The American Kennel Club (AKC) announced in February 2015 that the intelligent, family friendly Labrador Retriever held on to the number-one spot on the most popular list. This was the 24th consecutive year, continuing the longest reign as the nation’s top dog in AKC history.
The blog post from Pheasant’s Forever goes into detail on the differences in the British vs. American Labrador Retriever. Consider this anecdotal information for veterinary clinic websites or hospital team general knowledge.
Source: Pheasants Forever Blog, December 4, 2015.
The differences between the two Labs goes deeper than height, coat and shape, however. Breeders’ and breed clubs’ consensus describes British Labs as calmer, quieter, softer and less active as opposed to the American Labs generally being more active with higher energy and greater drive.
According to Dr. B. W. Zeissow in The Origin and Purpose of the Labrador Retriever, “The American sportsmen adopted the breed from England and subsequently developed and trained the dog to fulfill the hunting needs of this country. Today, as in the past, the Labrador will eagerly enter in ice cold water in Minnesota to retrieve a shot bird; he’ll work all day hunting doves in the heat of the Southwest – his only reward is a pat for a job well done.”