You wouldn’t think a dog the color of mud would be so hot, but they are. In the town where this writer lives, Clifton Heights, Pennsylvania, by far the most popular dog is the chocolate Labrador Retriever. Although there are other colors of Labs in the town, the chocolate Labrador Retrievers outnumber them all. They are just like any other color of Labradors, only they have the distinctive dark muddy brown color, originally called “liver”.
Are They Purebred?
Somewhere along the last two hundred years, a rumor got out that chocolate Labrador Retrievers could not be purebred because the color showed that Pointers were thrown in the mix. However, this was not the case. Back in the 1800’s and today in 2008 a litter of Lab puppies often has a chocolate sibling in with the blacks, goldens and yellows.
Originally, only black Labs were allowed. Back in the 1800’s, colors were often thought to be the sign of sickness. Chocolate and yellow Labrador Retriever puppies were often culled (killed) for being “sickly”, even though their only fault was that they were born the wrong color. Fortunately, this prejudice was dropped when the first chocolate Labrador Retriever was allowed to be registered in 1892.
But although the dogs were allowed to live, many “serious” breeders would not show their chocolates. However, finally, in 1964, a chocolate Labrador Retriever named Cookridge Tango won a Best of Breed class in England. Now that genes are better known, it is seen that the chocolate gene is found in all black Labs as a recessive gene.
A Question Of Marketing?
Perhaps one reason for the demand in chocolate Labrador retrievers is the name of their color. It certainly was a stroke of genius for the unknown dog lover who first described the color as “chocolate” rather than “liver”. Very few people want liver given to them, but they will gladly embrace chocolate in any way, shape or form, especially if it’s a loveable dog.
Chocolate Labrador Retrievers have gone from the rarest color wanted to the one in most demand. Their numbers are also rising, with American Labrador breeders predicting that chocolates will outnumber yellows by 2018. No matter what you call them, they can be brilliant dogs with the right training, care and attention. There are a lot of variances in shading, nose color and height, musculature build and head shape with Labradors, no matter what their color.