Is the red lab quite a new thing? Or have they just become more fashionable lately? I'd never seen one before until my friend rescued one a few years ago. But lately they seem to be really common.
I believe it's actually a very traditional colour that fell out of favour for the more fashionable butter yellow, and then later, even paler. But it's certainly having a resurgence.
I've seen one silver lab who lives near me, and it looks more like a lab than some of the pictures on wikipedia. It's quite short and stocky, and not very hound like. I like the colour on weimeraners, but with the labs it looks a bit strange... maybe I'm just not used to it. Interesting - I didn't know there were charcoal ones too!
I've heard it said that the modern colour of fox red leads back to a dog called Wynfaul Tabasco in the 1980s - so not that new. But yes, just about every prospective Lab owner I speak with says they want a 'fox red'.
I've been keeping my eyes open, but I've yet to see a "fox red" in Wellington. Even when I used to get the daily Labrador classifieds from Trade Me (just out of curiosity) I never saw "red" litters advertised. They must be around, though.
The breed standard may not mention directly dilution of colour but it is very clear on the standard colours which are described as Colour: Wholly black, yellow or liver / chocolate, yellow range from light cream to red fox. Small white spot on chest permissible. I think it would be difficult t convince a judge that a "charcoal" or "silver" is wholly black or liver/chocolate in colour. The real clincher though is colour eye, not coat colour. Again the breed standard states:- Eyes: Medium size, expressing intelligence and good temper; brown or hazel. None of the dilutes I've seen meet the eye colour standard so they would most likely be declared a fault which may or may no exclude them from the ring Faults: Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded is in exact proportion to its degree and its effect on the health and welfare of the dog and on the dog's ability to perform its traditional work.
The Labrador I grew up with would have been described today as 'fox red' and that was long before the 1980s so nothing new at all - just a marketing way to increase puppy price
Re. Snowshoe's observation that in Canada pale yellow is called Champagne: I've not heard of pale yellow being called Platinum here. Really pale dogs do get marketed and also described by their owners as 'white Labradors' though. Can't remember ever seeing a really dark yellow here (ie what UK people call 'Fox Red'). But I'm a purist and they're all Yellow to me! I'll go so far as to say 'light Yellow' or 'dark Yellow' but that's it That's not to deny that there are obviously more complex and very interesting colour genetics going on that show up most clearly in Yellows (and Chocolates to some extent). Diluters, red enhancers, and agouti-like genes that push more colour to the extremities (like the pattern of having a pale body and dark ears).
The discussion was 'disqualifying fault' - not an opinion on how a dog would do in the ring. Although you have helpfully reminded me that in the UK standard, there is actually no such thing as a disqualifying fault. Just a fault. Like a black, yellow or chocolate might not have perfect teeth or good eye colour. And goodness knows there are plenty of chocolates around with frankly appallingly bad eye colour. So, all you Silver Labradors owners out there - get your dogs in the ring, if you wish, and be proud of them.
I don't think I've seen one either. To be honest, I don't think I even knew the colour (or variation of colour) existed until I saw some of the lovely members of this forum
LOL, my Vet has a fox red Lab. I was lucky to catch puppy visiting the clinic when they first got him and I exclaimed, "Oh, he's a fox red." They, he and his wife, hadn't known a thing about that colour when they got the puppy.
