# Yellow Labradors



## pstocky (Jul 31, 2014)

I've been looking at breeds and breeders for a new pup. I have a question that I'm having trouble coming up with an answer for. 

Why are most yellow labs not yellow? 

If I were to get a yellow lab, I wouldn't really want a white one. Maybe I'm just ignorant to the breed but I know I have seen YELLOW labs before. Can anyone give me some insight? I know there's a lot of "fox reds" but are standard yellow labs really white??


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## Rainmaker (Feb 27, 2005)

Maybe it's where you're looking? A fair amount of websites showcase pet type breeders who.often focus on a particular shade, the extremes of yellow being either red or almost white. I frankly don't see the majority of yellows in real field litters being either extreme. Mostly I see just yellow with normal variances in shade. Yellow pups can start out pretty light but darken some as they get their adult coats too. At tests/trials, mostly I see yellow, not a lot of "white" unless we just aren't agreeing on what white is.


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## Ghadarits (Jan 21, 2013)

Most yellows start off lighter than they end up. My yellows turned much darker in a year and a half. A woman told me when she was a pup that she would end up being close to the color of her ears at the time and she was right.


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## schusker (Feb 4, 2014)

They turn more yellow with age....see pic


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## Karen Klotthor (Jul 21, 2011)

I breed my yellow girl to a yellow male. Some pups were darker than others but none white or fox red. Several who looked at the pictures that were posted thought they were fox reds. The pictures made the pups look darker on some and light on others. BUt all were ture yellow colored.


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## Karen Klotthor (Jul 21, 2011)

I breed my yellow girl to a yellow male. Some pups were darker than others but none white or fox red. Several who looked at the pictures that were posted thought they were fox reds. The pictures made the pups look darker on some and light on others. BUt all were ture yellow colored.


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## Jacob Hawkes (Jun 24, 2008)

http://www.huntinglabpedigree.com/pedigree.asp?id=64893

I wish I had about a dozen of these guys.

http://www.findretrievers.com/search/resultsdog.php?Registration_Number=SR34850202

Wish I had a dozen of these girls. 

So if these extreme colors are too much for you, maybe you don't know what you're looking for.


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## P J (Dec 10, 2009)

The one in my avatar is yellow. Definitely not white or fox red.


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## fishin444 (Apr 23, 2012)

As been posted pretty much by all. There are many color variations of the yellow lab. Yes they do get darker as they get older. Some pictures of my current litters you will see that the pups color are very much the same. My last litter I had two white, two light red, and 3 yellow first picture. Current litters are the other two pictures. My darker pups tend to sell first, and those two white pups went the first day my ad was posted.


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## .44 magnum (Feb 20, 2014)

Labs come in only three colors. Black, Yellow and chocolate. Black is the dominate color of this breed. Back in the time before DNA testing breeders did not breed for color, but for the best dog... and most often that was a Black Lab... today breeders can use the DNA of the the two dogs to predict the color of litters. So a lot more Yellow and Chocolates roam the earth today. 

Why aren't more Labs yellow? I ask why aren't more Labs Black today. So my suggestion is to find a breeder who breeds for the best Labrador, and not for a certain color.


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## 480/277 (Jun 5, 2014)

There are good labs in all colors ( black, yellow, chocolate ), so get a good lab with the characteristics you want and the color you enjoy.....


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## DoubleHaul (Jul 22, 2008)

pstocky said:


> Why are most yellow labs not yellow?


Uh, because they aren't really supposed to be YELLOW? They are really more brownish.

Yellow:








Yellow Labs


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## WindyCreek (Jan 3, 2007)

Mine favorite yellow Lab started out light, ended up much darker and is getting light again as all dogs do in their golden years. I would give anything to have him young again regardless of his color. Enjoy your dog while he or she is with you regardless of their shade of their coat within the three colors for the breed.


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## HPL (Jan 27, 2011)

480/277 said:


> There are good labs in all colors ( black, yellow, chocolate ), so get a good lab with the characteristics you want and the color you enjoy.....


What he said. 
My first lab was black and he was a great dog for what I wanted, but I live in south Texas and mostly hunt dove. The heat during early dove season was really hard on him. My next two, including my current knucklehead have been yellows. Still suffer in the heat, but perhaps not as much and they have the added advantage of being the color of the dried grass in which we often hunt.

HPL


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## dogluvah (Apr 24, 2012)

When I rode horses there was a saying "A good horse is never a bad color". This can easily be applied to Labradors. Given that, most of us still have an initial preference. I love a dark chocolate coat, but if I was given a well bred "white" yellow Lab, I wouldn't turn it down !


