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Breed Feature – Labrador Retriever
LABRADOR RETRIEVER
In the first 50 years the breed was in Australia from 1929 there were at least 150 imports of Labrador Retrievers and many thousands of descendants and representatives of the breed which has proven to be remarkably popular and versatile. The Labrador Retriever has been used as a Shooter’s dog, a Guide Dog for the Blind, a Drug Detection Dog, a Mine Detection Dog for Armed Services, and as a Companion and Pet, for Show, Field Trial, Retrieving Trial, Obedience Trials and Dog Sports and more recently as an Assistance Dog. The breed has shown itself capable of fulfilling any or all of these roles with remarkable success – a tribute to the foresight of the early breeders and importers, many from Queensland.
The fact that the Labrador Retriever is a plain, short coated, hardy, medium sized dog , with high intelligence, pleasant temperament, excellent scenting ability, great swimming and retrieving abilities as well as being easily maintained and usually a “good do-er” could account for its amazing rise in popularity. The Labrador Retriever is also a dog which can be kennelled with others with little fear of arguments. He is also very adaptable – being content to be either an inside or outside dog.
The Labrador Retriever comes in three colours – Black, Chocolate (sometimes called Liver) and Yellow. He is a well-mannered, sociable dog who enjoys good health and with a short harsh outer coat and dense weather resistant undercoat, has been able to easily adapt to a wide range of climatic and environmental conditions.
The docility of the Labrador Retriever has perhaps been over emphasised with the result that it has sometimes been expected to lie down quietly day and night – an impossibly boring existence. This is an active intelligent dog formerly bred for retrieving work who when left to its own devices usually finds ways to amuse itself – not always to the liking or amusement of its owners.
The Labrador Retriever is a patient, long suffering, tolerant animal who can co-exist well within a family and with young children. Being ‘good with children’ was never meant to imply stupidity or tolerance of indignities to which no animal should be subjected. It is wise to ponder the thought that it is not Labrador Retrievers that are privileged to live with us, but we who are privileged to live with them.
CONFORMATION SHOWS
Labrador Retrievers would be one of the easiest dogs to show. Firstly, they are ‘wash and wear’ dogs and require little preparation and secondly because they are so willing to please and love to show off. The biggest problem is getting them to stand still!!
Baby puppies wriggle when being examined and if the judge speaks to them – it gets worse. Don’t ever make it a ‘chore’ for a baby puppy trotting along wagging its tail is the ideal. In fact, anything from that to a “death roll” is acceptable.
As your Labrador Retriever gets older it will learn its trade and show itself to the best. It is important to understand that the Labrador Retriever is not a showy, flashy fast-moving dog and there is no flowing coat. What you see is all there is – they are an open book. Don’t race around the ring with a Labrador Retriever. They are bred to be a hunting companion and as such, to work all day so a good steady trot is his best pace.
Whilst winning is great, good sportsmanship is even greater and the enjoyment of a day out with your canine companion and your friends far outweighs a ‘Blue Ribbon’. Enjoy the show ring and do not let it become an obsession.
BORN TO RETRIEVE
The Labrador Retriever – the name itself leaves no doubt as to the life purpose of this dog. Whilst it makes a perfect family pet, it was born to retrieve. Retrieving competitions (‘Retrieving Trials’) have been held around Australia for over 50 years and whilst they are open to all Gundog breeds, the Labrador excels in this field. In Queensland, three clubs currently run Retrieving Trials and Retrieving Ability Tests for Gundogs (RATG), from February to September. Whilst the Labrador Retriever has a built-in instinct to retrieve, modern training methods can be employed to get the best results for competition. Basic training can commence from 8 weeks of age. Generally speaking, the higher-level training is best left until around six months of age after the puppy has their adult teeth and is ready for more rigorous training. Older dogs can certainly begin their retrieving training in the same way as you begin with a pup. The most basic, and yet most important, training to start with is having a good ‘Recall’. Secondly teach the dog as early as possible to ‘Sit’ on the sound of a whistle. This can be achieved quite well by incorporating it into your lead/heeling training. All Labrador Retriever owners know that their dogs love to carry things around, so start with
this natural instinct and encourage it. Every time you see your dog with something in its mouth, praise it and encourage it to deliver that item to you. If you are interested in pursuing Retrieving, scolding a dog for carrying something (even if it is something they maybe should not have) is going to be detrimental to the desired end result. Your dog should be excited and happy to deliver to you after a retrieve. Equally, never instruct the dog to ‘drop’ the item as in competition the items need to be delivered to hand.
SCENT WORK
Canine Scent Work is a new ANKC sport which is a fun and mentally stimulating sport that tests a dog’s ability to use their powerful and natural sense of smell to locate a specific ‘target’ odour against the backdrop of many other odours and distractions. A very small amount of the target odours (an essential oil) is placed on a cotton swab, the dog is rewarded for sniffing out and positively identifying the location of the target.
