THIS IS NOT OUR HOBBY, THIS IS OUR PASSION

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCE will our males be available to any bitch who's pedigree is associated with Silver, Charcoal or Champagne colors. All bitches not known to us personally or through pedigree will need to be tested for the D Lotus gene and be DD (dilute free). Test results must be submitted PRIOR to semen shipping.

ALL LABRADORS AT EVEROAK LABRADORS HAVE BEEN TESTED AND WE ARE PROUD TO ANNOUCE WE ARE DILUTE FREE!!

We do not promote the sale of designer or diluted Labradors.

 
The opinion of the Labrador Retriever Parent Club regarding silver and other diluted Labradors can be found at The AKC Parent Club of the Labrador Retriever  ~ There is no such thing as a PURE BRED Labrador Retriever that has a silver or charcoal coat as they carry the "dd" gene only found in Weims. We do not participate in cross-breeding Labradors with other breeds to make designer dogs. Labrador Retrievers coat colors are black, chocolate and yellow as recognized within ALL written breed standards including the AKC and FCI. We will never knowingly sell our puppies to those who support and breed diluted Labradors. For more information on dilute labradors, please visit the "No to Silver Labradors" site by clicking here

Two great websites VetGen and Blue Knight Labs that gives the breakdown for Labrador Color Coats and how they are made up depending on the breeding done. Another great chart can be found here for Coat Color Phenotype and Genotype Predictor.

"The Truth Behind Silver Labradors" can be visited at:  www.woodhavenlabs.com/silverlabs.html

As of July 2012, according to the Labrador Retriever Club, Inc., the AKC parent club for the breed they issued a statement on this hot topic issue ~

The Issue of the Silver Labrador

Frances O Smith, DVM, PhD Chair, Labrador Retriever Club, Inc. Genetics Committee

It is the opinion of the Labrador Retriever Club, Inc., the AKC parent club for the breed, that a silver Labrador is not a purebred Labrador retriever. The pet owning public is being duped into believing that animals with this dilute coat color are desirable, purebred and rare and, therefore, warrant special notoriety or a premium purchase price.

Over the past few years a limited number of breeders have advertised and sold dogs they represent to be purebred Labrador Retrievers with a dilute or gray coat color—hence the term “silver labs.” The AKC has accepted some of these “silver labs” for registration. Apparently, the rationale for this decision is that the silver coat color is a shade of chocolate. Interestingly, the original breeders of “silver” Labradors were also involved in the Weimaraner breed. Although we cannot conclusively prove that the silver Labrador is a product of crossbreeding the Weimaraner to a Labrador, there is good evidence in scientific literature indicating that the Labrador has never been identified as carrying the dilute gene dd. The Weimaraner is the only known breed in which the universality of dd is a characteristic.

More of this article can be found at here

AKC: The Labrador Retriever coat colors are black, yellow and chocolate. Any other color or a combination of colors is a disqualification. A small white spot on the chest is permissible, but not desirable. White hairs from aging or scarring are not to be misinterpreted as brindling. Black--Blacks are all black. A black with brindle markings or a black with tan markings is a disqualification. Yellow--Yellows may range in color from fox-red to light cream, with variations in shading on the ears, back, and underparts of the dog. Chocolate--Chocolates can vary in shade from light to dark chocolate. Chocolate with brindle or tan markings is a disqualification.

The National Labrador Retriever Club, Inc.  COLOR: Wholly black, yellow or liver/chocolate. Yellows range from light cream to red fox. Small white spot on chest permissible.

The Canadian Kennel Club Breed Standard:

■ Black: All black with a small white spot on chest permissible. Eyes to be of medium size, expressing intelligence and good temper, preferably brown or hazel. although black or yellow is permissible.

■ Yellows: Yellow may vary in color from fox-red to light cream with variations in the shading of the coat on ears, the under parts of the dog or beneath the tail. A small white spot on chest is permissible. Eye coloring and expression should be the same as that of the blacks, with black or dark brown eye rims. The nose should also be black or dark brown, although 'fading' to pink in winter weather is not serious.

■ Chocolates: Shades ranging from light sedge to chocolate. A small white spot on chest is permissible. Eyes to be light brown to clear yellow. Nose and eye rim pigmentation dark brown or liver colored. 'Fading' to pink in winter weather not serious.

