The Issue of the Silver Labrador

Frances O Smith, DVM, PhD Chair, Labrador Retriever Club, Genetics Committee

Over the past few years a limited number of breeders have advertised and sold dogs they represent to be pure bred Labrador Retrievers with a silver coat color- hence the term “silver labs”. At least some of these “silver labs” have been accepted for registration by the AKC. The rationale for this decision is apparently, that the silver coat color is a shade of chocolate.  Interestingly, the original breeders of “silver” Labradors were also involved in the Weimeraner breed.

Although we cannot conclusively prove that the silver Labrador is a product of cross breeding the Weimeraner to a Labrador, there is good evidence in the scientific literature indicating that the Labrador has never been identified as carrying the dilute
gene dd. The Weimeraner is the only known breed in which the universality of dd is a characteristic. Recognized coat colors for purebred Labradors are black, yellow and chocolate. No shadings of coat color are recognized for black or chocolate Labradors in either the Labrador standard or the current research into genetic coat colors. The shadings recognized in yellow Labrador  Retrievers do not depend on the presence of the dilute gene dd but are modifiers acting on the ee gene. The identified coat color genes in the Labrador include:
    A   B   C   D    E    g   in   s   i
     |      |     |    |                 |
     a     b    c       e              t

The omission of “d” and thus the impossibility of a dd dilute gene resulting from a pure Labrador breeding is certainly persuasive evidence that the silver Labrador is not a purebred.

It is the opinion of the LRC that a silver Labrador is not a purebred Labrador. The pet owning public is being duped into believing that these animals are desirable, purebred, and rare and therefore warrant special notoriety or a premium purchase price.