It is probably a question every potential Labrador owner asks themselves when trying to find the perfect Lab puppy. “Does color make a difference?” As we all know the Labrador standard includes three distinct, acceptable colors for the breed. Here we will try to find if the color of the dog has any relevance in choosing a Lab.

The first item most think about in regards to the color of the coat is which color they prefer. This should be a minimal consideration in choosing your Lab as heritage and health should always be the first consideration. It is still not hard to wonder though if the color of the Lab has anything to do with its’ trainability and personality.

The Easy Answer
The easy answer to age old question of color would be that it simply does not matter in regards to anything other than appearance. With this opinion we can attribute the Labs ability to its’ bloodline, and environmental factors such as training, upbringing etc… Many tend to believe this and it is a very possible that whether Chocolate, Black or Yellow a Lab is a Lab!

Digging Deeper
What if we dig a little deeper and look at the genetic make-up of the breed. The black coat color is the dominant gene. Could this in turn lead us to believe that possibly this pigment could also lead to a dominant black dog? Of course not, but what it does lead to is a numerical amount of the Labrador Retriever breed that excels in both confirmation and field sports being black. Of course this domination numerically can also be attributed to the many more black in color.

A more meaningful relationship would be to look at the percentage. By doing this we could say that 80% of Yellow Labs are easily trained for field work while only 75% of black Labs are standouts. Of course these are just some random numbers I have thrown out for illustration purpose. The real question is how could one tell what entails “Easily Trained”? Could this be accomplished by taking a Black and Yellow pup and comparing them? It would not be that easy. How about a yellow, black and chocolate Labrador that are littermates and trained and judged by the same person. Basically the same heritage, same training and upbringing and same judge. This would not even be a good indicator, for several reasons. It would require a large sampling and a very controlled environment for any type of conclusion like this to be drawn and to my knowledge, nothing like has ever been conducted.

So What Color to Choose?
All the thinking and researching in the world will eventually lead us all to the same conclusion, color does not matter. What does matter is that you have a healthy pup that will become your best friend and you will share years of joys and triumphs with, regardless of the color.


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