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If the dog is just a carrier of the dilute gene, or is "factored' then the code reads "Dd" at the D locus (or above, where it reads 'dd' in this cast it would read 'Dd'. If the dog is not a carrier or is 'non-factored" (regular, standard coat colors) then the code reads "DD" at the D locus.
Now that we know what causes the color variance in these Dilute colored Labradors that you are seeing out there, we need to talk about the History of the coat colors, how the color is produced via breeding, and what physically makes the dilute coat colors look so differently from the standard coat colors, what makes some silvers appear lighter and some darker, etc. We will talk more about the actual coat colors and how the dilution gene "d" influences the actual coat coloring later on. For a complete page that deals with the breeding of Labrador coat colors, including the Dilute coat colors as well as the Standard coat colors, and what colors are produced when certain colors are bred together, please go to our "coat color breeding chart" that we have created and provided for you within this site.
Now that we know what causes the color variance in these Dilute colored Labradors that you are seeing out there, we need to talk about the History of the coat colors, how the color is produced via breeding, and what physically makes the dilute coat colors look so differently from the standard coat colors, what makes some silvers appear lighter and some darker, etc. We will talk more about the actual coat colors and how the dilution gene "d" influences the actual coat coloring later on. For a complete page that deals with the breeding of Labrador coat colors, including the Dilute coat colors as well as the Standard coat colors, and what colors are produced when certain colors are bred together, please go to our "coat color breeding chart" that we have created and provided for you within this site.
There are many questions that have been raised about the Silver Labrador, and we hope to answer some of those for you, and give you the truth, based on fact, to help to answer your questions and set your mind at ease.
Lets state first, that whether you are looking to get a Dilute Labrador for the purpose of having a great hunting companion, are wanting to compete with your new Lab, in obedience, agility, tracking, therapy, or field, or are looking just for a new family member and great companion, the Silver Labrador lives up to the wonderful "Labrador Reputation" as the #1 breed in America, and thus will be a great choice, not to mention the remarkable choice of coat colors you will have to choose from.
We are going to cover some of the main points to help answer the questions that we seem to hear the most, regarding the Silver and Charcoal Labrador. We are going to start by explaining how the coat color comes about, and then talk about color and how it is produced.
We will refer to these coat colors as the "Dilute" coat color or the "Dilute Labrador". If the Traditional coat color Labrador carries the Dilute gene, it means his coat is not affected by the dilute gene, as it remains hidden, he is then said to be "Dilute Factored". Here are some examples for you, to help make it more clear:
A Black, Yellow or Chocolate Labrador whos coat color is of the traditional standard coat color of Black/Yellow/Chocolate (not dilute--DD), but can produce a silver/charcoal or champagne 'Dilute' coat color, is said to be "Dilute Factored", meaning they carry the dilute gene (Dd), and can produce it, but their coat color does not reflect the dilute color. Therefore the dilute gene is hidden, so they are called 'Dilute Factored".
If the Labrador carries the Double Dilute gene, then this means that his coat color is affected by the dilute gene, and it is not hidden (dd), so therefore his coat color will be of a diluted shade of chocolate, yellow or black, which is what gives the unique appearance of the Silver, Charcoal and Champagne coat colors.
A Silver, Charcoal or Champagne Labrador whos coat color obviously is of a dilute color and nature (dd), and is not of the traditional standard black/yellow/chocolate coat color, they are what we call a "Dilute" color, or a "Dilute Labrador". They can produce the "Dilute" coat colors, but can also produce traditional standard coat colors of yellow/black/chocolate.
So "Dilute Factored" can produce Dilute colors, but it isnt visible, and a "Dilute" can produce Dilute colors, and it is visible also in the dogs coat.
