Serious development
or silly, passing fad?

THERE has been a lot of talk recently on the lnternet and around USA club houses about pointing Labradors.

The Labrador retriever is bred to be a retriever - and a fine retriever he is. As a matter of fact the Labrador retriever dominates in field trials and hunt tests around the world. No other retriever can do a retrieve as well as the Labrador can as a whole.

Now I have discovered breeders who are not breeding for this quality. And they are doing a great disservice to the breed.

Whenever we change an element of an equation, we also change the outcome. Now that we are breeding Labradors to point, we are also breeding them not to rush in and flush ... and now that we are teaching and breeding Labradors not to track we are also breeding them not to be aggressive and determined when a bird is on the run.

Now that we are breeding for the point are we also teaching and breeding Labradors to hunt out farther? Are we going to start needing horses and four-wheel-drives to keep up with our Labradors? I hope the answer is NO!

If we want to change a breed we should be thinking about eliminating hip displaysia, elbow displaysia, eye problems and the few other health problems that are facing the breed.

My Labradors hunt in close as they quarter a field looking for pheasants or quail. I like it that way because I hunt with a 26-28 inch barrel on a Ruger Red Label. That gun was created to hunt in close cover or within 50 yards.

Could you imagine a Labrador retriever in this position? Somehow it just wouldn't seem right, but there are people in the USA who are breeding and training the Labrador as a pointer. It would seem more logical to train a dog for its own specialised purpose, rather than do something else less efficiently.

The purpose of the point is to allow time for you the hunter to get close enough to your dog to get off a shot before the bird flies off. Personally I don't think the Labrador should be breed to point. That is not what the breed was intended for, nor should it be used for that purpose. There are many fine breeds out there that do point, and do it well. Lets let them do the pointing!

To give you a little history about the breed, the Labrador today has been developed primarily as a hunting dog (called a shooting dog in England) and as a pet. This fact should be taken into consideration by both field and show groups as the physical features of the dog should allow it to do its job most effectively. The Labrador's specialised hunting ability is to retrieve. In all parts of the world he picks up pheasant, quail, ducks and geese. Speed is not essential for a gun dog, but field trial competitors admired speed and bred for a streamlined build with lighter bone.

Labradors meant to be used for field trials were bred without much regard for conformation, other than sound hips. A typical field trial Labrador is tall and rangy and has a rather narrow head, very little depth of body, and a long, thin tail. They are bred for qualities that will win field trials but their appearance does not measure up to the standard description of the ideal Labrador. There have been very few dual champion Labradors but thanks to the American Kennel Club hunt test there are now in America 25 Show Champion Labradors that also hold the Master Hunter title. Many more are competing regularly in field trials and doing very well.

Keep in mind that a Labrador is expected to do a day's work. Labradors will face rough terrain and be expected to swim through icy water and will need every inch of their coat to do so. Some duck hunters go to rocky seashores while others go to difficult swamps and marshes or lake wetlands. A Labrador should not shirk its duties, no matter where it finds itself with its master.

I leave you with the thought: I hope you enjoy many years with your Labrador by your side, not out stuck on some point! - Dan Ellison, Living Waters Labradors, California