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Chocolate Labrador Retrievers:
The Chocolate Labrador Retriever is a strongly built,
medium-sized, short-coupled dog, possessing a sound, athletic, well-balanced
conformation that enables it to function as a retrieving gun dog. A Labrador
Retriever must be effortlessly well balanced, enabling it to move in
the show ring or work in the field with both confidence and grace. True
Labrador Retriever temperament is a hallmark of the breed. Labradors
possess that certain style and quality, endearing them immediately to
all.
The Chocolate Labrador was originally bred primarily as a working gun
dog; structure and soundness are of great importance. Labrador Retrievers
are shown in working condition, well-muscled and without excess
fat, with good spring of ribs tapering
to a moderately wide chest. The Labrador should never be narrow-chested;
giving the appearance of hollowness between the front legs, nor should
it have a wide spreading, bulldog-like front. When viewed from the side,
the Labrador Retriever shows a well-developed, but not exaggerated forechest.
The Chocolate Labrador's hindquarters are broad, muscular and well-developed
from the hip to the hock, with well-turned stifles and strong short hocks.
Overall movement should be free and effortless.
The coat is a distinctive feature of the Chocolate Labrador Retriever.
It should be short, straight and very dense, giving a fairly hard feeling
to the hand. The Labrador should have a soft, weather-resistant undercoat
that provides protection from water, cold and all types of ground cover.
The tail should be free from feathering and clothed thickly all around
with the Labrador's short, dense coat, thus having that peculiar rounded
appearance that has been described as the "otter tail". The tail completes
the balance of the Labrador by giving it a flowing line from the top
of the head to the tip of the tail.
The Chocolate Labrador has much that appeals to people;
his gorgeous color, gentle ways, intelligence and adaptability make him
an ideal dog.
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