GENERAL APPEARANCE
Shoulder height: 54-57cm 
Colour: Black, yellow or liver/chocolate.
Coat: Short, straight, dense, hard outercoat with a thick undercoat.
Gait: Smoothly co-ordinated with a strong drive.
Labradors are strongly built, short coupled and very active dogs. The medium sized eyes and the pronounced stop are set mid-way between the broad skull and the powerful muzzle. The pendant ears are set rather far back on the head. The clean neck runs into a broad body with good fore and hind angulation. The ‘otter’ tail is a distinct characteristic of the breed; it must be thick at the base and covered with thick hair all round. In action it may be carried fairly high but should not curl over the back.
CHARACTERISTICS AND CARE
Due to their stable temperament, this breed is accepted universally as being good with children. Although not aggressive, they will bark at strangers. They are fun loving and adapt easily - a feature which makes them one of the prime breeds for service as guide dogs for the blind. In the field, they excel either working with the gun or retrieving. While being good in obedience trials, care should be taken to see they do not get too bored. Coat care is minimal and occasional brushing only is required.
HISTORY
The Labrador does not originate in Labrador as the name implies, but actually comes from Newfoundland. They possibly evolved from the St. Johns dog, a water spaniel not dissimilar to the Newfoundland (The St. Johns dog was victim of the stiff dog taxes of that time and ultimately became extinct).
In the early 1800s, these dogs caught the attention of water retrieving enthusiasts when it was found they would swim back to the fishermen’s boats carrying hooked fish. Eventually some of these retrievers arrived in Britain, where their virtues were retained through crossing them with other retrievers. This practise ceased once the breed was strong enough in numbers and quality to maintain the desired breed type.