Compare dog breeds

Side-by-side breed comparison: Labrador Retriever

Breed	Labrador Retriever Gundog/Sporting · Large
Size & physical
Size category	Large
Height	55–62 cm
Weight	25–36 kg
Lifespan	11–13 years
Brachycephalichigh	No
Coat
Coat type	Double, short, dense, weather-resistant with an oily undercoat · Short
Sheddinghigh	5
Droolinghigh	2
Behaviour tendencies — low predictive confidence (Morrill 2022)
Breed describes tendencies, not your individual dog — research finds breed explains only about 9% of behavioural variation (Morrill et al., Science 2022). Always meet the dog.
Energymedium	4
Trainabilitylow	5
Barkinglow	2
With childrenlow	5
With other petslow	5
With strangerslow	4
Independencelow	3
Prey drivelow	2
Care
Exercise (min/day)medium	90 min
Groominghigh	2
Heat tolerancehigh	3
Space need	4
Health
Known conditions	5 · Hip dysplasia (common — a leading breed orthopaedic disorder) · Elbow dysplasia (common) · Obesity (very common — among the most overweight-prone breeds) + 2 more
Rec. health tests	· Hip evaluation (OFA/BVA) · Elbow evaluation (OFA/BVA) · Eye examination (OFA/BVA-ECVO) · EIC DNA test · prcd-PRA DNA test
Median lifespan	11.77 yrs[McMillan et al. 2024, Scientific Reports — UK dog life tables (VetCompass): Labrador life expectancy at age 0 ≈ 11.77 yr (95% CI 11.67–11.89)]
COI %	6.6%
Biddabilitylow	5
Excitabilitylow	4
Separation-related behaviourlow	3
Stranger-directed aggressionlow	1
Suitability
First-time owner	✓ Good (4/5)
Apartment living	✗ Challenging (2/5)
Children	✓ Good (5/5)
Other pets	✓ Good (5/5)

Trait bars are 1–5 scales. Confidence pills (high/medium/low) indicate how reliably breed predicts each trait. Physical traits (size, coat, heat tolerance) are highly predictable. Behavioural tendencies are weak breed-level priors — breed explains only about 9% of variation in individual dog behaviour (Morrill et al., Science 2022). Always meet the dog.