Labrador History & General Information

Labrador Retrievers belong to the Gundog family.  They were first recognised as a KC Breed in England in 1903 and by the AKC in 1917.   Labradors were originally called a St. John's Dog or lesser Newfoundland dog. The breed was in Newfoundland in the 1700's and imported to England beginning the early 1800's.  The Labrador's exact origin are unknown but some speculate the Greater Newfoundland dog or the French St. Hubert's dog is part of the cross that made the St. John's dog.  (Find out More about the history of the labrador

Labradors come in three colours, Black, Yellow and Chocolate. Their increasing popularity as a family pet has seen breeding numbers increase exponentially. They now account for over 1/5th of all dogs registered with the Kennel Club annually. Labradors do make good family pets, but many people underestimate the amount of work involved in rearing a new pup, and quite often, in the early days, give up through exasperation. Do your research beforehand, they can become fabulous family pets, but you get out what you put in, and in the early days, that is a LOT of hard work