Well I am a newbie and am having second thoughts on what I thought I wanted, but with so many cute pups on here has me second guessing. I have picked a breeder that has Chocolate pups from working line and field champ background. I wanted a male out of this litter due in March. Now I have found another breeder that has yellow pup due in March. My wife wants a female cause she here's from her friend they are easier to deal with and not so stubborn. I also here the rumors about Chocolate not being the smartest of the 3 of colored labs. I'd love to hear what you experts have to say and if you can ease some of this anxiety. Thank you for your response
I never found the female being easier to deal with to be true. I think it just depends on the Dog. Chocolates are just as bright as other colours in fact the chocolate I have now is a really clever dog and works things out really quickly. I've had blacks and chocolates male and female over the years and found a lot if the colour myths to be untrue. The cheekist lab I've ever had is my black petit female Moo. Her antics are truly legendary but she is a wonderful dog. The only thing about the yellows is the hair gets everywhere when the shed. I mean everywhere and ive always found it easier to hide dark hairs . I've always found dogs from working lines to be often more enthusiastic than dogs from show lines, but I'm sure that is open for debate too.
Um depends on the dog - females we have had including the puppy are more strong willed, smarter and quite happy to be independent. Males are more clingy and sooky can be a mix of smart and not smart (only our current dogs are full labs the others wree cross bred or Golden Retriever). If I had to say one was more stubborn than the other it would be the females are more strong willed. Our puppy at the moment is yellow but has the brown nose and eyes from the chocolate genes her sire had.
Just to chuck another option, although technically on the yellow spectrum, we have a fox red and i think (absolutely admit my bias here) that he is beautiful. The experience i have regarding gender is that boys tend to be more loving and cuddly. Our boy Thor is always looking to cuddle up and lie pushed up next to you on the floor. Whereas girls weve had in the past (other breeds) are more inclined to lie by themselves and entertain themselves a bit more. This may be more down to the breed than gender though. A quick picture of our boy to try and sell the fox red to you
Having said that, we intend on getting a black boy to complete the pairing (and because i would be watching like a hawk if i had a boy and girl). Generally id pick on the temperament of the puppies when you go to see them. Our breeder gave us a brief idea of what their personalities were developing into, and we knew we wanted a calmer pup of the litter. Have to say we know the other pup who seemed a lot more energetic and he is definately more of a handful than ours. But ultimately training and time spent developing their personalities will matter more.
My Black Lab boys are not stubborn and easier than any of the bitches (different breed) I have had in the past. I have been out working with two Chocolate Lab boys and they were good and not boisterous. But of the three colours I think the Chocolates are thought to be more boisterous in the pet Labs. With Yellow Labs, you will notice the hairs more on your clothes
The only reason colour will have detrimental impact on intelligence or temperament is if the litter has been bred for colour alone, rather than taking the parents' personalities into account. That's a good explanation as to why it could, in some cases be argued that chocolates, fox reds, pale yellows or any other "fashionable" colour have inferior characteristics. Blacks are far more immune from this because, well, black is black. If you choose good parents, though, the chances are, you'll have a good puppy. If you don't have a preference for colour, choose the best litter you can find, and take one from that, regardless of colour. I'll add my voice to the male vs female, with my study of two (so far, I can't count the Squidge as she's too young). My male is very cuddly, sometimes to a fault. He is eager to please and keen to try anything. He's gung ho and entirely ridiculous. He tends to act before he thinks. My female is far less cuddly, preferring her own space. She's a real thinker, and a real worrier, which can come across as stubbornness on occasion. It's not, it's because she's unsure and needs reassuring. Now that I have learned about how to manage her stress levels better, she is far easier to train than her brother, simply because she thinks! I have no problems with her on walks, whereas I'm always a bit on edge with the male around other males. Neither one is better, they're just very, very different. Luna's mum and aunt, and W&S's mum, for what it's worth, are all incredibly soppy, cuddly girls. Luna is shaping up to be the same, but time will tell.
