I'm interested to know if other owners of chocolate labs have noticed the same as this - a lot of the hairs on the main part of our pup's tail, and also on her back just above the base of her tail, are distinctly creamy white with brown just on the very tips. Her tail has a slightly different, rather mottled, overall colour to the rest of her. Is this common? I wonder if this will alter as she matures? Interesting how the mixed genes will out! Fortunately we have no interest in the show world, so her colouring is of no importance in that sense.
Re: Yellow lab in disguise? That sounds interesting. Rachael has some very light patches on her head and upper ears, but what you are describing sounds a bit different.
Re: Yellow lab in disguise? Hi Pippa Yes, quite different to the lighter patches of brown - Breagh has a bit of that, too. The contrast in colour, when the hair is parted, is really quite striking. I'm sure its only since her outer/harsher coat has started to grow through. It'll be interesting to see how/if it changes with time. Her parents are a black dog and a chocolate bitch, so no obvious or direct link to a yellow but, of course, the colours can be carried and pop up where they're not expected!
Re: Yellow lab in disguise? Hi Kitty, Whilst the genes colour can be carried and skip a generation, labradors don't have the gene which enables more than one colour on a single dog that many breeds of dog have. However, you can get mismarks, there is an interesting article here on the Woodhaven website Pippa
Re: Yellow lab in disguise? Thanks Pippa for the fascinating link! Amazing some of the markings labs can have... There's a further link from that one to a terribly complicated article on genes which I admit to only skimming through, but it does mention white at the base of tail hairs - apparently this often happens with choc labs that have lighter/redder patches of hair, if I've read it correctly. Breagh's ears/head are slightly lighter than the rest of her and in sunlight she is quite red in places.
Re: Yellow lab in disguise? Both my chocs are different shades and one with strong black lines behind him has a noticable darker stripe down his back in the summer . They both have the usual sun kissed look in the summer
Re: Yellow lab in disguise? Agh some of those pups on the woodhaven link look they've knocked over an ink pot. Very cute! The guy that came and worked on our trees this year had a dog that had some Gordon setter a few generations back and had black and tan markings, he was lovely (and huge!)
Re: Yellow lab in disguise? I've got one of those - but the other way round. Out on the evening walk yesterday, my little golden princess leapt into a filthy ditch full of gloopy black mud, and did the 'labrador puppy scuttle' up and down, pushing her nose through the mud while she ran. I laughed so much I nearly cried. Of course afterwards she looked such a sight - a yellow lab with black legs and a black muzzle... ;D
Re: Yellow lab in disguise? Oh I wish you'd had a camera for that one! Did she manage to wash it off before coating your house with it?!
Re: Yellow lab in disguise? I'll be taking my phone with me on walks in the future! And sometimes nothing helps but a bucket of soapy water when you get home...
