Revised June 23, 2004
Copyright 1992, United Kennel Club, Inc.
History
The ancestor of the Labrador Retriever was the St.
John's Retriever, a smaller version of the
Newfoundland. These dogs were brought to England,
probably on fishing boats. Gamekeepers crossed these
Canadian imports with various breeds of gun dogs,
always striving to improve the breed's hunting and
retrieving instincts. By the middle of the 19th
century, the Labrador's characteristic
water-resistant coat and otter tail were already
apparent. By the late 1880s, the breed was
sufficiently distinctive that "Labrador Retriever"
became the generally accepted name of the breed.
Originally black in color, the first recorded yellow
Labrador appeared in a litter born in 1899.
Chocolates were also recorded at about the same
time, but never achieved the same level of
popularity as the blacks and yellows. Originally
bred to retrieve from water, the modern Labrador
Retriever has proven to be one of the most versatile
breeds, excelling in hunt tests and field trials, in
obedience and agility events, and also as service
dogs.
The Labrador Retriever was recognized by the United
Kennel Club in 1947.
General Appearance
The Labrador Retriever is a medium-sized,
short-coupled, powerfully-built dog with a short,
dense, water-resistant coat; small, drop ears; and a
short, thick otter-like tail carried level with the
back or with a slight upward curve. The length of
body is equal to or only slightly longer than the
height at the withers, and the distance from the
elbows to the ground is equal to one-half the height
at the withers. The Labrador Retriever is a dog
without exaggeration, so light, weedy dogs; tall,
leggy dogs; long, low-stationed dogs; and cloddy,
lumbering dogs are to be equally penalized. The
Labrador Retriever should be evaluated as a working
gun dog, and exaggerations or faults should be
penalized in proportion to how much they interfere
with the dog's ability to work.
Characteristics
The Labrador Retriever is an enthusiastic hunter
with a good nose and a soft mouth. They excel in all
performance activities. Another essential
characteristic of the Labrador Retriever is the
short, dense, double coat that protects the dog when
retrieving from water. The short, "otter" tail is
another distinctive feature of this breed. Labrador
Retrievers are noted for their excellent
temperaments. This breed is friendly, outgoing and
eager to please. They are extremely intelligent and
easily trained to perform a variety of complex
tasks.
Serious fault: Any evidence of shyness in a mature
dog.
Disqualifications: Aggressiveness toward humans or
other dogs.
Head
The head is proportionate to the size of the
dog, clean-cut, and without exaggeration of any
sort. When viewed from the side, the skull and
muzzle are approximately equal in length, and joined
by a moderate stop that is defined, in part, by the
moderately well-defined supraorbital arches over the
eyes.
Faults: Wedge-shaped head; long, narrow head;
massive, cheeky head.
SKULL - The skull is broad, but without
exaggeration. There may be a slight median furrow
between the eyes at the forehead, and the occipital
bone is not conspicuous. Cheeks are clean.
MUZZLE - In profile, the muzzle is powerful. The
bridge of the muzzle is straight and on a parallel
plane with the top line of the skull. Viewed from
the top or the side, the muzzle is slightly deeper
and wider at the stop than at the tip. Lips fall
away in a curve toward the throat, and are neither
pendulous nor squared off. Removal of whiskers is
permitted but not preferred.
Faults: Snipey muzzle; muzzle too long and narrow or
too short and stubby.
TEETH - The Labrador Retriever has a complete set of
evenly spaced, white teeth, ideally meeting in a
scissors bite. Level bite is acceptable, but not
preferred.
Faults: Missing premolars.
Serious Faults: Undershot or overshot bite,
misaligned teeth, missing molars.
NOSE - The nose leather is black on black and yellow
dogs, and liver on chocolate dogs. A slight fading
of nose pigment is not a fault. Nostrils must be
large and open.
Disqualifications: Nose completely unpigmented.
EYES - The eyes are medium sized and somewhat
triangular in appearance, but never so much as to
give a hard expression. Eye color is brown in black
and yellow dogs, and brown or hazel in chocolates.
Eyelids are close fitting, and eye rims match nose
pigment. Expression is kindly and intelligent.
Faults: Yellow eyes; eyes too dark; eyes too small
or too round and prominent; eyes set too close
together; eyes protruding or too deep set; any
feature that detracts from the correct Labrador
expression.
Disqualification: Absence of pigmentation in eye
rims.
EARS - The ears are drop, triangular in shape, and
rather short, with the front edges attached well
behind and just above the eyes. When pulled forward,
the tip of the ear should just cover the eye. The
ear leather is pliable. When alert, the ears are
drawn up and forward, with the inner edges of the
ears close to the cheeks.
Fault: Large ears; heavy ear leather.
Neck
The neck is of sufficient length to allow the
dog to carry retrieved game with ease, and powerful,
but not throaty. The neck is clean and blends
smoothly into well laid back shoulders.
Faults: Neck too short and thick; ewe neck.
