Landseer Breed Profile

Landseer

Origins

Like Labrador, Flat, Golden, and Chesapeake Bay Retrievers, the Newfoundland and Landseer breeds are descendants of the now-extinct Canadian landrace: St. John’s Water Dogs. The St. John’s Water Dogs ranged from medium to large in size and were powerful, stocky dogs that roughly resembled modern-day Labrador Retrievers and Newfoundlands. The coats ranged from the smooth coat seen on Labs today to the longer, thicker coats seen on modern-day Newfies and Flat-Coated Retrievers. Many of the St. John’s had white markings in a tuxedo pattern or more extreme white markings no longer found in any of the descendent breeds except that of the Newfoundland and Landseer breeds.

The dogs were known to be well-trained, good-natured, and even-tempered dogs that accompanied their owners in their dories. These dogs were believed to be descendants of Irish, English, French, and Portuguese working dogs brought to the area by immigrants, fishermen, and other wayfarers. Given the tasks of swimming out fishing nets and retrieving game birds for their hunting and fisherman owners, they were renowned for their resiliency, intelligence, power, endurance, and trainability. They were known interchangeably as St. John’s Dog, Newfoundland, and Lesser Newfoundlands. This landrace reached its peak in the 17th century, and from that time on its numbers dwindled. Eventually, the St. John’s Water Dog was divided into two varieties according to size: the Lesser Newfoundland was eventually developed into the modern-day Labrador Retriever in England, while the Greater Newfoundland remained in Canada and developed into the Newfoundland and Landseer breed. The lesser St. John’s dogs accompanied the fishermen in their boats and in hunting, and the Greater St. John’s Water Dogs were given the task of retrieving nets and hauling drowning swimmers back to the safety of the shore or the boat.

Around the late 18th century, St. John’s Water Dogs were imported to England, where they became an immediate hit. Their bravery and merit were especially recognized by Edwin Landseer, a renowned painter who immortalized the black and white variety in several paintings that depicted their gentle and heroic nature. Eventually, these black and white dogs became known as Landseer Dogs. It became apparent that, although the dogs in Continental Europe were often bred back to the Canadian Newfoundland stock, the two lines had become divergent in more than just coat preference. The Canadian varieties were becoming heavier in bone, substance, and coat. They have always been black, as white markings were considered incorrect for the breed. They also have shorter muzzles and are less energetic than the Continental Landseer types, which were still large but leggier, lighter in bone, longer in muzzle, less-profusely coated, and higher energy. The earliest litters of Continental Landseers were born first in Holland and then in Switzerland in the late 19th century and early 20th century. The breed was further developed in the Netherlands and Switzerland, but it was the German Landseer Club that rallied to have them separated from the Newfoundland breed. Eventually, the Federation Cynologique Internationale recognized the breed as separate from the Newfoundland breed.

From that point on, both the Newfoundland and the Landseers grew in popularity. Since the large European governing bodies now recognized the Landseer as separate from the Newfoundland, most of Continental Europe followed suit, with the exception of Great Britain. Canada, Great Britain, and the United States consider them the same breed, just different colors, calling the black and white Newfies “Landseer Newfoundlands” to describe the coat color pattern. Continental Kennel Club considers them two distinct varieties of the same breed.