"SILVER LABRADORS

There is no genetic basis for the silver gene in Labradors. The silver color is a disqualification under the Standard for the breed. The LRC does not recognize, accept or condone the sale or advertising of any Labrador as a silver Labrador. The Club opposes the practice of registering silver as chocolate."

Since this is the official stance of The Labrador Retriever Club, INC, AKC Parent club for the Labrador Retriever, regarding the silver Labrador I would respectively ask that measures be put into place to preserve the original and historical three colors of the Labrador Retriever: Black, Yellow, and Chocolate.

Since we now know that the silver coloration is the direct result of a dilute gene and not from a spontaneous mutation This dilute gene not only modifies the coloration of a chocolate, but also affects the other two colors as well. This is NOT a shade of chocolate as originally described.

Since the dilute gene also causes modification to the color/pigmentation of the other colors, the term "Silver Labrador" no long applies. These dogs should simply be referred to as "dilutes" or "dilute factored".

Since the dilute gene is associated with alopecia, this is also a health concern. Many other breeds with the dilute gene discourage breeding or advise extreme caution when working with the gene because of this problem.

Since the dilute gene has no genetic or historical basis in purebred Labradors and is likely the result of another breed being crossed with the Labrador, we feel that it should be identified through a special registration process similar to that of the white doberman. This way we can keep these dogs out of our performance and conformation bloodlines.

Therefore we humbly suggest that from this point forward, all breeders who choose to propagate this unnatural disqualification will be allowed to register their dogs as the color they represent but also the dilute colors should be acknowledged on the registration form. All dogs registered as dilutes shall be given a special registration number that includes a letter such as "z" that will carry forward on all future offspring registered from the dilute dog. Breeders who fail to register their dogs accurately and honestly would then be subject to fines/suspension from the AKC. DNA tests are available to identify dogs that carry the dilute gene and therefore it would be simple to find breeders who are not breeding with integrity and honestly. In the future it will be easy for performance and conformation breeders to continue to keep their lines free of the dilute genes that are not native to our breed.

It's no longer a few breeders or a few lines of dilute dogs. The time is now to take action to prevent this foreign gene to be crossed with our beloved breed.

Thank you for your consideration.

"Z" this is a well formulated letter. There is a potential issue that might harm your chances with the LRC, you do not identify who "I" is and the LRC has nothing to go on other than the letter "Z for an author" Good luck with that one.

I thought I'd critique your letter for you, show you the weaknesses if it were.

"SILVER LABRADORS

There is no genetic basis for the silver gene in Labradors. The silver color is a disqualification under the Standard for the breed. The LRC does not recognize, accept or condone the sale or advertising of any Labrador as a silver Labrador. The Club opposes the practice of registering silver as chocolate."
LRC has a problem legally enforcing this position due to having had a position in the past that fully contradicts it. A prosecutor's dream and a defendant's nightmare.

Since this is the official stance of The Labrador Retriever Club, INC, AKC Parent club for the Labrador Retriever, regarding the silver Labrador I would respectively ask that measures be put into place to preserve the original and historical three colors of the Labrador Retriever: Black, Yellow, and Chocolate.
The "original" colors of Labradors was one color, Black....or was it "oftener black than of another colour" as Hawker described? Maybe you really didn't mean "original." How about "historical" colors, which according to the first breed standard were (drum roll please) "The coat is generally black, free from any rustiness and any white markings, except possibly a small spot on the chest. Other whole colours are permissible." What was the Hon. Arthur Holland-Hibbert and his committee thinking to allow for "other whole colors?" Yes, that would mean any "dilute" of any whole color Black, yellow, Chocolate or otherwise was allowable. Your statement lacks foundation.

Since we now know that the silver coloration is the direct result of a dilute gene and not from a spontaneous mutation This dilute gene not only modifies the coloration of a chocolate, but also affects the other two colors as well. This is NOT a shade of chocolate as originally described.
Though we do know that the dilution gene is causing most "silver" Labradors, you, I, nor the fence post can definitively say that a mutation did not occur at the D locus, activating the gene. Such anomalies are not unheard of in Labradors. Black puppies from Chocolate parents due to a specific type of mutation paring and crossover during meiosis. Very rare, but not impossible. You will have to prove that a mutation did not occur.

Since the dilute gene also causes modification to the color/pigmentation of the other colors, the term "Silver Labrador" no long applies. These dogs should simply be referred to as "dilutes" or "dilute factored".
Could just as easily be "Lights" or "Light Factored." Funny part about this is you are attempting to dictate the use of a term that is an adjective of subjective origin. People will use whatever adjectives they want to describe color regardless of what you or I think they should do. What matters is the registration.

