Labrador Retriever: short hair, a dense undercoat
The Labrador Retriever has a strong, compact outline, with breadth through the chest and hindquarters. Its short, dense coat feels fairly hard and has a weather-resistant undercoat. There is no wave or feathering in the FCI coat description, unlike the longer, fringed outline of a Golden.
Two short coats can be quite different
The undercoat is the layer beneath the outer hair. The Chesapeake also has a double coat, but its standard describes natural oil, a woolly underlayer and waves in particular areas. Short hair alone does not make the two coats alike.
For a stronger contrast, look at the Golden’s feathering or the Curly’s tight curls. Feathering is the longer hair that creates a fringe; it is absent from the Labrador’s standard coat.
Consider your available time and space
The earlier UK guide records weekly grooming and more than two hours of daily exercise. It lists a large house and large garden, with town or country in the location category. The Golden shares the size and exercise entries but has grooming more than once a week.
These earlier guide categories are useful planning prompts. Weekly grooming is a category, not a complete description of the care any individual Labrador will need.
Keep height and weight distinct
The FCI height ideals are 56–57 cm for males and 54–56 cm for females. The standard gives no numeric weight, so these heights do not offer a way to calculate a target body weight.
Open the Golden comparison for feathering and grooming differences, or the Chesapeake comparison for two substantial short-coated retrievers. Compare their overall proportions as well as their height figures.
Sources and further reading
Retriever (Labrador) at a glance
These earlier UK breed guides are starting points for comparison. Details may have changed, and individual dogs vary.
- Breed group
- Gundog
- Size
- Large
- Daily exercise
- More than 2 hours per day
- Grooming frequency
- Once a week
- Coat length
- Short
- Sheds
- Yes
- Suggested home size
- Large house
- Town or country
- Town or country
- Garden recommendation
- Large garden
- Lifespan
- Over 10 years
FCI breed standard
Standard guidance describes the breed ideal; individual dogs vary.
- Origin
- Great Britain
- Group
- 8 - Retrievers, Flushing dogs, Water dogs
- Section
- 1 - Retrievers
- Height
- Males: Ideal: 56–57 cm; Females: Ideal: 54–56 cm
- Weight
- Not specified in this standard
Official FCI standard (PDF)
Standard effective from 2026-09-08; checked 2026-10-15
DogTime description
Different DogTime sections are shown separately. Read 15 October 2026; later page updates may not be reflected. These descriptions are not breed-standard limits or guarantees for individual dogs.
- Height at shoulder
- Characteristics / Statistics: 21–24 in; Physical features: Males: 22.5–24.5 in; Physical features: Females: 21.5–23.5 in
- Weight
- Characteristics / Physical features: Males: 65–80 lb; Characteristics / Physical features: Females: 55–70 lb; Statistics: 55–80 lb
- Lifespan
- Characteristics: 10–14 years; Statistics: 10–12 years
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