From: liza@pangea.Stanford.EDU (Liza Miller)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.dogs
Subject: Re: Obedience v. Breed
Date: 21 Dec 1992 20:54:36 GMT
Organization: Stanford Univ. Earth Sciences
NNTP-Posting-Host: pangea.stanford.edu

In article <9212211433.AA11101@waverunner.dcrt.nih.gov> young@alw.nih.gov writes:
>No, you can add the English and Irish setters, but why?  The show standard
>for labs, tall, sleek, leggy is hardly what you'd want for a water dog.  
>Good water dogs in comparison look short and fat.  Just what are the show
>people breeding for?  Some arbitrary measure of good looks?
	I can't stand this.  The show standard for labs calls for the dogs
to be "tall, sleek, and leggy"?  ARE YOU KIDDING??????  Have you ever seen
a lab ring?  Show labs tend to be shorter than field labs, stockier than
field labs and the criticism I've heard of show labs is completely the
opposite of "tall, sleek, and leggy."  I've only heard complaints from
field folk that show labs tend to be short and fat.  

	But for the record, here is the current Labrador breed standard:


THE LABRADOR RETRIEVER - A.K.C. Breed Standard

General Appearance:  The general appearance of the Labrador should be that
of a strongly built, short-coupled, very active dog.  He should be fairly
wide over the loins, and strong and muscular in the hindquarters.  The coat
should be close, short, dense and free from feather.

Head:  The skull should be wide, giving brain room; there should be a slight
stop, i.e., the brow should be slightly pronounced, so that the skull is not
absolutely in a straight line with the nose.  The head should be clean-cut
and free from fleshy cheeks.  The jaws should be long and powerful and free
from snipiness; the nose should be wide and the nostrils well developed.
Teeth should be strong and regular, with a level mouth.  The ears should hang
moderately close to the head, rather far back; should be set somewhat low
and not be large and heavy.  The eyes should be of medium size, expressing
great intelligence and good temper, and can be brown, yellow or black, but
brown or black is preferred.

Neck and Chest:  The neck should be medium length, powerful and not throaty.
The shoulders should be long and sloping.  The chest must be of good width
and depth, the ribs well sprung, and the loins wide and strong, stifles well
turned, and the hindquarters well developed and of great power.

Legs and Feet:  The legs must be straight from the shoulder to ground, and
the feet compact with toes well arched, and pads well developed; the hocks
should be well bent, and the dog must neither be cowhocked nor be too wide
behind; in fact, he must stand and move true all round on legs and feet.
Legs should be of medium length, showing good bone and muscle, but not so
short as to be out of balance with rest of body.  In fact, a dog well 
balanced in all points is preferable to one with outstanding good qualities 
and defects.

Tail:  The tail is a distinctive feature of the breed; it should be very 
thick towards the base, gradually tapering towards the tip, of medium length, 
should be free from any feathering, and should be clothed thickly all round 
with the Labrador's short, thick, dense coat, thus giving the peculiar 
"rounded" appearance which has been described as the "otter" tail.  The tail 
may be carried gaily but should not curl over the back.

Coat:  The coat is another very distinctive feature; it should be short,
very dense and without wave, and should give a fairly hard feeling to the 
hand.

Color:  The colors are black, yellow or chocolate and are evaluated as 
follows:

(a) Blacks:  All black, with a small white spot on chest permissible.  Eyes
to be of medium size, expressing intelligence and good temper, preferably 
brown or hazel, although black or yellow is permissible.

(b) Yellows:  Yellows may vary in color from fox-red to light cream with
variations in the shading of the coat on ears, the underparts of the dog,
or beneath the tail.  A small white spot on chest is permissible.  Eye
coloring and expression should be the sme as that of the blacks, with
black or dark brown eye rims.  The nose should also be black or dark brown,
although "fading" to pink in winter is not serious.  A "Dudley" nose (pink
without pigmentation) should be penalized.

(c) Chocolates:  Shades ranging from light sedge to chocolate.  A small 
white spot on chest is permissible.  Eyes to be light brown to clear yellow.
Nose and eye-rim pigmentation dark brown or liver colored.  "Fading" to pink
in winter weather not serious.  "Dudley" nose should be penalized.

Movement:  Movement should be free and effortless.  The forelegs should be
strong and true, and correctly placed.  Watching a dog move towards one,
there should be no signs of elbows being out in front, but neatly held to
the body with legs not too close together, and moving straight forward
without pacing or weaving.  Upon viewing the dog from the rear, one should
get the impression that hte hid legs, which should be well muscled and not
cowhocked, move as nearly parallel as possible, with hocks doing their full
share of work and flexing well, thus giving the appearance of power and
strength.

Approximate Weights of Dogs and Bitches in Working Condition:  Dogs -- 60 
to 75 pounds; bitches -- 55 to 70 pounds.

Height at Shoulders:  Dogs -- 22-1/2 inches to 24-1/2 inches; bitches --
21-1/2 inches to 23-1/2 inches.




--
Liza Lee Miller         My dogs are labradorable!     liza@pangea.stanford.edu
Cibola Labradors            Field * Show * Fun                    415/326-5309
Cibola's Misty Mountain Hop--Hopper                   Mistypoint Kashmir--Kash
	            Campbellcroft Cibola Rosette -- Rosie