Forequarters
Shoulders are smoothly muscled. The shoulder blades
are long and well laid back with the upper tips
fairly close together at the withers. The upper arm
appears to be equal in length to the shoulder blade
and joins it at an apparent right angle. The elbows
are close to the body and set directly under the
withers. The forelegs are straight, strong and
sturdy in bone, with strong, short, slightly sloping
pasterns.
Faults: Too much or too little bone.
Serious fault: Legs too short and heavy boned.
Body
A properly proportioned Labrador Retriever is
square or just slightly longer (measured from
prosternum to point of buttocks) than tall (measured
from the withers to the ground), and length of the
front leg (measured from point of elbow to the
ground) is approximately equal to one-half of the
dog's height. Whether the dog is standing or moving,
the line of the back is strong and level from the
withers to the slightly sloping croup. The loin is
short, muscular and deep, with little or no tuck-up
in a mature dog. The ribs extend well back and are
well sprung out from the spine, forming a broad,
strong back, then curving down and inward to form a
deep body. The brisket extends to the elbow. Viewed
from the front, the chest between the forelegs is
well filled and of moderate width to allow for
efficient movement and stamina. Viewed from the
side, the forechest is well developed but not
exaggerated.
Faults: Slab sided or barrel ribbed; chest too
narrow or too wide.
Hindquarters
The hindquarters are broad and muscular. In
profile, the croup slopes slightly. The angulation
of the hindquarters is in balance with the
angulation of the forequarters. The stifles are well
bent, and the hocks are well let down. When the dog
is standing, the rear toes are just slightly behind
the point of buttocks. Viewed from the side, the
short, strong rear pasterns are perpendicular to the
ground and, viewed from the rear, parallel to one
another.
Faults: Cow hocks; spread hocks; sickle hocks; over-angulation
causing a sloping topline.
Feet
Good feet are essential for a working retriever.
The feet are of medium size, round and compact with
well-arched toes and thick, elastic pads. Dewclaws
may be removed.
Faults: Splayed feet; hare feet; knuckling over;
feet turning in or out.
Tail
The tail is a distinctive feature of the breed.
It is a natural extension of the topline, very thick
and muscular at the base and tapering to the tip. A
tail of the correct length extends no longer than
the hock. The tail is covered with the same thick,
dense coat as the body, but never feathered. It is
the heavy coat that gives the tail its resemblance
to an otter's tail. When the dog is relaxed, the
tail hangs down naturally. When the dog is moving or
alert, the tail may be carried level with the back
or only slightly above level. The tail should never
curl over the back or be carried between the legs.
Dogs with docked tails or tails that have been
altered to affect natural length or carriage shall
be severely penalized in conformation events.
Serious faults: Tail extremely short or thin.
Disqualifications: Tail docked; alteration of the
natural length or carriage of the tail. Dogs with
docked or altered tails resulting from injuries in
the field shall be eligible for registration and
performance events but ineligible for conformation
events.
Coat
The Labrador Retriever has a short, dense,
water-repellent double coat. The outer coat lies
close to the body and is straight, although a slight
wave down the back is permissible. The coat texture
is firm and resilient, neither coarse nor silky.
Undercoat is soft and dense.
Serious faults: Woolly coat; soft, silky coat;
sparse coat; absence of undercoat.
Color
Color may be solid black, any solid shade of
yellow from red to pale cream, or any solid shade of
chocolate. Yellow dogs may have variations in
shading on the ears, back and underside of the dog.
A small white spot on the chest is permissible but
not preferred. White hairs from aging or scarring
should not be penalized.
Disqualifications: Any color or combination of
colors other than described above; albinism.
Size and Weight
Standard height for mature males is 22½ to 24½
inches and for mature females, 21½ to 23½ inches. A
correctly built Labrador Retriever male in working
condition should weigh between 65 and 80 pounds and
a female should weigh between 55 and 70 pounds.
Fault: One-half inch or greater over or under the
standard height at maturity.
Gait
When trotting, the gait is effortless, smooth,
powerful and well coordinated, showing good but not
exaggerated reach in front and drive behind. When
moving, the dog's head moves forward so that the
head, backline, and tail are nearly even. The
backline remains level with only a slight flexing to
indicate suppleness. Viewed from any position, legs
turn neither in nor out, nor do feet cross or
interfere with each other. As speed increases, feet
tend to converge toward center line of balance. It
is recom-mended that dogs be shown on a loose lead
and moved at a moderate speed to reflect true gait.
Poor movement should be penalized to the degree to
which it reduces the Labrador Retriever's ability to
perform the tasks it was bred to do.
Disqualifications
Unilateral or bilateral cryptorchid. Viciousness
or extreme shyness. Aggressiveness toward humans or
other dogs. Nose completely unpigmented. Absence of
pigmentation in eye rims. Tail docked. Alteration of
the natural length or carriage of the tail. Dogs
with docked or altered tails resulting from injuries
in the field shall be eligible for registration and
performance events but ineligible for conformation
events.
Any color or combination of colors other than
described in the "Color" paragraph above. Albinism.
