Content
The Labrador retriever is one of the most popular dogs in the world, both for its extraordinary beauty and for its character and abilities. It has a bilayer coat, consisting of a short, wool-like lower layer and an equally short upper layer, but a little longer. Even so, the Labrador is considered a short-haired dog.
The colors of the Labrador accepted by the International Cynological Federation and, therefore, integrated into the breed standard are three: pure black, liver/chocolate and yellow, although in the latter several shades are accepted. The pattern also accepts the appearance of a small white spot in the chest region. However, over time, other colors emerged that, although not accepted by the official standard of the breed, became popular. In this article by PeritoAnimal, we talk about all colors of the labrador retriever and we indicate which are accepted and which are not.
chocolate labrador
Although the chocolate Labrador is currently one of the most popular, the truth is that this shade in the breed's coat it hasn't been so many years since it started to be accepted. According to the International Cynological Federation (FCI), there are documents that place the first Labrador retrievers as early as 1800, although it was only in 1916 that the first club of the breed was founded and in 1954 it was officially accepted by the FCI. Before being accepted and introduced in the standards of different cynological organisms, the preferred color was black, so that until the beginning of the 20th century, chocolate to yellow colors were not considered pure and, therefore, their presence was avoided in these dogs. .
The chocolate Labrador usually has a solid tone in its coat. FCI accepts different shades of brown, so we can find samples of liver color, light gray brown or dark chocolate.
For this color to occur in the Labrador retriever, both parents must have the genes that carry this color. Compared to the other colors of the Labrador, the genetic variety of the chocolate Labradors is slightly inferior and this can make them live shorter or have a greater tendency to develop hereditary diseases. In the labrador retriever there is the presence of four different genes that allow one color or another of the coat:
- Gene B: is in charge of transmitting the black color. It can act as a dominant gene for the color chocolate or as a recessive gene for the color yellow. Recessive means that it does not manifest in this copy, but can manifest in its offspring.
- gene b: is an allele that transmits the color chocolate and acts as a recessive on yellow and black.
- gene E: does not transmit color, but allows to cancel the dominance of yellow. So it's an epistatic allele.
- gene and: is a hypostatic allele that, unlike the previous one, allows the dominance of yellow.
The chocolate color occurs when one of these genetic combinations occurs:
- hey baby: corresponds to pure chocolate.
- Hey baby: corresponds to chocolate which, in turn, carries yellow and black.
These combinations do not indicate the shade of chocolate/liver, they simply show if it is a pure chocolate specimen, which will also transmit it to its offspring, if any, or if it carries other colors, despite having brown fur. The same will happen with the following colors.
black labrador
As we mentioned earlier, the black color was the first one that began to be worked on in this breed. Until it was officially accepted as a canine breed, the breeders of the Labrador Retriever were looking for a completely black dog and, therefore, discarded dogs that were born yellow, brown or any of its shades.For all that, for a long time it was considered that the authentic labrador is the black labrador, however, currently the three colors mentioned are accepted, so all are authentic and pure.
As in the previous case, in order to be considered an authentic Labrador, its coat must be solid in color and completely black. Black is the only color that does not accept variations in its hue, may only have a small white spot on the chest area.
The black color occurs when one of these genetic combinations occurs:
- EE BB: pure black.
- EE Bb: is a chocolate carrier.
- hey bb: is bearer of yellow.
- hey baby: bears both yellow and chocolate.
As we are seeing in this and the previous case, a Labrador of one color can carry another. This justifies that from parents of the same color, Labradors of different colors are born.
gray labrador
the gray labrador is not officially accepted and therefore is not considered a pure labrador. The only colors of the Labrador accepted are black, chocolate and its different shades and yellow and its shades. Now, on countless occasions, we find Labradors with a grayish hue that are cataloged as pure, how is that possible? let us remember that light grayish brown color is an accepted color. in this canine breed, so it will be considered purebred.
The bluish or silvery gray color can arise as a mutation in the b gene or as a result of crossing a Labrador retriever with a dog of another breed whose color is gray.
yellow labrador
the yellow labrador can have different shades, all of them accepted by the official standard. Thus, we can find from light cream, almost white, to fox-red color Labs. In general, the yellow Labrador tends to have the mucous membranes (nose, lips and eyelids) and the pads black, although depending on the genetic combination, this coloration can vary, therefore brown and pink is also common and accepted.
For yellow, or any of its variants, to appear in the Labrador retriever's coat, one of these genetic combinations must occur which, remembering, do not indicate the exact shade, but if their genetics are pure yellow or if they carry other colors :
- what's up BB: pure yellow with black pigmentation on mucous membranes and pads.
- what's up baby: carrier of chocolate without black pigmentation on mucous membranes and pads.
- hey baby: Carrier of black and chocolate with black pigmentation on mucous membranes and pads.
labrador dudley
The dudley is not a Labrador of a different color from those described in the different colors of the Labrador, it is one of the types of yellow Labrador. Specifically, it's the labrador whose genetic combination is ee bb, so it is known as labrador dudley that has a yellow coat, but its mucous membranes and pads are not black in color. They can be pink, brown...
white labrador
The white Labrador is not accepted by the official breed standard. Yes, light cream is accepted, a color that is often confused with white. When we find ourselves in front of a pure white specimen, we are usually in front of a albino labrador. In this case, there are two variants of the albino Labrador:
- partially albino labrador: A slight pigmentation may appear on the nose, eyelids or skin.
- pure albino labrador: your entire body lacks pigmentation.
The lack of pigmentation in albino dogs makes both the skin and the mucous membranes appear pink and even the veins are noticed. Similarly, the eyes are blue or reddish. These specimens are born with greater sensitivity to sunlight, so it is common that they do not tolerate sunlight and have sunburn. Likewise, these animals tend to have deafness as well as an immunocompromised system. Therefore, they require special care.
Now that you know the different colors of the Labrador dog, don't miss the types of Labradors that exist.
If you want to read more articles similar to Labrador retriever colors, we recommend that you enter our Comparisons section.