From “Britain’s Unique Retrievers– And the One that Got Away!”
When I see overweight Rottweiler-headed Labradors or over-furnished, biscuit-coloured, so-called Golden Retrievers at dog shows, usually devoid of motivation and demonstrably bored, I sigh for them. Such specimens are not true to their breed heritage in conformation and all too often do not know what they are for. The retrievers at the working test were in a different world: of stimulation, arousing smells, activity, eager excitement and fulfillment. These breeds, valued as much outside Britain as in, were developed in the most testing circumstances: freezing mud, icy estuaries, frozen windswept kale-fields and along ice-cold riverbanks.
Such a great photo!
I enjoyed the article that it links back to… I am looking at the author’s reference books and some I have knowledge of and some I do not so I thank you for furthering my reading list.
He has a lot of interesting theories. He doesn’t think retrievers derive from the dogs of Newfoundland, rather they were brought from Dorset and Devon to Newfoundland and then brought back. He also thinks the Norfolk retriever is the same as the Chesapeake Bay retriever.
Probably all the “dogs of Newfoundland” were imports (or descendants of imports) from the Old World, as by all reports the native Beothuck Indians had no dogs of their own. What dogs did the early fishermen bring from England, Portugal, etc to Newfoundland/Labrador? There are many possibilities.
He has a book coming out about the future of hunting dogs with a chapter entitled, “Can the Sporting Dog Survive?”
Yes.
http://www.amazon.com/Gundogs-Their-Past-Performance-Prospects/dp/1847974929
This is the book. It’s just come out.
Thanks for the Amazon link… he has another one listed for future date; http://www.davidhancockondogs.com/publications/pop_ups_publications/sporting_future.html
I just ordered a copy.
Wow! This picture is just awesome. The dog is very cute to look at. But I have a query that what is he/she bearing in his/her mouth? I can’t recognize that one.
It’s hard to tell if it’s one of the two species of scaup or a ring-necked duck.
Ah, the sportsman’s nostalgia for the dogs of yesterday year.
One could equally praise the fact that Labbies have proven incredibly versatile, fitting into roles ranging from Guide dog and therapy dog to bomb sniffer. They have also topped pedigree registration stats in much of the English speaking world for many years.
I would say that steady temperament, intelligence and incredible ability to tune in to human body language are far more important than the water shedding coat or the otter tail. And the more interesting question is “what sort of selection was going on off the Grand Banks fishery culture?” …as opposed to what is the genetic heritage of this or that retriever?
As for fat, Rotti-headed show Labs, the dog that Hancock shows directly under Bolo on the referenced web site looks like he would do fine in the modern show ring. My guess is that the tendency of Labs to get fat has something to do with the fact that the Grand Banks climate favors genotypes that can put on fat in the summer to allow them to endure the winter.
Bolo is the one that had the nice little marks on his pads. Whenever you see a lab with those, those are still called “Bolo marks.”
http://labradornet.com/bolopads.html
Yup. Bolo is one of the the original popular sires for the Labrador. Fortunately, quite a few dogs got brought over and quit a bit of mixing went on, so the breed is among the most diverse in the pedigree registries. Bolo pads are rare now, but they still show up. In my experience with Labs, a small white star on the chest is more common.
Nice pic.