Differences between Yellow and Black labs?
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I had a friend who owned a chocolate lab. That dog was INSANE. But, it wasn't because he was chocolate, it was because she never exercised him. She only took him outside on a leash to do his business, and then went right back inside. My friend was terrified something would happen to her dog outside because before the lab she had a sheltie who ran out on the street next to her house and got hit by a car and killed.
And you know, she transferred her fears to her dog, before that dog I never before had met a lab that was afraid of the outdoors. Kinda sad, really.
And you know, she transferred her fears to her dog, before that dog I never before had met a lab that was afraid of the outdoors. Kinda sad, really.
Well, there was study done on cockers. reds and golds are more aggressive than blacks which are more agressive than particolors. The scientists weren't sure if it was something about the color gene or whether it was the lineage, but since those are the groups of colors that are shown separately, my guess is that color has become linked to other traits. Not in the literal genetic sense, but in the sense that if a dog is a certain color, it is much more likely to have certain personality traits because most dogs of that color have those traits. That's what I suspect happened to chocolate labs. It doesn't explain the folklore of it though. Though I certainly don't approve of that old Englishman's culling, he was an old man, and from what he told my Dad, he'd put down chocs his whole life, and so had his father, because they were 'crazy'. Since folklore often has some truth to it, I'm kinda curious.
FWIW:
My cousin is a bird hunter. His first bird dog from great field lines was a yellow lab. She was CRAZY. His son has had his chin stitched closed so many times because that big doofus has knocked him down on rocks, tile, barb wire fences...etc. She also never, ever, once stopped moving until she died. Never. Her legs were running full tilt even while she slept. Did I mention that she was CRAZY? She also had great muscle tone and was a dang good bird dog. Somebody poisoned her though...
Bird dog number 2 from the exact same working lines (same sire, different dam). Cletus is a chocolate lab. He is calm. He is lovely. He is smart. He has never knocked the children over. He acts like he is stoned. He is also a dang good bird dog. Just a lot more laid back and takes time to think about where he is putting his feet before he moves them. My kind of dog.
Verdict? Color has nothing to do with temperament. Their lines have something to do with it, but in the end it's all in the individual pup.
My cousin is a bird hunter. His first bird dog from great field lines was a yellow lab. She was CRAZY. His son has had his chin stitched closed so many times because that big doofus has knocked him down on rocks, tile, barb wire fences...etc. She also never, ever, once stopped moving until she died. Never. Her legs were running full tilt even while she slept. Did I mention that she was CRAZY? She also had great muscle tone and was a dang good bird dog. Somebody poisoned her though...
Bird dog number 2 from the exact same working lines (same sire, different dam). Cletus is a chocolate lab. He is calm. He is lovely. He is smart. He has never knocked the children over. He acts like he is stoned. He is also a dang good bird dog. Just a lot more laid back and takes time to think about where he is putting his feet before he moves them. My kind of dog.
Verdict? Color has nothing to do with temperament. Their lines have something to do with it, but in the end it's all in the individual pup.
H
Color has NOTHING to do with what a dog is like...NOTHING AT ALL!
How a dog is bred, raised and trained is all that matters. I've seen crazy yellows and "mellow" yellows. I've seen agressive chocolates and very loving chocolates. I've seen calm blacks and needy blacks. It has to do with breeding, raising, training, etc.....not color....pretty much everything but color plays a part in how ANY dog acts.
How a dog is bred, raised and trained is all that matters. I've seen crazy yellows and "mellow" yellows. I've seen agressive chocolates and very loving chocolates. I've seen calm blacks and needy blacks. It has to do with breeding, raising, training, etc.....not color....pretty much everything but color plays a part in how ANY dog acts.
While I am sure a few BYBs are out there breeding just chocolates, or just yellows without regard to any other aspect of the dog, I seriously doubt it's being done on a large enough scale to make accurate generalizations about a dog's color being a temperament marker one way or the other. The case of Maggie and Cletus is a good example of it being completely wrong, and those two dogs were from the same lines, same sire even.
