What colours do Labradors come in? The Labrador Retriever is a dog breed with very old roots that go back to Newfoundland (a Canadian island in the Atlantic Ocean). It belongs to the Retriever family, which was first developed and bred in the United Kingdom from the 19th century onwards.

Originally bred as everyday working dogs that helped fishermen bring in their catch, today the Labrador is one of the most loved and widespread breeds in the world. It stars in TV adverts and countless films, and it is the very image of the gentle, affectionate dog.

Its temperament and character make it a favourite with children, who find in it the perfect playmate and a companion to grow up with.

The Labrador is a dog of many talents and skills. It is also used in dangerous situations: thanks to its distinctive paws and powerful musculature it is the rescue dog par excellence, which is why it works with the police and fire services, as a drug and explosives detection dog, and in pet therapy.

Unlike many other breeds, Labrador Retrievers come in three coat colours.

Recognised Labrador colours: black, yellow and brown (chocolate).

This comes down to some “complex” genetics that will take us back to Mendel and his famous laws of inheritance, for those who have forgotten them.

Surprised? Read on to discover the genetic combinations behind each colour!

Black Labrador: the dominant colour

Although many people think of it as the least common and least popular colour, the black Labrador was the first type in the history of this important breed, and its original founder.

Personally, I think the black Labrador is the best: a colour for true lovers of the breed, and far less delicate than the recessive colours.

The black Labrador can therefore be described as the “forefather” of the breed, which was developed in the early 1800s by a few English aristocrats. Among them was the Earl of Malmesbury, whose dogs led to the birth of Buccleuch Avon, the first known Labrador and the dog from which the breed has come down to us today.

According to the records available to us, Buccleuch Avon was a direct descendant of the St. John’s dog, which was also black.

At first only black Labradors were kept: a popular belief held that only they could do the daily work. Only later were puppies born with a different coat pigmentation given a chance too (the yellow Labrador), and it was the best decision ever made.

As we know, coat colour is determined by melanin, a pigment produced by specialised cells called melanocytes and stored in small granules called melanosomes.

The colour of the melanosomes depends on the type of melanin they contain. In the coat there are two types: eumelanin, which produces black or brown, and phaeomelanin, which produces yellow.

Black depends on specific genetic conditions: the dog needs at least one B gene (together with at least one E gene). These are the genotypes that produce this pigmentation:

BBEE genotype, with the dominant B gene (black)
BbEE genotype: again a black Labrador, but carrying the recessive brown gene (b), so a black dog that passes on the colour of the chocolate Labrador
BbEe genotype: the dog carries both the recessive brown and yellow genes, but its coat is black. A black that carries yellow and brown
BBEe genotype: again black, with recessive yellow. A black that carries yellow.

Among the most famous black Labradors are Kupros Master Mariner, found behind virtually every modern Labrador pedigree; Buccleuch Avon, the first known black Labrador; and Connie Paulgrave, known simply as Connie (Koni), the dog owned by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

All the different shades come from combinations of black, red and white. The study of coat colour variation is the most complex and fascinating subject for a Labrador breeder, because it helps them select their bloodline as carefully as possible.

The study of coat colour variation began around the early years of the last century, alongside the development of genetics after Mendel’s laws were rediscovered.

In the Labrador, two gene pairs (E and B) control coat colour. The first (E or e) decides between the dark colours, black and chocolate, and the light colour, yellow.

Labradors with the EE genotype (homozygous dominant) or the Ee genotype (heterozygous) will be dark (black or chocolate), while Labradors with the ee genotype (homozygous recessive) will be light (yellow or Dudley), because the e gene stands for “NO COLOUR” (yellow).

The second gene pair (B or b) affects the dark colour. These genes decide whether a dark dog is black (the dominant colour) or brown (recessive). A BB (dominant) or Bb Labrador will therefore be black.

To build their genetic makeup, Labrador puppies inherit one E or e from the mother and one from the father, and in the same way one B or b from each parent.

B = Black
b = Brown
E = Colour
e = No colour (yellow)

A Labrador can be BB, Bb or bb combined with EE, Ee or ee

Because the two gene pairs are combined, the possible combinations are:

BBEE – Black Labrador
BBEe – Black Labrador that carries yellow
BbEE – Black Labrador that carries brown
BbEe – Black Labrador that carries yellow and brown
BBee – Yellow Labrador
Bbee – Yellow Labrador that carries brown
bbEE – Brown Labrador
bbEe – Brown Labrador that carries yellow
bbee – not accepted by the standard (yellow Labrador with light “Dudley” pigmentation)

The eebb combination produces a Dudley Labrador: a yellow Labrador with the pigmentation of a chocolate Labrador (brown nose and eye rims).

This type of Labrador is not recognised by the current official breed standards, although it is very endearing!

In the Labrador there are 10 possible matings between dogs of different phenotypes (visible colour). But because precise checks such as DNA profiling or colour tests are often not carried out, you can end up with as many as 81 genetic combinations.

This is also because, in the past, mistakes were often made when filling in litter registration forms, with the wrong colour recorded.

For example, until not long ago a yellow Labrador might be described as cream, white, blond, gold, biscuit, champagne… depending on the breeder’s taste, which caused no end of doubt and confusion.

Beware of scams: the Silver Labrador is not recognised and cannot be considered a Labrador with an ENCI (FCI) pedigree.