<1890
The history of the labrador is beset with contradictory tales and indeed one author stated in an article on the subject: “The only certainty about the origin of the labrador retriever is that we cannot be absolutely certain of its provenance”.
Labrador itself is the most easterly point of North America and drew settlers due to the wealth of its fishing banks. A trade in fish was established with the West Country in England and there can be little doubt that many dogs of a variety of breeds travelled back and forth across the Atlantic. It has been argued that among the breeds that accompanied the fishermen there may have been the famed black hounds of St. Hubert, which were greatly valued. It is suggested this breed was part of the foundation stock of the dog which later became the labrador retriever.
What we do know is that the first labradors came in to England via Poole Harbour and the majority of early breeders got their dogs from there. Early owners included Colonel Peter Hawker, The 2nd Earl of Malmesbury, The Duke of Buccleuch, The 10th Earl Home, the Lords Wimborne, Saltoun and Ruthven and finally Montague Guest and CJ Radclyffe (the latter being my great grandfather).
Great care was taken by these early breeders to keep the breed pure and by the early part of the 20th century the labrador was recognised by a growing band of owners as a first class gundog. On 7 July 1903 the labrador retriever was recognised as a special breed by the Kennel Club and four months later it was at last admitted as a separate breed.
https://gundog-journal.com/training/the-labrador-pioneers/ |
