Yes, I want the Labrador breed to stay pure!

A closed studbook is a closed studbook. Dilutes do not belong in this breed. If people want to mix dilutes with Labradors, let them create a new breed and call these dogs Labraraners, Weimardors, whatever.

The dilution gene is alien to the Labrador Retriever breed, and I want it to stay that way!

Please sign and share the petition at ;

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/no-to-silver-charcoal-and-champagne-labradors.html

Petition is published on Jan 13, 2014 and already 345 concerned Labrador breeders signed... Sign and share, share, share!

Some info.... "canine tremor disorder", is a autosomal recessive trait. The rare disorder is said to occur almost exclusively in the Weimaraner breed in the U.S. and Europe.

A DNA test may be available in the not too far off future to test if the dog carries a copy of the mutated gene.

Read about the study here: http://phys.org/news/2014-01-gene-mutation-canine-tremor-disorder.html

(hmmmm, what if one of those silver dogs was tested and came back as carrying a copy of the mutated gene??)

Excerpt from above linked article:

"One of the research team's goals was to develop a bench test to identify dogs that carry the mutation, which could help reduce or eliminate the disorder through selective breeding. Under the direction of Duncan's co-author, Danika Bannasch, the Veterinary Genetics Lab at the University of California, Davis will soon begin analyzing Weimaraner DNA sample submissions for this purpose."

What's the difference between any dog carrying the mutated gene and a purebred Lab carrying the gene for EIC? Sorry, I don't see the difference, but am happy to try and understand.

It would be great to at least try and eliminate all disease gene carriers from dog breeding programs and get rid of such horrible diseases like EIC.

Because the tremor gene is exclusively found in Weimaraners, if this gene was found in the dilute dogs, this would prove beyond a shadow of a doubt where the dilute came from. Breeders recognize that the dilute,or silvers, have long retained physical characteristics of the Weim, but we don't have a DNA test that can identify individual breeds. We know the dilute gene is not a true or historical gene in Labradors, but up until now there was no way to prove genetically or scientifically where it came from. If they find the mutation of a disease that affects Weims, there's a good chance that it will be in the dilutes that came from Weim and be pretty damning evidence to prove once and for all where dilutes come from.

"Got it", you explained it perfectly!

Can't wait to hear how *simply silver* and the other silver breeders are going to explain this!

And how do they explain Color Dilute Alopecia in the pure silver Labrador?

Thank you, this is useful information. It reflects the fears of many people that the dilution locus doesn't (always) travel alone.

Thank you for your explanation, and I did get it the first time. But two wrongs do not make a right. Yes, we surely don't want the tremor gene in Labradors. Agreed - we should be working to stop that. But we also should be working to rid Labradors of the EIC gene. Seems like we're being hypocritical by going after dilute dogs with the tremor gene but not also working at the same time to prevent the breeding of purebred Labradors carrying the gene for a horrible disease like EIC.

There are other good reasons why we should work to prevent dilute dogs from entering the Labrador studbook. The tremor gene is not one of them as long as purebred Labradors carrying the EIC gene are also being bred.

How many have researched pedigrees to see if the gene could have come in before the stud book was closed. Have any dog breeds that carry the dilute gene been found in that research? With all the dogs bred in before the stud books closed, how can it not be a possibility that the gene was introduced then and carried for many generations, just like any other recessive trait. Can anyone find a Chesapeake Bay Retriever, Newfoundland, or Wolf Hound in a Lab pedigree? How would one know if there were other breeds in the Lab's pedigree- like how can you look back that far and what would the pedi say to represent those breeds in a Lab's pedigree- and how would one know if that was before the stud book closed? And what if several of these breeds were found in today's purebred Lab pedigree? Would that make any difference to people who believe the dilute gene was brought in after the stud books closed?

From Wikipedia " A degree of crossbreeding with Flatcoat or Chesapeake Bay retrievers was also documented in the early 20th century, prior to recognition."

As dilution is known to occur in Chesapeake Bay retrievers, it seems like a very good likelihood that dilution has been lurking in the breed since the beginning. It would be possible for it to remain relatively rare in the population as a whole yet pop out when linebreeding takes place.

Wikipedia is not an official "historian" of our breed. Anyone can write for Wikipedia, including dilute breeders.

