Labrador Education
Labrador Types: English vs American Labradors
By Dr. Laura van Dalen
Over the years, I have heard many names used for Labrador types: Field, Water, Show, Bench, American, English, and many others. It can certainly become confusing. The show-type Labrador is often called an English Labrador, while the field-type Labrador is often called an American Labrador.
I would like to clarify a few terms that are often confusing for people who are researching Labrador puppies.
There is no such thing as a “Golden Labrador” as a breed. A Labrador is a Labrador Retriever. A Golden is a Golden Retriever. Labradors and Goldens are both retrievers, but they are two different breeds.
A retriever is a dog originally bred to retrieve game for its master. All retrievers belong to the Sporting Group, but not all dogs in the Sporting Group are retrievers. There are also spaniels, setters, pointers, and other breeds. What they all have in common is that they were developed to assist people in the practical work of hunting birds and other game.
Today, when people talk about Labrador “types,” they are usually referring to differences in appearance, structure, temperament, and purpose. This is not something unique to the Labrador Retriever. Many Sporting and Hound breeds have developed different styles over time, depending on what breeders selected for.
Why does this happen? It happens because the purpose of dogs has changed through the years. We no longer depend on hunting to put food on the table. Most people today are looking for a healthy, kind, easygoing companion and family member, while still wanting a dog that looks and behaves like the breed they love.
Of course, Labradors were not originally bred to warm our couches. They were developed to work, hunt, swim, and retrieve. Hunting remains a sport today, just as the sport of purebred dogs does. Show breeders strive to produce dogs that look, move, and behave as closely as possible to the written breed standard. Field breeders strive to produce dogs that can hunt, retrieve, and perform with speed, drive, and endurance.
Over time, those different goals led breeders in different directions and produced the two main Labrador types people talk about today: Show Labradors and Field Labradors.
Personally, I prefer the terms Show Labrador or Bench Labrador,
and Field Labrador. To me, those terms are more accurate because they describe
the purpose and style of the dog, instead of suggesting that they are two separate national
varieties. They are not separate breeds. They are all Labrador Retrievers.
Show Labradors
Show Labradors, often called English Labradors, are the type I breed and love.
These Labradors are usually closer in appearance to the Labrador described in the breed standard. They tend to be short-coupled, substantial, well-boned dogs with broad heads, kind expressions, strong bodies, thick coats, and the classic otter tail.
The show-type Labrador should never be clumsy, overdone, or unable to work. A correct Labrador is still an athletic dog. He should be balanced, sound, and able to move freely.
Field Labradors
Field Labradors, often called American Labradors, are bred primarily for performance. These dogs are usually selected for speed, endurance, intensity, and retrieving ability.
They are often lighter in body, longer in leg, narrower in head, and more athletic in appearance than show Labradors.
Field Labradors can be wonderful dogs in the right homes. They are often extremely intelligent, loyal, athletic, and driven.
English vs American: My Opinion
The terms “English Labrador” and “American Labrador” are commonly used, and I understand why people use them. They are easy terms for puppy buyers to recognize.
But technically, they are not separate breeds. There is one breed: the Labrador Retriever.
Most Labradors today have some mixture of show and field, or English and American, ancestry if you go far enough back in the pedigree. The difference is not usually about being truly “English” or truly “American.” It is about what generations of breeders have selected for.
A show breeder is usually selecting for correct structure, breed type, soundness, temperament, and the written standard.
A field breeder is usually selecting for performance, stamina, speed, marking ability, and retrieving drive.
Both have value. Both can produce wonderful Labradors. But they are not always the same dog for the same family.
At van Dalen Labradors, my heart is with the classic show-type Labrador: substantial but not
excessive, calm but not lazy, affectionate but not needy, beautiful but still functional, and
always sound in mind and body.
That is the Labrador I love.
Official Breed Standards
The Labrador Breed Standards
The Labrador Retriever is one breed, but it is described by different written standards depending on the country or registry. In the United States, the AKC standard is used. In the United Kingdom, The Kennel Club standard is used. Internationally, the FCI standard is widely recognized.
I include all three here because they help explain the same essential idea: a correct Labrador
should be strongly built, balanced, useful, kind, and unmistakably true to the breed — never
exaggerated, never fragile, and never only ornamental.
AKC Standard
United States • Approved 1994 • Effective 1994
The American Kennel Club standard describes the Labrador Retriever as a strongly built, medium-sized, short-coupled, athletic dog with the structure and soundness to work as a retrieving gun dog, the quality to compete in the show ring, and the temperament to be a family companion.
- Short, dense, weather-resistant coat
- Distinctive otter tail
- Clean-cut head with broad skull
- Kind, friendly eyes
- Stable, outgoing temperament
- Sound, balanced, effortless movement
- Colors: black, yellow, and chocolate
- Approximate weight: males 65–80 lb; females 55–70 lb
AKC size: males 22½–24½ inches at the withers; females 21½–23½ inches.
The AKC standard emphasizes a Labrador with substance, but without lumber or cloddiness.
The Kennel Club Standard
United Kingdom • Last Updated April 1, 2025
The Kennel Club standard is the British standard for the Labrador Retriever. It describes a strongly built, short-coupled, very active Labrador with a broad skull, deep body, strong hindquarters, kind temperament, love of water, and the classic otter tail.
- Strongly built and short-coupled
- Good-tempered and very agile
- Excellent nose and soft mouth
- Keen love of water
- Kindly nature with no aggression or undue shyness
- Short, dense, weather-resistant coat
- Colors: black, yellow, and liver/chocolate
- Small white spot on chest and rear of front pasterns permissible
Kennel Club size: males 56–57 cm; females 55–56 cm.
This standard very clearly warns against exaggerations that could affect health, welfare,
soundness, or the dog’s ability to perform its traditional work.
FCI Standard
International • Valid Standard June 16, 2022 • English Publication Sept. 30, 2022
The FCI standard describes the Labrador Retriever in Group 8. It is close in spirit to the British standard and places clear emphasis on a Labrador that is strong, active, good-tempered, functional, and able to perform its traditional work.
- Group 8: Retrievers, Flushing Dogs, and Water Dogs
- Section 1: Retrievers
- Strongly built and short-coupled
- Very active, without excessive body weight or substance
- Good-tempered, agile, intelligent, and biddable
- Excellent nose, soft mouth, and love of water
- Colors: black, yellow, and liver/chocolate
- Small white spot on chest and rear of pasterns permissible
FCI size: males 56–57 cm; females 54–56 cm.
The updated FCI standard is especially useful because it directly states that excessive
body weight or excessive substance is not correct.
What Do These Standards Have in Common?
The wording is not identical, but the message is remarkably consistent. A Labrador should be substantial without being coarse, athletic without being rangy, kind without being timid, and beautiful without losing the ability to function as a true retriever.
The AKC standard allows a somewhat taller dog, while The Kennel Club and FCI standards are closer to each other in size. Still, all three standards point toward the same essential Labrador: a sound, balanced, useful dog with a generous temperament and unmistakable breed type.
The standard is not meant to describe only a pretty dog. It describes a Labrador that is sound,
balanced, useful, kind, and unmistakably true to the breed.
Beauty, purpose, and temperament belong together.