Unlocking the Truth About Labrador Coat Colors

Have you ever wondered about Labrador coat colors? Such as how two black Labs can have chocolate and/or yellow puppies? Or why breeding a chocolate to a yellow often produces all black puppies?

Well, it’s genetics that determines Labrador coat colors. But before we get into all of that, did you know Labs come in four colors? Yep, and I’m not talking about the “designer” dogs in silver or charcoal. You’ve probably even seen all four colors and didn’t realize it.

So what are they?

The three Labrador coat colors (plus one)

Well, there’s black. No surprise there. There’s also chocolate. Again, no surprise.

Then we get to the yellows. This color comes in shades from pale cream to rich fox red. They have a black nose and eye rims.

The fourth color looks like a yellow at first glance, but they have a chocolate nose and eye rims. These are called Dudleys and they carry the genes for both chocolate and yellow.

There's nothing wrong with Dudleys, but they are disqualified in dog shows. Some people think these are light-colored chocolate Labs or a mixed breed. They are neither.

Genetic basics

To understand how the Labrador coat colors are inherited we have to take a look at some science. If there's a term you don't understand click to scroll down to Genetic terms.

The blueprint of each dog is contained in its DNA which is made up of 39 pairs of chromosomes. Half of those chromosomes came from the dog’s father and the other half came from the dog’s mother.

Along those chromosomes are genes. Each pair of genes controls a portion of that blueprint. The gene pairs can be the same which is written with two capital letters such as "BB" or two small letters such as "bb" (homozygous). Or they can be different (heterozygous) which is written with a capital and a small letter such as "Bb".

If they are different, the dominant gene will show and the recessive gene will be hidden.

Applying genetics to Labrador coat colors

In Labs, the gene for black (“B”) is dominant to chocolate (“b”). The “B” or “b” shows that these are two versions of the same gene and that the one with the capital letter is dominant to the small letter.

If the dog has at least one of the "B" genes, he will be black. With an exception we'll get to. So BB and Bb mean the dog is black, but bb means the dog is chocolate.

Yellow is determined by different genes which can be EE or Ee or ee. The "E" gene determines whether the dog will be yellow or not yellow. If the dog has one copy of the “E” version of the gene, he will be black or chocolate depending on the “B” gene. But if the dog has two copies of the “e” version he will be yellow. That is the exception. Usually a Lab with "BB" genes is black, but if he also has "ee" genes he will be yellow. In this case the yellow gene will override the black gene.

Labs with two copies each of the “b” and “e” genes ("eebb") will be yellow with a chocolate nose and eye rims. These are the Dudleys. Other people say they're "NBP" which is short for No Black Pigment.

Labrador coat colors

Okay, so that was a somewhat simplified version of genetics, now we can get into colors.

Dogs need at least one copy of the “B” gene to have a black nose and eye rims. If they also have at least one copy of the “E” gene, they will have a black coat.

A dog with two copies of the “b” gene will have chocolate pigment on the nose and eye rims. If he also has two copies of the "e" gene, his coat will be yellow. However if he has one or two copies of the "E" gene his coat will be chocolate.

Clear as mud? Here’s a chart:

Nine Varieties of Purebred Labrador Coat Colors

Lab Colors	Color Code	Description
	EEBB	Black, no hidden color
	EEBb	Black with hidden chocolate
	EeBB	Black with hidden yellow
	EeBb	Black with hidden yellow and chocolate
	EEbb	Chocolate with no hidden color
	Eebb	Chocolate with hidden yellow
	eeBB	Yellow with no hidden color
	eeBb	Yellow with hidden chocolate
	eebb	Yellow with chocolate pigment, including the nose and eye rims - a Dudley

So those four colors we see break down into nine different colors when we look at the genetics.

Punnet Squares

A Punnet square makes it easier to calculate what colors and approximate percentages we might get in a litter. The father’s contribution is listed along the top and the mother’s contribution is along the side.

