This insatiable appetite is what makes Labradors so trainable – offer a Lab some food and they will do anything. Ben visits Canada, discovers hair-raising stories of early Labrador exploits and uncovers stories of RNIB Labradors and Labradors at war, Labradors as working dogs and every other manifestation of the Labrador’s character. Ben has written a wonderful book of beautiful Labrador anecdotes through history, with some actual history thrown in… but I would dearly like to attack this book with a red editing pen. Residents of Newfoundland kept no records of the dogs on the island so there aren’t many clues for breed enthusiasts to follow.

The broadcaster, who grew up above his father's veterinary surgery in central London, said pets can bring a 'huge amount' to the family dynamic. Of course, this isn’t unique to the breed, but unlike bloodhounds, say, the Labrador has the distinction of following a scent for its own benefit. The arrival of my son Ludo in 2009 and then, a year and a half later, his sister Iona are the best things that ever happened to Marina and me, but sometimes life throws you a curve ball. I say that behind every labrador there is a great man: Ernest Hemingway, Roald Dahl, Keith Richards, Kevin Costner, Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger to name just a few.

They were originally fishing dogs, whose ancestors came from the Portuguese cod trawlers that worked the Grand Banks off Newfoundland in Canada (despite the name, they do not actually originate from Labrador, Canada’s northerly mainland region). Not only a great family companion, they also excel at hunting, tracking, retrieving, guiding and rescuing. In the first published account of a labrador, his Diary describes the dog as “by far the best for any kind of shooting. A Labrador wouldn’t dream of missing the opportunity to say hello and will always give strangers the benefit of the doubt.

Our relationship was made stronger through isolation and the pressures of life on that Outer Hebridean island.The son of a vet, I was surrounded by creatures great and small – parrots, rabbits, guinea-pigs, cats and, of course, plenty of dogs. Again, this kind of thing happens repeatedly, sometimes as blatantly as that, and sometimes across chapters - the almost never-ending explanation of the differences between working and show Labradors was a real treat. Kind, loyal, diligent, hardworking, biddable, gentle and faithful: I may be biased, but it’s no surprise that the Labrador is by far the most popular breed in the UK and indeed the world. Fogle repeats himself a lot, and throughout, so I was reading the same piece of information two or three times.