LABRADOR RETRIEVER (FCI Standard)

ORIGIN: Great Britain.

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE ORIGINAL VALID STANDARD: 24.06.1987.

UTILIZATION: Retriever.

CLASSIFICATION F.C.I.: Group 8 Retrievers, Flushing Dogs, Water Dogs.
Section 1 Retrievers.
With working trial.

GENERAL APPEARANCE: Strongly built, short-coupled, very active; broad in skull; broad and deep through chest and ribs; broad and strong over loins and hindquarters.

BEHAVIOUR / TEMPERAMENT: Good-tempered, very agile. Excellent nose, soft mouth; keen lover of water. Adaptable, devoted companion. Intelligent, keen and biddable, with a strong will to please. Kindly nature, with no trace of aggression or undue shyness.

HEAD

CRANIAL REGION:
Skull: Broad. Clean-cut without fleshy cheeks.
Stop: Defined.

FACIAL REGION:
Nose: Wide, nostrils well developed.
Muzzle: Powerful, not snipey.
Jaws/Teeth: Jaws of medium length, jaws and teeth strong with a perfect, regular and complete scissor bite, i.e. upper teeth closely overlapping lower teeth and set square to the jaws.
Eyes: Medium size, expressing intelligence and good temper; brown or hazel.
Ears: Not large or heavy, hanging close to head and set rather far back.

NECK: Clean, strong, powerful, set into well placed shoulders.

BODY:
Back: Level topline.
Loins: Wide, short-coupled and strong.
Chest: Of good width and depth, with well sprung barrel ribs.

TAIL: Distinctive feature, very thick towards the base, gradually tapering towards tip, medium length, free from feathering, but clothed thickly all round with short, thick, dense coat, thus giving « rounded » appearance described as « Otter » tail. May be carried gaily, but should not curl over back.

LIMBS

FOREQUARTERS: Forelegs well boned and straight from elbow to ground when viewed from either front or side.
Shoulders: Long and sloping.

HINDQUARTERS: Well developed, not sloping to tail.
Stifle: Well turned.
Hocks: well let down. Cowhocks highly undesirable.

FEET: Round, compact; well-arched toes and well developed pads.

GAIT / MOVEMENT: Free, covering adequate ground; straight and true in front and rear.

COAT

HAIR: Distinctive feature, short, dense, without wave or feathering, giving fairly hard feel to the touch; weather-resistant undercoat.

COLOUR: Wholly black, yellow or liver/chocolate. Yellows range from light cream to red fox. Small white spot on chest permissible.

SIZE:
Ideal height at withers: dogs 56-57 cm ( 22 - 22,5 ins);
bitches 54-56 cm ( 21,5 - 22 ins).

FAULTS: Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree.

N.B.: Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.