1	The United Kennel Club Presents The Labrador Retriever
2	UKC Gratefully Acknowledges The invaluable assistance of the United Labrador Retriever Association, and Dr. Martha Anderson, in the creation of this program.
3	History of the breed The original Labradors were the water laborers for the fishermen of Newfoundland, hauling nets and capturing stray fish. The dogs on the right are the last of the original Newfoundland Water Dogs, whose ancestors were taken to England where they founded the Labrador breed.
4	History of the breed Early travelers from the British Isles took the breed back to Britain and transformed it into a land and water retriever for fowl and upland game.
5	The multi-faceted modern Lab Participates in a wide variety of activities- In the fishing industry As hunting companions In competitive field events In conformation and performance events As service dogs In law enforcement drug and bomb detection As search and rescue dogs And in overwhelming numbers as family companions
6	Breed characteristics Temperament-the breed is friendly, outgoing, eager to please, intelligent and easily trained. Serious fault-any shyness in a mature dog. Disqualification-Aggressiveness toward humans or other dogs Enthusiastic as a hunter, with a good nose and soft mouth Short, dense double coat Otter tail
7	General appearance Medium size Short coupled Powerfully built Proportion-square or just off square Leg length-elbow to ground is one-half the height at the withers
8	Free from exaggeration To be equally penalized- Light and weedy Tall and leggy Long and low Cloddy and lumbering Anything that would interfere with the dog being a useful worker
9	Head The head is important to the function of the breed and to the construction of a well made up Labrador.
10	Head planes The top lines of the skull and the muzzle should lie in parallel planes. This serves to keep the dogs nose out of the water and his line of vision correct when he is swimming.
11	Head properties Clean cut Skull and muzzle of approximately equal length Skull broad without exaggeration Stop moderate Cheeks clean Muzzle slightly deeper and wider at stop than at tip, lips fall away in a curve towards the throat, not pendulous or squared off
12	Pigment Black on yellow and black dogs, liver on chocolate dogs. Slight fading on nose is not a fault Never accept liver pigment on a yellow Labrador Absence of pigmentation in nose or eyerims is a disqualification
13	Eyes and expression Eyes are medium size and somewhat triangular in shape. Color is brown in black and yellow dogs and brown or hazel in chocolates. Never black! Eyerims are close fitting. Expression is kindly and intelligent.
14	Ears Triangular in shape Rather short, just covering the eye when pulled forward Set on well behind and just above the eye Fault-overly large or heavy ears
15	Ears Ears that are too short, such as on these two dogs, do not properly frame the face.
16	Teeth Full dentition, with the teeth meeting in a scissors bite. A level bite is acceptable, but not preferred. Fault-missing premolars Serious faults-overshot or undershot, misalignment, missing molars
17	Lovely Labrador heads
18	Neck Long enough to allow the dog to carry game with ease. Powerful, not throaty. Clean and smoothly blending into the shoulders. Faults-short, thick or ewe neck
19	Forequarters-shoulders Smooth muscles Long, well laid back shoulder blades, fairly close together at the withers Matching upper arm, setting elbows back under the withers and close to the body
20	Forequarters-legs Leg length is half the height at the withers Legs are straight, strong and sturdy Pasterns short, strong and slightly sloping Faults-too much or too little bone Serious fault-legs too short and heavy boned
21	Body-proportion The dog on the top is slightly longer than tall. The dog on the bottom is square. Both are correct.
22	Body-leg proportion These two dogs both have correct leg length in proportion to their height-but they look very different due to different body depth.
23	Body-forechest and brisket Well filled and deep below and behind the sternum. The “prow” breaks the path of the dog in the water as it swims so it is very important in this breed.
24	Body-ribcage, topline, underline Ribs long, deep and well sprung, forming a broad back. Topline level to slightly sloping croup. Underline nearly level with little or no tuck-up.
25	Body-loin and croup Loin is short, broad and deep-from last rib to front of stifle approximately a man’s hand width. Croup slopes slightly to the set on of the tail, which should appear to be a smooth continuation of the topline.
26	Hindquarters Broad and muscular, with angulation matching the front. Well bent at the stifle, short rear pastern, perpendicular to the ground and parallel to each other.
27	Feet Medium size, round and compact with well-arched toes and thick pads.
28	Tail The ‘otter’ tail is a distinctive feature of this breed.
29	Tail The importance of a proper tail cannot be overstated. Thick and muscular at the base, tapering to the end. Wrapped in double-coated fur. The stronger the tail, the easier for the dog to swim.
30	Tail carriage Ideal tail carriage is straight off the back which is the proper position when the dog is swimming. Slightly above level is acceptable, but never curled over the back.
31	Coat A hallmark of the breed, based upon original purpose. The coat must be double.
32	Coat Short Dense Water-repellant Double Straight, though a slight wave down the back is permissible Firm and resilient Undercoat-soft and dense
33	Color Solid black, any solid shade of yellow (red to pale cream) or any solid shade of chocolate. Small white spot on chest permitted but not preferred. White hairs from aging or scars are not penalized.
34	Color The Labrador is a solid colored dog. Here are the three colors in an outdoor ring setting.
35	And one more
36	Size and weight Height for mature males-22 ½ - 24 ½ inches Height for mature females-21 ½ - 23 ½ inches Weight-males 65-80 pounds, females 55-70 Fault- ½ inch or more over or under the standard at maturity
37	Gait
38	Side Gait Labradors should exhibit good, but never exaggerated, reach and drive. Ideally they should move as they swim, with their heads forward and their tails straight out behind them.
39	Coming and going The dog on the top is moving with the front legs in parallel planes. The one on the bottom is converging towards a center line of travel. Which is more correct?
40	Breed specific disqualifications Aggressiveness towards humans or other dogs Nose completely unpigmented Absence of pigmentation in eye rims Tail docked Alteration of the natural length or carriage of the tail Any color or combination of colors other than described in the color paragraph
41	The old adage- HEAD COAT TAIL
42	The question of maturity
43	Beautiful Labradors
44	Thank you for attending!