What is your opinion on that breeding if we indeed want a black puppy? The breeder advertises black puppies and they seem very reputable but I admit I was a bit shocked not to see any black dams or sires. Thanks!
It is possible to get black pups from a yellow and chocolate mating, depending on the colour genes each dog has. In fact, the litter could be entirely black if the choccy doesn’t carry yellow and the yellow has two black genes. This site has a chart which shows the possible combinations for each set of genes https://www.vetgen.com/chromagene-coat-color.html
To add, many breeders won’t breed a chocolate to a yellow because that combination is the only way to get a “Dudley” Labrador (yellow without a black gene, meaning it will have a liver nose and rims around the eyes) which is considered undesirable - purely for rather peculiar cosmetic reasons. So they are either taking the “risk” or know that the dogs’ genes won’t allow this. We have plenty of dudleys on the forum and there is nothing wrong with them, they’re just not desirable for the show ring so there’s a big of stigma. They are no less a Labrador than any other, though, and some people are drawn to the way they look.
Thank you! Our puppy is strictly for companionship...we are going thru a breeder this time to hopefully not go through the heartbreak of the surgeries and then young death of our dear Riley who was definitely part black lab but came from rescue. We truly hope buying a breeder puppy will sway the health pendulum in our favor and we'll have a long lived dog.
In that case, this article may interest you: https://www.thelabradorsite.com/health-screening-for-labrador-diseases/ It discusses tests which all breeding Labradors should have, and explains the scoring. Pedigree dogs aren't without health issues - in fact, having a closed register means that genetic diseases are more likely to occur over time, but at least if you know that both parents are tested against the big problems for the breed, you can either be sure your puppy won't be affected in the case of some diseases where there is a simple "on" or "off" flag and will be less likely to be affected in the case of others.
Our first lab was a yellow and both parents were black. At the end she had arthritis, she lived for over 14 years!
14 yrs - that is remarkable. I only got 8 with Riley but they were the best 8yrs of my life. I miss him every single day! He gave my husband and I the deep adoration for the breed.
It is no longer necessary to guess what a chocolate to yellow breeding will produce since we now can test the genotype of each parent. We have a chocolate male who is bbEE (no hidden yellow) and a yellow bitch who is BBee (no hidden chocolate) - they will only produce black litters. Their offspring will be chocolate and yellow carriers. They will get B and e from their Dam and b and E from their Sire so their genotype will be BbEe while their phenotype will be black.