This is a great sport for dogs of all shapes, sizes and ages. Along with building confidence, it also burns mental and physical energy and is LOTS of FUN.
In competition target odours may be hidden in boxes, bags, in enclosed rooms, around vehicles or around the outside of buildings. Real world scenarios are used and each trial will be different.
Labrador Retrievers have been used for over 30 years for jobs involving the scenting ability of the breed – Drug Detection, Organo-chlorine Detection (clearing old disused sheep and cattle dips), Border Security, Search and Rescue etc – isn’t this the dog of choice for this sport?
TRACKING
Tracking is a fun sport for Labrador Retrievers as they love to track using their nose to follow a particular scent – it comes naturally to most dogs. Training involves fine tuning the natural tracking instinct that comes very naturally to Labrador Retrievers.
When tracking the dog wears a harness and is on a 10 metre lead following a track laid sometime earlier. The track layer will have left an article at the start peg for the dog to gain scent. Training involves short tracks to begin with and gradually increasing the distance: don’t leave the track too long in the initial stages – these are called ‘Hot Tracks’.
Tracking is done in open paddocks and Track and Search in parks and suburbs. Titles are awarded for both aspects. If Tracking appeals to you please contact one of the Tracking Clubs or LRCQ Inc.
OBEDIENCE
There is nothing more rewarding than having
a well trained dog and by taking him/her to Obedience classes this will be achieved. There are many Obedience Clubs in Australia that will help you achieve your goals whether it is to have a loyal obedient companion and/or to compete in Obedience Competitions.
There five levels of competition in Obedience: - CCD – Community Companion dog, CD – Companion Dog, CDX – Companion Dog Excellent, UD – Utility Dog and UDX – Utility Dog Excellent.
To start your dog off, firstly you must teach him to walk beside your left leg in the heel position. When he is doing this teach him to sit as you stop by slowly pushing on his chest with your right hand and tell him to sit followed by praise when he does it.
To teach your dog to stand as you are stopping give him a command and hand signal to stand as you run your hand softly along his side and stopping at the flank. This will keep him standing and keep repeating the command ‘stand and praise’ as well.
The ‘down’ position is one of the hardest positions to teach a dog but can be done with patience and reward. To teach this position have a treat in your hand and as you tell the dog to ‘drop’ or ‘down’ (choose a command and stick to it) put the food in front and towards the front of the dog. Give the
command to ‘down’ and then reward once the dog is in the ‘down’ position.
To teach the dog to ‘come’ leave him in a sit position, command ‘stay’ and then walk a few steps out in front and turn facing the dog. Give a hand signal and command to ‘come’ while running backwards a metre or so before stopping and asking the dog to sit in front of you.
These are only suggestions and everyone that trains a dog has their own ideas how to teach these exercises.
Go to an Obedience Club, get an Obedience Rule book and read it. There are some exceptionally good books on training your dog which you can also read.
RALLY OBEDIENCE
To train your dog for Rally Obedience start with training basic obedience and then build on the exercises. It would also be advantageous to get a copy of the Rally Obedience rule book so you know what is required in each level of Rally training. There is Novice, Advanced, Excellent and Masters. Starting with novice work your way up to masters and continue to Rally Obedience Champion.
Rally Obedience is a very rewarding sport and not as regimented as formal Obedience whereby the only time you can talk to your dog is to give a command or after the exercise finish is given by the judge. You can then praise and pat your dog whereas in rally you may pat and talk to your dog during the running of the course. A course in rally is a set of exercises done in sequence from start to finish and the size of the course can vary as to the number of exercises in each course. There are 30 stations or exercises to be performed in Novice with any one Novice course having between 10 – 15 stations (start and finish not included). The number of stations in each class will depend on the level of the class.
Some Obedience Clubs hold Rally Obedience training classes and it is a good idea to attend some of these classes as it will be beneficial to you and your dog. Most of all, whether you do Obedience or Rally Obedience – or both – with your dog, it is important to remember to enjoy the experience and time spent with your best friend – your dog.
THE LABRADOR RETRIEVER CLUB OF QUEENSLAND INC
The Labrador Retriever Club of Queensland was formed in 1964 by a small band dedicated to the Labrador Retriever and was initially chaired by the late Mrs Norah Gilbert of ‘Jaywick’ Kennels who brought Australian Champion Clacton Gay Lady from the UK in 1954 and many other imports over the years.
The LRCQ Inc.is dedicated to the betterment of the breed and encourages members to take part in all aspects of our sport striving for excellence in their chosen fields. The LRCQ Inc. runs conformations shows, Retrieving Ability Tests for Gundogs, Retrieving Trials and soon to be introduced Scent Work. The club’s membership is open to anyone interested in this wonderful breed and is supported by an informative website and Facebook page.
Dog is ‘God’ spelt backwards!
