From The LRCs website: It is important for any Labrador fancier or judge to recognize and appreciate that the Labrador Retriever was imported into England and introduced into this country by gentlemen and lady sportsmen for one, and only one, purpose -to retrieve upland game and water fowl. The American sportsmen adopted the breed from England and subsequently developed and trained the dog to fulfill the hunting needs of this country. Today, as in the past, the Labrador will eagerly enter in ice cold water in Minnesota to retrieve a shot bird; hell work all day hunting doves in the heat of the Southwest -- his only reward is a pat for a job well done. As a judge of the breed for over thirty years and a breeder since 1951, my personal description of the breed is that of a strongly built, medium size, short coupled, active dog possessing an athletic, well-balanced conformation that enables it to function as a retrieving gun dog; the substance and soundness to hunt waterfowl or upland game for long hours under difficult conditions; the character and quality to win in the show ring; and the temperament to be a family companion. Physical features and mental characteristics should denote a dog bred to perform as an efficient retriever of game with a stable temperament suitable for a variety of pursuits beyond the hunting environment. Above all the Labrador Retriever must be well balanced - the components of his anatomy in proper correlation, enabling him to move in the show ring or run in the field with little or no effort. The true Labrador possesses elegance without over refinement and substance with out lumber or cloddiness.... It is our opinion that the show dog and field dog should have exactly the same conformation and condition. Additionally, we believe the first question that should come to mine in judging the Labrador Retriever is Can the dog do the job he was originally intended to do? Dr. B.W. Ziessow (Man in Camo w/black Lab photo provided by Charles Cox, of himself and his Boundary Waters Labrador, Mojo who is a Kilo ex Pixie pup) (second photo - our dog Sparkle by Margo)
Posted on: Thu, 09 Oct 2014 01:26:41 +0000