Hi I have been asked by a friend who has two chocolate labs not to get Bailey neutered until he has been mated with one of their dogs as they want to get the Golden gene back into their puppies. At 11 weeks that is going to be some way off, however, my question is, if we go ahead with this would it then be OK to have Bailey neutered? I'm on the fence here and would appreciate any advice. Thank you
Not sure why your friends would want to get the yellow gene into a strain of chocolate dogs. You don't want to mix yellow and chocolate as you'll end up with yellow puppies with chocolate pigmentation instead of black. It's fine to mix chocolate and black. It's fine to mix yellow and black. Any breeder doing it properly will know that it's not fine to mix yellow and chocolate. All dogs used for breeding should have the full range of health checks (tests for genes carrying serious heritable disorders) and X-rays done (to check that joints are sound). X-rays aren't done till a year of age. Till then you can't really tell what the joints are like. All of the above is expensive. To not do it is irresponsible (being honest here!). So you can tell that I'm suggesting that you look very carefully into the whole concept of Labrador breeding before you commit to anything. You still need to make a decision to neuter your boy or to not neuter your boy but make a decision based on what you think is in your interests, your dog's interests and the breed's interests, not your friends' interests.
I think the question should be should you go ahead with the mating. Will you have Bailey health tested and certified as to hips, elbows, heart, eyes, CNM, EIC and whatever other clearances are the norm in the UK? Do you show or trial or otherwise prove your dog worthy of contributing to the breed? Does your friend do these things? It's more common for the breeder of YOUR dog to tell you if your pup is worthy of breeding from, in which case they probably would have kept him. But to answer your question, Baily can be neutered after being bred. Yes, what does your friend hope to accomplish with a yellow stud and a chocolate bitch? Does he understand the genetics of colour?
it is Yellow Labrador, not Golden Labrador I would take note of @Oberon's advice, which is very sensible.
Agree with everything that @Oberon says regarding all the health testing and the doubts over the genetic mix, and as @Stacia says there is no 'golden' gene, just yellow. If it were me I wouldn't even be bothering to consider whether I should or shouldn't be using Bailey as a stud, he's a baby so just enjoy him at the moment, and as Oberon says you're decision is for you and your dog, not your friend
I won't repeat the excellent advice you've had so far but to put it into context I've spent about £350 on health tests for my spaniel. A lab would be about the same. We're still waiting to see what his working ability is like before we finally make him available for breeding. If he goes to stud I will vet potential mates to ensure they've had their tests done and avoid recessive disorders, breed for low coefficient of inbreeding and good hips and eyes. Choosing a mate is probably slightly easier in Labradors but it's still not straightforward.
Thank you all - to be honest neither me or the OH are overly keen on breeding from Bailey - he is a much beloved pet (even the OH has admitted he loves him!) its not something we have ever thought about and no we have no plans to show him - other than to family and friends of course. As I said that decision is a long way away and I would not dream of doing anything without full tests for both my boy and the other dog - irresponsible and not in the interests of either dogs or potential pups to do otherwise. Just wanted other opinions really - knew I had joined the right group
