color of labs

[newhunter1]

Now I know there are plenty of people on here who look down on labs but that is what fits my type of hunting. So i was talking to a few different people and have heard something I am not sure if its true or not so I'd like some opinions. Does the color of a lab make it a better hunter? I heard black labs are the best at hunting but not as good at being a house type dog. Yellow labs are much better in the house then in the field hunting and that Chocolate labs are a great mix of both. I have always prefered a choclate lab over the other two for purely looks. So is there any truth to this theory? Thanks for the info.

[kerplunk105]

No, no, and no

[postoakshorthairs]

The only thing i've ever heard along those lines were that you had a harder time finding a chocolate lab that was a good hunter. I think the reason for the misconseption is that there were plenty of people breeding labs to get the chocolate color and not for ability/conformation. I would guess the people breeding labs for the right reason see no difference in the ability specifically based on color.

[ezzy333]

They all are the same dogs and can come from the same litter. Color is external but the things that make a dog is internal.

I don't think we have a lot of people on here that look down on a lab. Some have opinions as to what dog is best for certain activities and I think we all can agree the breeds are different but really difficult to say one is better than the other at all things.

Ezzy

[3Britts]

I know that I don't look down on labs, just the rug of hair that they leave on my carpet everytime my friend brings his over to play with my britts.
If they would just learn how to weave those rugs, I would be happy to display them around the house.

[reba]

They must have soild color dark noses. Avoid anything else.

[BAYDOG]

Black is the dominate color, so there will be more, as said above, one litter can have all three colors. I would avoid the "New" colors they are claiming. The silver, (some say there is a wiem in the woodpile), the reds or whites. They are getting real popular, and most are breeding now just to get these colors with no regard to anything else, kinda going the way or the Old Irish Setter's.

[mountaindogs]

Red is not new, actually the original yellow. White is just pale yellow, though I am less fond of it myself they are both actually considered yellow. Finding well bred, emotionally stable, healthy, driven but managble and highly trainable labs is what should be important. And you will find that this is much harder than it may seem at first with all the lab breeders out there. There are ALOT of health concerns to consider in this breed, so above all do your homework and look for parents with clearances.

Silver requires a dilution gene, and it's occurance is in question by many. I will hold my opinion of silver to myself beyond this.

[Ruffshooter]

I have never seen any one on here looking down on labs. There are more Black labs than any other color so it stands to reason that there would be more good hunting dogs in the numbers. All the rest you have heard is pure bunk. One thing that may stick is there is a smaller pool of choclates and many non hunter like them also so there are folks that breed them just to sell to those folks and do not worry about hunt. Any hunting dog person worth their salt looks for hunt, health and if you get your color great. of course this is all my opinion.

[Dave C]

Here in the UK there are very few Chocolate Labs in the hunting field as they dont have enough working pedigree in them yet, they are mainly bred by the showing fraternity as they are worth alot more, the Blacks and Yellows are exactly the same although we are seeming to get more heavy boned dosile peg dogs around at the minute, i prefere the more finer boned athletic dogs, as they suit my hunting and have to cover alot of ground.
I am just starting to train my 5 month old black bitch, she is from Hard hunting pure working parents, Gamekeeper bred for hunting all fur and feather, also deer tracking.
So fingers crossed.

Dave.

[mountaindogs]

Color has nothing to do with behavior but the middle yellow color is about the exact color of a flooded corn field or millet field. Our lab does not hunt in a blind usually, she actually lays down on top of the pit ledge and marks her ducks . In a pile of brush my spouse whacks down and put there for her.