Page 29 - The Labrador Retriever
P. 29
Equally objectionable would be round protruding eyes.
The muzzle flows into the cheek with good fill under the eyes. The back of the ear helps form the shape of the head. The back of the ear is away from the head while the front of the ear is close fitting to the cheek. The top skull of a Labrador should be level without wrinkling. The ear set should not inter- fere with the level broad back skull
The head is on a powerful neck with good reach. The neck should be a suf- ficient length for the dog to be able to easily carry a goose without it touching the ground. Enough length to not have a bird impede it’s swimming movements while in the water. Enough to effort- lessly reach the ground while quarter- ing a field.
I would like to stress that this dog is a working retriever. His weight is of importance. They should not be over or under weight. They are a thick stocky dog. Not fat, not thin.
Well muscled. Bones should not be visible but easy to find.
The coat should be closed on itself. A good coat will follow the contour of
the dogs body. The length of the coat is somewhat debatable. I prefer a dog with a coat 1 to 11⁄2 inches in length and very dense. It is very important that the coat lay close and tight to the body. Rendering it weather resistant. If the coat is sticking up and you can see it open anywhere you will know it can not be weather resistant. You should be able to pour a bottle of water on a Labrador and every bit of it should run off as if running off a duck’s back. I have done this to my own dogs. The outer coat should not be soft. It should have a course, but not wiry feel. The undercoat should be soft and dense. There should be no fringing ESPECIAL- LY on the tail. The tail should not only be thickly coated but have a compleat wrap. That means there is NO fring- ing NO flagging the standard says otter tail. The hair grows almost in a circu- lar pattern from the top side of the tail closing on itself when it meets on the underside. Which can form a twist or twizzle at the tip of the tail. The tail should also be straight continuing the line of the topline. The tail should not be curled or Sabre like.
“the Standard now allowS for a three inCh varianCe in height for dogS and bitCheS.”
The feet should be tight and round. Well arched toes akin to a cat foot. The toes should be tight together with no space between them. The should have webbed feet. They should not be down in the pasterns. The pasterns will have a slight flex when moving but not so much as to be noticeable.
Leg to body ratio can be a confus- ing issue to some. Labradors are a somewhat-square breed. They should be slightly longer then tall. A 48-52 ratio describes it best. They should be equal height front to rear standing or moving. They should not appear to be running downhill on the go around. Balance and moderation are key to the Labrador.
I would also like to address the height issue. I know it has been an issue at least since just before I started in Labradors. It is my understanding that Labradors were getting to be springer sized and being advertised as apartment sized dogs. So the parent club stepped in after it was noticed by several judged that this breed had a definite problem. The standard now allows for a three inch variance in height for dogs and bitches. To me this is tremendous. Some breeders have a huge problem with height being a disqualification. I don’t understand that especially given the three inch variance that is allowed.
Again I stress that balance and mod- eration are (at least to me) key when judging a Labrador. I know there is no perfect dog. I also know that my own dogs have their shortcomings. Even some that I have talked about.
I want to also say something about temperament. No Labrador should be slinking around the ring jumping at shadows or afraid of really anything. They are a sound balanced working hunter. Also they should not be aggres- sive in any manor. To me a Labrador has nothing to prove.
Here are two great ideas for judging
tHe Labrador
1. Read the standard as many times
as you need to for it to sink in. 2. Stay true to the standard.
A Labrador is not a long distance runner not a body builder but a stocky lean hunter that has the temperament to be set to any task, easily and happily accomplish it.
This is only my opinion.
