Why is a chocolate Lab a "chocolate Lab" but yellow or black is a "Lab"?

This is an interesting article re chocolate labradors vs other colours, with history behind how chocolates have evolved. The link from Wylanbriar labradors who breed some very nice chocolates who can play...and work

This article was written by Diana Stevens in 2008, and I am sure she would herself agree that things have moved on considerably in quality of chocolate labradors being bred in terms of a more typical and desirable breed temperament ( no offence intended )

http://www.wylanbriar.com/behavioural-information/are-all-chocolate-labradors-untrainable/

 

That was an interesting and amusing read. Thank you for the link!

 

I refer to mine as 'the black dog' and 'the white dog' amongst other things

But I have one lab and one spaniel. If I have more than one lab and they're different colours I'd probably use colour to differentiate. If they're both black I'd probably use age.

I guess if people ask me what I have I say a black lab and a clumber spaniel.

 

Funny, this morning OH and I were chatting about how it's weird that black and yellow are described by colour...but we don't say "brown" labs, but chocolate. Somehow they got the cooler name! He thinks we should start describing Quinn as a licorice lab

I always say just lab, unless I'm talking to a "doggy" person who will get it/care about her colour!

 

Luna is actually registered as "liver". Not much cool about that

 

Love it.. licorice lab

 

If Axel isn't with me I say he's 'my lab' but when he is with me I get asked often what breed he is so then I do say 'he's a chocolate lab'

 

Where I live, chocolate labs were a huge trend (now overtaken by small chocolate goldendoodles - specifically bred with a small poodle, not standard). I've never known choc Labs to be stupid or anything other than typically friendly Labs (I think goofy is par for the Lab course). But due to their trendiness I did notice that people always used the color when talking about them.

I describe Snowie as a white Lab when I call the vet cos then the receptionist instantly knows who he is, and quite honestly i don't think she could care less about the correct breed term.

I do notice people often say golden Lab to indicate the yellow color. I think they also assume that the word, golden, in Golden Retriever, indicates the color, and that the breed is a Retriever. Before I got a Lab I also had no clue of the correct color description, and I also used Retriever to mean a GR! What one only learns on this forum!

 

When I went back to the US last fall, my father said he knew someone with a Lab and since he knew how I was thinking about getting one and really wanted to meet more of them, he worked and worked to set up a meeting. Finally we ended up driving two hours the day before I left California, just to squeeze in a visit with this "Lab".

Who was a Golden Retriever.

He was a lovely GR and it was nice visit, but...Lab????!!!

Afterwards I say to my dad, "Um, that's a great dog and I really appreciate all your work to meet him, but you know that's not a Lab, right?"

"But he's golden and a retriever and retrievers are Labradors."

"Yeah, but he's a Golden Retriever. It's a different breed. There are different kinds of retrievers."

"But golden Labradors..."

"Are YELLOW. And they are Labradors."

Poor guy!

 

Can't. Too afraid of stern German ladies. They're stronger than they look.

 

I remember reading an article online somewhere (how's that for vague?) that all the specific colour terms which vary by breed (i.e. liver, chocolate, tan, faun, blue, apricot, etc.) are kind of like coding or a social filter that lets people in a group (so say Labrador fanciers) know if other people are in their group or not. So if someone called a chocolate, "brown" you'd know they weren't "in the know" about Labs. Or a poodle person would know that the golden colour is actually called "apricot". I guess because I'm a language nut, but that kind of stuff always fascinates me.

With Rotties, people with show line dogs usually referred to their colour as "black and mahogany". A less-well bred dog usually didn't have that tell-tale reddish brown colour, so that would be referred to as a "black and tan". So if someone asked you, "What colour is your dog?" it was a subtle little weeding out of whether you had a show bred dog or not. And a bit of a snob factor with the mahogany over the "lesser" tan. Brogan was proudly plain old black and tan... and gorgeous to boot.

 

OH used to refer to Belle as "black & tan", when I registered he with a vet, they asked me what colour she was. He nearly wet himself when I announced she was "predominantly black with patches of brown & cream"

Coco is "Black & Christmas Pudding"

 

Thanks @Beanwood for the link, made an interesting read. When I was looking for a puppy I choose a chocolate purely on the breeding not the colour. She is smart, intelligent and proving a joy to train, not without it's challenges though . The sire is a working chocolate with an impressive pedigree. I keep in touch with the breeder and when we visited late last year Mabel is apparently very much like her dad. I do get very miffed when I get backhanded compliments "oh how good is she, considering she is a chocolate".
I get a lot of people ask what bred she is because she's small and slight. I explain although she is a family pet she is a Labrador from working line. That's often met with blank looks and the usual "aren't they normal fat"

 

Well alot of people around here call my boy "Golden" Lab...

 

I nearly always refer to Pongo as a "big yellow lab".

 

I'm pretty sure I say "my lab puppy" and let people ask if they're interested. Years ago there was only black or yellow to choose from, I remember "Chocolates" being new. I guess "liver" is like liver chestnut in horses. Also years ago I suppose there was a different attitude to dogs and animals in general, they were dogs or bitches not referred to so much as boys or girls , among other things. So I think my take on this is that chocolates are maybe referred to as such to mark the "difference" of being relatively new.

 

If we are having Licorice for black labs what can we used for our yellow friends?

Vanilla, Chocolate and Licorice!

 

I always used to refer to BJ as my little black boy - no mention of lab, until the OH said that could be misinterpreted Mind you, I still refer to Molly as my little brown girl

 

Not really, it is just another name for chocolate, rather than being a shade. A breeder can choose to have their pups registered as chocolate or liver.

 

Why do I suddenly want to eat ice-cream? It's my inner Lab!