10 Labrador Myths Busted

3. You get chocolate Labradors by mating a black Lab to a yellow Lab

There’s a misconception that if a black Labrador mates with a yellow Labrador, their puppies will have coats halfway between yellow and black. And that that’s where chocolate Labs come from. It’s an understandable misunderstanding – after all, it’s pretty much how our human skin tone works. But the pigment in brown fur doesn’t come from black and yellow pigment mixing. Labradors are either black, brown, or yellow, and there’s no spectrum of in-between shades. (But there is a spectrum of shades within yellow, as we’ve just seen!).

In fact, when a black and a yellow Lab become parents, they can have black, chocolate, or yellow puppies, depending on what genes they’re carrying. And the only parents who will never produce chocolate puppies are two yellow Labs. You can find out why, and see potential puppy color charts for every combination of parents in this guide to coat color inheritance.

4. Silver Labradors can’t be AKC registered

One of the most controversial developments in Labrador history has been the surge in number of silver dogs. These Labs are genetically chocolate, but they also carry a color dilution gene, which makes their coat look faded. 25 years ago, dilute Labs were almost unheard of, but since the early 2000s demand for silver Labs has sky rocketed. Dilute black Labs (known as charcoal), and dilute yellow Labs (known as champagne) have also begun to garner attention, but not to the same degree.

Silver Labs are divisive because some people believe the color dilution gene could only have been introduced to the Labrador gene pool by dishonest breeders crossing their Labs with Weimaraners, and then lying about it. Whilst other people are satisfied that the dilution gene was probably always present in small numbers of Labs, but since it’s both rare and recessive, silver puppies would have been few and far between. In the past it would have been far more acceptable than it is today to euthanize any that were born, but the color dilution gene would still be carried into the next generation by some of their siblings.

It’s unlikely we’ll ever know who’s right, but the AKC have decided their position: silver, charcoal and champagne puppies can be registered if they have qualifying pedigree ancestry, but they’ll be registered as brown, black or yellow.

5. Labradors are natural swimmers

There’s an element of truth in this one, but I think it should also come with a word of caution. Most Labradors do love water, and they are physically adapted to be strong and talented swimmers. They’ve got webbed toes for example, to help them paddle. And their oily, double coat traps a bubble of warm air next to their skin while they’re submerged. It’s even thought that their distinctive ‘otter tail’ with its wide base helps them to steer in the water.

But here comes the word of caution. Please don’t be lulled into a false sense of what your Labrador puppy is capable of. You can’t just nudge your Labrador puppy off the bank of a lake, or let them swim into the center of a swimming pool, and assume they’ll be able to swim back to safety. Introduce them to the water gradually, in controlled conditions. And if your Labrador is a reluctant swimmer, this article will help you improve their confidence in the water.

6. Labradors are fat and greedy

Labradors’ reputation is dominated by their appetite. We’ve heard tales of Labradors eating whole sacks of kibble, entire roast chickens, barbecue charcoal, carpet, cell phones, and even light bulbs! A lot of Labradors are very food motivated, and these days we understand how genetics has played a part in that. Researchers have discovered that roughly a quarter of Labs carry a gene called the POMC gene, which causes them to feel hungry even when they’ve recently eaten, and to overeat in response to that sensation. Unluckily for them, they also burn fewer calories whilst resting, so they tend to gain weight easily too.

Not all food-focused Labs have the POMC gene though – some just love their grub! Which is why it’s important to keep all Labradors on an appropriate diet for maintaining healthy weight. If your Labrador wolfs down their dinner and needs some help stretching out mealtimes, Pippa’s got some tips for slowing down their eating speed here.

So in short, a lot of Labs are kinda greedy, but sometimes they just can’t help it. And in any case, we shouldn’t let them get fat!

7. Chocolate Labradors are stupid

This is a really interesting one. On the one hand, there’s no evidence that having brown pigment in their coat directly affects dogs’ intelligence. But lots of Lab owners will attest that chocolates have a personality all of their own. ‘Stupid’ probably isn’t the words they’d use – Pippa certainly wouldn’t. But they do seem to be more distractible, and a little slower to master training games compared to their black and yellow brethren.

The difference has nothing to do with their color though. It’s actually driven by the purpose they were likely to have been bred for. Labradors from working gundog lines are ultra smart. That makes sense, because who doesn’t want a super bright gundog to help them hunt or bring home field trial titles? They also tend to be black. Labradors born into a family service dogs are also super smart, because their ancestors had an important job to do. They also tend to be yellow. The colors are coincidence driven by human tastes and fashions. In fact, a chocolate Lab from working gundog lines or descended from service dogs is going to be just as intelligent. You just don’t see them quite as often. And even a chocolate Lab without any sort of working heritage is going to be far from stupid. Labradors are all clever, relatively speaking!

8. Only Labradors with an AKC certificate are pedigree Labradors

Next, let’s take a look at the significance of being registered with the AKC – also known as being ‘papered’. Can a Labrador without an AKC certificate still call itself a Labrador? Of course! A dog with impeccably documented bloodlines is still the same dog, whether they’re registered with the AKC or not.

AKC registration isn’t a guarantee of quality either. Really it’s nothing more than a certificate of their family tree, and it isn’t always reliable evidence of that, since it relies heavily on trust that breeders have provided accurate information. It’s not an assurance of physical quality or great temperament either. There’s nothing to stop an unscrupulous breeder using pedigree Labs in poor health or with behavioral problems to breed a litter of puppies and register them with the AKC too. In fact, AKC registration is frequently used by puppy farmers to disguise all the ways they’ve failed their dogs and puppies.

Here’s our guide to buying a truly healthy, happy Labrador puppy, with or without papers.

9. Labradors are easy to train

This isn’t exactly a myth. But it’s only half the story. Labradors are incredibly responsive to modern training methods. They’re naturally inclined to give you their attention, and once you have it they’re easily motivated by food to try and work out what you want. They can learn to understand an awful lot of cues and what actions go with them pretty quickly.

The mistake people make is in thinking their Labrador will be quickly trained, and then it’s done. No more training required. But Labs crave mental stimulation. They love problem solving. And they want to hang out with you, doing stuff! Once you’ve mastered the basics together (yes, probably relatively easily) you’ll need to keep going, to feed that appetite for being busy. You could try something like agility, or gundog training. Or teach them training games in the sanctuary of your own home. But you owe it to them to offer them something.

10. Labradors are the perfect family pet

Here’s an incredible Labrador fact: until 2022, Labradors had been the most popular dog breed in the USA for 31(!) years. And the reason they enjoyed such enduring status is because they are great all-rounders. They’re usually affectionate, adaptable, fun-loving, quick to pick up obedience training, good with kids, and friendly with visitors. They are an eminently suitable breed for lots of families ready to commit to owning a dog.

But they won’t be right for everyone. They need lots of exercise and mental stimulation, and they have a strong impulse to want to spend time with people. If you’re not outdoorsy people, or your energy is already spread too thinly to find enough time for training and interacting with them, they will get bored and frustrated. And bored or frustrated dogs are frequently noisy or destructive dogs. You also need to consider their size – big dogs don’t just take up more space, they eat more food, and need larger doses of monthly flea and worm preventatives.

So there you have it

Was there anything in this list you hadn’t realised until now? Is there anything you disagree with? Let us know in the comments box down below.