Lab puppies come in three common colors: yellow, chocolate and black.
Just as a parent with brown eyes can give birth to a child with blue eyes, a black lab can potentially give birth to puppies with three different coat colors: black, chocolate and yellow. This is largely random, based on the genes that the parents possess, but you can increase the odds of getting your desired color by understanding the genetic differences that result in different coat colors. This is complicated because there are two different genes at work: the genes that determine black or chocolate (Bb) and the genes that result in yellow (Ee). These genes work together to influence your lab's coat color.
Instructions
Breed Labrador Retriever Coat Colors
1. Understand what a dog's coat color means to which color of puppies he will produce. You are most likely to get black labs in a litter because black is the dominant color. When discussing genes, scientists abbreviate with a single letter, capitalized if it's dominant and lower case if it's recessive. If one dominant gene exists, that trait will be expressed. In this case, the black coat color is represented with B and chocolate is represented with a b. Your black lab could either be a BB or Bb, the second of which could produce a chocolate puppy if bred with a chocolate lab or another black lab that contains a chocolate gene. If you breed a black lab with BB, you won't get any chocolate puppies. If you breed two chocolate labs (bb), you won't get any black puppies. If you breed two black labs with Bb genes, you will get a mix, though you will likely get more black puppies.
2. Learn how the yellow gene factors into the mix. Since it is separate, it is determined independently of the black/chocolate coloration. The yellow gene is represented by E and e. Like chocolate, yellow is a recessive gene, so for the lab to be yellow, he must have the ee gene. Thus, two black labs could produce a yellow lab. However, two yellow labs could not produce a black puppy. Dogs with genes BBee or Bbee will have a yellow coat. Dogs with combinations BBEE, BbEE, BBEe and BbEe will be black. Dogs with combinations bbEE or bbEe will be chocolate. Thus, breeding two yellow labs will not produce chocolate labs, and breeding two chocolate labs will not produce yellow labs. Breeding a chocolate and a yellow can produce chocolate or dudley, explained in step 3, but not a yellow. Breeding a black and a chocolate could still produce yellow.
3. Avoid producing a coloration known as "dudley," which is not recognized by the American Kennel Club for competitions. A dudley (bbee) can be created from two yellows, two chocolates or a yellow and a chocolate. A black lab could never produce a dudley. These breeds have no black coloration at all, resulting in a yellow coat, pink nose and light eyes. Despite their unusual physical characteristics, dudleys still have the labrador retriever temperament and can be great pets.
4. Consult your veterinarian about a DNA coat test. This will determine which genes your dog contains if coat color isn't a definitive sign, making your choices easier when searching for a mate for your dog.
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