Silver Lab Puppies: Amazing Facts About The Silver Labrador Retriever

• Origin: Newfoundland, Canada
• Size:Medium-large
• Dog Breed Group: Sporting group
• Purebred: Yes
• Lifespan: 10-12 years
• Height:Male – 21.5 -24.5 inches; Female – 22.5-24.5 inches
• Weight:Male – 65-80 lbs,  Female – 55-70 lbs
• Coat Appearance: Double coat
• Coat Colors: Silver, Grey
• Temperament: Outgoing, active, friendly
• Good With Children: Yes
• Intelligence Level: High
• Good With Pets: Yes under supervision
• Hypoallergenic: No
• Grooming: Moderate
• Shedding: High (seasonal)
• Barking: Low-moderate, Barks when necessary
• Suitable For Apartments: Low
• Need For Exercise: High
• Easy To Train: Yes
• Good For First Time Owners: Moderate
• Health Issues: Eye problems, hereditary myopathy, exercise-induced collapse, luxating patella, hip dysplasia
• Litter Size: 5-10 puppies
• Average Price: $800-$1500 (US)

The British kennel club formalized the Labs as a breed in 1903, and the American Kennel Club recognized them in 1917.

Before this, no breeders ever recorded silver or charcoal or dilute color labs found within their litters, or perhaps, it was then culled at birth, although they were glad to document many other ‘off-color’ labs that deviated from the standard such as chocolates, black, vitiligos, brindles, and tans.

From nowhere, in the 1950s, silver Labradors were advertised by Kellogg’s Kennels for sale in a gun dog magazine, in which they publicized the labs as a litter of ‘rare gray Labradors.’

So, where did they come from?

After a thorough read, we’ve been able to find only informal accounts of the color being seen from the late 1920s onward, and they have been historically described as a ‘diluted chocolate color.’

In the 1960s, the chocolate Labrador became more popular in the USA. Kellogg’s kennels were amongst the first to popularize them in the U.S. on a broad scale.

In the 1980s, Dean Crist (Culo kennels) and Beavercreek kennels (in the 1990s) decided to follow Kellogg’s kennels’ footsteps.

They are specialized in ‘silver’ Labradors, so they bought themselves a couple of dogs (probably descending from Kellogg’s stock).

Dean Crist has stated that ‘silver’ was a ‘dilution of chocolate.’ The extent of the dilution varies, so some more silver, some seem greyer, and others on the borderline of chocolate.

Though it wasn’t until 1987 when the silver color was accepted as a lab registration color. Ever since there have been a lot of disputes about whether silver labs really exist or not.

The AKC later changed the color “silver” to a “shade of chocolate” labs. You can even register silver labs now in AKC under the “Chocolate” category.

Soon after, in the 1990s, Beavercreek kennels, also in the United States, started to produce a new line of these dogs. This variation of Lab began to gain a lot of publicity as they looked like a genuine silver Labrador.

They are medium to large breeds, and gender plays a major role in determining this dog breed’s weight.

Size – An adult male Lab’s height is usually between 22.5 and 24.5 inches, whereas a female Lab’s height is 21.5-24.5 inches.

Weight – A full-grown Male Lab can weigh between 65 & 80 lbs; the female breed could be anywhere around 55 to 70 lbs.

Many have claimed that the average Labrador Retriever lifespan is 12 years to 13 years.

But since this is a healthy breed, Labradors live up to 20 years if taken care of properly. Few dogs are reported to have survived up to 19 years.

According to experts from the University of Sydney, chocolate lab life expectancy is more depressed than their other lab counterparts.

Paul McGreevy, a Professor of Animal Behavior and Animal Welfare Science at the University, says research is going on whether breeding certain pigmentation in Labs is due to any disorder related to the skin’s coloring attribute.

Black Labrador lifespan is ten percent higher than that of chocolate labs.

Except for the color, they are very much like the standard Labs. Apart from being docile, loving, and playful, they are also very possessive about their masters.

Here are a few common characters:

• Eager to Learn New Tricks – Besides exercising, they also express interest in learning new tricks and playing games with their masters.
• Affectionate– They tend to forget their age and love the warmth of their master’s lap even when they grow to be adults.
• Protectiveness – Once they grow close to their owners, it’s tough to make them stay away from them. They grow overprotective about them and even get anxious if a stranger tries to talk to their master.
• Intelligent – Nearly all dogs have this defining characteristic, and they are no different. Lock them up in a room, and you’ll find out how they make their way out. LOL!

How To Train Silver Labs?

The key to getting your pet to learn tricks is patience and consistency. Potty Training would, of course, be your top priority, and it would be best if you train your pet right at an early stage. Once it grows old, you would find it challenging to educate them on the basics.

Few puppies bite their peers and even their owners out of fun and sometimes during the teething period. If you have been bitten in the past, you would recognize that we are discussing some serious stuff.

Do not isolate them, but hold back, giving them attention when they bite you or a friend. They should be aware that you dislike biting; gradually, they will discover that it is unacceptable.

