The Labrador Retriever is one of the most popular dogs in the world, both for its extraordinary beauty and for its character and capabilities. It has a two-layer coat, made up of a short, woolly undercoat and an equally short top coat, but somewhat longer. Still, the Labrador is considered a short-haired dog.
The colors of the Labrador accepted by the International Cinological Federation and, therefore, integrated into the breed standard are three: pure black, liver/chocolate and yellow, although the latter are They accept various shades. The standard also accepts the appearance of a small white spot in the chest area. However, over time other colors have been appearing that, although they are not accepted in the official standard of the breed, have become popular. In this article on our site we talk about all the colors of the Labrador Retriever and we tell you which ones are accepted and which ones are not.
Chocolate Labrador
Although the chocolate Labrador is currently one of the most popular, the truth is that this tonality in the coat of the breed it began to be accepted not so many years agoAccording to the International Cinological Federation (FCI), there are documents that place the first Labradors as early as 1800, although it was not until 1916 that the first club of the breed was founded and 1954 that it was officially accepted by the FCI. Before being accepted and introduced in the standards of the different cynological organisms, the preferred color was black, so that until the beginning of the 20th century, chocolate and yellow colors were not considered pure and, therefore, their presence was avoided. in these dogs
The Chocolate Labrador usually has a solid color on its coat. The FCI accepts different shades of brown, so we can find copies of liver color, light grayish brown or dark chocolate.
For this color to occur in the Labrador Retriever, both parents must present the genes that carry this color. Compared to the other colors of the Labrador, the genetic variety of chocolate Labradors is slightly less and this can cause them to live less long or be more prone to the development of hereditary diseases. In the Labrador Retriever there is the presence of four different genes that allow the development of one color or another of the coat:
- Gen B: is responsible for transmitting the color black. 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 itself in that specimen, but it can in its offspring.
- Gen b: is an allele that transmits the chocolate color and acts as a recessive on yellow and black.
- Gen E: Does not transmit color, but it does allow you to cancel the dominance of yellow. Therefore, this is an epistatic allele.
- Gen e: it is a hypostatic allele that, unlike the previous one, allows the dominance of yellow.
Chocolate color occurs when one of these genetic combinations occurs:
- EE bb: corresponds to pure chocolate.
- Ee bb: corresponds to the chocolate which, in turn, carries the color 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 pass it on to its offspring if it has, or if it is a carrier of other colors despite having brown hair. The same will happen with the following colors.
Black Lab
As we have commented previously, the black color was the first to be used in this breed. Until it was officially accepted as a dog breed, Labrador Retriever breeders were looking for a completely black dog and, therefore, discarded those dogs born yellow, brown or in any of their shades. For all these reasons, for a long time it has been considered that the authentic Labrador is the black Labrador, however, currently the three colors mentioned are accepted, so all of them are authentic and pure.
As it happens in the previous case, to be considered an authentic Labrador, his coat must be solid and totally black. Black is the only color that does not accept variations in tone, only a small white spot can appear on the chest area.
The color black occurs when one of these genetic combinations occurs:
- EE BB: pure black.
- EE Bb: is a carrier of chocolate.
- Ee BB: bears yellow.
- Ee Bb: bears both yellow and chocolate.
As we are seeing in this and in the previous case, a Labrador retriever of one color can be a carrier of 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 is therefore 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 numerous occasions we find Labradors with a grayish tone that are classified as pure, how is it possible? Let's remember that the light grayish brown color is indeed an accepted color in this dog breed, so if the Labrador Retriever has a coat of this silly, it will be considered purebred.
The bluish gray or silver color can arise as a mutation of 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 retriever can have different shades, all of which are accepted by the official standard. Thus, we can find from almost white light cream Labradors to fox-red Labradors. In general, the yellow Labrador tends to have black mucous membranes (nose, lips and eyelids) and pads, although depending on the genetic combination this coloration may vary, so brown and pink are also common and accepted.
For yellow, or any of its variants, to appear on the Labrador Retriever's coat, one of these genetic combinations must occur which, let us remember, do not indicate the exact shade, but rather whether its genetics are of pure yellow or if they are carriers of other colors:
- ee BB: pure yellow with black pigmentation on mucous membranes and pads.
- ee bb: carrier of chocolate without black pigmentation in mucous membranes and pads.
- ee Bb: carrier of black and chocolate with black pigmentation in mucous membranes and pads.
Labrador dudley
The Dudley is not a Labrador of a color other than those described in the different colors of the Labrador, it is one of the types of the Yellow Labrador. Specifically, it is the Labrador whose genetic combination is ee bb, which is why the Labrador dudley is known as the one with the yellow coat, but its mucous membranes and pads are not black. They can be pink, brown…
White Lab
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 a pure white specimen, we are usually looking at a albino labradorIn this case, there are two variants of the albino labrador:
- Partially Albino Labrador: Slight pigmentation may appear on the nose, eyelids or skin.
- Purely albino Labrador: his entire body lacks pigmentation.
The lack of pigmentation in albino dogs causes both the skin and the mucous membranes to appear pink, and even the veins to be perceived. Likewise, eyes are blue or reddish. These specimens are born with a 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 immunosuppressed system. For all these reasons, they require special care. If this is your case and you have adopted an albino Labrador, do not miss our article on the care of albino dogs.
Now that you know the different colors of the Labrador retriever, don't miss the Types of Labradors that exist.
