# English Bred labs vs. American Bred Labs



## stonebroke (Dec 16, 2004)

I'm curious... I see ads for "English Labs". What exactly is the difference between American Bred and English Bred? I've never owned a Lab......seen a lot of them, of course, but I have no idea if the ones I've seen are American or English bred.

My take is that the English Labs are blockier built....the pictures look like they have blockier heads, are a little shorter in the leg, more muscular, etc.. I've read that they are not geared as high as the American Bred dogs......they are more bidable and are easier going than American Bred Labs. I know it's difficult to generalize, but is my take on the differences close or no?

And no, I'm not looking to get a lab pup.....If I had my way I'd probably have a dog of each breed... I love them All, but "Eight is Enough"!!! :beer: I was just curious if what I see and read is accurate, or not. Oddly enough, I get a lot of people who contact me asking if I know of anyone who has labs for sale..... I'm just trying to educate myself here to hopefully point them in the right direction.


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## gonedoggin (Mar 20, 2008)

Basically it's a product of "you get what you measure". The British field trial format is fundamentally different from the U.S. The British dogs are expected to sit absolutely still on a line w/ all the other contesting dogs while the marks are thrown. Any movement at all gets dogs thrown out. This is a much higher standard for line manners than U.S. dogs are subjected to.

On the other hand, U.S. trial dogs are held to a higher standard in terms of straight lines and distance. I've never owned a British bred lab but I can attest that my best American dogs, while impressive when I needed them to make really difficult retrieves, were often not as pleasant to have in the blind on a slow day as the Golden I currently own.

That being said, I now insist on a very high obedience standard w/ even young pups. When I had my hard charging labs, I was told "you can always take it out of them but you can't put it back". I think that phrase causes a lot of misery for a lot of dog owners. Many of today's labs are too tough to let them coast for their puppyhood and then try to correct bad habits. If I was working w/ labs today, I'd use clicker/positive reinforcement in the beginning and keep my obedience standards very high. When I transitioned to the e-collar, I'd be careful not to use "nagging" incremental corrections. I'd make the concepts very clear and burn hard when the dog showed a lack of effort. (Not for mistakes of course)

If I get another lab, I'll probably give the British dogs a good look.


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## USAlx50 (Nov 30, 2004)

Oh boy, here we go again... The "gentlemens gun dog" (







)

At first I really liked the look of the british labs but the more I see of them they just look plain unathletic much of the time. Ive been around a lot of labs in recent weeks and my generalizations of the British dogs are that they are- not as athletic as american dog game bred dogs, often very biddable and calm but dont have the prey drive or near the "go" or intensity of a US trial bred dog (less "stylish" in their work). They do seem to be all the rage among the rich LLbean hunters leately though. Just look at all of the adds in DU mags for brit labs. It really is incredible what some people pay for them and what little they get out of it as far as a working retriever goes.

I agree that some dogs are bred too hot and are hard to control... but that doesn't mean there arent plenty of very biddable trial bred dogs that will turn it on like there is no tomarrow.


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## BROWNDOG (Nov 2, 2004)

I looked at them and wasn't impressed, I train with one on a weekly basis and he is a nice dog but not what I would want. Plus he has a very strong accent that I have a hard time understanding.

And almost forgot to mention they are WAY over priced.


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## taddy1340 (Dec 10, 2004)

I believe the reality of this argument is that each has their own opinions based on experience...just like anything else in life. As with any breeder or lines, there are great variances within British breeding. A good friend of mine in Southern MS, has phenomenal Brit labs. Their drive paralleled some of the best I've seen. However, he has one big advantage over most of America's British breeders. He spent 4 years stationed in England and even beat out the Brits in their trials with his first dog. He gets $1000 per dog.

Within American and English lines, there are dogs at both end of the spectrum. It all comes down to owner desire.

As with anything, it's hard to find an unbiased opinion on the matter. Some of the generalizations are truer than others. But there are definitely people out there taking advantage of the fad.

Mike


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## USAlx50 (Nov 30, 2004)

Well said Taddy.

I trained with a brit lab on wednesday that had more go then any other id seen thus far, it was a pretty dang nice young dog. Great line manners and plenty of go, and marked pretty well too. I just wouldn't put $1000 on one and hope I got something simular.


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## rolly (Jul 30, 2007)

Simple---same breed, breed for different reasons. Different people want different things and that's why the differentiation. IMO, hardly any labs look like the next. No real type anymore. Shoot, they hardly act like each other any more. I have seen hyper spazoids and sedated specimens come from the same litter.


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## n_108_nd (Oct 13, 2004)

I have a British lab. It is my first dog. She was the same price as a well bred American lab (even less than some of the fancy colored ones). She is only 18 weeks old, and I am amazed. She is a terror in our house (which is not what was advertised) but when you train her it is something special. At three months old you could put her on stay and leave the room without worrying about her moving. I would not say she has "mastered" the basic - heel - sit -stay - come and fetch, but she doesn't need a leash anymore.

What has truly amazed me is her hunting. She has the nose of a pointer and the drive of a true bird dog. It seems like she can catch the scent of a bird from fifty yards, and she has no problem with picking up any bird, dead or alive. As an example, I have seen her stop on a dime running across a soccer field to pick up a dead mouse.

Now we just need to make sure the British lines are not lost by breeding into the American lines.


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