Is my lab puppy an English or American lab?

Discussion in 'Labrador Breeding & Genetics' started by Halokrauser, Apr 9, 2017.

  1. Halokrauser

    Halokrauser Registered Users

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    Hey everyone,

    This little pup is now 5 months old and she has been with me since she was 60 days old. I know that there is a bench and show type, but I'm not sure which one my pup qualifies for - she's really big for her age as well, the same size of a male dog. It feels like she has the head of an American, but her body really holds the qualities of the English - short legs, broad chest, bulkier, etc.

    [​IMG]
     
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  2. edzbird

    edzbird Registered Users

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    She's lovely. Her parents papers should tell you her make up.
     
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  3. JulieT

    JulieT Registered Users

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    Your puppy's head looks like a show line Labrador - that's English to people in the US (obviously, we don't call Labradors English Labradors in England, because they are all English). But check her pedigree, see what lines she is from.

    It is very undesirable for any Labrador to be 'bulky' and please do not think that because you have a show line dog you should expect it to be heavy. My male show line dog weighs 27.5kgs (60lbs) and my female show line dog 23kgs (50lbs).

    Most working line dogs (field in the US) are taller, have broader chests, and are often heavier.
     
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  4. Halokrauser

    Halokrauser Registered Users

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    Yep - don't worry, I got all the weight stuff in check. My vet told me as a really rough rule you should have one kilo for each week of the dog's life until eight months old, where it'd stop. She weighs around 20 kg right now, and is about 21 weeks old - though a lot of people and my vet told me she's a big dog - her paws are massive, and I was told she'd grow up to be the same size and weight as a male dog.

    When I press onto her sides, I can feel her ribs clearly so I guess she's not overweight?

    I checked her papers and it really does look like she's a show type, by the way!
     
  5. Oberon

    Oberon Supporting Member Forum Supporter

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    You should be able to feel ribs without pressing - a very light touch should be all you need.

    When working out if your dog is the right weight for their height the best thing to do is go by things like being able to feel ribs easily and being able to see a tuck up in the tummy area (this means that when viewed from the side the tummy should be higher (quite a bit higher) than the lowest point on the chest. That's a better approach than going by 'one size fits all' rules.

    Glad you found the answer to your question about her origins :)
     
  6. Jojo83

    Jojo83 Registered Users

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    I'm not sure that any vets I've met (and I've met quite a few professionally) would be happy that a puppy weighed between 32 and 40kg at 8 months based upon that rule, and weight gain does not stop magically at 8 months. It simply slows down until a dog is fully grown which is around the 18 month mark. All puppies are different and grown in to different size dogs - we have some dogs here on the forum who are around the 40kg mark - fully grown, but they are in the minority. I know with my personal vet he is unhappy with my dogs - all show line - even getting close to 30kg and they are at the top end of the breed standard for height.

    As @Oberon says you should be able to feel the ribs without applying any pressure - just gliding your hands down the dogs sides should be sufficient. A helpful guide to dog body condition, which is in pdf is available from the http://www.wsava.org/sites/default/files/Body condition score chart dogs.pdf

    the wording can be debated for meaning or intent but the pictures are good
     
  7. Ski-Patroller

    Ski-Patroller Cooper, Terminally Cute

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    Cooper weighed about 33kg at 8 months, but she is a very big and tall girl. At 24+" she is over the American standard for height and weighs 85# now. (She is 25" at the rear, so we think is is part kangaroo.)
     
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  8. Ziggys mum

    Ziggys mum Registered Users

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    Ziggy is purly a pet and did not come with papers. His sire is a huge ..not fat black lab. Ziggy is 11 months old and arounf the 50kg mark. Everone that meets him comments on the size of his paws and breadth of his chest. I think he is an American lab IMG_20170805_54399.jpg IMG_20170805_3316.jpg
     
  9. snowbunny

    snowbunny Registered Users

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    Many pet bred Labs (even those with papers) are huge - it doesn't make them show or working lines, they're basically their own entity, which is fine. :)
    One of our other threads highlighted how people with "small Labs" actually often have Labs that meet the breed standard, and what you normally see on the street is far taller than that.

