Labrador retriever Types : (US&EN)

Updated: January 14, 2023

Reading Time: 6 mins

Table of Contents

The Labrador retriever breed, one of the popular dog breeds among people worldwide (especially Americans and brits who are mainly interested in keeping them as pets), was first made famous by sailors who sailed between England and Canada. The name Labrador retriever was taken from the Newfoundland region, but its main fame was in Britain. It should be noted that this breed should not be confused with the Newfoundland breed because these two breeds have nothing to do with each other. The topic we want to discuss in the rest of this article is the types of Labrador retrievers. If you’d like to know more about the Labrador retriever breed and its types, you can go to the end of our article.

How many types of Labrador retrievers are there?

Labrador retriever dogs are generally divided into two main types; for a long time, one of these breeds has been known as a working dog and the other as a companion dog, although with time, they are no longer used as working dogs. However, they still maintain their popularity among people.

The two types of Labrador retriever are:

English Labrador retriever
American Labrador retriever

All Labrador Retrievers have thick, dense, and soft coats. It doesn’t get wet, which is one reason why they like to play in the water and why it’s good for duck hunting. Labradors don’t have spots or other patterns on their coats but may have different shades of color. Labrador Retrievers can only come in the following colors:

Shades of Black
Creamy Yellow
Chocolate brown

Who officially registered the Labrador retriever types?

In 1903, the British organization The Kennel Club established the first British breed of Labrador retriever. Then after 14 years, in 1917, the American Kennel Club founded the American breed of Labrador retriever. However, most official breed regulation organizations do not see much difference between these two types of Labrador retriever breeds. On the other hand, Most of these differences can be recognized by the breeders and trainers, and that is because of the practical differences between these two breeds. To better understand and clarify the American and English types, we have discussed each separately in detail.

Image By AKC

Top Features of the American Labrador retriever

This type of Labrador retriever is also called the Field type. Even though this dog is considered one of the most popular dogs in America, its origin and destination were not from the US because, as we said earlier in the article, Britain was the place of development of the Labrador retriever breed, so we can conclude that the American type is also geographically developed in Britain.

One of the essential features of the American Labrador retriever is that it is a working dog and we can see this breed in farms and other workplaces. Developing these field skills over time has caused them to have a hunting spirit. You must be able to direct this hunting instinct to healthy behaviors; otherwise, maintaining it can be dangerous for family members and other pets.

To describe the appearance features of the American Labrador retriever, we must say that it has an athletic and muscular body. Compared to the British type of retriever, it is more elongated and stylish. The muzzle of the American Labrador retriever is more extended than its British type.

Speaking about their personality, we must say they are both energetic and active because they were originally bred to be haunting and working dogs. Being full of energy has made this type of dog be used for intense sports because it has the potential for it. If you keep a Labrador retriever as a pet, you must control this energetic spirit with many kinds of play and daily exercises.

What are the features of the English Labrador Retriever?

Another type of Labrador retriever is the English type, also called the Conformation type. This name is because they are often bred for show dogs. Nowadays, primarily the English type of this breed is used as a companion dog; the ability to hunt is less seen in them and most of them cannot be considered sports dogs. Although the American type is more athletic, the English type has a larger body. There is a high possibility of obesity in them, and late puberty is another feature of English Labrador retrievers. Shorter muzzles and broader legs are other features of English retrievers.

To speak about their personality, they are very friendly, playful, and kind. This makes them great pets. You can consider them a good friend for your children who will not harm them if trained. But it should be noted that dogs instinctively have traits that must be carefully channeled to ensure their safety and the safety of the people around them.

Is the Canadian Labrador retriever also another type of Labrador retriever?

Earlier, we talked about two types of Labrador retrievers, but there is another type of Labrador retriever, which is the origin of all Labradors. The Canadian Labrador Retriever was the original example of the Labrador breed, which unfortunately no longer exists. If we want to mention the features of this breed, we must say that it has many standard features among Labradors and is very similar to both American and English types.

Common features in Labrador retriever breeds and how to deal with them

If you adopt one of them as a pet, you should know that both types have some same features, such as:

Labrador dogs are energetic and active and need at least 1 hours of daily play and physical activity. If possible, add games such as fetch or swimming to your daily walks to have a happier dog.
Labradors are very social and like to play with other dogs. Allow your dog to interact with other dogs.
Labrador dogs are brilliant, and this does not belong to a specific type of them; they all have this extraordinary intelligence. Therefore, in addition to physical exercises, you should add mental exercises to their program.

Conclusion

Despite their different types, Labrador retrievers are one of the best choices as pets due to their features such as intimacy, friendliness, intelligence, etc. But for getting one of them, no matter what type, you should get a lot of information to make an intelligent choice. In our article, we covered in detail how to identify the Labrador retriever breeds from each other. Keeping the breed standards in mind will help you make a wise choice, but remember that the features of each dog are different according to the conditions they have been kept in and even the training they have received.

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