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## dgengr (Nov 28, 2012)

480/277 said:


> There are good labs in all colors ( black, yellow, chocolate ), so get a good lab with the characteristics you want and the color you enjoy.....


X2!!!! The best color lab is the one that brings back the duck.... Black, Yellow, Chocolate, Purple, Blue, or Pink enjoy your dog and enjoy the sport.


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## HPL (Jan 27, 2011)

dgengr said:


> X2!!!! The best color lab is the one that brings back the duck.... Black, Yellow, Chocolate, Purple, Blue, or Pink enjoy your dog and enjoy the sport.


What about silver? ;-)


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## LGH (Oct 20, 2013)

Is this yellow red or something in between


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## Dave Burton (Mar 22, 2006)

Classic yellow I think and getting ready to have pups in about 8 days!


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## 2tall (Oct 11, 2006)

Hey OP! The dog in the post above is really nice! If you can PM, send one and get all the info on her.


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## 1tulip (Oct 22, 2009)

Many, many, many years ago... the joke was "If you think you've seen a good yellow run... it's because you haven't watched enough blacks." I believe good breeders have brought forward a robust population of yellow labs and that rhubarb is no longer true. When I first started paying attention to FT's (before there were hunt tests) there were no chocolates of any repute. Look how that has changed!!!

To the OP... just get a good lab with a working pedigree. Please do some study on the differences between the labs bred (predominantly) for conformation shows, and the ones who have (at least some) hunting retriever and/or field trial progenitors. (The world of labs is so polarized, they might as well be different breeds altogether.) If you want a hunting dog, don't go to an exclusively show breeder. There are some determined breeders trying to bridge the gap. But just study up on the pedigree of any litter you like.


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## kelrobin (Aug 12, 2013)

LGH said:


> View attachment 19595
> Is this yellow red or something in between


It's a dark yellow but not a fox red.

This link tells the history of the fox red Labrador and shows the distinctive color. http://penara.com/foxred.html


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## HPL (Jan 27, 2011)

kelrobin said:


> It's a dark yellow but not a fox red.
> 
> This link tells the history of the fox red Labrador and shows the distinctive color. http://penara.com/foxred.html



Interesting that pretty much all the dogs mentioned in the article are show bred.


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## ADB391 (Jan 9, 2014)

My yellow. He's 7.5 months and has gotten a little darker already.

Tony


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## Guest (Aug 1, 2014)

The dog in my avatar has been the same yellow color since he was a pup. His sire is FC AFC Rebel with a Cause and his dam is AFC Bams Liberty Belle MH. Bear earned his Nahra Senior, Master and Grand Master title, than his AKC Senior and Master title and is All age qualified.


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## kelrobin (Aug 12, 2013)

HPL said:


> Interesting that pretty much all the dogs mentioned in the article are show bred.


The person who wrote the article was heavily into showing.


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## pstocky (Jul 31, 2014)

Thanks for taking the time to give all the input. I think I just had a predisposition on what a yellow lab should look like and at the time I wasn't seeing very many darker yellows. And tbh I didn't really know that pups grow a little darker which makes sense.


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## runnindawgz (Oct 3, 2007)

In our pack we have EVERY shade of yellow from light cream to dark red ..... ALL YELLOW .... I like yellow dogs but I am not particular to any shade. As others have said... A GOOD DOG is a GOOD DOG. (We _even _have 1 black dog ha ha )


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## Karen Klotthor (Jul 21, 2011)

The young pup picture above looks like it could be a picture of my new pup. Mom looks like the middle pic. Nice looking bunch above.


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## polmaise (Jan 6, 2009)

I'm hoping for a 'Tartan' one to be produced  But personally couldn't care what color it was ,as long as it does the business.
This bundle is our last bunch and I'm more than happy with them


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## runnindawgz (Oct 3, 2007)

Karen Klotthor said:


> The young pup picture above looks like it could be a picture of my new pup. Mom looks like the middle pic. Nice looking bunch above.


Thanks ... Ken, that young pup is in fact the son of the middle bitch... Is your “red” pup from “FC AFC CAFC Copper” linage? 

I have a bit of a yellow dog “addiction” I suppose... I actually have 2 more that I didn't put photos up.


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## pstocky (Jul 31, 2014)

runnindawgz said:


> In our pack we have EVERY shade of yellow from light cream to dark red ..... ALL YELLOW .... I like yellow dogs but I am not particular to any shade. As others have said... A GOOD DOG is a GOOD DOG. (We _even _have 1 black dog ha ha )


 Great pics! The second is my fav


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## pstocky (Jul 31, 2014)

And why'd you leave out a couple??


