Silver labs?

No, silver is a form of chocolate.  I read the lab standards a few months ago and notice they do not prefer one color (black, yellow, or chocolate/liver) over another so anyone trying to sell "silvers" as special is not ethical.  Same as people who sell all black GSDs for more as "rare" (like labs, the GSD standard does not prefer one color/pattern over another).

Accccckkk ! We see this a LOT in the SOUTH...Hubs came home the other day and asked me if I would call this woman he works with who was bragging on her awesome Silver Lab and how she wanted me to train them for shows , she figured , that since the Breeder made them pay extra for the Silver puppy it was going to Rock the Southern Lab rings.....   I went to friends who breed labs and asked the to help but they knew the breeder and declined... They did NOT want to deal with the crap this person will put on line about you if you bad mouth her kennel.... nuff said for me and I went to the Breeder of the dog in question asking her in a phone call if she ever was lucky enough to get one?? Yes she said, she carefully breeds "only the best" to get this result.  Wow I said anychance of me getting on her watting list??   "Well sure"  she said, " "let me get a pen and paper and I'll write down you name and number and call you when I get the next one"      I specifically asked her if I could show and breed the dog..... " Sure" she said, pausing a minute and then asking " Have you ever shown labs before?"   well no I replied... But how hard can it be??   "Exactly!!"  She was hooked.    Later I emailed her asking for pictures and a conformation( in writting ) that I could show this dog.... she deferred to a slight of hand sceanerio   IF I fed it right, exercised it right, trained it right, socialized it right, took my own lessons and Picked the RIGHT judges ........

I finally emailed her back telling her I was a long time RR breeder and she was a BYB.    She threaten to sue!!  WHY?? I asked, I said I had never shown LABS.....

She was peeved beyond belief.  and seriously what a mouth on that female dog !!   I laughed and told her IF she did not contact this woman I would put an ad in the local paper and explain SILVER was not a show color and that I would make it a point to repeat the ad frequently.

she did call the woman and offer her a small rebate as she explained, the rules apparently were "changing" Silver was not a Ring color anymore and that she needed to spay the dog asap at her expense......

SIGH.........

Bonita of Bwana

Liesje

No, silver is a form of chocolate.  I read the lab standards a few months ago and notice they do not prefer one color (black, yellow, or chocolate/liver) over another so anyone trying to sell "silvers" as special is not ethical.  Same as people who sell all black GSDs for more as "rare" (like labs, the GSD standard does not prefer one color/pattern over another).

Exactly.  I have seen some speculation that they are a cross beteen a weim and a lab, but most of the ones I have seen look like true labs, so I doubt that a bit.  Basically, anyone you see selling these dogs is a BYB, and I would steer clear.   

Silver is not a recognized color for Labs and is not part of, that I know of, the orginal foundation stock. The true colors are Black, Brown, and Yellow, monochromatic. If a Lab has more than one color or is silver, it is not a pure Lab. And I'm not sure how silver got in there, unless someone crossed with a Weimaraner.

Ron, silver falls under liver/chocolate.  There are many that are Weim crosses (and it's obvious other than silver) but there are purebred silvers, AKC registered even.  The issue is that silver should not be considered any more special than the regular chocolate/liver, since the AKC accepts all three colors equally (neither is more desireable than any other), so people selling silver labs for more money are cons, just like people selling solid black or black and red GSDs for more money (a German Shepherd can be any color but white, then it's a White Shepherd).  Labs can also have a white spot on the chest, but it it is not desireable (unlike GSDs who often have one and it doesn't matter).

 As said above they are not an AKC recognized color, and from what I understand it's a version of "chocolate"... not sure if that's true.  The other aspect as that they've apparently been breeding choclates to weims to get the dilute, also not sure that it's true.