Let’s try combining the genes. For the sake of clarity we’ll start with just the black/chocolate gene. If both parents are black, but they carry the gene for chocolate their code is "Bb".

So we put a "B" and a "b" across the top and a "B" and a "b" along the side.

Here's how the square looks filled in:

In this case the genes have a 25% chance of combining as “BB”, a 50% chance of combining as “Bb” and a 25% chance of combining as “bb”. Only the “bb” would show as chocolate.

If the litter size was large enough—more than 100—you would probably see a distribution of colors fairly close to these percentages. However because litter size is much smaller you could get all blacks or all chocolates or somewhere in between.

Here is yellow vs not yellow:

The EE is basic black. Ee is black that has hidden yellow. And ee is yellow.

Combining the traits

If both parents are black and carry the genes for chocolate and yellow they would be "EeBb" (Ee = hidden yellow, Bb = hidden chocolate). That means they could have black, chocolate, yellow, and/or Dudley puppies.

Below is the Punnet Square combining both "B" and "E" genes. Can you figure out which combinations will be black? Or yellow? Or chocolate? No cheating!

Yeowie!! That looks a lot, but there's really only nine different combinations. The percentages break down like this:

• 25% EeBb
• 12.5% EEBb
• 12.5% EeBB
• 12.5% Eebb
• 12.5% eeBb
• 6.25% EEBB
• 6.25% EEbb
• 6.25% eeBB
• 6.25% eebb

How about the chocolate bred to a yellow that produced all blacks? Was that a mistake?

Well, let’s see. If dad is "EEbb" (chocolate) and mom is "eeBB" (yellow), all of their offspring will be "EeBb". The dominant form of “E” is not yellow and the dominant form of “B” is black. So, all of the puppies will be black, but will carry the genes for both chocolate and yellow.

Determining parents' color

You can also work backwards from the puppies to the parents. For example, if a black male has even one chocolate puppy in his lifetime, he is "Bb". If he’s been bred to a few yellows and never produced a yellow puppy, he's probably "EE". However we wouldn’t know for sure without testing.

If a yellow female has been bred to a black male and they had black and yellow puppies, but no chocolates, what would you conclude? Well, we know dad carries yellow, because he had yellow puppies. But dad's yellow is hidden so he’s "Ee" and mom is yellow so she’s "ee".

Because dad is black he must have at least one "B", but we don’t know anything about the other in the pair. He might carry chocolate while the mother doesn’t have it or she might carry chocolate and he doesn’t. Or it could be that neither carry chocolate. Or they could both carry chocolate and Mother Nature just didn’t pair the genes for the chocolate to appear. So dad would be "EeB?" and mom is "eeB?" (where the ? means an unknown gene). However if mom has a chocolate nose she would be "eebb".

The "Silver" Labs

Several decades ago a man decided to breed Labs to Weimaraners to get silver-colored "Labradors." Obviously these are not purebred Labradors despite what some owners think.

Purebred Labradors are "DD". Weimaraners are "dd" which dilutes their coat color. When these two breeds are bred together you get puppies that are "Dd". This cross-breed looks similar to Labs, including the coat color, however they carry the dilution gene ("d"). When they're bred together they can produce the so-called "silver Lab" depending on the color of the original Labrador. Other variations are called charcoal (diluted black) and champagne (diluted yellow).

Unfortunately AKC has allowed these cross-bred dogs to be registered as purebred Labrador Retrievers. It is a mess that needs cleaning up.

Coat Mismarks

When the St. John's Dog (our Labs' ancestor) arrived in Britain, there were too few of them to keep the line pure. Some were bred to Pointers or Flat-coated retrievers, others to Collies or Rottweilers.

The St. John's Dog had strong genes and often produced puppies that looked like a SJD despite the other parent. However some characteristics of those other dogs were added to the gene pool. Most have been bred out, but surprises pop up now and again. We call these dogs mismarks.

Most common is a small white spot on the chest. It's allowed, but not desirable. Gray hairs from scars or aging are not penalized.

