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Labradors - are we splitting the breed?

37K views 207 replies 62 participants last post by  Gerry Clinchy 
#1 ·
Recently we bred our female with a really great FT dog. This is the first time I've ever bred a dog, and so I was reflecting back on the traits that I had been looking for in a stud dog: I didn't care much about color, but I wanted a dog with immense desire. I wanted a dog that was rock steady, and took direction well with it's handler. I wanted a dog with great prey-drive and one who had a reputation as a great marker. Our female is really a looker (who doesn't think their dog is handsome?) and so we wanted to produce puppies that would have that American Field-Bred labrador look to them: muscular body intense gaze, and strong bone structure.

While I was doing research a few weeks ago, I looked high and low. I looked at almost every labrador in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas, and Louisana. There was a ton of talent out there. Occasionally though I'd run into a dog listed "at stud" whose breeder would brag about immensly - as a show dog. Some of these animals almost didn't look like Labradors. They were short, stocky, and sometimes obese. In talking to other dog folks I know, I'd find out that many of these show people were incredibly happy with a dog that could pass an AKC JH test - in other words, some of these Labs, didn't posess the desire to hunt or the ability to do field work beyond a few single retrieves.

Now, I'm certainly not trying to knock on the Show Dog people. Personally, I have no desire to ever show a dog in a ring, but I understnad that people have dogs for all sorts of different reasons - and that Labs can be sucessful in a variety of disciplines. But the original intent of the breed was to retrieve dead birds. How can we claim that a short, squatty, blockheaded dog, is the same breed as a dog as the incredibly high-powered, very lean atheletes that compete in sporting events?

Are we splitting the breed?
 
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#178 ·
Albert's father OP , ( my dog can jump higher than your dog, na, na, na , na:p;)) Mammal Dog agility Dog breed Animal sports Canidae
 
#180 ·
Carol , absolutely to each their own! I have a Grady son, who has a head like a flat coat, that I absolutely adore!!! Please show me a picture of your dog standing that you prefer.
 
#190 ·
LOL! That's one of the problems with comparing shape and structure. Few FT bred dogs will stand for a photo. They are sitting or in motion. I have tried for years to get a standing photo of mine and they just look goofy. But when wandering free you can get a look at how they are put together.
 
#186 ·
You are Correct , there should be some evidence! We really are on the same page ..... going private for the rest
 
#205 ·
#207 ·
We are not alone
No you are not Bridget. Even across this side of the pond it has been 50 years since a dual champion retriever gained an award in our IGL ,in fact the last one was a Golden ! Ch Dai of Yarlaw .You have to go back further to 1953 for the last Labrador retriever 'Rockstead Footspark' who was a dual champion that ran in the IGL.

Curiously enough an article in this months UK Shooting Gazette covers this very discussion

The 'Split' emerged after world war 2 ,where the sport started to take on a new breed of handler/owner both in the show ring and the field. What was also emerging was 'commercial' influence. In both the show and field it was evident that money could be made by 'winning'!and if a certain 'line' or 'kennel' could consistently win then they became prosperous! irrespective of what the dog looked like (either field or show) ..Then what was born was 'The Kennel Club' !.....That was why I posted earlier the link regarding the exposure.;-)
 
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