The early Labrador originated on the island of Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada.  The breed emerged over time from the St. John’s Water Dog through breeding by early settlers in the mid to late 15th century.  More than likely these early dogs were cross-breeds of the black St. Hubert’s hound from France, working water dogs from Portugal, old European pointer breeds and dogs belonging to the indigenous peoples of the area.  From the St. John’s Dog, two distinct breeds emerged – the larger Newfoundland dog, which was used for hauling, likely as a result of breeding with mastiffs brought to the island by Portuguese fishermen, who had been fishing offshore since the 1400’s.

The smaller, short-coat retrievers used for retrieval and pulling in nets from the water evolved into today’s Labrador.  The dog would grab the floating corks on the ends of the nets and pull them to shore.  The name Labrador is believed to have come from either the Portuguese word “Lavradores” or the Spanish “Labradores”.   A number of these dogs were taken to England in the early 1800’s by Colonel Peter Hawker and the Earl of Malmesbury and became prized waterfowl hunting dogs but were not bred on an on-going basis until the 1880’s.  These dogs are widely considered to be the ancestors of all modern-day Labradors. 

Labradors were first recognized as a breed by the American Kennel Club in 1917.  In the U.S. the breed gained wider recognition in 1928.  Worldwide nowadays, there are more Labradors registered than any other breed of dog.