I have a yellow bitch whose pigment is dark but not black -- and, I've been told that breeding her to a dominant black will correct this. I'm NOT looking for names of stud dogs but wondering if there's a way to search for a male who is basic black, EEBB. Any help would be appreciated. TIA!

I do not do much with yellow. I work with blk/choc lines. I do occassionally get yellow from carriers.
They do not have liver pigment but the depth of pigment is not very good. I have always thought that you should look at a line that produces good pigment in their yellows to help fix that. I do get good eye and coat color in my chocs. I attribute the lack of dark pigment in the yellows to the line not having been bred for yellow and therefore not selected for dark pigment on yellows.

All the puppies will have black noses, because they'll be black.

Breed to any dog you wish who produces the pigment you desire.

Think of specific lines you like, and go to the websites, and search. There are plenty of dominant black boys, and really lots of By boys that produce great pigment.
Choosing a stud dog is and should be a very personal decision. Only you and or the breeder of your bitch knows what she needs in a stud dog, remember this, YOU must breed for the WHOLE DOG, not just one specific thing.

Breeding to a basic black will not improve the black pigment in future generations of yellows *if* the pigment behind the yellows in stud dog's pedigree is not good to begin with. The only way to improve black pigment in yellows is to breed to a dog regardless of color who has strong pigmented yellows in the pedigree.

I agree about breeding to the whole dog. I mean the whole dog including pedigree, health of the line and conformation of the stud-dog and his descedants, same as the girl.

If a bitch is that perfect that all she needs is to produce better pigment, you have better than 99.9% of the Labrador breeders out there. ;-) You never said that, I'm giving a hypothetical situation.

All too often, a bitch or stud-dog will produce great pigment but the get will have the same crappy front, incorrect upper arm assembly or incorrect topline. I would worry about that before pigment and a few of those dogs or bitches produce wonderful pigment. Big deal when the health of the pups are in danger.

Pedigrees are just as important to try to insure that you're not breeding TVD throwers to TVD throwers. I personally cringe when I read the pedigrees of some beautiful boys and girls out there. I could cry sometimes. A handsome Champion that has too many flags ! I'm sorry for going off track.

You can get just as good pigment by any color boy besides an {EEBB}. It depends on what your bitch throws and what the stud-dog of several color variations throws.

It's all in a the bitch and dogs pigmentation genetics. Pure for black {EEBB} will not neccesarily do more for dark pigment than a good pigment producing Yy {eeBB} or By or {EeBB} or other color combinations .

Using an {EEBB} for better pigmentation has been an old wives' tale for as long as I can recall.

Ask the stud-dog owner about the puppies on the ground by the boy you're considering. You should be able to ask what type of pigment he has thrown in litters so far. You can tell the stud-dog owner that you are looking for better pigment than your bitch has produced in the past. I would hope & assume that the stud-dog owner would be truthful and tell you how he does in that area.

"Pedigrees are just as important to try to insure that you're not breeding TVD throwers to TVD throwers. I personally cringe when I read the pedigrees of some beautiful boys and girls out there. I could cry sometimes. A handsome Champion that has too many flags ! I'm sorry for going off track."

Totally derailed me here. Since the widely theorized mode of inheritance of TVD is dominant with incomplete penetrance, breeding "throwers" of TVD together would not increase the chances of producing TVD other than instead of coming from one side or the other it could now be coming from both sides. I think I'm confused since I read this as meaning that you think this disease is a simple recessive and each parent has to be a carrier. Therefore you won't get TVD if you don't breed known "throwers" together. Maybe I just read this wrong.

Thank you, "*"... you stated the basics of producing better pigmentation perfectly!

Also, at the risk of sounding a little like a curmudgeon, I wish that TVD wasn't introduced into every innocent post on this site. It's an important health concern. Breeders should pay attention to it. It is NOT the only health concern, however, nor should it be the primary focus of all breeding decision-making.

I agree, am so tired of hearing TVD. We know its there and know some stud dog owners know its there. And yes, I know the girls can have it. We breed them once or twice. Not near what a stud will keep producing and places in those pedigrees forever. Love the pigment subject for a change. It is one of those things that some know so little about. Like don't breed choc to choc or make sure every other time you breed to a black. Duh. Look at the dogs. It runs in lines. Black is not going to give you for sure, dark eyes, dark pigment, dark coat. Be real.