Labrador Retriever / Lab, Labrador

Breed history:

 This dog was raised in the 19th century in the Canadian province - Labrador and was used to pull fishing nets out of the water. It was brought to England by sturgeon fishermen who used it to recover the fish fallen from the fishing nets. Through varied crossbreedings between the Newfoundland of Saint John and the English Pointer the great specimens of today were obtained. Nowadays it is the best known dog due to its devotion to its master and the special relationship it has with people.

Description:

 It is a medium- to large-sized dog, long rather than tall, strong and brawny. The head is medium-sized, broad and rounded, with a moderate stop, a medium-sized, trapezoidal muzzle and a flat, black or brown nose, depending on the colour of the fur. The eyes are round, medium-sized and hazel. The ears are at the back, they are triangular, medium-sized and drooping. The tail is medium-sized, thick at the base and thin at the tip, covered with short hair, similar to the otter's, which helps it swim. The fur is double-layered, with a soft, thick, short inner layer and an outer layer made of short, straight, waterproof hair. It can be black, yellow or brown. It may or not have a white spot on the chest.

Personality:

This dog is intelligent, responsive, hard working, friendly, sensitive and enthusiastic. Attached, obedient and devoted to its master, affectionate and patient with children, friendly even to strangers. It gets along well with other dogs and other household animals.

Grooming:

 This dog's fur must be brushed regularly, but especially during the shedding period.

Living conditions:

 It is a dog with a high level of activity which likes exercise, to work and therefore it is recommended to active people that have enough free time for the dog. It is a dog with skills for field sports, it likes to take long walks, to run without a leash, to play, to play fetch, to swim. It can adapt to offered living conditions: outdoors or indoors, provided it can take the necessary daily exercise and participate in different activities with its master. It needs training and socialization.

Training:

 It is an intelligent dog that learns easily and likes to work for its master. The training must be as varied as possible, because it can learn a lot, in different fields such as rescue operations, search, helping the blind, but it also has very good results in training competitions. This dog reaches physical and mental maturity more slowly.

Usefulness:

 Today is still used in some areas to hunt in any kind of field and any weather conditions, but it is mostly used as a pet, as a guide for blind people, in search and rescue operations, in tracking drugs, etc.