Let's Talk About.....The Origins
Nell (b.1856), a Labrador Retriever belonging to 11th Earl of Home. First known photograph of breed taken 1867. Source: Public Domain
Much has been written about the origin of the Labrador Retriever, so I will condense the general thoughts of many authors and attribute these at the end of this article.
The Labrador Retriever does not originate from Labrador in Canada (as the name might suggest) but rather from nearby Newfoundland.
Some theorists believe that the breed may have originated in Portugal before being introduced into Newfoundland by Portuguese sailors. And to support this theory I quote from “The Dual-Purpose Labrador” page 16
“It appears that the breed was pure black when Peter Hawker wrote about it, and there is evidence, though verbal, that there were one or two yellows cropping up before the Labrador came over here [UK]. This suggests that the breed was already fairly pure, with the yellow a simple recessive factor, exactly as today. I myself, while looking through an Italian book on dogs, was struck by a photo of a dog that looked like a very typical yellow Labrador, complete with the correct coat and genuine otter tail. Stopping dead in my page-turning, I tried to decipher the caption and found that the dog was a ‘Cane di Castro Laboreiro’, Castro Laboreiro being a village in Portugal, the breed being of ancient origin. Was this strong likeness to a yellow Labrador, coupled with the name, pure coincidence? I give this fact for what it is worth, the photo appearing on Page 299 of Le Razzi Canie by Florenzo Fioroni. It seems to me that this breed of dog may have somehow found its way to the shores of Newfoundland with a sailor who hailed from Portugal, taking the self-colour and the name with it, the dog becoming incorporated in the local breed and the name corrupted by usage into the well-known local name. If the Portuguese breed was an old one, as sounds possible from its name, then it could be strong enough to over-ride the other crosses, just as the Labrador does today. This is only a shot in the dark with no evidence other than one photo, but to me it might be the clue to the otherwise unexplained fact that a Labrador is whole coloured, and that it was named after a country or province in which it appears to be unknown.”
Whatever the origins of the Labrador Retriever the history of its development began in the eighteenth century. Fisherman from the Atlantic shores of Europe had, for many years, been going to the Cod Banks off Newfoundland to fish, and they utilised the local dog who showed such ability to be an all-round worker. Lorna, Countess Howe records in her book “The Labrador Retriever” about the origin on page 17.
“In the latter part of the eighteenth century a certain Lieutenant Cartwright, RN, travelled extensively in Newfoundland. In his book on his travels, he writes: ‘Providence has even denied them [the aboriginal Indians] the pleasing services and companionship of the faithful dog’. From this statement, which is reliable, I think we may suppose that there were no dogs in North America. If we accept this statement, it seems reasonable to assume that the Labrador Retriever was brought by Europeans to those parts when they began to settle there”.
Countess Howe goes on to say “The larger, heavier dogs were used as draught animals to pull sleighs and generally make themselves useful. The lighter, smoother coated variety were taken by wildfowlers and fisherman and were used to retrieve game from rough seas, and also to retrieve fish which would otherwise have escaped. Both these varieties found their way to these shores and attracted attention. They were known as Newfoundland dogs – which, of course, was confusing”.
Colonel Peter Hawker (born 1786 – died 1853) was a shooting sportsman of the 19th century and it was he who named the larger dog the Newfoundland and the smaller the lesser Newfoundland, or the Labrador or St. John’s Water dog around 1814. It was around this time when the English aristocracy began importing the dogs from Newfoundland. Known as ‘St Johns’ dogs they would work with Newfoundland fisherman retrieving lines and lost fish. 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 Newfoundland. By the mid-1800’s 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.
Countess Howes states on page 18 “The Duke of Buccleuch, Lord Malmesbury and Lord home were all favourably impressed by the Labrador as a worker on land and in water. In 1867 a picture was made of Lord home’s Nell, then about eleven years old. Apart from four white feet, she is a typical specimen of the breed so popular. The Border Country down to the present time has ever been a stronghold of the breed. The owner of these original kennels were proud of the breed and did their utmost to keep it pure. That the breed became so popular there is surely emphasized by the fact that Robert Burns describes the breed thus:
His hair, his size, his mouth, his legs
Shew’d he was name o’ Scotland’s dogs
But whelped some place far abroad,
Where sailors gang to fish for cod.
These words seem to portray the Labrador and none other. The popularity, the wonderful nature and characteristic of the breed making the Labrador one of the most well-liked dogs for family pets, as well as sporting dogs, service dogs, dog sports and conformation rings. The Labrador can be best described as ‘the all-rounder’, he can work on water and land, with a biddable temperament and steady pace. Today he is recognised as a wonderful retrieving and game-finding dog.
By the 1880’s a limited breeding program was underway in Britian, all labradors were black until 1892 when the Duke of Buccleuch bred the first liver coloured labrador, though the first real chocolates wouldn’t appear in any numbers until the 1930’s. The first yellow labrador, Hyde Ben was born in 1889, the only yellow in a litter of blacks from black parents. I suppose the history of the Labrador Retriever officially began in 1903 when the breed was recognised by the English Kennel Club. Prior to this the Labrador competed in mixed classes, which were classified as for ‘Flat Coated or Wavy Coated Retrievers of any colour’.
Earlier, in 1885 a sheep law was introduced and a quarantine law in 1895, which 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 program undertaken by Dukes Buccleuch and Home along with the Earl of Malmesbury. Over in Newfoundland the St Johns Dog eventually became extinct after heavy licensing costs were imposed, the breed eventually died out in the 1930’s.
The development of the Labrador continued but in 1916 the Labrador Club was formed and the committee members drew up a set of rules and standard of points. This was submitted to the Kennel club who accepted and ratified the first Labrador Breed Standard. In 1925 there was a movement to make the yellow labrador a breed of its own, but fortunately this did not eventuate and today all three colours are recognised by the kennel clubs across the world.
Down through the years the Labrador Retriever has been termed the dual-purpose dog and of late the all-purpose dog – as indeed he is. Ask what you will of the Labrador and you can have it.
Sources:
The Dual Purpose Labrador by Mary Roslin-Williams
The Labrador Retriever by Lorna, Countess Howe
Further reading about the Buccleuch Labradors (which still continue today) can be found at this website: https://www.drumlanrigcastle.co.uk/outdoor-activities/buccleuch-gundogs/buccleuch-gundogs-history/history-of-the-buccleuch-labrador/
Further reading about the development of the yellow labradors from the estate of Mr C. J. Radclyffe of Hyde House https://gundog-journal.com/training/the-labrador-pioneers/
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