Since the dilute gene is associated with alopecia, this is also a health concern. Many other breeds with the dilute gene discourage breeding or advise extreme caution when working with the gene because of this problem.
Fortunately CDA is very uncommon in "dilute" Labradors if it actually occurs at all. There are coat problems for sure, they are inbred chocolates from field lines after all, what else would be expected?! Because CDA is chronic and of complete involvement it is easily ruled out as the cause of most coat issues since they recover with treatment (usually allergy or thyroid) or are regionally confined. Fortunately, breeding to Black and Yellow lines cleans up the coat issues in "dilutes."

Since the dilute gene has no genetic or historical basis in purebred Labradors and is likely the result of another breed being crossed with the Labrador, we feel that it should be identified through a special registration process similar to that of the white doberman. This way we can keep these dogs out of our performance and conformation bloodlines.
"no genetic or historical basis" will have to be proven. I'd love to see the DNA tests of Malmesbury's and Buccleuch's dogs...you have them as well as all the other foundation dogs behind the Labrador pedigree, right? You are going to need that DNA. The last part is laughable. Really, you are worried about breeding a "dilute" into your lines? I thought you were worried about us breeding "your" lines into our dogs. Which is it?

Therefore we humbly suggest that from this point forward, all breeders who choose to propagate this unnatural disqualification will be allowed to register their dogs as the color they represent but also the dilute colors should be acknowledged on the registration form. All dogs registered as dilutes shall be given a special registration number that includes a letter such as "z" that will carry forward on all future offspring registered from the dilute dog. Breeders who fail to register their dogs accurately and honestly would then be subject to fines/suspension from the AKC. DNA tests are available to identify dogs that carry the dilute gene and therefore it would be simple to find breeders who are not breeding with integrity and honestly. In the future it will be easy for performance and conformation breeders to continue to keep their lines free of the dilute genes that are not native to our breed.
Besides the obvious "unnatural" and "not native" being un-provable without DNA from the breed's foundation dogs, the biggest problem you face here is the pure magnitude of what you propose. A DNA test for every breeding Labrador. That's every field Labrador, every show Labrador, and everyone of the million+ byb breeding Labradors. Do you not see the fallout over this new requirement? Do you not see that the AKC will lose millions of registrations over this since the byb breeders will not willingly comply. It might be a good thing for Labs to have fewer litters being bred, nothing like shrinking the gene pool to encourage genetic diversity and stability! But my biggest question is what the heck are you who discover that the gene is in your lines, which you know to be "pure," going to do? Volunteer for a "Z," which your friends take as a designation of impurity? Pandora has a box around here somewhere...go ahead, open it.

It's no longer a few breeders or a few lines of dilute dogs. The time is now to take action to prevent this foreign gene to be crossed with our beloved breed.
Same problem again with the term "foreign," where is the DNA proof? These are your claims, in court, you have the burden of proof. Have you DNA tested all the Labradors that ever lived? You will have to in order to substantiate that claim.
Now, as for our beloved breed, perhaps I will write an open letter to the board members of the LRC about these atrocities:
Overly wide "Rottie" heads, sunken eyes, disproportionality short muzzles, cheeky faces, missing teeth, loose pendulous lips, open coats, long coats and feathering, improper length to height ratios (short legs), too much bone, overly deep chests, excessively loose skin, short necks, lumbering cloddy specimens, EIC gene carriers, PRA carriers, CNM carriers, DM carriers, Brindle (kbr) gene carriers, DJD afflicted, no instinct to retrieve (saying nothing of the breeders who could care less about the actual purpose of the breed and just focus on show looks). Each so very un-Labrador or detrimental to our beloved breed. Pandora is calling...and it appears so too is the Nazi Herrenvolk. Simply surreal!

Thank you for your consideration.

And I think you meant to write "respectfully" in stead of "respectively."
Good luck. I hope someone from the LRC actually sees this and acts on it, but don't hold your breath.
The LRC's philosophy is basically My way or the highway.

I like the original letter. I would put my name to it - and I am a member of the LRC.

Any other LRC members ready to sign?

(Ignore the critique from the silver breeder - it's meant to shoot this plan down and it's full of misinformation.)

I don't why we think they will acknowledge the dilute status on an AKC registration form when they've already brought in Weims to get the desired colored choice and said they're purebred... Lack of acknowledgement is the best way to take away any sense of credibility they may have. Really don't think LRC needs to be involved other than maybe an advertising blitz.

