The Labrador Retriever has become a very popular dog breed over recent years, and here at Labrador Owners we absolutely love them! With good looks, a friendly personality, high intelligence and a great overall companion, there's a lot to love.

Breed History

Labradors were bred historically to be both a friendly companion and a useful working dog. As their name might suggest, they were put to work originally as fishermen's helpers where they would haul nets, fetch ropes, and retrieve fish. More recently working Labs are normally found on farms, where their natural instinct to retrieve combined with a friendly nature to other animals makes them a great general helper.

Labradors also make fantastic assistance dogs, search and rescue dogs and retrievers for hunters; the breeds intelligence and willingness to learn (for a tasty reward!) makes them suitable for most canine assistance jobs.

Technical Info

MaleFemale
Height57 - 62 cm55 - 60 cm
Weight29.5 - 36 kg25 - 32 kg
Life Expectancy10 - 12 years10 - 12 years
Labrador Retriever Breed Information. Height is measured to the shoulder.

Strongly built, short coupled, very active; broad in skull; broad and deep through chest and ribs; broad and strong over loins and hindquarters.

The UK Kennel Club

The most distinguishing characteristics of the Labrador Retriever are its short, dense, weather resistant coat; an “otter” tail; a clean-cut head with broad back skull and moderate stop; powerful jaws; and its “kind,” friendly eyes, expressing character, intelligence and good temperament.

Behaviour & Temperament

Labs are an intelligent dog breed and they LOVE to eat, making the breed easy to train especially if owned from a puppy. This high intelligence can lead to destructive behaviour; you may have heard already about a Labradors ability to chew through pretty much anything, this even includes wood and flooring - trust me! From experience this happens at a younger age, if your Lab becomes bored or is left alone for too long.

Intelligent, keen and biddable, with a strong will to please. Kindly nature, with no trace of aggression or undue shyness.

The UK Kennel Club

Labradors are a friendly breed and generally get along well with other dogs and children, so they make perfect family dogs. They are however very energetic due to their working history, so require frequent (at least once daily) long walks as well as stimulation from training and play.

Health

As with any dog breed there are thousands of illnesses that could affect your Labrador Retriever. However, Labs are generally healthy when compared to a lot of other popular dog breeds.

A Labradors love for food can be a major issue; Labradors have a fault in the POMC gene, which is linked to regulating food intake and helps with providing the feeling of being full. This means that your Lab may never actually feel full, and as a result it is very common to see an overweight Lab which can really be considered the breeds worst health issue. It is always down to the owner to ensure their dog is getting the correct amount of food on a daily basis - do not give in to those puppy dog eyes!

Other common ailments include Hip and Elbow Dysplasia, Cancer, Exercise-Induced Collapse and Allergies. Our Rolo suffers with allergies (mainly Hayfever) and as a result is almost constantly on a dose of allergy medication, plus he only eats a high quality grain free dog food. Check out the Labrador Owners shop for a great range of hand selected quality foods for your Labrador.

Summary

We absolutely adore our Labrador and truly would not trade him for the world. He is always happy and affectionate, has a great wacky personality plus is intelligent enough to teach tricks and train for an overall well behaved friendly family dog. Labs do require a lot of exercise, mental stimulation and dedication in order to keep them healthy and out of mischief; although their temperament does make for a fantastic family dog, if you are looking for a 'house dog' and can only commit to walks at the weekend then unfortunately a Labrador is not for you.

Useful links and further reading:

As always, please feel free to leave a comment or get in touch if you have any thoughts or want us to write about a particular subject.