AKC Sporting Group · No. 2 in 2025
How to identify a Labrador Retriever
The Labrador Retriever is a sturdy, short-coated gun dog and the No. 2 breed in the AKC’s 2025 popularity ranking. Start with the tail: a thick, tapering “otter” tail with no feathering. The coat is short and dense, and the color is always black, yellow or chocolate.
Field marks
These four marks are the ones the game gives you as clues. They paraphrase or briefly quote the AKC Labrador Retriever standard.
- Thick “otter” tail: “very thick at the base, gradually tapering toward the tip,” with no feathering
- Coat “short, straight and very dense” over a weather-resistant undercoat
- Wide skull, moderate stop, ears hanging “moderately close to the head”
- Black, yellow, or chocolate only
Tell them apart
Labrador Retriever or Golden Retriever?
Check the coat and the tail. A Golden has feathering on the legs, neck, thighs and under the tail. A Lab’s coat is short and dense all over, and its thick otter tail has no feathering. Color helps too: a Golden is always some shade of gold, while a Lab is black, yellow or chocolate. A yellow Lab is the one that fools people, so look for feathering.
Labrador Retriever
- Thick “otter” tail: “very thick at the base, gradually tapering toward the tip,” with no feathering
- Coat “short, straight and very dense” over a weather-resistant undercoat
- Wide skull, moderate stop, ears hanging “moderately close to the head”
- Black, yellow, or chocolate only
- “Rich, lustrous golden of various shades”
- Feathering on the backs of the forelegs, front of the neck, backs of the thighs, and underside of the tail
- “Rather short” ears “falling close to cheek”
- Tail carried level or with a moderate upward curve, “never curled over back”
Test your eye
One photo, four names, ten dogs a day. Free, no sign-up.
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