I have chosen to cover this subject, only because I am so surprised at how often I get asked this question, “Is one color better than another, temperament-wise”…or I get the statement, ” I hear all chocolates are hyper”, or ,” My Uncle Barney says, all yellows are mellow”…well, lets talk science instead of “wives tales”, ok….

It almost reminds me of the statement I heard once that “I think all LARGE labs are calmer”…talk about “bad science”…its not even logical.  Its all GENETICS…believe me, I could show you over 50 LARGE (100 lb +) American field labs that are the most hyper, most obnoxious dogs I have ever made contact with.  Right there, you see the logic and where this goes… Regarding color, it’s like saying “all blondes (human) are dumb, and all redheads have a bad temper”…well, you can see the absurdity of that statement. So I will let you draw your conclusion about color…its ALL genetics.  You cannot even go from “experience”, I will admit you have probably seen a lot of terribly hyper chocolate labs, I have seen terribly hyper labs both black, chocolate, and yellow.  Remember, labradors are the most popular dog in the US, and everyone and their brother can breed a litter of labs and sell them (with no regard to temperament, genetic soundness, nor conformation)…and that produces irresponsibility in breeding, so you will see more POORLY bred labs than any other breed, for this reason.  Chocolates, being the rarest in the breed, are more often bred for coat color alone, which is why you may see more poorly bred ones in your travels.   We breed for good temperament, proper conformation, and genetic soundness in ALL or our labs, no matter what color. And concerning chocolates, I once had an AKC show judge once tell one of my clients, “don’t buy a chocolate from any breeder in the US other than Endless Mt. Labradors, or Erinhill Labradors.”  Interesting….

***Oh, and I must address the “pigment” issue…all labs should have DARK pigment (around eyes, lips, nose, nice brown eye), not pink or liver.  This most often occurs when someone breeds a yellow to chocolate (the first No-No in lab breeding!)***

Endless Mt. Labradors