Question to all the chocolate breeders out there?

Have been thinking about chocolate eye color and
had some questions, and thought maybe some of you
would have some good input.

After researching quiet a few pedigree's on chocolates
I have noticed that there is a array of eye color threw out
there pedigree's. This got me thinking!

Say you breed two chocolates together that both have good
eye color, in the litter you get 25% with light eyes,25% with lighter
eyes that eventually darken and then 50% with very good
eye color.

Lets say just for fun, you keep the one with lighter eyes just because it
is the pick of the litter and it has everything you are looking for other
than eye color. Even though you know that there is a hole array of
eye color behind the pedigree you still decide to keep the puppy and
try to get the correct eye color the next time around.

Would you try to breed to a chocolate that has very good eye color
or do you think it would be better to breed to a BC to improve eye
color.

What are your secrets to keeping good eye color.

Hello JMHO, thanks for your response.

What was behind your girl as far as eye color in the pedigree, and
did the chocolate boy that you bred to for the 3rd litter have nice
dark eyes, and what type of eye color was in back of his pedigree.

I have noticed that some boys that are BC and have a lot of
BC or BYC some times seem to produce better chocolates with
better eye color.

Also I wonder if the yellow gene contributes anything as far as
eye color is concerned.

Some pedigree's that I have looked at have very good eye color
in the first couple of generations but still continue to produce
a lighter eye due to what is in back of there pedigree.
This is puzzling! I am hoping there will be more people
to give more impute on there experiences in breeding good
eye color.

My experience is that I don't breed to light eyes and I don't get light eyes. It may not sound very scientific, but it works. I have not chosen some nice chocolate boys because they have lighter eyes, and typically their lines have lighter eyes from puppyhood on. My chocolate bitch is a nice brown, not DARK and not too light with very brown eyes. I bred to a similar looking dog and got a mixture of coat colors but all dark eye.

We need the "gene police" on here to tell you that breeding to a black will not get you a dark coat or dark eyes. I will get you whatever that black carries in his gene pool. Chocolates are tricky. I am glad my line gives me pups that 90% of the time are all the same shade. Don't like milky chocolates at all. My girls have nice brown eyes so breed to a dog with nice brown eyes. Stay away from the light. In saying that, there are some lines that are lighter at 8 weeks and continue to darken to a nice brown over the years. You just need to ask stud owners.

Last year I bred two Bc to Bc litters. Both produced chocolates with lighter eyes than I am used to looking at and coats were good but not great. Funnily enough, my Bc girl has a too dark eye. My chocolate girl with dark eyes consistently produces nice dark eyes and coats, even when bred to a Yc because it is behind her. I would never rely on a Bc to darken coats or eyes, they are not one in the same. It's a wives tale.

So for the most part you would all agree that you would choose to
breed chocolate to chocolate and continue to only breed to a dog with
a very good eye color?

I would agree with this and that is what I have always done in the past
and have so far been very lucky to have good eye color.

However I do find that it is hard to find a chocolate stud dog that
consistently produces good eye color that has good eye color behind
his pedigree.

This has been very interesting hearing all of your opinions. Thank you
for taking the time to post.

Bottom Line is breed to a Sire whether chocolate or Black carrying chocolate who has the darker eve color genetically. Look at his pedigree and his eyes and get to determine who to breed too. There are too few chocolate Stud dogs out there and not all carry a dark eye. Use a B/C if everthing comliments what you are looking for or a BYC with your chocolate lines. Don't be stuck on just the same few chocolate Studs.

once the genes jump in the pool it is hell getting them back out.
about 7 years ago I bred to a CH chocolate boy that I liked, good color, good eyes, etc. the litter was half dark chocolate and half such a light chocolate, almost like a dark straw. I kept two of the dark girls, breeding to dark boys.....
now I am on the 4th generation and still getting a very light puppy every now and then.
I guess I could throw out all the girls and start over but I figure sooner or later I will wash it out.
by the way, I did some research after the fact and found out that this stud boy's mother was very light ;o(

You will just have to breed to only the darkest chocolate pedigreed Sires now that you know where your 2 darkest chocolate female picks come from.

I have that in my 1st generation and watched the major chocolate color differences in pups by usuing different Sires to my 4th generation. They are now extremely dark chocolate in the 4th generation.

Good chocolates are difficult to breed. You really have to know what is back in the pedigrees. There are several black boys that do throw staw color chocolates or did when they were being used. Just like anything else when you introduce it into your lines it take generation to breed it out. Going to shows and seeing offsprings really helps. Most are not going to show you the off colors on the web pages they have for the stud. Usually flushes out with newer breeders speaking up.