Nobody wants to see generic labs being put up by judges. But if we have a generation of breeders now who think generic and moderate mean the same thing...
I think this is powerful and explains a lot. Everybody wants their dog to stand out. But if what makes your dog different from the others is something that is not correct type, then that dog should not win. The winners should be the dogs who have the most correct type and structure. And for Labradors this means the right balance of all the correct, moderate traits.
I also agree that putting your hands on a dog is necessary to truly evaluate whether the dog is overweight. Too much coat and too much overall substance do look like fat. But too many people put their hands on obese dogs and still think they are at a healthy, athletic weight. I don't understand this actually. But, your eye gets used to what you see all the time and I guess that works for fingers too!
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The key words here are "too much" - everyone seems to be on board with not rewarding "too little" (and evidently decisions on traits that do not appear to be enough CAN be determined without actually putting hands on a dog since those comments are made all of the time and accepted), but "too much" seems to be desirable. This breed should not "appear" heavy due to too much weight, too much coat or too much bone. Too much is just that, TOO MUCH. Putting one's hands on a dog can tell one if the reason the dog looks heavy/overly substantial is due to actually being overweight. But regardless if it is weight or having another characteristic that throws off its balance, the dog still isn't the picture of a moderate working dog.
