth closely

overlapping lower teeth and set square to the jaws.

Eyes: Medium size, expressing intelligence and good temper; brown

or hazel.

Ears: Not large or heavy, hanging close to head and set rather far

back.

 

NECK: Clean, strong, powerful, set into well placed shoulders.

BODY:

Topline: Level.

Loin: Wide, short‐coupled and strong.

Chest: Of good width and depth, with well sprung barrel ribs – this

effect not to be produced by carrying excessive weight.

TAIL: Distinctive feature, very thick towards base, gradually tapering

towards tip, medium length, free from feathering, but clothed

thickly all round with short, thick, dense coat, thus giving “rounded”

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appearance described as “Otter” tail. May be carried gaily, but

should not curl over back.

LIMBS

FOREQUARTERS:

General appearance: Forelegs straight from elbow to ground when

viewed from either front or side.

Shoulder: Long and sloping.

Forearm: Forelegs well boned and straight.

Forefeet: Round, compact; well‐arched toes and well developed

pads.

HINDQUARTERS:

General appearance: Well developed hindquarters, not sloping to

tail.

Stifle (Knee): Well turned.

Metatarsus (Rear pastern): Hocks well let down. Cowhocks highly

undesirable.

Hind feet: Round, compact; well‐arched toes and well developed

pads.

GAIT / MOVEMENT: Free, covering adequate ground; straight and

true in front and rear.

COAT

Hair: Distinctive feature, short, dense, without wave or feathering,

giving fairly hard feel to the touch; weather‐resistant undercoat.

Colour: Wholly black, yellow or liver/chocolate. Yellows range from

light cream to red fox. Small white spot on chest permissible.

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SIZE:

Ideal height at the withers: Males:   56 – 57 cms.

Females:   54 – 56 cms.

FAULTS: Any departure from the foregoing points should be

considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should

be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and its

effect upon the health and welfare of the dog and on its ability to

perform its traditional work.

DISQUALIFYING FAULTS

 Aggressive or overly shy.

 Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioural abnormalities

shall be disqualified.

N.B.: Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles

fully descended into the scrotum.

The latest amendments are in bold characters