Since I questioned about Keno being more slender then the labs I've seen pics of (in here) and someone mentioned it sounded like she is more of a "field" type lab; and I did a little research on the net about it........

How many of you lab owners have the traditional English type (heavier boned/blocky head) and how many have the more slender built "field" type lab?

field

Well, Nellie has the head of an English and the body of a field.

This is not the best picture, the sun was so bright and it was one of those throw away cameras but this is the family.
The yellow boy is our guy Boomer he has his Canadian show CH. in working he has WCI and UKC HR he also has his obedience CDX.
The black on his left is the mother of the other 3 (9pups in the litter) she is field line but not a lean dog, certainly a substantial female she has her CKC Masters and was in the top 10 field labs in Canada, I think last year she also has UKC HR. The boy on the right is our other guy Nitro he has his Dad's head but a longer leaner body of his mom's dad, he has WC. and JH and is still working on obedience CD. LOL he loves to have fun.
The 2nd from the left is a female, that comes back for boarding she also has SH. and some other working titles. The boy on the left was kept by the breeder that is Ziggy he has Masters. SH. and has most of whatever working titles you can get also done some test in AKC. He favours Boomer more in his size heavier and tight build. Out of the 9 pups it certainly varied as to type but that is an outcross breeding. The best thing they all had was wonderful temperments and a terrific drive to retrieve.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b3df04b3127cce94529ef041900000000610

Smokey was an English block head...Esther is a field yellow. Bentley and Bear inherited their dad's looks completely. The rest are more "field looking"; rather slim, very muscular.

Personally, the blockheads are my favorite Lab look, but watching Soxey and Esther in action is nothing short of amazing. They just FLY in the field.

Christy

Our Maddy is from hunting stock and is clearly, thinner, sleeker, taller.

Hudler comes from show lines. While he's not as stocky and blocky as the English lines, he's closer to that than he isthe hunting lines.

I have not seen many pictures here of what I would consider to be a field or working bred lab.

By the numbers there are more show labs out there then working labs. One reason could be the difference in price. Working retrievers with solid pedigrees start at about 800$. This doesn't mean that you can't find them cheaper, case in point I have a litter due next month and they will go for 500$.

My lab in training is definitely not out of working lines, but I was ignorant of the difference in the beginning. Luckily she has an incredible desire to please so training has been a breeze. However her biggest problems come in stamina (due to body structure), and marking ability, both of which are controllled for in careful breeding of working retrievers.

It is really difficult to make a determination from the pictures that are posted thus far in this thread. So I will post of a prime example of a working retriever.

2 bits for someone who can name this famous dawg!!

Here are some great examples of Working Retrievers:

Note the Slender heads

Wide front shoulders, legs that bow out in front of the body instead of extending directly underneath the body.

Working labs also tend to show and keep a waste line easier.

Another Working Lab

Gussy's field bred:

OH- YEAH.... !!! where's my 2 bits??

- Ebonstar Lean Mac, has some ungodly amount of FC points (both american/canadian)... -he's the man...

:ibow :ibow :ibow :ibow :ibow

http://www.pageweb.com/vinken/images/max1.jpg

aka "MAXX"

Two Bits to Carrie for the correct Answer.

Maxx is the only dawg to date to win 4 national championships...
2 in Canada and 2 in the US.

The correct terms are field and show, not english/british and american...

that said, I have one field bred CLF (below)

http://www.westernretrievers.com/almond_duckdog.JPG

one BackYard Bred YLF who has more field than show in her pedigree, but except for size looks more "showy". (below)

http://www.westernretrievers.com/paws/cedar_fall03.JPG

and one BLM with show on top and field below. Tons of retrieving desire and nice looks.

http://www.westernretrievers.com/boazconf_erase_14wks.JPG http://www.westernretrievers.com/boaz_retrieve.JPG

We have a very tall 13 month yellow lab...I'm so sick of people gasping and asking if he's mixed with Great Dane...The web didn't have too much to offer..it's nice to see that I'm not the only one out there with what must be a "field" lab.

