British Labrador History & Traits

The history of the Labrador Retriever is a little mysterious in so much that the Labrador Retriever does not originate from Labrador in Canada but rather from nearby Newfoundland.

Some theorists believe that the breed may even have originated in Portugal (Labrador means 'labourer' in Portuguese) before being introduced into Newfoundland by Portuguese sailors.

Whatever their origins the history of the Labrador Retriever began in the 19th century when the English aristocracy began to import the dogs from Newfoundland. Known as 'St Johns' dogs they would work with the Newfoundland fisherman retrieving lines and lost fish before going home to play with the children of the family. Labrador lovers of today will recognise their hard working, lovable and eager to please pet from in that description.

The St Johns Dogs were ideal for hunting and sport which was why they were so popular with well-to-do Englishmen who could afford to have them brought back from Canada. By the mid-1800s there were a few references to the St Johns Dogs being called Labradors though the name didn't come into common use until around 1865.

By the 1880s a limited breeding programme was underway in Britain. All Labradors were black until 1892 when the Duke of Buccleuch bred the first liver coloured Labs though the first real chocolate's wouldn't appear in any number until the 1930s. The first yellow Lab, the legendary Ben of Hyde, was born in 1899. I suppose the history of the Labrador Retriever officially began in 1903 when the breed was recognised by English Kennel Club with the American Kennel Club following suit in 1917.

Over in Newfoundland the St Johns Dog eventually became extinct after the introduction of sheep farming to the region. Legislation was passed towards the end of the 18th century limiting each family to only one dog and by the 1880s heavy licensing costs were imposed on the dogs with the taxes on females being higher than on males. The breed eventually died out in the 193s.

Earlier, the introduction of the Quarantine Act in Britain in 1895 more or less put a halt to the import of dogs and, with most of the true St Johns Dogs in England having died out, the Labrador breed was saved by a breeding programme undertaken by Dukes Buccleuch and Home along with the Earl of Malmesbury.

The history of the Labrador Retriever since the turn of the 20th century has being one of increasing popularity with the wonderful nature and characteristics of the breed making the Labrador one of the most well-liked and fashionable dogs for family pets as well as in showing and trialling circles.

British Labradors as Product of Field Trial Breeding Selection
Working Labradors in England are heavily influenced by the relatively small population of Labradors that are actively bred and trained for competition in retriever field trials. The defining characteristics of this field trial population are not looks or appearance but rather temperament, behavior and trainability. The typical successful field trial Labrador in England tends to be calm of temperament, is typically easy to train, has a tendency toward natural good manners and tends to have a genetically inherited tendency to deliver a retrieve to hand. There are two major factors driving the breeding selection producing these characteristics of dogs in the field trial population. Those breeding selection drivers are (1) a culture of gentle training methods, and (2) the behavioral requirements of a successful field trial dog.

Gentle Training Culture
The British retriever field trial sector is characterized by a culture of gentle positive training methods. The practice of force fetch training is nearly never encountered in England. Delivery to hand is in the main accomplished by breeding selection for natural delivery to hand. A typical puppy of British field trial breeding has a natural tendency to deliver to hand. All the owner needs to do is reinforce that tendency by rewarding it at the appropriate times. Nearly all competing field trial Labradors in England are trained and handled by their owners. When that owner encounters a dog that is too "hot" to train to field trial standards by traditional gentle training, the dog is generally found a new home. A more suitable field trial candidate is then sought. Thus breeding selection tends to favor dogs that are fairly sensitive and tractable.

Behavioral Requirements for a Winning Field Trial Dog
British retriever field trials are run in shooting environments and settings that are very different from American shooting, but the gundog behaviors those field trials require are the same behviors desirable for anyone's gundog. To become a winner, the typical field trial retriever must exhibit good manners in extremely high distraction environments and he must demonstrate game-finding initiative and hunting persistence. Typically the trials will consist of two types of scenario, driven birds and walked-up birds. The British shooting scenario is a little different than that of American shooting, but the behaviors required of the gundog retrievers is very similar. The major important behaviors are:

1. Exhibit Good Manners in an extremely high distraction environment

2. Demonstrate game-finding initiative and hunting persistence

3. Leave the short visible dead birds and go for the long unseen cripple

Exhibit good manners in extremely high distraction environment
Driven pheasants comprise a large part of British shooting. Pheasants are driven from cover in sucb a manner that they fly over pre-stationed shooters. The shooting is usually fast and furious with many birds being dropped around the guns and the dogs. The dog must sit quietly in place during pheasant drives during which dozens of shot pheasants fall all around the dog. (I once saw a falling pheasant bounce off a dog's shoulder and the dog remained sitting) If either the dog or the handler makes any noise, they will be excused from the trial.

Walkups constitute the other major scenario of British Field Trials. Here a line of beaters walks line abreast across a field flushing birds as they go. Interspersed across the line are 6 to 9 shooters, and probably 4 dogs under judgment. As the line progresses the dogs must walk quietly at heel while the birds are flushed and shot. After several birds are down the line halts, and the birds are retrieved. The dogs must walk quietly at heel with no badgering from handler. They must remain quietly at heel during flushing and shooting of birds. Here again, both dog and handler are expected to be quiet.

Demonstrate game-finding initiative and hunting persistence
On driven birds, the dogs not only get the opportunity to demonstrate their steadiness in the face of immense temptation, they also get the opportunity to demonstrate their game-finding initiative and their hunting persistence. At the end of the drive, the judges will ask each dog to pick up a particular bird. The judges will select the wounded birds first. Thus the dog may be required to ignore 5 or 10 birds lying in plain sight out front and take line off to the left toward a cripple, which the dog did not see, downed 150 yards off in dense cover, out of sight of the handler. The handler sends the dog off on a line handles him up to the cover and casts him into it. Then it is all up to the dog. If he finds the bird he is a star, if he fails to find it, he is out of the trial.

The walked-up bird gets interesting when it is a big cock pheasant which is only slightly hit and sails off to go down 75 yards in front of the line. When a dog is sent for this bird, he is expected to go to the area of the fall, find the blood trail, and track down the wounded pheasant. Furthermore he is expected to ignore the freshly flushed birds that may spring up in his path as he makes his way along the wounded bird's trial. Chasing freshly flushed birds will cause the dog's elimination. The dog must stick to the wounded bird's trail and collect him, or the dog will be dropped from competition.

The Cream Rises to the Top
The British have one custom in their retriever field trial which helps insure that the best dogs tend to win at field trials. That custom is the eye-wipe. When one dog fails to find a bird for which he has been sent, then the next dog up is sent for the bird. If the second dog succeeds, he is said to have wiped the eye of the first dog. A superior performance score is generally given for an eye-wipe. If both dogs fail, then typically both are dropped, under the premise that they had the opportunity of picking up the scent trail while it was still fresh and they failed to do so.

The British Retriever Field Trial system has done a good job of preserving the genetics of a good working gundog. A British Labrador whose pedigree has a good sprinkling of British Field Trial Winners and British Field Trial Champions will have a high probability of having the behavioral tendencies which lead to proficiency in the three major behavioral elements of success in British Field Trials:

1. Exhibit Good Manners in an extremely high distraction environment

2. Demonstrate game-finding initiative and hunting persistence

3. Leave the short visible dead birds and go for long unseen cripple

In general one would expect such a dog to exhibit a calm temperament, to be tractable, sensitive, and easily trained by a relatively inexperienced trainer. One would also expect that dog to have an abundance of game finding initiative and hunting perseverance. These behaviors and characteristics of British Field Trial Dogs are highly desirable in anyone's gundog.

British Labrador History & Traits

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