Thanks guys for the references. There are lots of books out there for everything but some are better than others.

IronSpikeLabs, He's full chocolate. As far as the breeder could remember he has had all chocolate parents and grandparents. He kinda has a silver look though because of the picture, he looks better in person.

How do they get silver labs though? I've heard of red labs too. Is it just the way they are bred or do they do something with the genetics or what?

How do they get silver labs though? I've heard of red labs too. Is it just the way they are bred or do they do something with the genetics or what?

Thanks guys for the references. There are lots of books out there for everything but some are better than others.

IronSpikeLabs, He's full chocolate. As far as the breeder could remember he has had all chocolate parents and grandparents. He kinda has a silver look though because of the picture, he looks better in person.

How do they get silver labs though? I've heard of red labs too. Is it just the way they are bred or do they do something with the genetics or what?

There is a lot of controversy about the silver color, but politics aside, it's genetics. True silver or 'blue' occurs due to the double recessive on the 'D' locus. That locus is not always expressed, because there are five other loci that impact dog coat and skin color before it (A,B, C, E & the recently discovered impact of the K.) It's complicated, but the C locus impacts phaeomelanin or the red (yellow) color in a Labs coat only. The C locus does not affect skin color, which is affected at the B locus, but it is responsible for the red coat color. However, before C can affect anything, the dog must first be double recessive at the E locus... ee. But a dog can be ee with varying skin colors, which are affected by the B locus. Variations in coat occur from there - from cream to sable (like my dog Rusty in the pic below, more popularly known as 'fox red.') The C & E (along with the A) loci work together to produce cream, Isabella, yellow, dark yellow, faux fox red and fox red coat colors in dogs which can be solid or saddled (darker on the ears & back, which is what the A locus controls.) These different coat colors can overlay a variety of skin colors. Clear as mud yet? lol That's just the first part...

If the dog's coat color is not limited or expressed at the E, C and/or K, then the B can be expressed in a dog's coat. The B locus is responsible for producing black (BB or Bb) and chocolate (bb) dogs. Chocolate requires a double-recessive at the B locus, so it is less common than yellow or black - two colors that are arrived at higher up the 'chromosome color chain', if you will. However, when the B locus is expressed, it can then be further affected by the 'D' locus which impacts eumelanin, or the black pigment in the dogs coat and skin. Silver only occurs when there is double recessive, at the D locus, which in and of itself is rare.

So, you can see is is a series of 'sifters' that must occur before silver shows up - which is why it is so rare. I just tried to compress several chapters' worth of genetics into one short response, but it's just to help you appreciate that silver is rare not because it doesn't exist in Labs (came from cross breeding as many believe), but that statistically and probability-wise it has a minute chance of being expressed.

BTW, similar accusations were made regarding the color chocolate before it was added as an acceptable color for a Lab. It became popular, but it was rare at first, so breeders who could not produce that color were envious of the money to be made. As a result, they voiced a lot of allegations as to the origin and authenticity of the chocolate color, which later turned out to be substantiated, genetically. It simply was rare due to the double recessive and since it was not an acceptable color, breeders avoided producing it - making it more rare. Today, many breeders want to charge top dollar for a fox red dog, also because it's rare. Sadly, that's just the politics of people, an unavoidable complication which has nothing to do with science or genetics.

Personally, I think the 'blue' is a beautiful color for a Lab. I have a couple of 'blue roan' horses. Their coloring is also very rare and comes about in a similar manner. To each his own...

That made my head hurt...it is also a great example of why to use an informed breeder for information and quality dogs.