Breed Profile: Labrador.

Weight	Male	27–40 kg (60–88 lb)
	Female	25–35 kg (55–77 lb)
Height	Male	56–63 cm (22–25 in)
	Female	54–60 cm (21–24 in)
Coat	Smooth, short, dense and straight
Color	Black, chocolate,white, or yellow (pale cream to red)

Country or origin: Canada (original)
                           United Kingdom (development)

The Labrador Retriever (also Labrador, or Lab for short) is one of several kinds of retriever, a type of gun dog. A breed characteristic is webbed paws for swimming, useful for the breeds original purpose of retrieving fishing nets.They are also one of the most popular assistance dog breeds in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States and many other countries, as well as being widely used by police and other official bodies for their detection and working abilities. Typically, Labradors are athletic and love to swim, play catch and retrieve games, are good with young children, elderly, and for protection.

Appearance: Labradors are relatively large, with males typically weighing 29 to 41 kg (64 to 90 lb) and females 25 to 32 kg (55 to 71 lb). Labradors weighing close to or over 100 lb (45 kg) are considered obese or having a major fault under American Kennel Club standards, although some Labradors weigh significantly more.

The breed tends to shed hair twice annually, or regularly throughout the year in temperate climates. Some Labradors shed considerably; however, individual Labradors vary. Labrador hair is usually fairly short and straight, and the tail quite broad and strong. The otter-like tail and webbed toes of the Labrador Retriever make them excellent swimmers. The webbing between their toes can also serve as a "snowshoe" in colder climates and keep snow from balling up between their toes- a condition that can be painful to other breeds with hair between the toes. Their interwoven coat is also relatively waterproof, providing more assistance for swimming.

Official breed standards:
There is a great deal of variety among Labradors. The following characteristics are typical of the conformation show bred (bench-bred) lines of this breed in the United States, and are based on the AKC standard.
Significant differences between UK and US standards are noted.

• Size: Labradors are a medium but compact breed. They should have an appearance of proportionality. They should be as long from the withers to the base of the tail as they are from the floor to the withers. Males should stand 22.5 to 24.5 inches (57 to 62 cm) tall at the withers and weigh 65 to 80 lb (29 to 36 kg). Females should stand 21.5 to 23.5 inches (55 to 60 cm) and weigh 55 to 70 lb (25 to 32 kg). By comparison under UK Kennel Club standards, height should be 22 to 22.5 inches (56 to 57 cm) for males, and 21.5 to 22 inches (55 to 56 cm) for females.

• Coat: The Lab's coat should be short and dense, but not wiry. The coat is described as 'water-resistant' or more accurately 'water-repellent' so that the dog does not get cold when taking to water in the winter. That means that the dog naturally has a slightly dry, oily coat. Acceptable colours are black, yellow (ranging from ivory or creme to fox red), and chocolate.

• Head: The head should be broad with a pronounced stop and slightly pronounced brow. The eyes should be kind and expressive. Appropriate eye colours are brown and hazel. The lining around the eyes should be black. The ears should hang close to the head and are set slightly above the eyes.

• Jaws: The jaws should be strong and powerful. The muzzle should be of medium length, and should not be too tapered. The jaws should hang slightly and curve gracefully back.

• Body: The body should be strong and muscular with a level top line.

Colour: Labrador Retrievers are registered in three colours: black (a solid black colour), yellow shades, anything from light cream to "fox-red", and chocolate shades, medium to dark brown. Some Labradors can have markings such as white patches on their chest and other areas, but most commonly they are one solid color. Puppies of all colours can potentially occur in the same litter. Pigmentation effects appear in regard to yellow Labradors, and sometimes chocolate, and hence the majority of this section covers pigmentation within the yellow Labrador. The most common places where pigmentation is visible are the nose, lips, gums, feet, tail, and the rims of the eyes, which may be black, brown, light yellow-brown ("liver", caused by having two genes for chocolate). Yellow Labradors usually have black noses, which may gradually turn pink with age (called "snow nose" or "winter nose"). A colouration also known as "Dudley" is also possible. Dudleys are variously defined as yellow Labradors which have unpigmented (pink) noses, yellow with liver/chocolate pigmentation, or "flesh coloured" in addition to having the same colour around the rims of the eye, rather than having black or dark brown pigmentation.

Temperment: Labradors have a reputation as a very even-tempered breed and an excellent family dog. This includes a good reputation with children of all ages and other animals. Labradors' sense of smell allows them to hone in on almost any scent and follow the path of its origin. But some lines (particularly those that have continued to be bred specifically for their skills at working in the field rather than for their appearance) are particularly fast and athletic. Their fun-loving boisterousness and lack of fear may require training and firm handling at times to ensure it does not get out of hand - an uncontrolled adult can be quite problematic. Females may be slightly more independent than males. Labradors mature at around three years of age; before this time they can have a significant degree of puppy-like energy, often mislabelled as being hyperactive. Because of their enthusiasm, leash-training early on is suggested to prevent pulling when full-grown. Labradors often enjoy retrieving a ball endlessly and other forms of activity (such as agility, frisbee, or flyball).  Although they will sometimes bark at noise, especially noise from an unseen source ("alarm barking"), Labradors are usually not noisy or territorial. They are often very easygoing and trusting with strangers, and therefore are not usually suitable as guard dogs.

Labradors have a well-known reputation for appetite, and some individuals may be highly indiscriminate, eating digestible and non-food objects alike. Lab's LOVE their food and will be very persistant in order to get it, for this reason, a Labrador owner must carefully control his/her dog's food intake to avoid obesity and its associated health problems.

Health: Labrador's tend to be an overal healthy breed but they do have some problems. These are some:
Obesity
Labradors like to eat and without adequate exercise, can become obese. Laziness also contributes to this. A healthy Labrador can do swimming wind sprints for two hours, and should keep a very slight hourglass waist and be fit and light, rather than fat or heavy-set. When they are fat, they usually develop hip dysplasia or other joint problems and get diabetes. Osteoarthritis is common in older, especially overweight, Labradors.
Inherited Problems
Labradors are prone to hip and elbow displasia, especially in the larger dogs. Hip scores are recommended before breeding and often joint supplements are recommended,
Labradors also suffer from knee problems too. A luxating patella is a common occurrence in the knee where the leg is often bow shaped. Eye problems are also a possibility.

History: The founding breed of the Labrador was the St. John's Water Dog, a breed that emerged through ad-hoc breeding's by early settlers of the island in the 16th century. The forebears of the St. John's Dog are not known, but were likely a random-bred mix of English, Irish, and Portuguese working breeds.
The first St. John's dog was said to be brought to England around 1820; however, the breeds reputation had spread to England long before.

Yellow and chocolate pups, would occasionally appear (although often culled), until finally gaining acceptance in the 20th century. The first recognised yellow Labrador was Ben of Hyde, born 1899, and chocolate Labradors became more established in the 1930s.
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This is Hazel, she is a 3 year old Chocolate Labrador. Her Mum is Maggie Pine!
Hazel loves nothing better than stealing food at the park and tormenting other dogs. HE HE.
Isn't she just gorgeous though?! :-)