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I was thinking something similar. Your research has been very good, it seems to me. You've found out about the breed standard (especially as it relates to colors), you've found out about very essential health clearances. But what most people don't realize is that labs are SOOOooooo diverse in body type and temperament/personalities.
Very, very generally... there are people who breed labs to show well in the breed ring. Responsible conformation breeders are attentive to temperament (first of all... a dullard doesn't show well and second of all, they care about the breed and don't want stupid dogs.) But drive is not their number one priority.
The next big category of labs are field bred. The caricature of the field lab is one that looks like a greyhound-whippet cross who is crazy and can't sit still. Field breeders basically want dogs with great prey drive, nose, athleticism, love of water, great marking ability (depth perception) and so on. Looks are not high on their list of priorities.
So when Windy Canyon talks about a "tweener" she's talking about breedings that try to bring together the best of both gene pools.
When you're looking at pedigrees, I would suggest you look for dogs with performance titles somewhere in the first couple of generations. Obedience, rally, agility, and (my particular favorite) field championships and/or hunting retriever titles. It would suggest that somewhere in the gene pool of your puppy there have been dogs who were very biddable and trainable.
Hello,Originally Posted by windycanyon
The type I am looking for is the show one. The English lab with the stockier build. I only heard about the difference a few years ago when my coworker got a lab and expected her dog to be more like my current dog Sierra, but was in for a surprise when her dog turned out to be an American lab.
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