 In the 1830s , the 10th Earl of Home and his nephews the 5th Duke of Buccleuch and Lord John Scott , had imported progenitors of the breed from Newfoundland to Europe for use as gundogs . Another early advocate of these Newfoundland dogs , or Labrador Retrievers as they later became known , was the 2nd Earl of Malmesbury who bred them for their expertise in waterfowling . 
