General Appearance

The Labrador Retriever is classes a s gun dog, the dog is a strongly built, medium-sized, short-coupled, dog possessing a sound and athletic. The most distinctive characteristics of the Labrador Retriever are its short, dense, weather resistant coat; an "otter" tail; a clean-cut head with broad back skull and moderate stop; powerful jaws; and its "kind" friendly eyes, expressing personality, intellect and good nature.

Size, Proportion and Substance

Height: Males - 56- 57 cms (22 - 22.5 inches)
Females - 54.5 - 56 cms (21.5 - 22 inches)

Coat
The coat is a distinctive feature of the Labrador Retriever. It should be short, straight and very dense, giving a fairly hard feeling to the hand. The Labrador should have a soft, weather-resistant undercoat that provides protection from water, cold and all types of ground cover A slight wave down the back is permissible. Woolly coats, soft silky coats, and sparse slick coats are not typical of the breed, and should be severely penalized.

Color
The Labrador Retriever coat colors are black, yellow and chocolate. Any other color or a combination of colors is a disqualification. A small white spot on the chest is permissible, but not desirable. White hairs from aging or scarring are not to be misinterpreted as brindling. Black - Blacks are all black. A black with brindle markings or a black with tan markings is a disqualification. Yellow - Yellows may range in color from fox-red to light cream, with variations in shading on the ears, back, and underparts of the dog. Chocolate - Chocolates can vary in shade from light to dark chocolate. Chocolate with brindle or tan markings is a disqualification.
 

Features: Strongly built, short coupled, very active, broad in skull; broad and deep through chest and ribs; broad and strong over loins and hindquarters with an otter tail

Characteristics: Good tempered, very agile, excellent nose, soft mouth; keen love of water, an adaptable and devoted companion.

Lifespan: 10 - 12 yrs

Recommended for: Active people & families.

Grooming- the coat needs a regular brush, about once a week and a bath when necessary.

Exercise- Labrador pups do not need any formal exercise apart from play in the backyard or short walks of about 10 minutes for the first year of growth. As the Labrador breed has been known to be prone to OCD and hip dysplasia it is recommended that formal exercise for extended periods of time (over long distances eg. 2klms) not be done until the age of 12- 18 months of age, when full bone development has been reached.

Health- It is sensible to buy your puppy from a Breeder whose dogs have Hip and Elbow Xrays & recent eye certificates, to reduce the chance of Hip and Elbow dysplasia, PRA & eye problems. Be aware that if allowed can become obese quickly.