Black, Yellow or Chocolate: What Does Color Actually Tell You About a Labrador?
Black, yellow or chocolate is often one of the first preferences someone has when they start looking for a Labrador. Sometimes the preference is mild. Sometimes someone has had black Labradors their entire life and can't imagine owning anything else.
There's nothing wrong with having a favorite, but color gets credited with telling us an awful lot about a Labrador that it really can't.
Three Colors, Lots of Shades
Labradors come in three colors: black, yellow and chocolate. Within those colors, especially yellow and chocolate, there can be quite a bit of variation. Yellow can range from very pale cream to deep fox red. Chocolate can range from lighter to very dark brown. A fox red Labrador isn't a separate color or type of Labrador. Genetically, it's yellow. The same is true of the very pale dogs sometimes described as "white Labs." They're yellow Labradors too.
Color itself is inherited, and the genetics behind Labrador color are actually pretty interesting. A black Labrador can carry the genes for chocolate, yellow or both without looking any different from a black dog that doesn't. That's why two black parents can sometimes produce black, yellow and chocolate puppies, while another pair of black Labradors may only be capable of producing black.
Breeders can use pedigrees and DNA testing to know what colors a particular breeding can produce. Once puppies arrive, coat color doesn't tell us much about who each puppy is going to be.
Is One Color Calmer Than Another?
I've heard some version of all of these:
Chocolate Labs are crazy
Yellow Labs are calmer
Black Labs are better working dogs
Fox reds have more energy
The problem is that color doesn't exist independently of everything else in a breeding program.
Certain colors may be more common in particular lines. A breeder selecting heavily for working ability may have mostly black dogs. Another breeder may have a family of chocolates with similar temperaments because, well, they're related. When a color becomes particularly popular, breeders may also start selecting for that color at the expense of other things.
Over time, people can start associating characteristics of particular families or populations of Labradors with the color they happen to be. That isn't the same thing as the coat color causing the temperament. If I'm trying to predict what a Labrador may be like, I'm much more interested in the dogs behind the puppy than whether the puppy is black, yellow or chocolate.
It's Fine to Have a Preference
I don't think puppy buyers need to pretend color doesn't matter to them. You have to look at your dog for the next decade or more. If you've always dreamed of a chocolate Labrador, you can say you want a chocolate Labrador.
Keep in mind, every preference narrows your options. If you're looking specifically for a chocolate female, for example, we've narrowed the possibilities first by color and then again by sex before we've considered which puppies might actually suit your household best. Sometimes those preferences line up perfectly with the puppies in a litter. Sometimes they don't. There are many important things to consider beyond color.
What About Silver, Charcoal and Champagne?
Labradors come in three colors: black, yellow and chocolate. There aren't additional Labrador colors.
Silver, charcoal and champagne are names used for dilute coat colors produced by the dilution gene. The Labrador Retriever Club, the AKC parent club for the breed, takes the position that dilute dogs are not purebred Labrador Retrievers.
Read the Labrador Retriever Club's position on dilute Labradors
There is plenty of debate about where the dilution gene came from and the history behind dogs marketed as silver Labradors. I don't think I need to rehash all of it here. The parent club has addressed it extensively, and I agree with its position.
If you're looking for a Labrador, you're looking at black, yellow or chocolate.
Be Wary When Color Becomes the Sales Pitch
I would be cautious (more like run!) with breeders who make color the centerpiece of their breeding program or market ordinary variations in Labrador color as something rare or special.
"White Labrador" and, increasingly, "English Cream Labrador" are marketing terms for very pale yellow Labradors. Fox red is also yellow. These aren't separate varieties of Labrador.
I'd also ask questions if a breeder advertises that they specialize in producing a particular shade, consistently breeds first and foremost for color, or charges different prices depending on the color of the puppy.
This doesn't mean a breeder can't have a color they particularly love or produce more often. Color shouldn't be driving breeding decisions ahead of health, temperament, structure, pedigree and the strengths and weaknesses of the dogs being bred.
Look Past the Color
Color is one characteristic of a Labrador. It's an obvious one, and it's perfectly reasonable to have a preference. It just shouldn't be asked to tell us more than it can.
When I'm evaluating a breeding or a puppy, I'm looking at the dogs themselves: temperament, structure, health, pedigree, breed type and what I know about the dogs behind them. Those things tell me considerably more than coat color.
A color preference can absolutely be part of choosing a Labrador. It just shouldn't become more important than the Labrador itself.