Other essential training procedures involve helping the puppy learn to accept commands from their master. If you give them orders regularly, they will memorize this part quite quickly.

Never start serious dog training before 5-6 months from the pet’s birth. Take it slow, and you will definitely be happy with the resolutions.

Grooming And Shedding

Being a Lab, it sheds seasonally & requires regular grooming.

• Brush the coat at least once or twice a week using a comb to take out the dead hairs.
• Trim the nails regularly to prevent overgrowth.
• Check ears regularly for lousy smell or infection. Clean the outer ear only using a damp or moist cloth.
• Regularly check eyes as well.
• Wash it once in 2 months and occasionally during shedding time using a high-quality dog shampoo.
• It is recommended to brush the teeth daily using pet toothpaste. Giving a positive experience of grooming makes your puppy stay happy & healthy.

Silver Lab Health Problems

Usually, dogs with recessive alleles suffer from coat problems; they suffer from massive hair loss. They also sometimes inherit genetic disorders and health problems like hip dysplasia, luxating patella, etc.

• Eye Problems –With age, the eyesight of these Labs grow dull. Cataract, retinal atrophy, and retinal dysplasia are few common eye problems they face.
•      Hereditary Myopathy –This is a rare disease that causes a deficiency in type II muscle fiber. This directs to an inability to walk correctly, and at times the pet is seen hopping peculiarly.
•      Exercise-Induced Collapse – Few Labs were notified to have collapsed after a short period of exercise. This leads to hyperthermia, weakness, and disorientation in the pet.
•      Luxating Patella – This condition is when the kneecap dislocates from the usual position; the condition disrupts the dog’s gait.

They suffer from Obesity since they are lazier than the other breeds. You must keep your pet engaged, and exercising should be made obligatory daily.

They love swimming so you can even get them to swim for 20 minutes every day. Healthy or Not, you must make it a point to take your pet to the vet for a routine checkup – Prevention is always better than cure! Make sure to have your puppy registered for pet insurance, which will bear his medical expenses.

Many owners out there may wish to feed their pets with the best quality food available in the market. But it is tough to judge food brands available these days. Consult a vet before choosing a food for your puppy.

Start feeding them with dry kibble when they are more than 8-9 months old. They mostly have a huge appetite, so you must keep a close watch on your pet’s feeding habits right from the day you bring it home.

The other way is to feed them raw meat and bones after one year.

Lab puppies need to be fed four times a day, while for adults, you can provide only two times. For puppies, divide the diet into 4 meals and maintain a 3-hour gap between each meal.

An average lab weighing 60 pounds may need 4 to 5 cups of food every day. Divide the food into two portions and feed them morning and evening.

Do not overfeed your pet if you want to avoid obesity issues, as discussed earlier in this article.

Must Read: Best Dogs Foods For Labs And Feeding Methods

• They are actually claimed as Chocolate Labs with a dilution gene that gives the coat a grey-silver appearance.
• They are waterproof. Just Kidding! Their double-layered coat allows them to withstand even the coldest water.
• Except for their color, they have the exact same characters and behavior as a Retriever. They are similar in terms of energy, temperament, and personality.
• It is sometimes termed as the money-making dog for some breeders. Many owners take pride in these pets’ unique colors and may even charge high prices while selling it off.
• They are not recognized as a pure breed by AKC (American Kennel Club)and most other Kennel Clubs.
• To produce pets with the silver color, breeders try breeding the dogs within close relatives.

Coat Color And Controversy

The coat color of this dog is always controversial. Many believe they are not purely bred labradors. They believe the’ gene was introduced by some breeders from the dog breed Weimaraner.

AKC recognizes them with registration as chocolate labs with dilute chocolate coat color, and they are not a recognized breed in the United Kingdom though they can be registered.

They are sometimes referred to as charcoal Labradors also, and that too is a dispute. The coat colors of silver and charcoal lab result from a dilute gene(‘d’ gene from the allele gene pairs) transfer to the successive generation.

This recessive gene has more contribution to the champagne labs’ coat color and chocolate coat labs.

But breeders claim that they have control over these dog breeds’ coat color as they could avoid the passing of this dilute gene by carefully matching the parent labs.

And now, for science!

You might remember studying dominant and recessive genes in school, which describes certain traits’ inheritance patterns. Dominant genes are the more “influential” and will express themselves regardless of even partnered with a recessive gene.

On the other hand, recessive genes are weaker and can only express themselves only when two copies of the gene are present, i.e., if they partner with another recessive gene.

For instance, let’s take humans. Blue eyes are the most famous example of a recessive gene. A child can only have blue eyes in one of two ways:

1. When both parents have blue eyes.
2. Regardless of their eye color, both of their parents carry the recessive gene.

This means that two black-eyed parents can potentially have a blue-eyed child. They have a 1 in 4 chance as long as they both carry the blue eyes’ recessive gene.

Similarly, a Labrador’s coat color is dependent on a few genes that are being turned on and off. The ones that dictate color in Labs are the B and E genes. Other genes like the A gene gives a dog’s coat a solid color and the T gene for ticking to always turn off.

