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The Labrador Retriever, also known as simply Labrador or Lab, is one of several kinds of retrievers, a type of gun dog.〔("Get to Know the Labrador Retriever" ), 'The American Kennel Club', Retrieved May 29, 2014〕 Labradors are athletic, playful, and the most popular breed of dog by registered ownership in Denmark, Australia, Canada, New Zealand,〔(【引用サイトリンク】 archivedate=September 19, 2007 ) ''"The Labrador Retriever remains New Zealand’s most popular dog...." - John Perfect, NZ Kennel Club President.''〕 the United Kingdom, and the United States (since 1991). A favourite assistance dog breed in these and other countries, Labradors are frequently trained to aid people who are blind and people with autism, act as therapy dogs, and perform screening and detection work for law enforcement and other official agencies.〔 They are prized as sporting and waterfowl hunting dogs. A few kennels breeding their ancestors, the St.John's water dog, were in England; at the same time a combination of sheep protection policy (Newfoundland) and rabies quarantine (England) led to their gradual demise in Canada, their country of origin. The first and second Earls of Malmesbury, who bred for duck shooting on his estate, and the 5th and 6th Dukes of Buccleuch, and youngest son Lord George William Montagu-Douglas-Scott,〔 were instrumental in developing and establishing the modern Labrador breed in 19th century England. The dogs Avon ("Buccleuch Avon") and Ned given by Malmesbury to assist the Duke of Buccleuch's breeding program in the 1880s are considered the ancestors of modern Labradors. The first St. John's dog was said to be brought to England in or around 1820; however, the breed's reputation had spread to England long before. There is a story that the Earl of Malmesbury saw a St. John's dog on a fishing boat and immediately made arrangements with traders to have some of these dogs exported to England. These ancestors of the first labradors so impressed the Earl with their skill and ability for retrieving anything within the water and on shore that he devoted his entire kennel to developing and stabilizing the breed. ==Early descriptions== Several early descriptions of the St. John's water dog exist. In 1822, explorer W.E. Cormack crossed the island of Newfoundland by foot. In his journal he wrote "The dogs are admirably trained as retrievers in fowling, and are otherwise useful.....The smooth or short haired dog is preferred because in frosty weather the long haired kind become encumbered with ice on coming out of the water." Another early report by a Colonel Hawker described the dog as "by far the best for any kind of shooting. He is generally black and no bigger than a Pointer, very fine in legs, with short, smooth hair and does not carry his tail so much curled as the other; is extremely quick, running, swimming and fighting....and their sense of smell is hardly to be credited...."〔 In his book ''Excursions In and About Newfoundland During the Years 1839 and 1840'',〔Jukes, Joseph Beete. Excursions In and About Newfoundland During the Years 1839 and 1840. Vol. 1. (London, 1842),〕 the geologist Joseph Beete Jukes describes the St. John's water dog. "A thin, short-haired, black dog came off-shore to us to-day. The animal was of a breed very different from what we understand by the term Newfoundland dog in England. He had a thin, tapering snout, a long thin tail, and rather thin, but powerful legs, with a lank body, – the hair short and smooth." wrote Jukes. "These are the most abundant dogs in the country...They are no means handsome, but are generally more intelligent and useful than the others...I observed he once or twice put his foot in the water and paddled it about. This foot was white, and Harvey said he did it to "toil" or entice the fish. The whole proceeding struck me as remarkable, more especially as they said he had never been taught anything of the kind." 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「labrador retriever」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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