Fraud, *you* might not have a reason, but breeders with established lines want a way to identify these dogs and avoid getting our lines mixed up in them. They are already AKC registered as Labradors so they already think they are credible. Identifying them as dilutes on their registration is a real threat to them, as evidenced by their vehement and verbose arguments. That reaction by itself would be more than enough for me to sign onto this proposal.

Put this letter or something similar up on an electronic Petition such as http://www.ipetitions.com/start-petition

I am an LRC member, I would sign it.

If the petition allows, have demographics included such as breeder, exhibitor, pet owner, LRC member, local LRC member.

There is an explosion of Silver Lab breeders and they have progressed to dilute blacks and yellows which are called Charcoal and Champagne. If you are unaware of this google silver Labs or go on Facebook and put it in the search section. They have also crossed the pond and there are a doz. or more silver breeders in Germany. Surely there are other countries with them as well. These Silver breeders have USA, American, AKC registered plastered all over their web pages. The LRC needs to address this problem with more than a statement on their web page. This color issue was born here, no pun intended. We own it whether we like it or not.

Can genetic testing be done to confirm the presence of another breed in the ancestry? Everybody and their brother is testing their mixed-breed dogs for fun to see what breeds are behind their dogs.
May not be practical, but it's just a thought. If there were any suspicion of say, a Weimeraner in the background, one could ask for genetic breed testing. That way, we could keep our lines pure.
I agree, the dilute colors are a nightmare, bred by people who have no clue or worse, don't care, about the effect the dilute gene may have on their dogs (like with the white Dobies, which I have seen with problems) or the breed's future. In it for the $$$, and our wonderful breed suffers.

Oh ouch I think I simply hit a nerve with you now Simply recycle. Sorry for not reading through your entire rant AGAIN. Same ol' same ol' and still not a leg to stand on. It's just more of your conjecture and what ifs. Still trying to plant a seed of doubt where their is none. We do not need to prove anything. The fact still remains that there is no historical or genetic basis for your mutts! Plain and simple you can try to justify your unscrupulous breeding habits all you want. We know what causes the silver, charcoal and champagne colors. It's called the dilute gene. A gene that ONCE AGAIN has NEVER EVER been seen in the breed until the 1980s, long after the stud books closed and when DNA testing became readily available. There are mentions of the other colors all throughout the history of the breed and guess what? NOT ONE, EVER MENTION an adult dilutes. Why is that? Why is it that it's NEVER, EVER been seen ANYWHERE in the WORLD until it showed up by a snake oil salesman asking an extraordinary amount of money for his early crosses calling them "rare"? It makes much more sense to the breeders around the world that just one look at these creatures and it screams Weim to us. It's called commonsense. I/we don't buy into your arguments and lies about where the dilute gene "might" have came from. We don't care. We can see. I've been to your website and your dogs are gawd awful looking. They aren't real Labs and you don't hardly do any health clearances on your dogs either. For shame.

I must say that at least the Horizon Dilute is honest about her dog's genetic makeup in the fact that she lists them as carry the "d" allele or not. It is one such gene that you've never seen on a breeder's website until they start producing dilutes. EEbbdd that's one of the combinations. I also commend her for the extensive health testing that she does do. However, I do not condone the practice of perpetuating the d factor. And I for one would like to see this noted on the registration form.

I'm glad I struck a nerve. I'm glad that the other breeders of purebred Labs are beginning to wake up and take a stand. It's about time. I will leave the "we" in my letter because we are taking this stand together. There is nothing wrong with a little honesty and we've had our heads buried for too long over this problem. So what would happen if you now had to register your mutts and include the dilute designation? Would you then just have to make up more lies about where this gene came from? It's quite clear where it comes from. We've all seen if from the beginning. We still see it now.

And those my friend are the simple facts. Twist them all you want to, we still know the truth. I am glad you feel threatened by my letter. It means we have found the right path in which to proceed to protect OUR bloodlines.

Actually, something could be done by DNA testing. Silvers could be tested along with Weimeraners from the bloodlines believed to have been crossed with Labs to determine if they carry the same mutation at the D locus. Other breeds such as Great Danes and Dobermans could be tested as well. Possible results and their informational value:

1. All dd dogs have the same mutation- does't shed light on the problem. Presumably there is only one mutation that can cause the effect . This is possible, but unlikely. This may already be known by the companies that test for the d locus.

2. Dilute Labs have a different mutation from the supposedly related Weims - oops, the silver breeders are supported in their claims.

3. Dilute Labs and the supposedly related Weims have the same mutation. This supports the likelihood that the mutation came from Weimeraners, although it doesn't actually prove it. A study might include a cross section of Weims to determine whether multiple mutations exist in the breed, similar to the fact that there are multiple chocolate mutations in Labs. If there are multiple dd mutations, one would need to know which lines of Weims to test.

Want to fund me? I could probably do it!

Thats what we need to do. Let buy a couple and test the heck out of them. Several different places. I would be glad to sign a petition. Also would be glad to pool moneys to take out large ads and tell the public what a joke they are. Someone get it started.

OK. If it is the same mutation (not the same gene) then my idea wouldn't work. Too bad. Just a check- do the companies require you to specify the breed when you test for the 'd" allele. Or are there tests for Great Danes, Dobermans, etc.

I work for a vet clinic and we have a silver lab client that has severe CDA. She was tested by a specialist. When the owner called the breeder about the problem she was rude and stopped totaling calls from her and changed her website to not include any guarantee avaunt dilute skin issues. So yes there is documented health concerns with the dilute gene.

Here is an example of what is out there. This is their top stud dog. Note the pedigree.
http://www.carterfarmlabs.com/conway.htm

http://wicks-silver-labs.pissedconsumer.com/avoid-wick-s-silver-labs-please-20120129292918.html

This is also on the Web for anyone to see...

His eye color is all Weim!

I noticed this year that entries at the Bernese Mountain Dog specialties MUST have an AKC DNA profile number. Looks like they are trying to protect their stud books. In this day and age, when AKC is requiring these profiles from active stud dogs, why wouldn't you also be doing them on on the bitches? Why not ask for the profile from a stud owner?

I wonder if DNA samples could be pulled from the remains of the original dogs? It hasn't been that long and some tissue could still be available to extract a usable DNA sample....Hmmmm!!!

Just a thought!

Like many, I honestly do not believe the dilutes are natural to the Labrador. I just can't see it hiding all those years ONLY to pop up in a kennel that also bred Weims. I mean the mismarks and various shades of yellow/chocolate have been there from the beginning and pop up everywhere and the mismarks pop up from time to time. I've produced white on blacks, various shades of yellow and light & milk chocolate shades of chocolate, it's part of the history. So how is it that, if what these dilute breeders say is true and the gene has been there all along, the dilute ONLY popped up in one kennel when there are thousands of breeders across the world and yet not one dilute produced from anyone except the one who also bred Weims? Why are the dilutes now popping up in other countries only because some greedy breeders started to import the dilutes from over here? If it was already there, how could it have NOT popped up when other phases of the breeds history HAVE (mismarks, long hair gene, etc)? To me, any one looking at the silver should see it just doesn't add up! I grew up in the show scene and seen LOTS of Labs and other breeds, but never seen any other colors of Labs except for the normal BYC. I will be glad when something can be done, but until then I will continue to educate people and so they, hopefully, do not fall for all the dilute breeders Bu!! $hit.

You know there's one thing here that maybe we need to remember. As a group, I would venture to say that we know what a correct Labrador looks like and that's our preference. But there are plenty of folks in the general puppy buying public to whom correctness is not a priority. They love the way their "rare" Labradors look and are willing to pay big bucks for them. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder after all. In this age of the Internet, potential Labrador purchasers certainly have the means to research and educate themselves, and a great many do. But there are many who prefer and love Labradors whose conformation we find distressing. And unfortunately, way too many "breeders" who are only too happy to supply silver, charcoal, champagne, and who-knows-what-else "Labradors."
I would think that if anyone approached the owner of the HIT chocolate Lab at the Potomac and attempted to "educate" her as to why her dog is not correct, she may have very well been very insulted and very hurt.
Just sayin'...

The person with the silver at the obedience trial could have educated the breed people on how to have a well behaved dog............the split venue was not a mistake.

I'm not a fan of silvers but I have to agree with Kate: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Even if the AKC goes after silvers, people will still purchase them if that's what they like. Look at all the labradoodles you see. Not having the blessing of the AKC sure isn't hurting their sales! A friend of mine raises litters for a doodle breeder who gets over $2000 for pet pups and up to $10,000 for a pup with breeding rights, and she's not having any difficulty placing puppies.

This is a public Forum, and as such no disparaging remarks about other breeders and/or dogs will be tolerated. Any such inappropriate posts will be promptly removed and the offending poster will be banned from any further postings. There will be no other warnings regarding this rule, so use some common sense in your posts.

You can not get the email address admin@hotmail.com It's not allowed Miss, Mrs and Mr Silver and it doesn't exist even within hotmail technical support.

Do not some breeders choose not to publish any OFA or CERF results on the OFA website, but show OFA and CERF certificates upon request, as well as genetic screenings? Some breeders choose to do this, not just dilute Labrador Retriever breeders.

Also couldn't some of these dogs be too young to have final hip/elbow results?