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Standard The Standard is the physical "blueprint" of the breed. It describes the physical appearance and other desired qualities of the breed otherwise known as type. Some characteristics, such as size, coat quality, and movement, are based on the original (or current) function for the dog. Other characteristics are more cosmetic such as eye color; but taken together they set this breed apart from all others. The Standard describes an ideal representive of the breed. No individual dog is perfect, but the Standard provides an ideal for the breeder to strive towards. From pages 35-36 of Nancy Martin's book, The Versatile Labrador Retriever (1994): The English Standard for the Labrador Retriever A standard is picture in words of what an ideal Labrador Retriever should be--a pattern or criterion of the perfect Labrador. Of course there is no perfect dog or horse or person, but a written "standard" is established for use as basis of comparison in judging quality. The British Breed Standard The mother of all breed standards for the Labrador Retriever is the British Kennel Club Breed Standard. I would like to quote a few lines from a recent book on the breed, Labrador Retriever Today, by Mrs. Carole Coode: "In most countries of the world, the British Kennel Club Breed Standard is in use; Britain is considered to be the Labrador's country of origin. The FCI (Federation Cynologique Internationale), with all its aligned countries (including the Philippines), uses the British Standard." In surveying other countries, I found that their Standards were either exactly that of the British Kennel Club or as close a translation as possible. Therefore it is presented here, with the kind permission of the The Kennel Club. The British Breed Standard (1986) Labrador Retrievers General Appearance: Strongly built, short-coupled, very active; broad in skull; broad and deep through chest and ribs; broad and strong over loins and hindquarters. Characteristics: Good-tempered, very agile. Excellent nose, soft mouth; keen love of water. Adaptable devoted companion. Temperament: Intelligent, keen and biddable, with a strong will to please. Kindly nature, with no trace of aggression or undue shyness. Head and Skull: Skull broad with defined stop; clean-cut without fleshy cheeks. Jaws of medium length, powerful not snipy. Nose wide, nostrils well developed. Eyes: Medium size, expressing intelligence and good temper, brown or hazel. Ears: Not large or heavy, hanging close to head and set rather far back. Mouth: Jaws and teeth strong with a perfect, regular and complete scissor bite, i.e. upper teeth closely overlapping lower teeth and set square to the jaws. Neck: Clean, strong, powerful, set into well placed shoulders. Forequarters: Shoulders long and sloping. Forelegs well boned and straight from elbow to ground when viewed from either front or side. Body: Chest of good width and depth, with well sprung barrel ribs. Level top line. Loins wide, short-coupled and strong. Hindquarters: Well developed, not sloping to tail; well turned stifle. Hocks well let down, cow hocks highly undesirable. Feet: Round, compact; well arched toes and well developed pads. Tail: Distinctive feature, very thick towards base, gradually tapering towards tip, medium length, free from feathering, but clothed thickly all round with short, thick, dense coat, thus giving 'rounded' appearance described as 'Otter' tail. May be carried gaily but should not curl over back. Gait / Movement: Free, covering adequate ground; straight and true in front and rear. Coat: Distinctive feature, short-dense without wave or feathering, giving fairly hard feel to the touch; weather-resistant undercoat. Colour: Wholly black, yellow or liver/chocolate. Yellows range from light cream to red fox. Small white spot on chest permissible. Size: Ideal height at withers; dogs 56-57 cms (22-22 1/2ins); bitches 54-56 cms (21 1/2ins). Faults: Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree. Note: Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum. |