These Diltue coat colors of Silver, Charcoal and Champagne are merely a different coat color than the traditional, they are relatively new to the public eye, but are still Labrador Retrievers, every step of the way, and in every aspect. They do not differ in health, temperament or intelligence from their Yellow, Black or Chocolate littermates, parents, or Great Great Great Grandparents. Like all Labradors, these guys are eager to please their owners, are dedicated family members, are loyal and loving, and have natural retrieving instinct. They can be shown in many competitions, from agility to tracking, in obedience and field trials, and the ones that have been shown in these competitions, have done very well and sometimes do better than their yellow/black/chocolate relatives even. They lack nothing. Because of the great "Silver Labrador" controversy right now, it is not suggested that you show them in the conformation ring, at this point. Right now, they are considered, by the show breeders and judges to be a fault, because of the appearance of the coat, even though they are DNA proven to be of standard coat colors of chocolate, yellow and black. There are several breeders that are currently working on what is needed to get these dogs in the show ring and accepted by the judges. A few breeders have been doing much needed research on the Dilute gene in the Labrador Retriever, along with DNA testing and documenting, and because those tests show and prove that these Dilute Labs DNA color test as Yellow, Black or Chocolate, it proves that they are indeed just shades of the standard coat colors, we feel that it will only be a matter of time before you will see the leaders in the Dilute Labradors, and their breeders, heading for the show ring to hammer it out and lead the way to acceptance. It is very important that anyone that has the same goals of acceptance and showing, proceed in the right manner, and do as much research, collecting facts, along with 'Improvement Breeding' for the Dilute Labrador. We encourage all of you to join 'The Dilute Labrador Group', in order to build up the numbers we need in order to show that these dogs are here to stay. You will find a link to this 'Group' right here within this Silver Labrador Breeders website, and we invite you to check it out and join us.
THE COLOR GENETICS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE COAT COLOR:
So basically, the Dilute Labrador, no matter what the shade (Silver, Charcoal or Champagne), is genetically the same as a traditional coat color Lab, except that they possess the homozygous recessive alleles at the D locus, "dd'. They carry the D gene in it's recessive form (d), thus giving the coat a washed out, lighter, diluted look, which lightens the coat in the black--to what we call a Charcoal looking coat (or Blue coat-in some breeds), and in the chocolate, to what we call a Silver looking coat color or a 'mousey chocolate' color. The actual gene that is responsible for this is called the MLPH gene. A non-Dilute Labrador, and one not carrying the dilute gene, (traditonal yellow/black or chocoalte) will be 'DD' at the D locus. A Labrador that is a carrier (or factored) of the dilute gene will be "Dd" at the D locus. However this may not be the case 100% of the time as there are more than one 'd' alleles in the MLPH gene. Thus we are concentrating on the d/d1 allele for now, in regards to the dilution coat colors we are seeing produced commonly now, known as the Silver, Charcoal and Champagne coat colors, that breeders are producing. We talk more about how the color is placed on the hair shaft, to reflect the different coat colors, and how the dilution gene affects this, on our "How and Why the coat is affected" page, within this subject.
I think most people have seen the Silver Labrador and the Charcoal Labrador, but most are still unaware of the Champagne Labrador. Because of "Improvement breeding" with this dilute gene, being more common now, than 10 years ago, there have now been documented cases of the 'dd' gene being produced in yellow, and DNA tests and results, being documented, so we now have seen 'Dilute Yellow" Labradors (or Champagne Labradors as they have been officially named), that have been positively produced and identified. The first known, and documented 'Champagne' (dd) puppy was produced by a breeder in the Southwest, and was almost a dilute red coat color, the dilution gene affected the coat color as if to lighten the red (or dark yellow) that the puppy was to begin with, to a dusty red, with a peachy overtone, just like the chocolate is a dusty chocolate and the black is a dusty black when they possess the recessive alleles at the D locus. The second documented Champagne (dd) Labrador was a lighter yellow and appeared no different in coat color, to traditional yellow coat colors. Since then, there have been other documented Dilute Yellow Labradors, that have been produced and DNA tested, and these puppies vary in yellow coat color, although to date there has not been another 'Dilute Red' pup produced. Obviously we are finding out that the dilution affects phenotypically, the yellow coat color a bit differently than it affects the black and chocolate coat colors, as most Dilute Chocolate and Dilute Black Labradors, dont vary in shade much, within their own color, all silver pups are very close in color and shade to each other, and dont vary much from light to dark. The same holds true for the charcoal coat color. The presence of this recessive 'dd' also affects the pigment on the affected dog, and will lighten the pigment accordingly. The presence of the 'dd' will affect the pigment of the yellow Labrador as either a light choc pigment- or a light black or grey pigment, depending on whether or not the yellow pup has black or liver pigment. The dilute gene also seems to affect the eye color, but more research is being done on this as we speak.
Here are the genetic codes for the various Dilute coat colors, that are affected by the dilute gene (a dilute coat color): the character graphs will help you to understand coat color vs. what the dog carries.
