And Now for Something Completely Different

This YouTube video was on BoingBoing, A Directory of Wonderful Things, where you can find all things geeky, wonky, and wild and weird.  The post's author wonders whether the dog "actually enjoys dancing in that frilly skirt."

The comments made by Boing-Boing's readers reflect the site's core audience--some are perturbed because the hind-leg hopping might be hard on the dog's joints. Others are impressed by the partnership between the dog and its handler:  "Smoobly" writes, "The dog enjoys having a job to do, doing it well, pleasing hir human, and being rewarded. That the job entails dancing around in a frilly skirt is purely incidental. Good dog!"

"Libraryboi" is worried about other issues:  "Dogs aren't supposed to stand on their hind legs. It's not difficult to imagine the damage that is inflicted on their joints and subsequent pain from doing this repeatedly over years. Simply because we can train dogs to do this doesn't mean we should for mere human amusement."  I suppose fly-ball is bad, too, because the dogs jump high and land hard.

Others noticed only the pretty hostess, or made flip comments about skirts.  I'm convinced that since the dog is a Golden Lab, it doesn't give a hoot what it wears while dancing, just as long as there are treats or tennis balls afterwards.

Old-School Labs

I found a copy of “The Golden Stamp Book of Dogs” at a thrift store this week and while flipping through the pages, I was struck by the way breed standards have changed over the years.  The edition I have was printed in 1966, but bears a 1953 copyright, indicating when the photos used in the stamps were taken.  What caught my eye was the page about Labrador Retrievers.

The stamp featured a glossy coated Black Lab, which was interesting, since Yellow Labs are by far the more popular of the two main coat colors.  I did a Google search for “black Labrador retriever,” and about one-third of the photos showed Yellow or Golden Labs.  Chocolate and even “Silver” Labs also came up in the search results.

More significantly, what I noticed about the Lab in the Golden Book stamp was how different the body types are today.  Labs are extremely popular in Texas, both as pets and hunting dogs.  The purebreds I see at the dog parks are huge—with wide, blocky heads, deep jowls, broad chests, with thick barrels, fuller, longer-haired tails, and plushy coats.  The photos below are from breeders’ Internet sites and are typical of the purebred Labs in my area.

I don’t have any hard data to support this, but the “Labs” that arrive at my Shelter every day tend to resemble the dog in the stamp photo.  They are lighter-boned, with higher tucks in the flank, leaner barrels, more tapered heads, less conspicuous dewlaps and jowls, and generally have shorter, sleeker coats.  Mind you, many of our animals are what horse people would call “grade” level, even if they are purebred.  And a large number of our Labs are mixed breed, primarily Pit Bull, but also Vizla, Catahoula, or Rhodesian Ridgeback. 

Still, many of our Shelter Labs are dead-ringers for the old-school Labs shown on the stamp.  It’s amazing to look back to see how standards have affected an individual breed.

Check out this video from a breeder of German Shepherd dogs to see how the standards of the “German” and “American” lines have altered the profile of the “champion” GSD. The video begins with photos from the 1940s and ends in the 2000s, and the images dramatize the extreme effects of breeding for specific conformation types.  You can compare the GSD on the Golden Stamp Cover with today's show ring GSD and immediately tell the difference

However, if you’re in Texas and are looking for a Lab, come check out our Old-School Labs at MCAS!