DNA analysis confirms that Newfoundlands are closely related to other Canadian retrievers, including the Labrador, Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, Golden Retrievers, and Flat Coated Retrievers.By the time colonization was permitted in Newfoundland in 1610, the distinct physical characteristics and mental attributes had been established in the Newfoundland breed. In the early 1880s, fishermen and explorers from Ireland and England traveled to the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, where they described two main types of working dog. One was heavily built, large with a longish coat, and the other medium-sized in build – an active, smooth-coated water dog. The Newfoundland shares many physical traits with Mastiffs and Molosser type dogs, such as the St. Bernard and English Mastiff, including stout legs, massive heads with very broad snouts, a thick bull neck, and a very sturdy bone structure. Many St. Bernard Dogs have Newfoundland Dog in their ancestry.