Lets state first, that whether you are looking to get a Dilute Labrador for the purpose of having a great hunting companion, are wanting to compete with your new Lab, in obedience, agility, tracking, therapy, or field, or are looking just for a new family member and great companion, the Silver Labrador lives up to the wonderful "Labrador Reputation" as the #1 breed in America, and thus will be a great choice, not to mention the remarkable choice of coat colors you will have to choose from.
We are going to cover some of the main points to help answer the questions that we seem to hear the most, regarding the Silver and Charcoal Labrador. We are going to start by explaining how the coat color comes about, and then talk about color and how it is produced.
We will refer to these coat colors as the "Dilute" coat color or the "Dilute Labrador". If the Traditional coat color Labrador carries the Dilute gene, it means his coat is not affected by the dilute gene, as it remains hidden, he is then said to be "Dilute Factored". Here are some examples for you, to help make it more clear:
A Black, Yellow or Chocolate Labrador whos coat color is of the traditional standard coat color of Black/Yellow/Chocolate (not dilute--DD), but can produce a silver/charcoal or champagne 'Dilute' coat color, is said to be "Dilute Factored", meaning they carry the dilute gene (Dd), and can produce it, but their coat color does not reflect the dilute color. Therefore the dilute gene is hidden, so they are called 'Dilute Factored".
If the Labrador carries the Double Dilute gene, then this means that his coat color is affected by the dilute gene, and it is not hidden (dd), so therefore his coat color will be of a diluted shade of chocolate, yellow or black, which is what gives the unique appearance of the Silver, Charcoal and Champagne coat colors.
A Silver, Charcoal or Champagne Labrador whos coat color obviously is of a dilute color and nature (dd), and is not of the traditional standard black/yellow/chocolate coat color, they are what we call a "Dilute" color, or a "Dilute Labrador". They can produce the "Dilute" coat colors, but can also produce traditional standard coat colors of yellow/black/chocolate.
So "Dilute Factored" can produce Dilute colors, but it isnt visible, and a "Dilute" can produce Dilute colors, and it is visible also in the dogs coat.
These Diltue coat colors of Silver, Charcoal and Champagne are merely a different coat color than the traditional, they are relatively new to the public eye, but are still Labrador Retrievers, every step of the way, and in every aspect. They do not differ in health, temperament or intelligence from their Yellow, Black or Chocolate littermates, parents, or Great Great Great Grandparents. Like all Labradors, these guys are eager to please their owners, are dedicated family members, are loyal and loving, and have natural retrieving instinct. They can be shown in many competitions, from agility to tracking, in obedience and field trials, and the ones that have been shown in these competitions, have done very well and sometimes do better than their yellow/black/chocolate relatives even. They lack nothing. Because of the great "Silver Labrador" controversy right now, it is not suggested that you show them in the conformation ring, at this point. Right now, they are considered, by the show breeders and judges to be a fault, because of the appearance of the coat, even though they are DNA proven to be of standard coat colors of chocolate, yellow and black. There are several breeders that are currently working on what is needed to get these dogs in the show ring and accepted by the judges. A few breeders have been doing much needed research on the Dilute gene in the Labrador Retriever, along with DNA testing and documenting, and because those tests show and prove that these Dilute Labs DNA color test as Yellow, Black or Chocolate, it proves that they are indeed just shades of the standard coat colors, we feel that it will only be a matter of time before you will see the leaders in the Dilute Labradors, and their breeders, heading for the show ring to hammer it out and lead the way to acceptance. It is very important that anyone that has the same goals of acceptance and showing, proceed in the right manner, and do as much research, collecting facts, along with 'Improvement Breeding' for the Dilute Labrador. We encourage all of you to join 'The Dilute Labrador Group', in order to build up the numbers we need in order to show that these dogs are here to stay. You will find a link to this 'Group' right here within this Silver Labrador Breeders website, and we invite you to check it out and join us.
THE COLOR GENETICS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE COAT COLOR:
So basically, the Dilute Labrador, no matter what the shade (Silver, Charcoal or Champagne), is genetically the same as a traditional coat color Lab, except that they possess the homozygous recessive alleles at the D locus, "dd'. They carry the D gene in it's recessive form (d), thus giving the coat a washed out, lighter, diluted look, which lightens the coat in the black--to what we call a Charcoal looking coat (or Blue coat-in some breeds), and in the chocolate, to what we call a Silver looking coat color or a 'mousey chocolate' color. The actual gene that is responsible for this is called the MLPH gene. A non-Dilute Labrador, and one not carrying the dilute gene, (traditonal yellow/black or chocoalte) will be 'DD' at the D locus. A Labrador that is a carrier (or factored) of the dilute gene will be "Dd" at the D locus. However this may not be the case 100% of the time as there are more than one 'd' alleles in the MLPH gene. Thus we are concentrating on the d/d1 allele for now, in regards to the dilution coat colors we are seeing produced commonly now, known as the Silver, Charcoal and Champagne coat colors, that breeders are producing. We talk more about how the color is placed on the hair shaft, to reflect the different coat colors, and how the dilution gene affects this, on our "How and Why the coat is affected" page, within this subject.
