Labrador Retriever

The Labrador Retriever (also Labrador or Lab for short), is one of several kinds of retiever, a type of gun dog. The Labrador is widely considered the most popular breed of dog (by registered ownership) in the world, and is by a large margin the most popular breed by registration in the United States, the United Kingdom, and several other countries. It is also the most popular breed of assistance dog in the United States, Australia, and many other countries, as well as being widely used by police and other official bodies for their detection and working abilities. They are exceptionally affable, gentle, intelligent, energetic and good natured, making them both excellent companions and working dogs. Although somewhat boisterous if untrained, Labrador Retrievers respond well to praise and positive attention, and are considerably "food and fun" oriented. With training, the Lab is one of the most dependable, obedient and multi-talented breeds in the world.

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Labs tend to want a lot of attention from their owners. If the owner has another dog in the house the lab usually gets jealous and will strive for attention by moving the other dog out of the way so the owner can pet him. These dogs also love the water. They tend to play in the water if there are humans around playing in it. They love to be around humans and are usually very good with small children.

There are three recognized colors for Labs: black (a solid black color), yellow (anything from light cream to gold to "fox-red"), and chocolate (medium to dark brown). Puppies of all colors can potentially occur in the same litter. Color is determined primarily by two genes. The first gene (the B locus) determines the density of the coat's pigment granules: dense granules result in a black coat, sparse ones give a chocolate coat. The second (E) locus determines whether the pigment is produced at all. A dog with the recessive e allele will produce little pigment and will be yellow regardless of its genotype at the B locus. Variations in numerous other genes control the subtler details of the coat's coloration, which in yellow Labs varies from white to light gold to a fox red. Chocolate and black Labs' noses will match the coat color. A color similar to Weimaraners is sometimes found in the United States. The latter is a disqualification in show, although registered by the AKC as "chocolate".

Yellow and related shades
In the early years of the breed through to the mid-20th century, Labradors of a shade we would now call "yellow" were in fact a dark, almost butterscotch, colour (visible in early yellow lab photographs). The shade was known as "Golden" until required to be changed by the UK Kennel Club, on the grounds that "Gold" was not actually a colour. Over the 20th century a preference for far lighter shades of yellow through to cream prevailed, until today most yellow labs are of this shade.

Interest in the darker shades of gold and fox red were re-established by English breeders in the 1980's, and two dogs were instrumental in this change: Balrion King Frost (black, born approx. 1976) who consistently sired "very dark yellow" offspring and is credited as having "the biggest influence in the re-development of the fox red shade", and his great-grandson, the likewise famous Wynfaul Tabasco (b 1986), described as "the father of the modern fox red Labrador", and the only modern fox red Show Champion in the UK. Other dogs, such as Red Alert and Scrimshaw Placido Flamingo, are also credited with greatly passing on the genes into more than one renowned bloodline.

Chocolate Labs
Jack Vanderwyk traces the origins of all Chocolate labs listed on the LabradorNet database (some 34,000 labs of all shades) to eight original bloodlines. However the shade was not seen as a distinct colour until the 20th century; before then according to Vanderwyk, such dogs can be traced but were not registered. A degree of crossbreeding with Flatcoat or Chesapeake Bay retrievers was also documented in the early 20th century, prior to recognition. Chocolate labs were also well established in the early 20th century at the kennels of the Earl of Feversham, and Lady Ward of Chiltonfoliat. The bloodlines as traced by Vanderwyk each lead back to three black labs in the 1880s—Buccleuch Avon (m), and his sire and dam, Malmesbury Tramp (m), and Malmesbury June (f). Morningtown Tobla is also named as an important intermediary, and according to the studbook of Buccleuch Kennels, the chocolates in that kennel came through FTW Peter of Faskally (1908).