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## ADB391 (Jan 9, 2014)

runnindawgz said:


> In our pack we have EVERY shade of yellow from light cream to dark red ..... ALL YELLOW .... I like yellow dogs but I am not particular to any shade. As others have said... A GOOD DOG is a GOOD DOG. (We _even _have 1 black dog ha ha )


Those are some good looking dogs!

Tony


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## copterdoc (Mar 26, 2006)

I'm glad that as a black dog owner, I don't have need to bother with such nonsense.

And besides, all those yellow dogs wish they were black.


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## LGH (Oct 20, 2013)

Danielle the middle dog is a fine looking animal


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## Todd Caswell (Jun 24, 2008)

BLACK and you never GO BACK, always figured a yeller dog was the last resort in a litter. Dark carpet, tile and hardwood = Black dogs/Black Hair if you don't see it it doesn't exist.....


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## runnindawgz (Oct 3, 2007)

pstocky said:


> And why'd you leave out a couple??





ADB391 said:


> Those are some good looking dogs!
> 
> Tony





LGH said:


> Danielle the middle dog is a fine looking animal


Thanks all ... Yea, I love my yellows  ... I just grabbed a few pics I had on my photo bucket’s 1st page ... here are some of the other 2 yellow girls ... and two more of “Penny” since her good looks made an impression LOL. 
She is FC AFC CAFC “Copper” X Heart & Soul’s Saved, MH QA2 .... 
Cappy: 
Spice: 
Penny (50 lbs of power):


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## PalouseDogs (Mar 28, 2012)

There are too many cute puppy pictures in this thread. Tempting puppy pictures (Will not think puppy. Will NOT think puppy.) should not be allowed in the main forum.


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## ADB391 (Jan 9, 2014)

Mann just made 8 Months...probably around 50 lbs.


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## dgengr (Nov 28, 2012)

PalouseDogs said:


> There are too many cute puppy pictures in this thread. Tempting puppy pictures (Will not think puppy. Will NOT think puppy.) should not be allowed in the main forum.


How could you not pick that yellow ball of cool?????


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## Mark Teahan (Apr 1, 2012)

My boy not sure what an oryx is, last January.


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## Karen Klotthor (Jul 21, 2011)

runnindawgz said:


> Thanks ... Ken, that young pup is in fact the son of the middle bitch... Is your “red” pup from “FC AFC CAFC Copper” linage?
> 
> I have a bit of a yellow dog “addiction” I suppose... I actually have 2 more that I didn't put photos up.


I am a Karen, not a Ken, but I have been called worse. No my pup is out of my girl that has the colaring of you dog in the middle picture. I really do not consider red, but a darker yellow. She is out of GRHRCH Magnolia's Hammerin Hank MH MNH and HRCH Dude and Dixie's Abita Amber MH. I like yellows the best to.


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## Dustin D (Jan 12, 2012)

Could be the lighting and computer screens sometimes too.

My YLM isn't as white as he appears in this photo.









...but if you move your head down by your keyboard or tilt your screen back
you can see more of his true colors. Odd I know.


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## .44 magnum (Feb 20, 2014)

Yellow Labs have great Camo effect...


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## Brandi Weinman (Apr 27, 2012)

I like yellows too.


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## Last Frontier Labs (Jan 3, 2003)

One of my favorites.


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## quackaholic (Aug 26, 2013)

http://www.huntinglabpedigree.com/pedigree.asp?id=1331 
Just sayin he's yellow.


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## Mark Teahan (Apr 1, 2012)

Awesome color for natural camo.


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## duk4me (Feb 20, 2008)

dogluvah said:


> When I rode horses there was a saying "A good horse is never a bad color". This can easily be applied to Labradors. Given that, most of us still have an initial preference. I love a dark chocolate coat, but if I was given a well bred "white" yellow Lab, I wouldn't turn it down !


This reminds me of a time my brother and I were looking at a two yr old racing prospect. We looked at her and I liked her a lot. As we were going to the track for the afternoon my brother said I really don't like her color. I stopped and he said what? For the life of me I couldn't remember what color she was. Buy the best dog that you can afford and color be damned. That said in heat yellow is better and easier on the dog but that would be my only consideration of a dogs color.


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## Langeandrew12 (Jan 5, 2015)

My yellow at ten years old still kicking. Used to be a lot darker but just like us we all get white/grey towards the end.


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