There you were, walking innocently through the mall, when you decided to enter the pet store. In reality, her children make the decision, clamoring to have a puppy.
Among the chubby puppies is an energetic black and white puppy. Not knowing what it is, you look at the card in the window. “Black Labrador Retriever” it reads. Surprised, you ask an employee about the puppy and are assured that he is indeed a purebred black Labrador. Purebred? Can black and white lab puppies be purebred? The price is certainly the price of “purity”!
Luckily, her children want that same puppy. You hesitate and finally ask to hold the puppy until the next day. Back home, she decides to do some research. You go online and search the internet for “black and white lab puppy information.”
so sorry
If the information you find is honest, you will learn that black Labradors do not come in black and white. Any dog listed as a black and white Labrador Retriever is of mixed blood. Unfortunately, disreputable breeders are working to convince the public that these mongrels are AKC registered dogs. In fact, with a little dishonest paperwork, some can be registered as Black Labradors, but their registration won’t stand up to scrutiny.
Realizing that the puppy at the pet store is too expensive as it is not a purebred, he decides to look for a real black labrador.
AKC Color Standard
The American Kennel Club (AKC) offers only 3 colors for Labrador Retrievers:
1.Black Lab
2. Yellow Lab
3. Chocolate Lab
Any other color, or combination of colors, disqualifies a dog for registration as a Labrador Retriever.
A black Lab can have a small white patch on its chest and still meet the standard, but even that is considered undesirable.
A black Lab should be all black, from the tip of the nose to the tip of the tail. There should be no streaks, spots or flecks of other colors. If the dog is older and has some white “age” hairs, that’s fine. However, a young black Labrador must be completely black.
the color genes
The color of the black Labrador Retriever is mainly determined by 2 genes.
1. The first gene (B) decides how dense the pigment granules of a black Labrador’s coat will be. When the pigment granules are dense, the layer will be black. When the pigment granules are scarce, the layer will be chocolate. If this were the only gene involved, there would only be chocolate and black Labs.
2. The second gene (E) makes the difference. Determine if any pigment is produced. Regardless of the B gene, if a dog has the recessive E, there will be little color. It will be a yellow lab.
Variations in several other genes control finer color details.
A black Labrador’s nose matches its coat: black.
Blue, Charcoal, Gray and Silver
Unscrupulous breeders have come up with new names for their puppies that don’t meet the officially recognized standard, telling people it’s a new line of “purity” black labrador retrievers.
The most blatantly promoted of these four colors is silver. This is a very light color and since it is sought after by some who do not adhere to the standard, unusually light yellow and chocolate Labradors are described by disreputable breeders as “silver” Labradors.
Sharon Wagner, a molecular biologist and geneticist at wigwaglabradors.com, wrote an analysis that concluded: “Silver breeders are also outright lying. They have information on their websites that talks about DNA testing done by the AKC…AKC never did.” no genetic mapping of silver Labradors have no plans to do so either as they are only a registration body 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 crosses with Weimaraners or very light chocolates.”
The color of a black Labrador retriever should never have any of these shades.
You are my father?
Imagine you mate 2 black Labs and nine weeks later a litter of squirming puppies arrives. Three are Black Labs, as expected, but 2 are Chocolate Labs and 4 are Yellow Labs. Ahem! Let the real father stand up, please!
You know the real father, no doubt, so how did this happen? It all goes back to the genes. A Labrador with one gene for dark pigment and one for red-yellow pigment will appear 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 the red-yellow pigment.
We know that we crossed 2 black Labs, 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 dark pigment gene. None of his puppies would have been chocolate or black labs.
The black color of the Labrador Retriever is important to many people, as is the short, dense, weather-resistant coat; the “otter” tail; and the head well defined with the skull wide to the rear.
The most important thing, however, is that your adorable Labrador is happy and healthy.