Silver lab???

[JAKE255]

Saw this on the other site and was very curious about a silver lab anybody got any info on this. their all over the web i have never seen or heard of this.

[legallyblonde]

I am pretty positive that they have Weim blood in them. Most that I have seen in person not only have the color but some other Weim traits, like a skinnier tail, or finer coat, or the yellow Weim eyes. Since I have been working at the UKC, I've been learning it happens waaaay more than you would think, crossing breeds and hanging papers to keep it on paper that the breed is "pure." It's a major problem with APBT's right now, look at some of the breeders breeding for more "bully" types weighing in well over a hundred pounds and HUGE heads---you tell me that they're not mixing in mastiff and bulldog. I know GSP's years ago some lines they were mixing in English Pointers. And "pointing labs"---where do you think the pointing instinct came from? Either Eng. Pointers or GSP's most likely, or even Weims.
It's been easy enough for people to do in the past, say you have a lab female and a male lab and male GSP. Breed her to the GSP for pointing and put the lab down on the papers as the father. Nowdays, if others catch on to your game, it only takes simple DNA testing to prove the real father. People still do it, but it's more risky. I don't know about the AKC, but at the UKC when we get serious accusations of breeders hanging papers on a dog, we will require DNA testing to prove or disprove parentage.

[huklbre]

Here is the Silver Lab Zoe from Michigan.

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/huklbre/2007_09090148.jpg

[Missmatchesnquincyno]

Per AKC


The Labrador Retriever coat colors are black, yellow and chocolate. Any other color or a combination of colors is a disqualification. A small white spot on the chest is permissible, but not desirable. White hairs from aging or scarring are not to be misinterpreted as brindling. Black--Blacks are all black. A black with brindle markings or a black with tan markings is a disqualification. Yellow--Yellows may range in color from fox-red to light cream, with variations in shading on the ears, back, and underparts of the dog. Chocolate--Chocolates can vary in shade from light to dark chocolate. Chocolate with brindle or tan markings is a disqualification.

[SplishSplashCrash]

LRC's take on it:There is no genetic basis for the silver gene in Labradors. The silver color is a disqualification under the Standard for the breed. The LRC (labrador retriever club) does not recognize, accept or condone the sale or advertising of any Labrador as a silver Labrador. The Club opposes the practice of registering silver as chocolate.




My point of view:
They are probably weimrainer and lab mixes which is riduclous and how breeds get ruined. Or they have been selecting and breeding labs with some sort of genetc mutation (off choclate color) until they get the silver color. Which worries me, becuase any dog that strays from breed standard dramatically is not a pup I would want to adopt. While they are cute, one has to wonder the purpose of them? Are they a new designer breed? I saw on some sites they are selling them as a rare breed, oh lordy!


The AKC's stance:
Response of Jack Norton of the AKC on 1/24/00 giving AKC official position on the issue of Silver Labs.

The registry of the American Kennel Club is based on parentage and not the coat color of a member of any breed.

In 1987 the AKC, in corporation with the Labrador Retriever Club of America, conducted an inquiry into the breeding of litters that contained members that were registered as silver. An AKC representative was sent to observe these dogs. The report and color photographs of these dogs were reviewed by AKC staff and representatives of the Labrador Retriever Club of America. Both Parties were satisfied that there was no reason to doubt that the dogs were purebred Labrador Retrievers, however they felt that the dogs were incorrectly registered as silver. Since the breed standard at the time described chocolate as ranging in shade form sedge to chocolate, it was felt that the dogs could more accurately be described as chocolate rather than silver. This remains the current policy of the American Kennel Club.

Jack Norton
Special Services Dept
Response of Robert Young of AKC on 3/27/00 giving AKC official position on the issue of Silver Labs.

Consensus at the "Silver Lab" meeting held on July 14, 1997.


1) The foundation for the AKC registry is based on parentage and not color.

2) We should register all Lab pups coming from purebred AKC registered Labs.

3) We should not register Labs as "Silver".

4) After a review of pictures, the file and history of this issue which goes back to 1987, we feel the most appropriate color for registration is Chocolate.

5) We will entertain complaints of impure breedings on an individual basis, but complaints should be based on more than color


Some Falsehoods Regarding the Silver Coloration in Labs
There is no such thing as a silver Labrador.

False. This is really more an argument based on semantics and upon which most conflicts regarding the silver color in the breed are based. Silver Labs do exist here and now, however, history records of the Labrador breed strongly support the conclusion that the silver color was introduced sometime in the mid-history (between the 1940s - 1950s) of the Labrador breed (see below for discussion of origins). For this and other reasons, the trait is not considered as being representative of the breed.

The silver coat color has been recorded in early writings about Labradors.

False. There is no record of "silver", "gray" or any other color that could be construed as silver between 1878 and 1948 (i.e. the early history of the breed) in the breed stud books. Reportedly, a Norwegian Elkhound cross was performed sometime in the 1940s which coincides with subsequent European reports of "silver" Labradors appearing in some lines during the 1950s and 1960s (see below for more information).

The small gene pool in the early history of the breed had made it difficult to select for silver because "there was never a large enough gene pool of other grays to replicate the color."

False. It is a well established principle of genetics that the smaller the population (i.e. gene pool) the more likely for the offspring of the population to express traits associated with recessive genes.

Genetic analysis has demonstrated that the gene responsible for the silver coloration in Labs is mapped to a site different from the site responsible for the silver color in other breeds of the dog.

False. There is currently no scientific data, either published or preliminary, which has mapped the silver gene locus in Labs. Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, are, however, currently conducting pedigree analysis on silver bloodlines to determine origins of the silver coloration.

The observation that general breeders of Labradors have not accepted the challenge to disprove the purity of Silver Labradors is confirmation that the bloodlines are pure.

False. General Lab breeders have consulted with geneticists on the feasibility of performing genetic analysis on the silver Labradors. Current DNA technology is, ironically, too specific a method for assessing genetic relationship between silver Labs and the general Lab population. Although parentage can be determined by DNA testing, there exists too much genetic diversity even between related Labrador bloodlines, which limits the ability of this method to prove or disprove the degree of relatedness between silver Labs and the general Lab population.

Silver puppies born of purebred, AKC registered Labrador parents should be destroyed to preserve the breed.

False. The silver coloration is considered a serious fault in the breed, however, it does not alter the health or disposition of the dog. Therefore, it is recommended that silver puppies produced by registered Labs be placed in pet-homes without AKC registration papers or with Limited Registration to prevent further propagation of the silver gene.

Who knows what the deal is but they are darn cute!!! Funy I had never heard of them before. :)

For further reading:
http://www.blueknightlabs.com/articles/silver/silver.html
http://www.labbies.com/silver.htm
http://www.labbies.com/genetics2.htm

[TeamIrish]

I think silver labs are BEAUTIFUL. Falon from UAD has one (Mason) www.leapinlabs.com