There are several different stories about Dilute (Silver & Charcoal) Labrador’s; some believe they are a crossbreed (and truth be told, I used to believe this!). I educated myself further over the past several years, and found Silver & Charcoal’s are true Labradors!
Here are some of the facts:
– DNA Testing & mapping of Silver Labs was completed by investigators in the AKC, and all conclusions were the same – “there is no doubt the dogs were Purebred Labrador Retrievers”
– UC Berkley studied the genetic makeup of the Silver Lab against that of the Weimeraner, and concluded they are not the same. (Some believed a Silver Lab was a cross between a Weimeraner and a Labrador)
– In 1987 (yes 30 years ago!), the AKC and Labrador Retriever Club of America examined Silver Labs and had no doubt they were purebred Labradors. They did however decided they would be better registered as “Chocolate” instead of Silver, because Chocolate is described as ranging from Sedge to Chocolate in colour.
Labradors have been around for 100’s of years, and you’ve likely seen me post that Chassis’ lineage is to that of Banchory Bolo – one of the first ever Labs registered into the Labrador Club of England in 1916. Bolo carried the chocolate gene, but you wont see many Chocolates registered in that era because they were often culled, as Chocolates were considered “undesirable”. That is a known fact about chocolates, and why for so many years they were ‘rare’. My personal suspicion, is that the same happened with Silvers, and we are just now starting to see more of them.
Silvers’ are controversial, but the research tells me they are pure Labradors, and as such I have added Chrome to my pack. I encourage everyone to do their own research and make their own decision about Silvers; I’ve done that and honestly changed my opinion from where it was 2-3 years ago. Silvers are pure Labradors. I couldn’t be happier with the decision to add a Silver to our pack. Genetics tell me that when Chrome is bred with Axle, we will see chocolates & Dudleys.
One of my customers made a comment that I thought was perfect, ” Regardless of all the snobbery surrounding Silvers, they are beautiful. Regardless of colour, any pup bred in your house will be adorable for their temperament and love. Finding you on Facebook was pure joy and having one of your babies has given us so much and your continued stories and updates is always fun.”