Labradors are a friendly British breed and another strain of retriever dogs. You can find Labs in various different colors, including yellow, brown, black, and cream.
What happens though, when breeding a yellow Lab with chocolate Lab? This guide will help answer that question and more below. Let’s get to it!
The General Traits and Behavior of the Parents
To start, let’s take a look at the parents. This is an essential first step in breeding dogs because it helps prevent issues down the road. Such problems may include not being able to successfully get the parents to mate.
Yellow Labs: Temperament and Behavior
Yellow Labradors are the ‘original’ British breed. Most of them still carry their dominant gene and are considered a pure breed.
As such, yellow Labs tend to show all the basic and universal traits known about Labradors. They’re calm, friendly, outgoing, and people pleasers.
Chocolate Labs: Temperament and Behavior
On the other hand, chocolate Labs have somewhat of a bad reputation. They often show signs of stubbornness and aggression. They’re actually harder to train than their yellow peers.
While choco or brown Labs may still be just as friendly as yellow Labs, many owners claim that their behavior turns to the worst at some stage in their dog life.
The Selection Process of the Parents
Selecting the right breed of parents is another important part of breeding any dog. It’s also considered a preventative measure and a precaution against creating ill, disease-ridden litter.
A good first step is to perform a health screening on both parents. The golden rule is, of course, not to breed a dog that has any hereditary issues since they’ll inherit them into their puppies.
Make sure that both parents take a trip to the vet for a thorough examination before they mate as well. In case there had been a sort of complication in past pregnancies, let the veterinarian know of them.
Either parent needs to show the universal qualities of Labradors and meet the physical appearance of the breed too. If you can, get your Labs DNA-tested so you can learn their genetic composition and know what color litter to expect.
Breeding Outcomes: a Yellow Lab with a Chocolate Lab
Depending on the genetics of the parents, you’ll be able to know what color Labs you’ll be blessed with.
Understanding, for instance, that two genes are responsible for the coat color of Labradors is vital. One gene is dominant and the other is recessive. If you find it hard to figure out which is which, you can use an online Labrador color genetics calculator to help you.
You can easily insert the genetic composition of the two parents you have, and let the internet tell you what color breed out of the six possible outcomes you’ll end up with.
Summary
Breeding a yellow lab with chocolate lab may result in a beautiful collection of colored puppies, ranging from yellow, brown, and in rare cases, black.
The important factor to remember, though, is that you perform a full health screening test on both parents before they mate. This is essential to prevent newborns from having any genetic or health-related issues.