The Labrador Retriever Club of Canada position on Silver: "Silvers are not a breed standard recognized color for the Labrador Retriever"

The British Breed Standard: Wholly black, yellow or liver/chocolate. Yellows range from light cream to red fox. Small white spot on chest permissible.

FCI Breed Standard: Wholly black, yellow or liver/chocolate. Yellows range from light cream to red fox. Small white spot on chest permissible.

Australian Breed Standard: Wholly black, yellow or liver/chocolate. Yellows range from light cream to red fox. Small white spot on chest permissible.

The National Labrador Retriever Council of Australia Position on Silver.

The New Zealand Kennel Club: Wholly black, yellow or liver/chocolate. Yellows range from light cream to red fox. Small white spot on chest permissible. Position on Silver.

At the end of this article, there are links to more websites that will be helpful for those interested in the genetics of coat colors. I want to start with our basic Labrador colors and their variations. Later we will discuss the so-called Silver and White Labradors and also talk about mismarking or unusual colors that can happen in the Lab.

BLACK: The basic color. Black Labradors are solid black. A small white spot on the chest is permissible. Sparse white hairs in between the toes and footpads are common in some of the blacks. Some mature black Labradors will have a red or orange hue to their coats at certain times of the year. This is known as casting. Casting can occur when the Lab is shedding and the hair is dead but also can be a result of bleaching from prolonged exposure to the sun.

CHOCOLATE: Chocolate or Liver Labradors can range in shade from a light to very dark chocolate color. A small white spot on the chest is permissible. Eye color on chocolates can range from yellow through brown. Darker coat and eye color are most desirable in chocolates. Washed out chocolate coats and light eyes are not attractive for this breed. The chocolate coat is hard to maintain in one uniform color. The sun easily bleaches the chocolate Labrador, giving him the appearance of various shades of the chocolate color scattered throughout the coat. Keeping the chocolate Labrador out of the direct sun or the use of mink-oil with sunscreen lightly spayed on the coat will help the chocolate Labrador look his best at all times.

YELLOW: Yellow Labradors can range is shade from a very light cream all the way to a rich dark red color known as "fox red" with various darker shading along the ears, top line, tail and hocks. A small white spot on the chest is permissible, however will not be noticeable in the lighter shades of yellow. Yellow Labradors should have black pigment on the nose, lips and eye rims with the exception of newborn yellow as they are born without pigment but within the first few days of life, the black pigment will begin to come in. If by chance you see a two week old or older Labbie puppy and he/she does not have black pigment already in then that puppy will never have black pigment. We call a yellow Labrador without pigment a "Dudley". The black pigment on the nose of mature Labs can fade in the winter-time to a brown or pink color, this is very different from a true Dudley, it is very normal and the black pigment will return with warmer weather.

Yellow Labradors that lack black pigment all together will have brownish or pinkish colored eye rims, foot-pads, nose and lips and they will never turn black. Dudley Labradors is a direct result from the yellow Labrador inheriting two sets of chocolate genes we refer to as "bb". So technically speaking, you can look at this as a "chocolate dog in a yellow coat" or an "eebb". Unfortunately Dudley Labradors are disqualified from being shown and was excepted until the revised AKC standard in 1994. The FCI or "world" standard does not disqualify for lack of pigment. One more note..the United Kennel Club also disqualifies for lack of pigment. What a shame!! Nevertheless, this does not make any Dudley Labrador inferior. They are Labradors true and true. This does not mean that I think it is okay to breed a Dudley Labrador, rather saying that they are normal in every way with the exception of having the pigment of a chocolate. If you choose to breed your Dudley Labrador, then do so back to a quality black Labrador. Breeding a chocolate Labrador to a yellow Labrador can produce either black, chocolate and/or yellow Labradors and the yellow offspring may or may not have "Dudley" pigment. All this would depend on "if" the sire and dam carry the hidden recessives for chocolate or yellow and/or the gene for black. Sounds confusing but it really isn't. To help simplify this, I have copied and pasted a paragraph courtesy of the Vet DNA Center  that gives you some idea of how many color combinations can be seen within the breed.

