Behavioural differences between and within retriever breeds

Abstract: The retriever breeds have the same origin and have long been used as a gundog for hunting of game, mostly birds. However, recently the retriever breeds have become a popular pet and show dog. This have affected the breeding of the dogs as the same traits are not bred for a gundog and a pet or show dog. Breeds as the Labrador retriever consists of a field- and common-type. The aim of this study is to investigate any differences between and within five of the retriever breeds in behaviours as retrieving, search and game reaction. 64 dogs undergoing the field trial Description of Function- Retriever was video recorded and scores from 430 dogs that have undergone field trials was obtained. Both differences between and within breeds were found when analysing both the videos and scores. In the video analysis, the Flatcoated retriever showed the most retrieving behaviours and was the most passive. The Nova scotia duck tolling retriever was in both the video and score analyses the most active breed. The Labrador retriever scored high in game reaction. The field- and mixed-types had almost always higher scores in behaviours linked to hunting, compared to the common-type. This supports findings that recent selection in breeding have a larger effect on behaviour than the origin uses of the dogs.