The Labrador Retriever - A Complete Anthology of the Dog

By Read Books Ltd.

The Labrador Retriever - A Complete Anthology of the Dog gathers together all the best early writing on the breed from our library of scarce, out-of-print antiquarian books and documents and reprints it in a quality, modern edition. This anthology includes chapters taken from a comprehensive range of books, many of them now rare and much sought-after works, all of them written by renowned breed experts of their day. These books are treasure troves of information about the breed - The physical points, temperaments, and special abilities are given; celebrated dogs are discussed and pictured; and the history of the breed and pedigrees of famous champions are also provided. The contents were well illustrated with numerous photographs of leading and famous dogs of that era and these are all reproduced to the highest quality. Books used include: The Kennel Encyclopaedia by J. Sidney Turner (1910), Dogs Of The World by Arthur Craven (1931), About Our Dogs by A. Croxton Smith (1931) and many others.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Read Books Ltd.
• Release date: Sep 6, 2016
• ISBN: 9781473352711

Book preview

1935.

THE LABRADOR

WE are so accustomed to regard only the more ornamental varieties of dogs, and perhaps chiefly those to be seen at shows, that there still are breeds which are as caviare to the multitude. The Labrador is one of these. This fact is to be regretted, because the Labrador dog is one of the finest of workers known to sportsmen, and as hardy and persevering as are the inhabitants of the country that gave him birth. Occasionally in newspapers dealing with kennel matters there is a passing reference to the breed, as well as in some of the more modern works. Nevertheless, considering the splendid working qualities, and the exceptional performances of the breed during the last three-quarters of a century, it is somewhat remarkable, to say the least, that those gentlemen who are so enthusiastic over a good working dog should remain more or less apathetic over the Labrador. It is true, there are some gentlemen in this country who have championed the cause of, and taken a keen interest in, the breed; but as compared with the vast number interested in the more popular Retriever, they are so few as practically to be lost sight of.

The Labrador is no new breed. It was introduced as long ago as the thirties, when it was brought hither in some of the vessels that at the time traded between the Labrador country and Poole, in Dorsetshire. Among its earliest patrons were the Earl of Malmesbury, the late Duke of Buccleuch, the Earl of Home, and Lord John Scott. As the merits of the dog as a sporting animal got noised abroad, this list of patrons was increased by the names of the Duke of Hamilton, the Earl of Verulam, Lord Wimborne, Sir Frederick Graham, Mr. Montague Guest, Mr. Arthur Wood, the present writer, and others. It has, however, at no time of its existence been what may be termed popular, the reason for this being the scarcity of the breed.

A great deal of misconception with regard to the modern Labrador has arisen. It is asserted that, owing to the difficulty experienced in keeping the breed pure in this country, an outcross is frequently resorted to. This is erroneous. For a very long time it has been the endeavour of Labrador breeders of any standing to keep out of their kennels any flat-coated cross, as such, in their opinion, tends to the production of a soft article. Moreover, they regard the present-day dog as a lineal descendant of those first used for sporting purposes by the Earl of Malmesbury.

That the dogs of to-day differ somewhat in conformation from those earlier ones of which we have heard admits of very little doubt; yet such differences are merely Time modifications that must exist in any variety kept for a specific purpose over a long period. There are some present-day breeders (the Duke of Buccleuch, who is the owner of the finest kennel of Labradors, being one of them) who incline to the belief that the old-time Labrador was heavier than his modern counterpart, and that he had smaller ears. The writer is of opinion that the modern dog is rather longer in the leg and narrower in the head than the first imported ones, although two pure-bred specimens he himself imported ten years ago were practically identical in type with the English Labradors of to-day. About the size of the ears opinions differ materially, some asserting