Baxter is the same, very cuddly but he's as sharp as a tack.. I'm sure he understands every word we say
I've had a sensitive, intelligent chocolate male dog, a stupid but very cuddly and lovable clown of a black male dog, and a female yellow enigma (Poppy), who is very intelligent but over-sensitive and not very cuddly. It depends on the individual dog, I would say. But broadly speaking, bitches are less likely to square up for a fight than male dogs - that's the only thing that makes them easier. As for the colours- it's really just down to your personal preference. Just beware of dogs that have been bred for their colour alone. Remember there are only three recognized Labrador colours (black, yellow and chocolate), so if a breeder tries to charge you over the odds for a silver, fox-red, or champagne coloured Labrador, remember that is just fashion - and your dog, while doubtless beautiful, shouldn't first and foremost be a fashion accessory!
If the breeder aimed to get chocolate, or any other colour, and ignored health checks and temperament then that colour might be harder to deal with. Make sure those are dealt with and there should be no difference. I agree but it should be pointed out that Fox-red IS one of the recognized coluours, being a variation of yellow and accepted in every standard. Silver,. chhampagne amd charcoal are dilutes and not standard.
Thanks Aimee your boy Thor is a beautiful dog. The only reason that wasn't an option is to be honest I don't think I've ever seen any breeders that have that shade of Lab around these parts where I live. Snowbunny that was a Gold star explanation thank you! I think I'm leaning more with my gut instinct and that would be the litter of Chocolates. The background of the parents come from much better working lines. Story is I have had 2 labs before 1 male yellow 1 female black. This was back 20 years ago and never trained them just judged them by as a pet. Now I'd like a hunting dog with some drive but also want that dog to flip the switch and be able to let my girls put princess dresses on.. Also this will be my wife's 1st dog so that's going to be interesting
The breeder owns the female she is a 4 year old pure Chocolate and the male is one of her past retired female from years ago also pure Chocolate. The male is owned by a contractor that take him everywhere to the job site ( which I think is awesome) . The male is a senior hunter and all health checks out and documented. The female is a master hunter and also health checks out. Great reviews from the breeder and they also do training ( that i like ) If I decide to go that route. The litter will be all Chocolate but it's not the color I care about it's what's between the ears. Me being a 1st time really attempting to train a dog has me worried. The content on this site has already helped immensely... Thanks
That all sounds positive, Jay! Also, I didn't mean to sound negative about fox red dogs, I think they are beautiful. I just don't think they should be bred simply for their colour...
Hi my boy is from a chocolate dad and a yellow mum - he is almost identical to my sisters fox red lab (yes I know my boy is also classed as a fox red much to my sisters disdain ). My boy's parents temperaments were beautiful chilled friendly dogs with all health tests checked and good. The main difference between the dogs that I have noticed is that my Bailey is a lot more confident and has no issues with people, whereas my sisters boy, Riley, does not like men apart from my sisters husband and son and my OH - anyone else he does not want to go near and stands and barks at them. He is a lot more nervous generally than Bailey and more highly strung. That said they are both complete loving nutters and are totally in love with each other!
I totally agree. I have a fox red girl, I paid the average for a lab in my area and she is very chilled at home, but very energetic and focussed on working when out and about. I would never buy a fox red if parents had no health checks and temperaments not checked and especially if they were asking for more money. @Aimee Lawrence - your boy is gorgeous. I'm very biased towards reds too
You could be writing about Ella (chocolate female) as this is spot on! Just goes to show that there's no real pattern when it comes to colour/sex. We did pay a little extra for Ella as we found most lab puppies were roughly around $1,500 but chocolate litters were roughly around $1,800.
We have had 3 Chocolate females and while they were all great dogs, they had different personalities. Cooper is the most cuddly (and biggest) dog I've ever had. Tilly the least cuddly. All of them have been fine with other dogs and people, including strangers. The biggest problem with Black Labs is that you can't photograph them. They disappear. At night the Yellows show up best, but we put LED flashers on our chocolates when we walk them off lead at night. In Oregon, Field Labs with some credentials seem to run $900 to $1500
Black is easier - they don't show the mud and the hair is less visible (except in the butter put lol)
