"What is born of the blood can never be driven from the bone."The Labrador looks at us with loyal eyes from a leafy suburb or lake. Yet it was never just a pet or a retriever of downed birds it could also catch fish underwater. Back in Newfoundland it was called the St John's Water Dog. It would swim out and haul the rope of a foundering vessel back to shore saving people from disaster. It was a dog of the 'ship and the shoreline' the constant mate of working fisherman. It was more Sou' Wester and oilskins than green Wellies and waxed jackets. It was more suited to hauling a sledge than sat in the back of Land rover.

The original St John's Water Dog had white patches and a chest bib. Today throwbacks appear much to the surprise of the homogenised Labrador world. This 'lesser Newfoundland dog' (its other name) should have really been called the 'Working Labrador Dog.' In the 19th Century it was rebranded the Labrador Retriever by British Aristocrats.Labradors have always retained their genetic talents working as assistance and sniffer dogs as well as rescue and medical companions. Mary Roslin Williams, the authority on the Labrador, described foundational breeds in the Labrador as 'alien'. Recent discoveries suggest those alien breeds could be sledge dogs like the Greenland Sledge Dog. The Labrador has similar physiology and comparative skills.

Like the icebergs which appear on the coast of Newfoundland there is always more unseen, so it is with the Labrador retriever - until now.