Example: In Labrador Retrievers there are 3 accepted coat color phenotypes (what you can see): Black, Yellow, and Chocolate. However, there are 9 possible reported genotypes (what you cannot see) for the E and B loci and therefore 81 possible breeding combinations.
  • Black Coat: 4 possible genotypes- EEBB (black with no hidden colors), EeBB (black with hidden yellow), EEBb (black with hidden chocolate), EeBb (black with hidden yellow and chocolate)
  • Yellow Coat: 3 possible genotypes- eeBB (yellow with hidden black), eeBb (yellow with hidden black and chocolate), eebb (yellow with hidden chocolate- dogs will exhibit liver noses)
  • Chocolate Coat: 2 possible genotypes- EEbb (chocolate with no hidden colors), Eebb (chocolate with hidden yellow)
MISMARKINGS: White seems to be the biggest bugaboo and most shunned marking in the Labrador breed. A small white spot, stripe or patch on the chest is very common and does not lessen the quality of a Labrador, nor indicate it is not pure bred. Sparse white hairs can appear on the tips of toes, between the footpads, on the heels, near the groin, and under the neck. However, if white spots are large and white markings are highly noticeable, then this is not typical and could indicate the dog may be mixed with another breed. Scarring can also result in white hairs on a Labrador. Splashing is described as a black Labrador with tan or yellowish hairs on the legs and sometimes neck and chest. This mis-marking looks as if the black lab ran through a mud puddle and was splashed with muddy water, hence the name Splashing. This is a mis-marking that had been noted in the breed for many generations. It is not wise to breed any Labrador that is splashed, as this will only perpetuate the gene for years to come. It does not affect the dogs ability to be an excellent pet or hunting companion. Black & Tan: Like the splashing, black and tan has been recorded early on in Labrador history. The black and tan is a serious fault and under no circumstance should this color be perpetuated.

MOSAIC: Some people have asked me if a Labrador can be TWO colors such as black and yellow. Mosaic is a very rare condition in which results in improper cell division that effects the color of the dog. Such dogs can be yellow with small or large black patches. I have only produced one Mosaic to date. Again, this is very rare and seldom happens. A great example of a Mosaic Labrador can be seen by clicking (www.ashgi.org/color/Aussie_somatic_mutations.html)

WHITE: It never fails, several times a week breeders get phone calls and e-mails for white Labs. It is explained to those inquiring  that there is no such thing as a pure white Labrador. The color yellow is the correct term, but when people see a Labrador that is of the very light cream shade, they instinctively say, White. I have produced many Labrador pups that could be classified as white when pups but they always mature to have the tale-tale signs of shading of some from or another, either on the ears, back, etc. The shading is very pale and almost unnoticeable and pigment as black as coal but I am sorry to say, it is still classified as yellow and not white. The gene that produces pure white such as seen in the Maltese, white German shepherds, white boxers and other breeds does not exist in the Labrador. I do understand how people can easily use the term white lab when they see a pale yellow but white is not a term to be truly associated with the Labrador breed. Most of the "White Labs" being advertised from backyard breeders are lacking in suitable temperaments, proper size and seem to have more health issues. Thus said, breeding for a "specific color" will not allow you to advance in any other area. My best advice, stay away from persons advertising "White Labradors". It is nothing more than a sales pitch and is something frowned upon amongst reputable breeders, and other fanciers in the Labrador community.

SILVER, CHARCOAL and CHAMPAGNE LABS: AKA "Dilute Labrador Colors" I am sorry but despite some people's misguided attempts in making the general public believe that there is a "dilute gene" in purebred Labradors is completely absurd! There absolutely no such thing as a pure bred silver, charcoal or champagne Labrador. These are dogs that early in the 60's and 70's, two kennels that bred both Labradors and Weimaraners began advertising Silver Labradors. The dilute gene is normal in the Weimaraner breed. It does not occur naturally in the Labrador. Only a dog that genetic background consist of Labrador/Weimaraner crossbreeding can produce such colors. Those professing to breed and advertise dilute Labradors are misrepresenting the color of the dog on the AKC papers. The American Kennel club, United Kennel Club and FCI "WORLD breed standard does not recognize ANY of these dilute colors. The parent club (The Labrador Retriever Club, Inc) does NOT support these colors! 


VetGen ~ www.vetgen.com/canine-coat-color.html

~Coat Color Inheritance in the Labrador Retriever ~ B/b, E/e and Beyond ~ www.labbies.com/genetics2.htm

The Truth Behind Silver Labradors ~ www.woodhavenlabs.com/silverlabs.html
 
Paw Print Pedigrees Breeder Seal click above link to be taken to tested dogs to view reports