I think most people have seen the Silver Labrador and the Charcoal Labrador, but most are still unaware of the Champagne Labrador. Because of "Improvement breeding" with this dilute gene, being more common now, than 10 years ago, there have now been documented cases of the 'dd' gene being produced in yellow, and DNA tests and results, being documented, so we now have seen 'Dilute Yellow" Labradors (or Champagne Labradors as they have been officially named), that have been positively produced and identified. The first known, and documented 'Champagne' (dd) puppy was produced by a breeder in the Southwest, and was almost a dilute red coat color, the dilution gene affected the coat color as if to lighten the red (or dark yellow) that the puppy was to begin with, to a dusty red, with a peachy overtone, just like the chocolate is a dusty chocolate and the black is a dusty black when they possess the recessive alleles at the D locus. The second documented Champagne (dd) Labrador was a lighter yellow and appeared no different in coat color, to traditional yellow coat colors. Since then, there have been other documented Dilute Yellow Labradors, that have been produced and DNA tested, and these puppies vary in yellow coat color, although to date there has not been another 'Dilute Red' pup produced. Obviously we are finding out that the dilution affects phenotypically, the yellow coat color a bit differently than it affects the black and chocolate coat colors, as most Dilute Chocolate and Dilute Black Labradors, dont vary in shade much, within their own color, all silver pups are very close in color and shade to each other, and dont vary much from light to dark. The same holds true for the charcoal coat color. The presence of this recessive 'dd' also affects the pigment on the affected dog, and will lighten the pigment accordingly. The presence of the 'dd' will affect the pigment of the yellow Labrador as either a light choc pigment- or a light black or grey pigment, depending on whether or not the yellow pup has black or liver pigment. The dilute gene also seems to affect the eye color, but more research is being done on this as we speak.
Here are the genetic codes for the various Dilute coat colors, that are affected by the dilute gene (a dilute coat color): the character graphs will help you to understand coat color vs. what the dog carries.
Silver that does not carry the yellow----EEbbdd
Silver that does carry the yellow----Eebbdd
Charcoal that does not carry the yellow or chocolate----EEBBdd
Charcoal that does carry yellow but not chocolate----EeBBdd
Charcoal that carries both yellow and chocolate----EeBbdd
Champagne that doesnt carry chocolate----eeBBdd
Champagne that does carry chocolate----eeBbdd
Champagne (Dudly) --no black pigment----eebbdd
NBP
Remember the silver is nothing more than a chocolate that is affected by the double dilute gene, therefore this dog can produce:
Chocolate
Silver
Black
Charcoal
Chocolate
Silver
Black
Charcoal
Remember the silver is nothing more than a chocolate that is affected by the double dilute gene, therefore this dog can produce:
Yellow
Champagne
This charcoal is a dominant charcoal. Remember, the charcoal is nothing more than a black that is affected by the double dilute gene, therefore this charcoal is a dominant charcoal and this dog can produce:
Black
Charcoal
Black
Charcoal
Remember, the charcoal is nothing more than a black that is affected by the double dilute gene, therefore this charcoal dog can produce:
Yellow
Champagne
Remember, the charcoal is nothing more than a black that is affected by the double dilute gene, therefore this charcoal dog can produce:
Chocolate
Silver
Black
Charcoal
Yellow
Champagne
Black
Charcoal
Yellow
Champagne
Remember, the champagne is nothing more than a yellow that is affected by the double dilute gene, therefore this champagne can produce:
Remeber, the champagne is nothing more than a yellow that is affected by the double dilute gene, therefore this champagne can produce:
Chocolate
Silver
Black
Charcoal
Yellow
Champagne
Chocolate
Silver
Black
Charcoal
Yellow
Champagne
Remember, the champagne is nothing more than a yellow that is affected by the double dilute gene, therefore this champagne can produce: