I am an interested potential Labrador owner. I have fallen in love with the shade of yellow known as fox red. This is a permissable shade according to the AKC breed standard, but some people have told me they might have health problems. Is this true? Also I have found some breeders on the web, but most of them look like field dogs which I am not interested in. I am more interested in the English style show lines. Could someone reccomend a reputable breeder known for producing fox red labradors. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

I am not the expert you are looking for, but I do have a great interest in the shade as it is just so alluring to me:)
I would contact Gregg at Little river Labs as he can probably answer with a bit more authority,(Keepsake Labs could also help) I will say however that a well bred Labrador of ANY shade of yellow is still well bred and will have no more disposition towards problems than any other. You may have heard these rumors due to the sad fact that many BYBs are trying to cash in on the fact that many are attracted to the shade and they are indiscriminately breeding for color only disregarding the health and conformation aspects of the dogs being bred. No clearances, or the bare minimum and no concern as to the quality of breeding stock over all.
Do some research and do not deal with anyone who can not show you clearances for ALL dogs involved. Spend some time talking to the breeders who breed and SHOW their labs before doing anything.Let a good breeder tell you a bit about the dogs in the pedigree they work with as it seems to me that their is a pretty small pool of REALLY nice Fox reds out there that show up in most of the well bred dogs I have looked at, and a good breeder will know a bit about these dogs. Chances are that any breeders worth you getting a fox red lab from does not only have fox reds either, so beware of breeders who "specialize".
Again, I am not the expert, but I happen to have a little crush on a boy named Willy ( Oh , and Brick too:) and in doing my own research have stumbled on some really hideous BYBs who are really just out to take advantage of people.
Best of Luck!
Annie
(P.S. before anyone gets flustered at me, I am not meaning to advertise for anyone, only passing on what I think is good info to help someone stay away from a bad choice.)

Annie,
Thanks for your response. I have not had time to look into the kennels you recommended. I will follow up with these people. I have another fox re related question. I have heard they are more the original shade of yellow. If this is the case why is it that there are now so few quality dogs in the fox red gene pool?

You can read about the fox red shade at:
http://www.littleriverlabs.com/foxred.htm
There are three pages, just click the link at the bottom of each page to go to the next one.

Well said Annie! I just had to explain this to a family with a deposit on a chocolate from us. They said they had been contacting dog trainers and dog walkers and everyone had advised them to reconsider getting a chocolate. Mind you, this from a black parents and a chocolate parent
Well bred is well bred and we have wonderful temperaments in our chocolate lines

Same as the chocolates, they don't win as much in the ring, therefore a limited number of quality breeders are producing them.
People like Gregg and Judy (Keepsake) a few and far between. Both kennels have absolutley lovely dogs and it's a shame more judges aren't open to looking past color.

Thanks to everyone for your help. I have looked at both Judy and Gregg's websites. They do have the types of dogs I am interested in. With some of the information links provided on their sites I have come across some other confusing information. I am not sure what site it is from, but their is mention of 'sable', which can cause a dog that is not truly fox red to appear fox red. What does anyone make of this?

I think your best bet would be to email either Greg or Judy from the link to their email address which is on their website and ask them any questions you might have about the fox reds:}
Aloha,
Jackie

I agree with Jackie on that one...you need to really communicate with people who have dealt with them for generations,even some breeders I have talked to that have decades in the breed are a little hazy on some of the color genetics involved, and I for one am still trying to understand it better .
You will find all kinds of color descriptions thrown around, usually in an attempt to get more moolah out of unsuspecting buyers who do not educate themselves by talking with the right people before they buy.
Annie

I would highly recommend Judy Mc Cormick at Keepsake Labradors, Sally Kelly at Kellygreen labradors these two have been in the reds for a million years and are very knowledgeable with the color etc..... they are the only two breeders that are producing red consisently and have generations and generations of them.

Sally Bell @ Borodor Labradors also has reds she doesn't have a web-site, but if you email me privately I can give you her number.

Good luck in your search.