The Labrador Retriever, also known as simply Labrador or Lab, is one of several kinds of retrievers, a type of gun dog. Labradors are expert in run, love to play, and the most popular breed of dog by registered ownership in Denmark, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States (since 1994).
A favourite disability assistance breed in many countries, Labradors are time to time trained to aid people who are blind, who have autism, to act as a therapy dog and perform screening and detection work for law enforcement and other official agencies. They get prized as sporting and hunting dogs. A few kennels breeding their ancestors, the St. John's water dog, were in England; at the same time a combination of sheep protection policy (Newfoundland) and rabies quarantine (England) led to their gradual demise in Canada, their country of origin.
In the 1830s, the 10th Earl of Home and his nephews the 5th Duke of Buccleuch and Lord John Scott, imported progenitors of the breed from Newfoundland to Europe for use as gundogs. Another early advocate of these Newfoundland dogs, or Labrador Retrievers as they later became known, was the 2nd Earl of Malmesbury who bred them for their acknowledged expertise in waterfowling.
During the 1880s, the 3rd Earl of Malmesbury, the 6th Duke of Buccleuch and the 12th Earl of Home collaborated to develop and establish the modern Labrador breed. The dogs Buccleuch Avon and Buccleuch Ned, given by Malmesbury to Buccleuch, were mated with bitches carrying blood from those originally imported by the 5th Duke and the 10th Earl of Home. The offspring are considered to be the ancestors of modern Labradors.
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| Labrador Retriever Puupy |
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| Labrador Retriever Dog |
