Common myths and misconceptions
Silver Labradors
They don't exist. If you've run across websites that claim a bunch of non-sense about Silvers, Charcoals, etc. You're being lied to. Labradors come in three colors, Yellow, Chocolate, and Black. They do not carry the recessive gene that allows for the diluted color to come by naturally. It was introduced from a breed that does...like the Weimerarner.
The Labrador Retriever Club (LRC and National Breed Club has this to say about Silver Labs:
There is no genetic basis for the silver gene in Labradors. The silver color is a disqualification under the Standard for the breed. The LRC does not recognize, accept or condone the sale or advertising of any Labrador as a silver Labrador. The Club opposes the practice of registering silver as chocolate.
For further interesting reading on this subject, please refer to the Blue Knight Labradors site.
Pointing Labradors
According to the LRC:
The clear and unarguable fact is that the Labrador is a retriever, not a pointing dog. There may be a residual instinct to point in certain Labradors. That does not make the Labrador a pointing breed. It was bred for use as a retriever of game and in this country particularly, as a waterfowl retriever. There are any number of sporting breeds that excel at pointing upland game as well as flushing such game. The Labrador is not one of those breeds and should not be bred or sold to the public as a pointing breed.
Doodles
According to the LRC:
The Labrador Retriever Club, Incorporated is dedicated to the health and welfare of the Labrador Retriever breed while conserving the original breed function - that of a "working retriever." A purebred dog offers to his owner the likelihood that he will be a specific size, shape, color and temperament. The predictability of a breed comes from selection for traits that are desirable and away from traits that are undesirable. When a breed standard or type is set, the animals within that breed have less heterozygosity than do animals in a random population
A Labradoodle is nothing more than an expensive crossbred. Because the genetic makeup is diverse from the Poodle genes and the Labrador genes, the resultant first generation (F1) offspring is a complete genetic gamble. The dog may be any size, color, coat texture and temperament. Indeed Labradoodles do shed. Their coat may be wiry or silky and may mat. Body shape varies with parentage but tends to be lanky and narrow. Behavior varies with the dog and within a litter with some puppies poodle-like in attitude and others somewhat like the Labrador Retriever.
The Labrador Retriever Club, Inc. is opposed to cross-breeding of dogs and is particularly opposed to the deliberate crossing of Labrador Retrievers with any other breed. These crossbreds are a deliberate attempt to mislead the public with the idea that there is an advantage to these designer dogs. The crossbred dogs are prone to all of the genetic disease of both breeds and offer none of the advantages that owning a purebred dog has to offer.
For more reading on this from the Poodle Club of America click this link.
If you are still interested in a designer dog, check out this article.
Dudleys
A yellow Labrador can have two color combinations. A yellow with correct nose and eye-rim pigmentation (black) is the general accepted color of a Lab. A yellow with either pink or liver colored pigmentation is called a Dudley or NBP (No Black Pigment). This is incorrect and should not be purposely bred for. It often happens in back yard bred litters where the dogs are not color coat tested prior to being bred. For more information regarding yellow Lab pigmentation, please read this wonderful article.
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Information coming.
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