American Labrador vs English Labrador Retriever - What is the Difference?

The Labrador Retriever is the most popular dog breed in the world, but did you know that there are two unofficial varieties of this lovely dog breed? The American and the English Labrador. Why i say unofficial? Well, officially, the english and american breed standard is essentially identical with one slight difference, which is the height – the American standard allows taller dogs than the brittish standard.
But even though the rest of the breed standards is basically the same, when you put English and American Labrador side by side, you will spot some important differences.
The English Labrador is typically stockier dog with shorter legs and deep barrell chest, wider neck and thick straight tail. On the other hand, the American Labrador looks much more athletic, they are thinner, taller and they have visibly longer legs. The tail is also thinner and can have a slight curl. You can also find some differences in face, because the American Labrador has longer muzzle and narrower face.
I would love to mention that this is a generalization and even pure English Labs can be very athletic with longer legs. This is my pure English Labrador i previously owned and most people would say that he was American Labrador. It is because every dog is different. Most of them will fit the criteria for English and American Labs i previously mentioned, but not all of them.
With that said, the difference between the American and English Labs goes deeper than height, body shape or face shape. There are even slight differences in temperament. Why? It is because of the differences in breeding practices in America and England.
The English Labrador was primarily bred for a long time for show and conformation and they are bred to fit the breed standard criteria as much as possible. On the other hand, the American Labrador was primarly bred for generations to be the best hunters companion, worker and retriever. This not only cause differences in appearance, but also in temperament. So what are those differences?
Well, British Labs are calmer, quieter, softer and less active as opposed to the American Labs generally being more active with higher energy and greater drive.
When i say it like this, it sounds that the difference is quite big, but these two varieties are much closer than most people think. Both – American and English Labs – share the same loving, eager to please, empathetic, gentle, trusting and outgoing temperament and the differences are rather subtle.
Vast majority of Labs, i would definitely say that more than 90% of them, lives as companion dogs today and for a good reason, they are just amazing companions. And you will not make a mistake if you will choose an American or English Labrador.
But if you are very very active person that loves long hikes, walks, jogs, swims, who would possibly do some kind of dog sport or maybe even go for a hunt with the dog, than the American Labrador is better choice.
If you are looking for calmer and more relaxed dog, than you should go for English Labrador. But even the English Labrador is active breed, be prepared for it. They still need daily longer walks, vigorous playtime or fun training sessions to stay in good mental and physical health. Neither of these two varieties are coach potatoes.
In conclusion, both types of Labs make terrific active family dogs and even though there are some slight differences between them, they are not that big. If you are ready to meet the exercise needs of Labrador and you want loving, trainable and always fun to be around companion, you will be happy with either American or English Lab.