Yellow vs Chocolate vs Black Lab Dog Best and Worst

If you were looking to adopt a Lab, would you want a Chocolate Lab (seems to be the favorite), or a Yellow Lab, or a Black Lab?  Are you one of those that believe one is better than the other? Well, it’s not true! Differences in Labs; (yes, there are nice ones and not so nice ones out there, which comes from the way they were raised, and sometimes from the lines they were bred from, or puppy mills that just didn’t care). There is NO difference by color. Look at the pictures above. Which would you adopt first? Eli, the yellow Lab (who is owned by one of the Brew City volunteers), or Velvet, the black Lab? What on earth is with the litter on the right? Believe it or not, Eli, the yellow Lab is the son of Velvet the Black Lab. On the right is Velvet’s litter, of which Eli was one of the puppies. How does this happen? Enjoy a short explanation of “how to make a Lab” Further scientific explanations can be found at www.vetgen.com.

1. Color genes – black Labs have four color genes, chocolate Labs have two color genes, yellow Labs (with a black nose) have two color genes, and yellow Labs (with a liver nose) have one gene. All this means is the combination of genes are numerous! Some top of line breeders do use tests to determine which genes their Labs have, in which case, they can more closely determine the colors.

2. Mix a black Lab, with a black Lab, what do you get? No, you can’t guarantee an all black litter! Combinations anywhere from all black (remember there are four different color genes in both Mom and Dad), to several combinations, but never more than 1/4 yellow, or 3/16th’s chocolate.

3. Mix a black Lab, with a chocolate, or yellow (either nose color), and you can go anywhere from all black (even with a different colored mate), to not more than 1/2 yellow or 1/2 chocolate. All chocolate, or yellow would be considered close to impossible. (Velvet’s litter was 1/2 yellow and 1/2 black, not all black ones are in the picture).

4. A yellow Lab mated with a yellow Lab will give you a yellow Lab, right? Actually, it will. On the other hand, if you mate a yellow with a black of the right genes, you can end up with an all black litter! The same with a chocolate Lab of the right genes, can produce an all chocolate litter. Mixing a yellow with a chocolate or black will usually bring you a combination litter of two or three colors.

5. If you mix a chocolate with a chocolate, do you get a chocolate litter? Usually, but there is a gene combination that can give you a 1/4 yellow litter. If you mix a chocolate with a yellow or black, you can end up with a combination of all three colors, or a litter with NO chocolate!

6. There are only these three colors of Labs. Sometimes there are variations on the yellow, and some might be considered white or silver, and there are a very rare shades of chocolate, but all in all, there are just three colors.

This all goes to prove, all the colors are equal. Please note that we do not breed dogs in rescue. Any litters are from pregnant Moms that were taken into rescue, and all our dogs are neutered or spayed as soon as possible!