Tanner is an "English style" or Show bred lab. He has the big blocky head, which is why we refer to him as "King Cranium." LOL! It's funny when people first see him, the first thing they always say is, "Wow! He has a big head."

This is my favorite King Cranium picture...

Hoover are both Bench/show bred
http://pic6.picturetrail.com/VOL160/1537805/2939049/37918997.jpg
19 months
http://pic6.picturetrail.com/VOL160/1537805/2939049/41332791.jpg
20 weeks
http://pic6.picturetrail.com/VOL160/1537805/2939049/39787678.jpg

The use of English/British vs American is quite appropriate and in fact predates any field vs show distinction.

Brits still feel that their animals are superior to americanized blood lines regardless of the breed.

Typically, show lines are bread heavily from UKC animals, and more working blood comes for American lines.

No matter which set of terms you use the message is clear.

The use of English/British vs American is quite appropriate and in fact predates any field vs show distinction.

It doesn't explain which type you are talking about (although one can guess) because the majority of both show and field Labs are born in the U.S. (vs. imported) which makes them...American. So, are we talking American show or American field?

Where a dog is born does not determin where a dog is registered.

More UKC dogs tend to show up in bench competitions.

More AKC/CKC dogs tend to compete in field competitions.

So if I was told that so and so dog is UKC registered or of British blood a safe bet would be that it has a strong bench pedigree.

I will concede though, that using the classifications of Show vs. Field is more clear regardless of registry or particular pedigree.

Okay, let me see if I have this right.

My dogs are full brother and sister. Mom and Dad both CKC AKC show champions. Dad is Int'l Champion and was Born in England. For Picture, Type in "Chancellor Merry" in your browser, there are about 8 million photos of him. Both parents have UKC HR titles.

Are my dogs English or American?

Rhys:

Ryan is 8 months old and is Pointed in Canada (for lack of trying in the states).

I think that I very well may have two "In betweeners". You can't really tell by pedigree alone.

Ryan:

I dont know a lot about the pedigree, but Bailey's pedigree he has a lot of UKC and there is even some ancestors from Finland. Some of his grandparents are Ch. bloodlines, which I did not know.

But going back that far on the pedigree, does that really even count, being great grandparents and grandparents????

Gusty and Jack were bred for show (though Gusty hated it and Jack never got it at all) but are closer to english with their blocky heads.

Originally posted by GusJack
Gusty and Jack were bred for show (though Gusty hated it and Jack never got it at all) but are closer to english with their blocky heads.

Bred for show generally equates to English when you are talking about body type.

I just put down a deposit on a pup that comes from a dual purpose breeding program. The breeder does show the dogs and the studs and bitches have CH titles. But, they also have JH, SH, WC, WCX titles to go with their CH titles.

Scott

[QUOTE]Originally posted by duckbagger
[B]I have not seen many pictures here of what I would consider to be a field or working bred lab.
.

My lab in training is definitely not out of working lines, but I was ignorant of the difference in the beginning. Luckily she has an incredible desire to please so training has been a breeze. However her biggest problems come in stamina (due to body structure), and marking ability, both of which are controllled for in careful breeding of working retrievers.

It is really difficult to make a determination from the pictures that are posted thus far in this thread. So I will post of a prime example of a working retriever.

Hi, I'm new here.....my name is Terri and my dogs are black (and one yellow) FC/AFC or AFC and I've always tried very hard to keep very nice looks out of totally field bred dogs. I would love it if you all looked at my webpage!! I am not selling any puppies! My one litter in the past year and a half is all sold.....just am proud of the looks of my field champions and wanted to say HI!! My webpage is www.way-da-golabs.com. Thanks in advance for taking the time to look at it!!

:) :)

Hi Terri
Welcome to the board. Thanks for the link to your web page. You have nice dogs and it looks like a very good program.