So, why not chocolate?

[LuvBrown]

Just because you don't prefer the color doesn't mean you should make disparaging remarks about it. And the comment "leftovers from yellows and blacks" would just tell me that they have no friggin' clue about anything. Chocolates are preferred just fine with breeders. Just not all breeders. I find it very interesting when I read up on some of the stories on how the older breeders got their start, many started with chocolate. Yes, they are a bit harder to show...quality is slowly coming up to par with the blacks and yellows...judges are starting to wake up and realize that there is nothing wrong with the color. Breeders focused on chocolate are making great strides in improvements on the lines.

I don't like yellow labs, doesn't make them inferior though.

[HersheyK's Dad]

What everyone has said is obviously true. HK is not a hyper dog, nor is she anything close to agressive. But she would never make it in the show ring. She is too small, and built more like the field strain that the bench strain that seems to dominate the show ring. That doesn't change a thing relative to her being a great companion and house pet.

[windycanyon]

I would have given you good recommendations in AK for choc breeders. There are some who are members of our breed club here in the NW. You may have had to wait awhile for a litter though.

[windycanyon]

This! Although now with the widening gene pool and the gradual acceptance of chocolates it is getting easier to find a reputable breeder. Old school people (my husband is one of them - lol still prefer the black and yellow. My DH had competed in Field Trials and says you almost never see a chocolate. He takes my girl hunting and jokes that he hopes he doesn't see anyone he knows or he'll be laughed at!!! As far as temperament my chocolate is the most laid back of my whole crew.

Actually we are seeing more and more chocs at hunt tests and field trials around the country. It'll take time, but the gene pool is improving slowly. Just have to find people breeding for the whole package and not just bits and pieces. The one breeder up in Eagle River has multiple CH/MACH dogs btw (all colors now but used to be predominantly choc/black).

[jen124]

I'm going to go for a JH at least with Mabel once the pups are born and gone (so we have a while!) I have tried conformation, competed in Rally and obedience but the only time she truly lights up is when she hunts!!!!!! She LOVES it!!!!!!! So I think if I can figure it out we are going to give it a shot! Nice to see the chocolates working there way into that venue because they are my favorite (just don't tell my others!!!!!!!!) LOL

[Paddysmom]

Willy is a striking boy.

[Alaskalab]

It is nice to see chocolates making a comeback. The breeder I got my black from has started showing her chocolate male and he is doing pretty good so far. I did check out the breeder in Eagle River as she seemed to be the only one here that has chocolates. I think she told me it was a 2 year wait since she only had a litter a year. My husband had lost his other chocolate male and that seemed too long. That is ok though. We found a wonderful breeder on the east coast, where our family is, so it is a good excuse to travel for a pup. Thank you, Willy is handsome and wonderfully trained. He doesn't like dominant dogs and there is only one person I have seen him dislike. He is not a cuddly dog and prefers to be left alone when he sleeps. Thankfully the puppy loves to cuddle!

[georgie]

We run hunt tests with our girls & we are starting to see more & more chocolates at the tests. They are doing really well. We train with a man with a chocolate & she is a sweetheart & great in the field. I love labs, all labs, but I prefer black. I think some people just have a preference for color too. Anyway, my whole wardrobe is centered around black labs.

[blackandyellow]

Temperament wise they should be exactly the same as blacks and yellows because they are the same breed. My Brownie was very active, but just as Misha and Homer, maybe just a bit more. She was extremely loving, loyal, gentle, friendly, 100% what a Lab should be.

What my breeder says about chocolate (she introduced the color to her line only a couple years ago) is that the color is very difficult for breeders interested in showing. According to the standard the color should be flat chocolate (like blacks) and not show different tonalities. In reality this is very difficult to achieve because they tend to have multiple chocolate tones on their coats (just like yellow do, except in yellows this is acceptable and normal). Adding to that, the color tends to "burn" very easily when exposed to sunlight making it even more difficult to keep a dog in show condition.

The last factor to consider is that breeding chocolates to the other colors introduces the chances of getting dudleys, which are disqualified for showing (dudley is basically a yellow dog with a "chocolate" skin - meaning light colored eyes and pinkish-liver colored noses)

That being said, I love all Lab colors (the 3 real ones)

[javasmom]

What my breeder says about chocolate (she introduced the color to her line only a couple years ago) is that the color is very difficult for breeders interested in showing. According to the standard the color should be flat chocolate (like blacks) and not show different tonalities. In reality this is very difficult to achieve because they tend to have multiple chocolate tones on their coats (just like yellow do, except in yellows this is acceptable and normal). Adding to that, the color tends to "burn" very easily when exposed to sunlight making it even more difficult to keep a dog in show condition.

The last factor to consider is that breeding chocolates to the other colors introduces the chances of getting dudleys, which are disqualified for showing (dudley is basically a yellow dog with a "chocolate" skin - meaning light colored eyes and pinkish-liver colored noses)

This what I was told also by the yellow/black breeders I have spoken too...that chocolates are still difficult to breed for show because of coat and eye color.

Chocolate is my favorite though and I doubt I will ever have another color.