The Silver Labrador

A Rare Kind Of Lab

This unusual variation of the lab breed is gaining favour with many owners and with their wonderfully coloured coat and features it is easy to see why.

This variety of Lab is not yet recognised as being purebred though there are plenty of these dogs registered with the kennel clubs in the USA and UK.

Everyone loves Labradors because of their fun loving nature and they are wonderful additions to all families as household pets.

They are mostly recognized by their coat colour, may it be yellow, black, or chocolate.

Some people love these popular pets because of their silver variations as well and they are, of course, just as much fun as the other Labrador retrievers.

History

The first recorded Lab of this type was born in 1985 at Crist Culo Kennels in the United States. Many believe that they came from the chocolate breed line.

It wasn’t until 1987 though when the silver colour was treated as a lab registration colour. Since then, there has been a lot of debate on whether silver labs really exist or not.

Because of that the American Kennel Club, later changed the colour "silver"to a "shade of chocolate". There were no other known labs of that colour at the time so they were bred with their relatives to produce more.

Later on into the 1990s, a new line of these dogs were produced at Beavercreek, also in the United States. This variation of Lab began to gain a lot of publicity in the 21st century as more lines started to produce a genuine silver Labrador.

Temperament

They do of course share the same genetic build-up as other Labrador retrievers making their temperament quite similar to the other yellow, chocolate, and black labs. They are loyal, loving, playful, and full of energy.

Their versatility is vast and they are capable of doing plenty of jobs such as retrieving and rescue operations. They make perfect pets that are willing to please the owners and make friends with strangers.

Differences With Other Labrador Retrievers

Their main difference with other breeds is, of course, their stunning silver coat with different genes that determine the coat colour.

Because breeders now consider these dogs to be purely bred without any hints of cross breeding to determine the colour, these Labrador retrievers are identical in temperance and build up to all the other labs with no health problems related to the colour of their coats.

Of course, a silver Labrador is very much rarer than the yellow, black, and even chocolate ones and some people even deny their very existence.

This can make the silver Labs quite expensive with breeders charging as much as 40% more for these dogs than other Lab variations though they do take the spotlight as one of the most controversial dogs at the present time.

Because of its uniqueness, extremely proper care is encouraged at all costs especially since a silver Labrador can have a very dry coat and skin problems just like the chocolate breeds.

They should be treated like any other lab and, in my opinion, should be more widely accepted because of the DNA proof of it being a purebred.

There are still groups that are opposed to this variation of lab being considered as a purebred, but with that aside, the silver Labrador is here to stay and looks to have a bright future ahead of them as they become more popular and more in demand by people looking for new pets.

Related Articles

More About The Silver Labrador

Labrador Coat Colours And Genes

Your Lab At home

History Of The Labrador Retriever

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