The first "silver" dog did not appear as a result of a line breeding. However, upon the appearance of the dog, the first "silver" breeder, not understanding genetics and how the recessive dilute gene was passed, INBRED his dogs to ensure the gene would be passed on. He bred father to daughter, brother to sister, and so on.

There is no doubt that the Labrador was once registered as a variety of Retriever before becoming a breed unto its own. It was a variety of the "Retriever" breed. At the time dogs were registered by their color and/or coat type. The four recognized varieties at the time were the Golden Retriever (a long coated dog whose color ranges from a light cream to a fox red), the Flat Coated Retriever (a long coated dog that came in liver and black, although even today they still have yellow that occurs), the Curly Coated Retriever which comes in liver or black (but also still has yellow pop up from time to time) and has a tight curl to its coat and then the Labrador Retriever which is the short coated variety (although there is a recessive long coat that still shows up too) that has all three colors allowed because it has a short coat. Later it was developed to be a dog that was broader in head than the other Retrievers and more substantial. NONE of these breeds have a dilute gene.

There are unsubstantiated claims that "other" breeds were used in the development of the Labrador, but they are just that, unsubstantiated and speculation. And let's assume that there was a dilute cross-breeding that occurred BEFORE the stud books closed in the early 1900s, it does not justify the fact that the early silver dogs looked like Weimaraners. That dilutes were not found ANY where else in the world until they were imported from US lines or an intentional cross breeding took place. NOTHING in the history of the breed suggests dilutes. It's a simple recessive, don't you think if it was widely distributed early on in the gene pool that it would have been discovered long before and not some 60-70 years AFTER the stud books closed? And even though Flat Coats and Curly Coats were once a Retriever variety yet some still carry the yellow gene that if the dilute gene was also carried that we wouldn't have seen it sooner? If the dilute gene was so common that today's dilutes go back to just one or two kennels that also had Weimaraners? Sorry not buying your hypothesis. It's just common sense for those who have been in the breed for a while and those who know its history.

Not sure I understand why EIC is considered a 'horrible' disease. It can be tested for and you do not have to produce affected puppies. Even if you do have an affected dog, it may NEVER have a episode. To me having a dog with grand mal seizures or extreme TVD is much more horrible.

Is there actual fact or documentation behind the "stated facts" that the Kellogg Kennels bred Weimaraner's? I talked to a man that knew him, saw his dogs and he said nothing about him having these dogs ever nor ever seeing a silver or funny colored dog. Are people talking about Mayos Uncles that bred labradors?

I'm sorry to get off subject but this fact has always made me wonder where this fact came from.

"Silver" breeders are proud of the fact that Mayo Kellogg was the "founding father" of "pointing labs". The Kellogg family is proud of it, too. Besides the "stated facts" I find it plausible that Mayo Kellogg coincidentally also "discovered" the "silver" Labrador while he was trying to breed pointing qualities into the Labrador Retriever.

Thank you for your reply - much appreciated! Agreed - one does not have to breed a dog with EIC. However, without standards implemented by the AKC, such a breeding is always a possibility. As someone quoted in a previous post said about the tremor gene, "All it takes is one."

Whether it's part-Labs in the studbook with the dilute gene or breeding purebred Labs carrying the EIC gene, the bigger issue is sloppy breeding standards without AKC regulation. My experience has been that the Kennel Club in Great Britain has done a better job.

Yes, diseases can have a lesser or greater impact. But I was once asked by a "recommended" breeder if I could re-home a bitch of hers which had EIC and was not just a carrier. The dog's condition was very sad, and my home was unable to accommodate this poor dog's needs, although I wish I could have helped her by adopting her.

Best regards.

Sounds like a silver breeder still looking for an explanation to help sell their rare dogs. When there's no doubt what the truth is there will be a huge clearance sale on silver dogs.

The Magic And Miracles Of Turning A Retriever Into A Pointer

http://notosilverlabs.wordpress.com/2014/01/21/the-magic-and-miracles-of-turning-a-retriever-into-a-pointer/

boy, I shared the link on this site about silvers with some people inquiring about silvers, and boy did I get gunned down…pet people are soooo sensitive…I got called a SKINHEAD! hahahah