Silver Labs????

[momof2nmp]

I was at the dog park yesterday and saw an unusual dog that looked a little like a weinerweimer. The owner told me it was a silver lab. It was so pretty. I have a red one and thought that was unusual but silver was really unusual. Has anyone ever heard of this? How do they breed them? Are they a version of chocolates?

[Kade]

I don't know how they breed them, but I can tell you why they breed them -- for money.

I Googled Silver Lab and the dog that popped up looked mostly like a Weimaraner. These dogs are most likely mixed breeds.

[Shalva]

Silver labs as I understand it are a "designer" dog and it is a form of chocolate..... just a dilute chocolate, they are purebred but by rights they are just chocolates.

there are no such thing as silver labs..... its a way for someone to make alot of money by decieving the public who wants a "designer" dog.... they pay alot of money for these silver dogs....

They are merely a form of chocolate.
I can get more information on this if you would like...... I have many friends who are lab breeders and this drives them nuts.... I dont remember the whole conversations as I don't have labs.... but if you want more info let me know.
s

[Kade]

I did some more extensive reading at the website of a breeder of these dogs... I might have to take back my remark that they're mixes (no doubt some are -- what easier way to get a silver dog than to cross it with a Weimaraner?), but I have a huge problem with anyone who breeds solely for color -- and anyone whose explanation of why they do what they do is as defensive and hostile as that breeder's is.

Here's the thing -- a Lab breeder should be producing not just based on color -- not just based on temperament -- not just based on build -- but on ALL of those things. So someone can insist they're breeding "quality" dogs, but they are obviously still pushing a characteristic through their breeding program that, according to the standard, should not be pushed quite so enthusiastically.

[Cassiepeia]

I found the website of a breeder dedicated to breeding 'silver' labs. They've obviously bred away from the standard in favour of the colour, because there were quite a few of her dogs that didn't look very 'lab like'.
Not much dedication to conformation at all.

If you're interested in a lab of this colour, I'd suggest looking into Labrador rescue, I'm sure they'll have them pop up from time to time.

Cass.

[Novel]

The pet mill that produced my poor little girl Laney, the "blue" weimaraner, also specializes in the "silver" labs. UGH!!!

Just as blues are a disqualification and should not be bred, silver labs are the same story. Breeders that are breeding them more often than not, are doing it with complete disregard to the standard and the health of the dog. They are churning out a dog with a specific color. It can not be shown, an therefore conformation can not be tested and is usually thrown out the window! If these breeders were interested in breeding for the betterment of the breed, they would have to take into consideration that the breed club as a whole does not accept that color, and therefore in good faith, they cannot promote that color.
Unfortunately, these people are not breed club members, and couldn't tell you the standard if you gave it to them to read it. They tell you that the pups are "family raised" and are "beautiful" with "great temperaments". What garbage! How many puppies have you met that don't have "great temperaments"... especially if you were an unknowing buyer, unfamiliar with the very small red flags that signal what the adult will be like!

These are the breeders that gave the Designer Dog Breeders the rule book, and are the whole reason we have labels like "Back Yard Breeder" and "Puppy Mill".

What a disgrace to the dog fancier world!

[doberkim]

novel said it all

[momof2nmp]

Although I thought the dog was beautiful, I certainly wouldn't pay the money to get one based on its color. I also agree, after surfing the web, that this is a dog designed to make money.

Just to set the record straight, although I mentioned that my dog is a "fox red" lab (which is an accepted color by the standard), I didn't set out to get this color. In fact, when I first started on my search for a good family dog, I considered a rescue. However, since I have two small children, I thought that I should meet the parents of the puppy I wanted to adopt.

I agree that breeding a dog for the sake of a designer color and no regard for its health is horrible and I in no way support this.

[Novel]

I've seen some very beautiful "fox" colored labs.
Although it is an accepted color, you would never see one in a show ring, or rather, never see one show successfully.

I do not have a problem with people "considering" color when they choose a pet. When I seek out a puppy to purchase I begin with traits that fit my family, a breeder that I trust and respect, and then I move on to the more aesthetic appeals, of the individual puppy. It's just the priority that sometimes becomes a problem. If someone seeks out a color first, without regard to health, temperament, conformation, working ability, etc... a problem exists, for both the person and the dog bought to fulfill that rather shallow "want".

P.S. Bravo for looking at options and considering wisely the bringing home of a new pet to your home!!

[TribalRats]

Novel I could not agree more.
Once all of the research on breeds you are considering has been done, research on the breeders of the breed you have chosen....so on and so forth, then and only then after meeting all of the pups should aesthetics come into play. Even then they should be last on the list as every puppy will have there own personality and temperament traits. Heck I really wanted a Chocolate Rat the last time I chose a puppy and while there were some available int he litter I was looking at the best dog (conformation and temperament wise) was another Blk. Tri. So I got another Blk. Tri. and I am SO thrilled that I did, she has turned in to the most incredible girl. She goes in to the show ring on the 28th and I have never been more excited to get into the ring with a pup.
I think is is just so sad when people breed specifically for color. these dogs are not being bred for conformation, they are being introduced back in to the blood lines of good dogs and jeopardizing the breed, if you ask me.
I know that most people do not look at a few dogs being introduced as jeopardizing the breed as a whole but they do. It takes generations to try,TRY, to bred out bad genetics. Even then they have a tendency to pop back up! That is why pedigrees are so important.....however pedigrees are only as honest as those who submit them.
I guess it all boils down to integrity.

[Novel]

You're right Tribal Rats. How often do people say how great their dogs are because three generations back there was a champion. My Laney, a BYB purchase... oh how much I have learned in a year's time... has some good named dogs in her pedigree, about four generations back. One was a top producing sire, and it is evident, that in just three generations of indiscriminate breeding, just about everything that was positive has been removed. She's sway backed and long backed, short legged, ears aren't lobular enough, muzzle is too long, has a horrific gait (she bobs and weaves and side gaits), of all the dogs, has the least stable temperament, etc. oh.. and she's of a disqualified color.
Sure, she has some good points, every dog does, but it would take 10 generations, quite possibly more, to bring a dog of her quality back to the quality of her great grandsire. That is so sad, and as I say, breeders, like the one that produced Laney, are a slap in the face to everyone that loves these dogs and works to improve them.

[momof2nmp]

That is why it took me so long to find the right dog. It took me a good year and half from the time I considered getting a dog to finding the right breeder. This was quite consuming (and fun), but I made the right decision.

All of my efforts paid off ten-fold because I believe I have the sweetest puppy in the world .

[TribalRats]

Novel I whole heartedly agree with you. IT is a HUGE slap in the face to those who love a breed and pour there heart soul and personal finances into bettering that breed to then take a dog we have worked so hard to bring to fruition and destroy everything that makes that dog what he/she is.
I know I work VERY heard to make sure I breed only dogs with the right temperament, conformation and as close to the breed standard as I can possible get. I would never breed a dog who was not tested or who only marginally passed the tests.
I digress.
Again I have to say this is such a great place to be able to voice our concerns, opinions and ideas. So glad I found this place and all of you it feel great to have people to talk to about all of these concerns and feelings.

[chocolate_lab_luva]

i saw a grey one it was cute

[Lab lover]

The only colors recognized by AKC are chocolate, black, and yellow.