I was actually very surprised when this was posted, because every chocolate lab I have ever met was very mellow and sweet, and every black or yellow lab was insane. I always thought as a kid, that I would never get a lab unless it was a chocolate lab. Now I am older and know it has nothing to do with color, and choose to go with a mellow breed.
I was actually very surprised when this was posted, because every chocolate lab I have ever met was very mellow and sweet, and every black or yellow lab was insane. I always thought as a kid, that I would never get a lab unless it was a chocolate lab. Now I am older and know it has nothing to do with color, and choose to go with a mellow breed.
We have a town full of labs, and all of them whatever color they are, all love to swim, play ball, run on the beach and just plain enjoy life. Have a neighbour with a yellow who is whacky, but its only because they are away at work all day long and he is alone. Yet he is the sweetest dog after he has been 'wound down' for about a half hour.
Our puppy, a yellow female, is pretty active, just loves to play. Reason for getting a yellow lab, is that here on Cape Cod, we are infested with deer ticks which carry Lyme disease, and you can de-tick a yellow dog easier. But if we lived in Maine at my brother's house, we would go chocolate or black without ticks.
Everybody here uses Frontline or the equivalent.
Jane
Our puppy, a yellow female, is pretty active, just loves to play. Reason for getting a yellow lab, is that here on Cape Cod, we are infested with deer ticks which carry Lyme disease, and you can de-tick a yellow dog easier. But if we lived in Maine at my brother's house, we would go chocolate or black without ticks.
Everybody here uses Frontline or the equivalent.
Jane
I have seen hundreds and hundreds of Labs come through my classes. Color has less to do with how they act than breeding does, although I agree with those who mentioned that breeding solely for color sometimes leads to dogs with less than stellar temperaments. As a whole, the field lines tend to be more energetic than the "English" type (heavier boned, fat "otter" tail). But, the key is that these are dogs that must get sufficient exercise, early socialization and training. As puppies, they are very mouthy, and playing with other puppies is essential to them developing the good mouths for which the breed is known. It's also essential, if you want to avoid the "crazies" to make your selection based on finding a responsible and knowledgeable breeder, rather than on color.
My sister and BIL own two Chocolate lab males (they are each from different breeders)
They are BOTH very loving, loyal, and great dogs all around. They are really superb with my young niece and nephew too.
My BIL and sister own 8 acres and these two boys have free reign all over it, these are the same two boys that brought 2 little abandoned pups up to the house from the woods/pond............AND they shared their
dog house/food with them after my sis/BIL let them stay
So I don't know if color has anything to do with it or not..........if it does, then these two boys go against the norm.
Ike and Josh with the two little ones they rescued (picture taken at least 10 months ago)
They are BOTH very loving, loyal, and great dogs all around. They are really superb with my young niece and nephew too.
My BIL and sister own 8 acres and these two boys have free reign all over it, these are the same two boys that brought 2 little abandoned pups up to the house from the woods/pond............AND they shared their
dog house/food with them after my sis/BIL let them stay
So I don't know if color has anything to do with it or not..........if it does, then these two boys go against the norm.
Ike and Josh with the two little ones they rescued
(picture taken at least 10 months ago)
Maybe it's just my area then, but there are a TON of BYB's breeding solely for chocolate and you don't know how many people I've tried to talk out of breeding their horrible excuse for a lab, simply because he's chocolate. Yes, perhaps lines have more to do with it than color, but I still believe that there are certain behavioral traits linked to specific colors.
Awww, that's so sweet! That's also typical, well bred, Labrador temperment. They love all people and animals (at least the one's I know do). It's so sweet that they rescued those pups. Maybe they have fatherly instincts .
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They have never played rough or knocked the kids down, that goes for other kids that visit too.
Those two fit in the family like they were all made to be together. It is so cool to see
H
I saw one chocolate that would jump on the older kids, cause they asked him to and liked it...but would not mess with the 3 yr old. The Lab would lay down with the kid, keep him from going towards the road, stuff like that. The other two kids were 10 & 11 and kept asking the dog to jump up on them, so he did.