The ancestors of the current
Labrador Retrievers originated on the island of Newfoundland, now a portion of the province of
Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The Labrador Retriever eiterialized over time from the St. John’s Water Dog, as well as ancestor
of the Newfoundland dog (to which the Labrador is closely related), through ad-hoc breedings by the first of the settlers
in the mid to late 16th century. The original ancestors of the St. John's dog have variously been indicated to have been
crossbreeds of the black St Hubert’s hound from France, working water dogs from Portugal, old European pointer
breeds and dogs from the indigenous peoples of the area. From the St. John's Dog, two breeds emerged; the
larger was used for hauling, and evolved into the larger and gentler Newfoundland dog, likely as a result of breeding
with mastiffs brought to the island by the Portuguese fishermen who have been fishing offshore since
the 1400s. The smaller short-coat retrievers used to retrieve and pull in the nets from the water were the
forebears of the Labrador Retriever. The white chest, feet, chin, and muzzle characteristic of the St. John's Dog
often turns out in Labrador mixes and would sometimes manifest in Labrador Retrievers as a small grey spot on the chest or stray white
hairs on the feet or muzzle.
Nell - A St. John’s Dog circa 1856.
The St. John’s region of Newfoundland was settled for the most part by the English and Irish. Local fishermen initially used the
St. John's dog to help in bringing nets to the shore; the dog can grab the floating corks on the ends of the nets
and drag them to shore. A number of these dogs got brought back to the Poole neighborhood of England in the early 1800s, later
the center of the Newfoundland fishing profession, by the gentry, and became treasured as sporting and waterfowl hunting dogs.
A number of kennels began breeding these dogs in England; at the same moment a combination of sheep protection laws
(Newfoundland) and rabies quarantine (England) led to the dogs slowl demise in their country of birth.
A surviving picture of Buccleuch Avon
(b.1885), the foundational dog
of many modern Labradors.
The first and second Earls of Malmesbury, who bred for duck shooting on his estate, and the 5th and 6th Dukes of
Buccleuch, and youngest son Lord George William Montagu-Douglas-Scott, were instrumental in developing and
establishing the modern Labrador breed in nineteenth century England. The dogs Avon ("Buccleuch Avon") and
Ned given by Malmesbury to assist the Duke of Buccleuch's breeding program in the 1880s are usually considered
the ancestors of all modern Labradors.
Early descriptions
Two early descriptions exist. In 1822, explorer W.E. Cormack crossed the island of Newfoundland by foot. In his
journal he wrote "The dogs are admirably trained as retrievers in fowling, and are otherwise useful.....The smooth
or short haired dog is preferred because in frosty weather the long haired kind become encumbered with ice on coming
out of the water."
Another early report by a Colonel Hawker described the dog as "by far the best for any kind of shooting. He is
generally black and no bigger than a Pointer, very fine in legs, with short, smooth hair and does not carry his
tail so much curled as the other; is extremely quick, running, swimming and fighting....and their sense of smell
is hardly to be credited...."
Name
There is some confusion in the naming of the early breed; the breed we now know as the Labrador Retriever was
originally called the St. John's dog (from which it emerged), or lesser Newfoundland, but these were also
considered distinct breeds by other sources. Other origins suggested for the name include the Spanish or
Portuguese word for rural/agricultural workers, Portuguese "lavradores" or Spanish "labradores," and the
village of Castro Laboreiro in Portugal whose herding and guard dogs bear a "striking resemblance" to Labradors.
Historical landmarks
The first written reference to the breed was in 1814 ("Instructions to Young Sportsmen" by Colonel Peter Hawker),
the first painting in 1823 ("Cora. A Labrador Bitch" by Edwin Landseer), and the first photograph in 1856 (the Earl
of Home's dog "Nell", described both as a Labrador and a St. Johns dog). By 1870 the name Labrador Retriever became
common in England. The first yellow Labrador on record was born in 1899 (Ben of Hyde, kennels of Major
C.J. Radclyffe), and the breed was recognized by the Kennel Club in 1903. The first American Kennel Club (AKC)
registration was in 1917. The chocolate Labrador emerged in the 1930s, although liver spotted pups were documented
being born at the Buccleuch kennels in 1892. The St. John's dog survived until the early 1980s, the last two
individuals being photographed in old age around 1981.
History of subtypes
Ancestral chocolate and butterscotch-yellow colors (sometimes called "liver" or "golden") were noted in the original
St. John's dogs as early as 1807, when the Canton shipwrecked carrying a number of St. John's dogs for the Earl of
Malmesbury. Two dogs were later found, one black and one chocolate, evidence that chocolate had been a color in the
original St. John's dogs. Yellow and chocolate pups, and occasional black and tan or brindling, would occasionally
reappear (although often culled), until finally gaining acceptance in the cases of chocolate and yellow or being
mostly bred out of the breed in the cases of black-and-tan and brindled, although until the 20th century black was
the preferred color.
The first recognized yellow Labrador was Ben of Hyde, born 1899, and chocolate labs became more established in the
1930s.
Ben of Hyde (b.1899), the first recognized yellow Labrador.
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, color (visible in early yellow Labrador 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 color. 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 1980s, 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 Labradors
Jack Vanderwyk traces the origins of all Chocolate Labradors listed on the LabradorNet database (some 34,000
Labradors dogs of all shades) to eight original bloodlines. However the shade was not seen as a distinct color
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 Labradors 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 labradors 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).