Editing Labrador Retriever (section)

== History ==
[[File:Buccleuch Avon (1885).png|thumb|[[Buccleuch Avon]], whelped in 1885]]

The Labrador breed dates back to at least the 1830s, when [[St. John's water dog|St. John's water dogs]] bred by European settlers in [[Newfoundland]] were first introduced to Britain from ships trading between Canada and [[Poole]] in [[Dorset]]. These were then bred with British hunting dogs to create what became known as the Labrador Retriever. Its early patrons included the [[Earl of Malmesbury]], the [[Duke of Buccleuch]], the [[Earl of Home]], and [[Sir John Scott]]. Early writers have confused the Labrador with the much larger [[Newfoundland (dog)|Newfoundland]] and the [[Lesser Newfoundland]], with [[Charles William George St John|Charles St. John]] even referring to the Lesser Newfoundland as the Newfoundland. Colonel [[Peter Hawker]] describes the first Labrador as being not larger than an [[Pointer (dog breed)|English Pointer]], more often black than other colours, long in its head and nose with a deep chest, fine legs, and short and smooth coat, and did not carry its tail as highly as the Newfoundland.<ref name=Drury1903>{{cite book|last1=Holland-Hibert|first1=A.|title=British dogs, their points, selection, and show preparation|editor1-last=Drury|editor1-first=William D.|publisher=Upcot Gill|edition=3|year=1903|chapter=Ch.XXX - The Labrador|pages=356–358|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/britishdogstheir00drurrich/page/356}}</ref> Hawker distinguishes the Newfoundland from both the "proper Labrador" and St. John's breed of these dogs<ref name=Drury1903/><ref name=Hawker1846/> in the fifth edition of his book ''Instructions to Young Sportsmen'', published in 1846.<ref name=Hawker1846>{{cite book|last1=Hawker|first1=Peter|title=Instructions to Young Sportsmen in all that relates to Guns and Shooting|publisher=Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green|edition=5|year=1846|chapter=Dogs|pages=245|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/instructionstoy02hawkgoog/page/n269}}</ref>

By 1870 the name Labrador Retriever had become common in England.<ref>{{cite web |title=Labrador Retriever |url=https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/dog-breeds/labrador-retriever |website=vcahospitals.com |publisher=Mars Inc. |access-date=1 October 2022}}</ref> The liver (now usually called chocolate) Labrador emerged in the late 1800s, with liver-coloured pups documented at the Buccleuch kennels in 1892;<ref>{{cite web |title=Best labrador colour: does coat make a difference? |url=https://www.thefield.co.uk/gundogs/best-labrador-colour-31845 |website=thefield.co.uk |date=19 April 2022 |publisher=Future Publishing Limited Quay House |access-date=28 May 2023}}</ref> the first yellow Labrador on record was born in 1899 (Ben of Hyde, kennels of Major C.J. Radclyffe).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Warwick |first1=Helen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=clq97DJpC4kC |title=The NEW Complete Labrador Retriever |publisher=Howell Book House |year=1986 |isbn=0-87605-230-8 |edition=Third |location=230 Park Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10169 |page=89 |language=en |chapter=5 |access-date=2 September 2023}}</ref> The breed was recognised by the [[The Kennel Club|Kennel Club]] in 1903.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ziessow |first1=Bernard |title=The Labrador Retriever: Origin and Purpose of the Breed |url=https://www.pslra.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Origin-And-Purpose-of-the-Breed.pdf |website=pslra.org |access-date=1 October 2022}}</ref> The first [[American Kennel Club]] (AKC) registration was in 1917.<ref>{{cite web |title=Labrador Retriever Dog Breed Information |url=https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/labrador-retriever/ |website=akc.org |publisher=The American Kennel Club, Inc. |access-date=28 May 2023}}</ref>