~ AKC Stance on Silver Labs ~

Why the AKC registers Silver Labradors as chocolate

"In 1987 we conducted an inquiry into the breeding of the litters that contained the dogs that were registered as silver and one of our representatives was sent to observe several of the dogs that had been registered silver. Color photographs of these dogs were forwarded to the office of the American Kennel Club where staff of the AKC and representatives of the Labrador Retriever Club of America examined them. Both parties were satisfied that there was no reason to doubt that the dogs were purebred Labrador Retriever, however both parties felt that the dogs were incorrectly registered as silver. Since the breed standard describes chocolate as ranging in shade from sedge to chocolate, it was felt that the dogs could more accurately be described as chocolate than silver."

We feel it is just a matter of time, with the popularity of these dogs that the AKC will recognize the Silver Lab color as it's own separate color.

A Silver Lab Pictured next to a Chocolate Lab

Are silver labs pure bred Labrador Retrievers?

DNA testing and mapping of silver labs was done during the close of the Twentieth Century and meticulous investigation of each silver labs ancestry was conducted by investigators from AKC. All conclusions were the same, i.e. "there was no reason to doubt that the dogs were purebred Labrador Retrievers." Every K-9 in its genes had complete history of its ancestors going all the way back to wolves.

Everything written about the silver labs is based upon speculation. One statement that is commonly made is that there had to have been a Weimeraner introduced into the bloodlines to produce the silver color. This statement has been proven false. UC Berkley studied the genetic makeup of the silver lab against that of the Weimeraner, Researchers concluded that it was not the same.

So yes, Silver labs are pure bred Labrador Retrievers and their ancestry is beyond reproach.