    It only really makes sense that a "show-lines" dog has actual show dogs in its recent pedigree, and that a field-bred dog has actual working (and/or trialling) dogs in the recent pedigree. I guess, if you use the "English/American" terminology instead of "show/field" then it might be a little more open to interpretation. But, anyway, I think we should strive to have Labs that are fit for purpose and with good conformation across the board. A pipe dream, sadly, but there are breeders out there who try to achieve just that. As well as having the brilliant temperament that Labs are famous for, obviously :)
     
  10. Emily_BabbelHund

    Emily_BabbelHund Longest on the Forum without an actual dog

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    Just as a casual observer, Labs in the US tend to be much bigger (taller and beefier/heavier boned). A lot of people will say, "Oh, this is a English/British Lab" but they really don't look much like UK showlines, which are much shorter-legged. Americans do the same with Rotties - "Oh, this is a German Rottweiler" when German-bred show/working lines are much more compact with shorter legs. I guess we just like everything bigger. :rolleyes:

    When I started noticing Labs here in Germany, I didn't think they were purebred as they were so small with narrow heads. Now, though I'm still very far from any sort of breed expert, I do recognise that the Germans in my area tend to prefer working lines and these "mixes" I am seeing are actually working line Labs. Which makes sense as hunting is a very big sport here. When I went to a German national dog show outside of Bavaria, however, the Labs looked more like what I see in the photos/videos from the UK.

    All the different variations even within a single breed (let alone the hundreds of breeds that exist) are really interesting!
     
  11. Beats32

    Beats32 Registered Users

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    [​IMG] So I'd like to jump in on this thread without taking it over. We've got a coming 2 year old (per the vet) who is a BIG boy - he weighed in at a whopping 93 lbs. He is not overly high energy and lives outdoors, free range with all of the other animals (dogs, goats, chickens, cows). We don't know anything about his breeding, parents, lines etc. He's just a wonderful boy, though! But would love any thoughts on which way he might lean American/English.[​IMG] [​IMG]
     
  12. Beats32

    Beats32 Registered Users

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  13. snowbunny

    snowbunny Registered Users

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    Hey @Beats32, sadly we can't see your photos, even clicking on the links. Photobucket has gone to the dogs and now charges people to share their images on third-party sites. I thought it was just if you tried to embed them, but it appears click-through links don't work, either. Ridiculous.
     
  14. edzbird

    edzbird Registered Users

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    I can see them through the links. He looks like a very big boy, and I'd guess he could do with losing a good few pounds. You'll be able to manage his intake of food once he arrives and have him fit & healthy. He looks lovely, a friendly face. Will you have him indoors with you? Does he have a name, or will you be giving him a new one?
     
  15. snowbunny

    snowbunny Registered Users

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    Interesting! Are you a member of Photobucket, Sue?
     
  16. edzbird

    edzbird Registered Users

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    I might be...:confused: I THINK I joined for posting on here originally, but don't use it now.
     
  17. snowbunny

    snowbunny Registered Users

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    I clicked through to the album and then managed to see the pictures. Wow, yes, that's a bit of a tubster! Definitely needs to lose a whole lot of weight. He doesn't have the block head of a show-bred Lab. His eyes are also very light, which would be considered undesirable in the show ring. He also looks like he's very tall - something else that you wouldn't get in a show-bred dog. So, the working lines are probably stronger in him than the show lines.
     
  18. Beanwood

    Beanwood Registered Users

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    I hate photobucket! The adverts are soooo intrusive!

    @Beats32 could you use a different hosting page? Flikr is quite a good one. Would love to see a photo of your soon-to-be-lad! :)
     
  19. Kelsey&Axel

    Kelsey&Axel Registered Users

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    He definitely looks American to me. I agree, he definitely will need to lose some weight once he's with you, which may help his energy pick up a bit. Very handsome face, I love the light eyes. My boy used to have very light eyes as a pup but are much darker now at 20 months old.
     
  20. drjs@5

    drjs@5 Registered Users

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    I am a photobucket user but can't see the photo for some reason, the "cursor" just keeps circling....
    Can't believe they are looking for so much $$$ for upgrading, cheapest one is $60 pa and the 3rd party hosting one is $400 eek!!
     

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