The Labrador Retriever, or lab, is a type of retriever dog. They originated from the Canadian province of Newfoundland. Many people assume they are from the Canadian province of Labrador but that is incorrect.

In the 1830s, the 2nd Earl of Malmesbury began importing dogs from Newfoundland to England. The Earl quickly recognized the Labrador Retriever’s stamina, skill in the water, and loyalty and knew that its traits would be valuable to hunters. So the Earl started importing the breed from Canada to England and he and others started to breed them. 

The Earl is also credited with naming the Labrador Retriever breed. Before the Earl called them labs, they were called a number of names, including St. John’s Newfoundland, Lesser Newfoundland and St. John’s dog.

The Kennel Club in England made the breed official in 1903 and it was recognized by the American Kennel Club in 1917.

The Labrador Retriever has consistently ranked as the most popular purebred dog in the United States for more than 10 years, according to the American Kennel Club. They are known to be intelligent, gentle, family friendly and outgoing.

The AKC registers more than a hundred thousand new Labrador Retrievers each year.