Every Labrador puppy inherits two ‘bee’ genes, one from each parent.

• The big ‘B’ (the dominant gene) and it causes a black labrador coat.
• We label small b (this is the recessive gene), and it causes a chocolate or brown labrador coat.

There are three different combinations of ‘bee genes’ that a Labrador can inherit, one from his parents.

• B.B.
• Bb
• bb

Meanwhile, the “Eee” genes act as a “masking” gene (epistatic gene)

• The big E (the dominant gene) and it does not impede the ‘bee’ gene
• While the little ‘e’ (the recessive gene) has the potential to ‘switch off’ or mask the ‘bee’ gene that would otherwise give us black or brown coats. The result is a yellow Lab.

There are three possible combinations of Eee genes in Labs.

• Two dominant genes (E.E.)
• One of each (Ee)
• Two recessive genes (ee)

Only the third will be yellow. In the first and second dogs, the dog’s color will be determined by its ‘bee’ genes, and the E gene will switch off the gene.

Simply, remember this, if the dog has E.E. or Ee = non-yellow coat, which may be black or chocolate, the color is based on what is there at the B gene, but if the dog has recessive yellow color=ee then it will always be yellow no matter what is present at the B gene.

Genetically, there are 9 possible combinations of coat color gene pairings which result in the following coat colors:

EEBB, EEBb, EeBB, EeBb = this is a Black Lab – the presence of one ‘E’ and ‘B’ will always be black.

eeBB, eebb, eeBb = A Yellow Lab – the expression of an ‘ee’ pairing means the Labrador will coat color yellow irrespective of any other gene combination.

EEbb, Eebb = Chocolate Lab – With a ‘bb’ pairing and at least one ‘E’ present, the Labrador will always be chocolate.

The genotype is the genetic makeup.

The phenotype is the color or appearance of the dog.

How does the Silver Lab come from?

So, now the million-dollar question arises, ‘how does the Silver Lab come from then?’

Well, it’s the least discussed gene that is the culprit for creating the Silver Labrador Retriever.

The coat is likely caused by recessive gene expression. Just like blue eyes, if two Labrador parents have the ‘dee’ genes, they can produce a Silver Lab. The ‘D’ gene is always present in labs, in a pairing of two ‘D.D.’ alleles. The Big D and little d.

These dee genes have the potential to override all the other colors, though in a subtler manner.

The dee genes act as a sort of switch. The ‘big D’ usually switches coat color to full strength, and the ‘little d’ changes it to ‘dilute mode.’ But, as we know, genes come in pairs. And big D overrules little d.

So, genetically there are 3 different possible outcomes:

1: D.D. pairing = no dilute gene present- solid color

2: Dd pairing = one dominant ‘D’ present and one recessive ‘d’ allele present- solid color, dilute factored.

3: dd pairing = 2 dilute’d’ genes present – dilute colored Labrador

Traditional Lab breeders reveal that pure Labradors can only have a ‘D.D.’ pairing and never a dilute color carrying the ‘dd’ pairing.

Only when ‘little d’ is paired with another ‘little d’ will affect, and they dilute the Labrador’s coat color that carries them.

Technically this means that you can have this “silver” characteristic across all three colors:

• A Black Lab which has diluted genes is called a “Charcoal Lab.”
• A Yellow Lab, which has diluted genes, is called a “Champagne Lab.”
• A Chocolate Lab, which has diluted genes, is called a “Silver Lab.”

As mentioned earlier, they are sometimes high in Price owing to their coat color; but this should not give you the idea that this breed is overpriced.

Few breeders take advantage of the uniqueness to impose heavy rates, but that doesn’t emboss them to be an expensive pet choice.

The Average Price for this breed is $800 – $1500. Some customers are willing to pay higher when they are smitten by their uniqueness.

Since this is not a pure breed (most breeders claim so), it would be better if you bring home a puppy after confirming its health, vaccination details, or medical history.

Every dog is unique in its own way; some may look cute, some might be extraordinarily intelligent, and some may be rare. All that matters towards the end while buying or adopting a pet is whether you are willing to put in the effort to give it a comfortable environment.

Silver Lab Breeders

Breeders of this pet are just rare like the breed itself; though these dogs are famous, breeding them requires a lot of skill and accuracy. Owing to this factor, many breeders charge a lot for this pet.

If it is a best friend that you are buying a pet from, then you can skip this portion, but it is always good to know the basics while purchasing Lab Puppies.

• A good breeder does not have vast information about all kinds of dogs; instead focuses on just a few types.
• Always inquire about the puppy; if the breeder gives you a satisfactory reply, that’s worth believing; then, you can consider purchasing from him.
• Ensure that the pup is healthy, and if the breeder is willing to sign on health-guaranteeing papers, it would be best.
• A good breeder is caring and takes up responsibility for the well being of his pets.

Make a personal visit to the breeder’s place, let your wish to see the pet first be known, and inquire about how to take care of your pup. A good breeder will always happily help you with all your doubts.