Oddly enough, walking my weimaraner yesterday I got stopped and asked if he was a "blue lab" that he (this guy who stopped me) has been hearing about.  I said no... he's not, he's a weimaraner.  He insisted... that he had to be a blue, as he's seen the other colored labs and that he (Logan) MUST be the "rare blue".  How do you argue with ignorance?  Anyway... it was a new one for me!  I hadn't even heard of a blue labs till then!  And no, not a recognized AKC color, either :)

Sera_J

How do you argue with ignorance?

You don't

You try to explain but people are so convinced that they are right and just don't care about anything you're saying, so you let them believe what they already do and walk away. And weims and labs look so alike...

p.s. I have to say that I've seen only pics of these silver labs, but I like them.. A lot...
 

kaluha

Sera_J

How do you argue with ignorance?

 

You don't

You try to explain but people are so convinced that they are right and just don't care about anything you're saying, so you let them believe what they already do and walk away. And weims and labs look so alike...

p.s. I have to say that I've seen only pics of these silver labs, but I like them.. A lot...
 

Are you serious (or were you joking?)?  That weims and labs look alike?  ... cause if so, the labs or weims you've seen are poor representations of their breeds. 

And Silver Lab info:  http://www.woodhavenlabs.com/silverlabs.html

Please be aware, no REPUTABLE breeders will be breeding this color, you are almost guaranteed to have found a puppymill or byb if you buy a silver lab.
 

Sera_J

Are you serious (or were you joking?)?  That weims and labs look alike?

Just joking...  I've grown up with weims...

kaluha

 

Sera_J

Are you serious (or were you joking?)?  That weims and labs look alike?

Just joking...  I've grown up with weims...

WHEW! lol I was hoping you were being sarcastic!

Thanks, Sera. I was going to post that link and you beat me to it.

Again, Silver Labs are not purebred and the opinion on the genetics has not ruled out a crossing with a Weim, somewhere in the past, as Weims do carry the dilution. If the kennels that claimed to have developed it did indeed have a mutation of a coat color in Labs, which I am not ruling out, then it was a mutation and not true to standard. Just as likely, one of the sires or dams could have been crossed and that fact was not disclosed at the time. Also, breeding just for a cosmetic appearance, imo, is not in the best interest of the breed. Best to stick with the traditional colors and proven lines.

Question is, if a silver turns up in a litter, would that not call into question the lines that went into that breeding?

ron2

Question is, if a silver turns up in a litter, would that not call into question the lines that went into that breeding?

I doubt it----the AKC does register "silver" labs, they just consider them chocolates that are not to standard.

Honestly, I don't find it hard to believe at all that silver is a dilute chocolate that pops up in purebreds.  Black and tan and brindle can pop up in purebred labs, other dog breeds have dilute colors and dilute genes are seen all over the place with horses.....

Just stubbled on this thread.  A friend of mine in got a "silver" lab from a breeder in Indiana.  She had nothing but problems with her poor dog.  Lots of alergies and just a really goofy dog mentally (you would have to see to understand)...poor baby passed away at the age of 4 from strange seizures.  No cause was ever found.  To me I thought it looked obvious that this dog had been from a horrible inbred line and no doubt had Weim mixed in at some point.  Plus this dog was HUGE...like a small pony.  Way bigger than any lab I've ever seen.  The dog no doubt came from a byb.  It is unfortunate that my friend didn't have the knowledge to not ever buy a puppy off the internet without any visit or real proof of what she was getting.  She just had it in her head that she wanted a "silver lab".  So sad...

Many years ago, with Field Trial Labs, you rarely saw anything but black and then a few yellows starting doing well and then some more time went by and you saw some chocolates doing pretty well.  The old time pro trainers wouldn't even look at anything but a black dog but as the colors started gaining popularity the good ones started to get bred and the color genetics started to be understood and now look at all the yellows and chocolates out there.  But personally I like black Labs and think color is not something to be bred for in any dog.

Sorry about your friends dog, it's a heartbreaking way to learn a lesson.