However tan markings, such as Dobermans have, and brindling are disqualifying traits. As is any color other than black, yellow with black nose and eye rims, or chocolate.

Here is a brindle. These are tan or brown dogs with slender black stripes. The color is seen most often in Boxers, Great Danes, and Greyhounds.

Pixabay/Olle August

Some Labs have tan markings like a Doberman or Rottweiler.

Pixabay/Yama Zsuzsanna Márkus

Others are splashed with white or sometimes with black. It's not common, but I have seen a Lab with a white blaze on his face and another that had white toes. Both dogs are purebred Labradors.

Most interesting of all are the chimeras. This is a rare genetic mutation that happens when two embryos fuse together. In this case, it looks like an embryo of a black puppy fused with a embryo of a yellow puppy.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk

A good Lab is a good Lab, no matter the color

Now you know about Labrador coat colors, both the colors you see and the ones that are hidden. You know Labradors come in black, yellow, or chocolate and sometimes have hidden copies of those colors.

How many unique crosses do you think there are, taking into account the seen and unseen colors? For example, you could breed a black Lab with hidden chocolate to a black Lab with hidden yellow. Or a black Lab with hidden yellow to a yellow Lab with hidden chocolate. Or two black Labs and neither has hidden yellow or chocolate. So these are three to start off, but there are a lot more.

Hint #1: Use the color shorthand. For example, "EEBB" for black with no hidden color. Or "EEBb" for black carrying hidden chocolate.

Hint #2: Be methodical. List all the black variations. Then pair the first variation with each of the variations. Then pair the second variation with each of the variations. And so on.

Frequently asked questions:

Can two black labs have yellow puppies?
Yes, but only if both parents carry the hidden yellow gene.

What color Labradors can you get?
Labrador coat colors are black, yellow, or chocolate. Black is wholly black, although it may have a small white spot on it's chest. Yellow can range from nearly white to a rich orangish red. Chocolates are supposed to be, well, chocolate.

Is there a coat color test for Labrador Retrievers?
Yes, several laboratories can test for color. I use DDC because they are helpful, with a fast turnaround time, and are less expensive than some other labs.

Does Labrador coat color matter?
For a pet, no, it doesn't matter. However if you plan to compete in the show ring, it can matter if the dog has any mismarks. Also the so-called "Silver Labs" tend to have color dilution alopecia which is a genetic condition affecting their skin and coat.

Do different color Labradors have different personalities?
Years ago there were rumors that chocolate Labs were hyperactive, yellows were lazy, and blacks were the best of all. Having had many Labs over the years, I've never seen temperament connected to coat color.

Which color of Labrador is the best to buy?
It depends on your preference. Some people say chocolate Labs don't live as long, but my chocolate boy lived to 17. I know someone whose black Lab lived to 18.

Do white Labrador retrievers exist?
Not really. The "polar bear white" Labs that some people advertise are really just a yellow dog with very light pigment.

Should I get a silver Lab?
I would advise against it. They're not purebred Labradors, but have been mixed with Weimaraner. Plus they're prone to color dilution alopecia and are often more expensive than purebred Labs.

Genetic terms

Genes
The basic unit of inheritance. Genes are passed from parents to children and contain the information needed to specify physical and biological traits.

Alleles
Different variants of genes. Each parent provides one allele of a pair.

Chromosomes
Thread-like strands that contain hundreds, or even thousands, of genes

Dominant vs Recessive
If one allele in a pair always makes a trait appear, that allele is called "dominant." The other allele is recessive. For example, a Lab might be black (a dominant trait) and carry an unseen chocolate allele (a recessive trait). The dominant allele is shown as a capital litter and the recessive allele is shown as a lower-case letter, for example Bb.

Genotype
The entire set of genetic material of a dog (or cat, person, etc).

Phenotype
The physical characteristics of something living, especially those characteristics that can be seen

Homozygous
The same alleles of a gene from both the parents (written as two capital letters, such as BB)

Heterozygous
Different alleles of a gene from the two parents (for example, Bb)