Black Labrador Retriever Color - What Is The Standard

Article Title: Black Labrador Retriever Color – What Is The
Standard?
Author: Anna Hart

There you were, walking innocently through the mall, when you
decide to go into the pet shop. Actually, your children make the
decision, clamoring to get a puppy.

Among the roly-poly puppies is an energetic little black and
white dog. Unsure what it is, you look at the card in the
window. "Black Labrador Retriever" it reads. Surprised, you ask
a clerk about the puppy, and are assured that it is indeed a
purebred black Labrador. Purebred? Can black and white Lab
puppies be purebred? The price certainly is "purebred" price!

As luck would have it, your children want that very puppy. You
hesitate, and finally ask for the puppy to be held until the
next day. Back home, you decide to do a little research. You go
online, and search the Internet for "black & white lab puppies
info".

So Sorry

If the information you find is honest, you will learn that
black Labradors do not come in black and white. Any dog billed
as a white and black Labrador Retriever is of mixed blood.
Unfortunately, disreputable breeders are working to convince the
public that these mongrels are AKC registered dogs. Indeed, with
a bit of dishonest paperwork, some may become registered as
black Labradors, but their registration will not endure
scrutiny.

Realizing that the puppy in the pet shop is far over-priced,
since it is not purebred, you decide to look for a real black
Labrador.

AKC Color Standard

The American Kennel Club (AKC) gives just 3 colors for Labrador
Retrievers:

1. Black Labrador
2. Yellow Labrador
3. Chocolate Labrador

Any other color – or a combination of colors – disqualifies a
dog for registration as a Labrador Retriever.

A black Labrador may have a small white spot on the chest and
meet the standard, but even that is considered undesirable.

A black Labrador should be all black, from the tip of his nose
to the tip of his tail. There should be no streaks, spots, or
flecks of other colors. If the dog is older, and has a few white
"age" hairs, that is fine. A young black Labrador, however,
should be completely black.

The Color Genes

The black Labrador Retriever's color is determined primarily by
2 genes.

1. The first gene (B) decides how dense a black Labrador's coat
pigment granules will be. When pigment granules are dense, the
coat will be black. When pigment granules are sparse, the coat
will be chocolate. If this were the only gene involved, there
would be only chocolate and black Labradors.

2. The second gene (E) makes the difference. It determines
whether any pigment is even produced. Regardless of the B gene,
if a dog has the recessive E, there will be little color. It
will be a yellow Labrador.

Variations in a number of other genes control subtler color
details.

A black Labrador's nose matches its coat – black.

Blue, Charcoal, Grey, and Silver

Unscrupulous breeders have come up with new names to fit their
puppies that do not meet the officially recognized standard,
telling people that it is a new line of "purebred" black
Labrador.

The most blatantly pushed of these four colors is silver. This
is a very light color and, since it is sought by some who do not
adhere to the standard, disreputable breeders describe unusually
light colored yellow and chocolate labs as "silver" labs.

Sharon Wagner, molecular biologist and geneticist of
http://wigwaglabradors.com wrote an analysis, which concluded
"Silver breeders also blatantly lie. They have information on
their websites that talk about DNA testing done by the AKC … AKC
never did any genetic mapping of silver Labradors nor do they
have any plans to do so since they are a registering body only
and the Labrador Club of America writes the standard for the
breed."

Dogbreedadvice.com states in a Labrador FAQ: "`Silver'
Labradors are purely a scam and are either crosses with
Weimaraners or very light chocolates."

A black Labrador Retriever's color should never be any of these
shades.

Are You My Father?

Imagine that you mate 2 black Labradors, and nine weeks later a
litter of squirming little puppies arrives. Three are black
Labradors, as expected, but 2 are chocolate Labs, and 4 are
yellow Labs. Ahem! Will the real father please stand up!

You know the real father – no question – so how did this
happen? It all goes back to genes. A Lab with one gene for dark
and one for red-yellow pigment will appear to be black or
chocolate, depending on other genes that control black or
chocolate color. Each parent of a litter with some yellow
puppies must have at least one gene for red-yellow pigment.

We know we mated 2 black Labradors, so each of them must have
had one gene for dark pigment and one for red-yellow pigment. If
both parents had been yellow Labs, neither could carry the gene
for dark pigment. None of their puppies would have been
chocolate or black Labradors.

Black Labrador Retriever color is important to many people, as
are the short, dense, weather resistant coat; the "otter" tail;
and the clean-cut head with broad back skull.

More important, though, is that your lovable Labrador be happy
and healthy.

About The Author: ©2007, Anna Hart. Anna Hart invites you to
read more of her articles about lovable Labrador Retrievers at
http://www.lovablelabradors.com. Anna has also posted additional
information on that site about black Labradors. If you ever
wondered how long Labrador Retrievers live, in human and dog
years, pay Anna a visit now.

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