Labradors were recognised in England as a Kennel Club breed in 1903 and first registered in the United States in 1917. They were originally called the St. John’s dog or Lesser Newfoundland dog.

The breed was in Newfoundland in the 1700’s and imported to England beginning the early  1800’s.The Labrador’s exact origin is unknown but some speculate the Greater   Newfoundland dog or the French St. Hubert’s dog is part of the cross that made the St. John’s dog.

In 1887 the Earl of Malmesbury first coined the name Labrador in a letter he wrote referring  to them as his Labrador Dogs. The Territory of Labrador is just northwest of Newfoundland  geographically. Richard Wolters in his book the Labrador Retriever writes that the 19th century Brits lumped that area together as the same land mass, so it could have referred to dogs from that  area.  Newfoundland was settled by English fishermen as early as the 1500’s and  the St. John’s dogs seemed to develop along with the fishing occupation.

The English fisherman in Newfoundland used the St. John’s dog to retrieve fish that  had fallen off their hooks as well to help haul in fishing lines through the water. The St. John’s dogs were considered ‘workaholics’ and  enjoyed the retrieving tasks given in the fishing environment.  This breed was very eager to please and their retrieving abilities made them ideal for hunting companions and sporting dogs. It was said that the dogs would work long hours with the fisherman in the cold waters, then be brought home to play with the fisherman’s children. The wonderful temperament of the Labrador Retriever is documented back to its early days in England and has made them ideal family pets as well as  accomplished  sporting dogs.   

In 1807 a ship called Brig Canton carried some St. John’s dogs destined for Poole, England  as likely breeding stock for the Duke of Malmesbury’s Labrador Kennel. The Canton shipwrecked and two dogs, one black and one chocolate, were found and believed to have    become part of the breeding programme (along with other breeds) that created the   Chesapeake Retriever. So we know that chocolates had been a colour in the original St. John’s dogs which later became established under the name Labrador Retriever. As recessive colours the yellow and chocolate pups would occasionally appear in litters   throughout time. During the earlier breeding programmes these ‘off colours’ were often ‘culled’ until they were finally accepted by the British and the American Kennel Clubs and registered. 

Labradors almost became extinct a few times and the St. John’s dogs that Labrador came from are now extinct in Newfoundland.  It was only through some events and efforts of some key people that we have the wonderful companion we call the Labrador today.  It was the early 1800’s that the first dogs were imported to England to a few aristocratic British sportsmen. 

The Earl of Malmesbury at Heron Court had used his St. John’s dog for the shooting  sports in England as early as 1809. The second Earl of Malmesbury was born in 1778 and was the most influential person in keeping the Labrador breed alive. He started the first kennel of  Labradors. He kept his kennel well stocked until his death in 1841.

The 5th Duke of Buccleuch (1806-1884) started his kennel in Scotland about 1835   independently from Malmesbury.  The dog was first documented  under the  name Labrador in 1839. The Duke’s brother, Lord John Scott also started importing the St. John’s dogs  from Newfoundland. A number of the dogs that the brothers imported were named Jock, Nell (1843) and Brandy. 

Brandy earned his name when he was being transported across the Atlantic ocean.  He went overboard into rough water to fetch the cap of one of  the crew. It took them two hours before they could pick up the dog  and he  was so exhausted they revived him with Brandy. The earliest photograph of a Labrador Retriever was of the Duke’s dog named Nell. She was about 12 years old when this photo below was taken in 1856. 

Wolters indicated in his book that this is the earliest photograph of a Labrador and taken in 1867. (This would seem to contradict  the date of birth shown above for Nell of 1843).         

This (St. John’s) dog was part of the breeding stock for the Labrador and had white feet   and a white muzzle. This trait was noted in some other Labradors being bred in the 1800’s in England. Today the breed standard prefers no white in the coat colour. Nell is 12 years old here   and was owned by the Earl of Home (1799-1881). 

The Labrador has so many excellent qualities that it has been used to breed into other Retrievers. In the late 18th and early 19th Century (before any Kennel Club registration) some breeders tried to interbreed the hunting  abilities of different retrieving dogs that met their liking. Other retrievers of the time included curly coats, flat coats and a now extinct  Norfolk Retriever. It was said that often the St. John’s genes were dominant and the crosses tended to still carry the  looks and personality. Eventually the separate breeds  became fixed and separated in the Kennel Club registration. 

By the 1880’s nearly all the true Labrador (St. John’s dog) lines had died out in England.  A fortuitous meeting of the third Earl of Malmesbury (at age 75) with the 6th Duke of Buccleuch (1831-1914 and 12th Duke of Home (1834-1918) saved Labradors from extinction. Buccleuch and Home were visiting a sick aunt and decided to participate in a waterfowl   shoot on the South Coast. There the two men were impressed by what Malmesbury’s dogs   were capable of doing. These were the same bloodlines as their father’s kennels.  Malmesbury reported that he had kept the blood lines pure as he could with the imported dogs from Newfoundland. Malmesbury gave them some of his dogs to carry on the breeding programme. 

The dogs were Ned (born 1882) and Avon (born 1885).  Many say that these two dogs are the  ancestors of all British Labradors. Buccleuch Avon is said to have sired ‘liver-coloured’ pups. This would be the ancestor of most American Field Champion chocolate line or chocolate gene carrier line.

Buccleuch Avon born 1885

In  1892 two ‘liver colour’ Labradors were born at Buccleuch’s kennel. In 1899 the first recorded  yellow Labrador was born at the kennel of Major C.J.  Radclyffe and named Ben of Hyde.

In  Newfoundland the St. John’s dog eventually became extinct.  This seems to be political.     In 1780 the Governor wanted to encourage sheep  raising and to stop any menace to sheep    he ordered that there could be no  more than one dog for a family. Later, in 1885 another measure was taken by the  legislature to encourage sheep breeding.  A heavy license was imposed on dogs. There was a higher tax rate on females than males which led to many female pups being destroyed at birth. Couple this with the English passing the British Quarantine Act and it made importation next to impossible. The Quarantine Act of 1895 prohibited dogs from entering Great Britain without a license and without first undergoing a  strict  six-month quarantine. Britain did not have the disease of rabies  native to their land and they did not want to have it introduced. By the 1930’s the St. John’s dog was rare in Newfoundland. The 6th Duke of Buccleuch was finally able to import a few more dogs between 1933 and 1934 to continue the line. Interestingly enough, sheep raising never became a mainstay of Newfoundland but the extinction of the St. John’s dog did come to pass. 

In 1903 the Labrador  Retriever was popular enough to be recognised by the Kennel Club in England. In 1916, the Labrador Club was formed in England with support from Lord  Knutsford (Munden Kennel line) and Lady Lorna, Countess Howe (Banchory Labradors). Some  chocolate labs are said to trace back to FC Banchory Night Light from the Banchory Kennel. He was a black dog born in 1932 in England.

Night Light comes from the line of Dual Ch Banchory Bolo (1915) who appears to be a carrier of the chocolate gene from  Buccleuch Avon. Banchory Bolo was also known for carrying a trait of white hairs under   the feet (Bolo pads).  

Source: Northumberland and Durham Labrador Retriever Club

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