Saturday, May 18, 2013

The Best Silver Labrador Retriever Puppies For Sale

By Elnora McCullough


Silver labrador retriever puppies for sale can be purchased from a number of reputable breeders. These dogs are the most popular breed in the United States, and their working ability and personalities attest to that fact. Labradors are very affectionate and hard-working dogs, easy to train, and good with kids. Originally bred in Europe as gun dogs, today they are everything from hunting companions to couch potatoes.

Labs get their grey color thorough a combination of genes that affect coat pigment. In order for these dogs to be truly "silver" and not blue, they must have recessive homozygous alleles. This effectively lightens their coat colors to produce solid greyish hairs. Many people are drawn to this particular pigment because of its recessive and therefore rare nature.

Genetically, grey labs are chocolate labs with extremely light coats. This is due to the fact that every grey lab must have a chocolate coat color gene in order for the pigment to be present. Yellow dogs can carry the gene, which is most noticeable inside the ears and a greying of the nose and skin.

The American Kennel Club, or AKC, currently registers grey labs as a variation of chocolate, which is the common brown color found in most dogs. Yellow, black, and chocolate and the three recognized colors for Labrador Retrievers. No matter what the color, each dog is not a separate breed, and all are used as companion pets and hunting animals.

Color dilution happens in nearly every dog breed. With labs, it can be hard to notice except on adult dogs. Carriers of recessive genes can typically have physical traits that allow owners to see them without having to breed to another dog. Greyish noses and skin pigmentation is a telltale sign the dog has the recessive alleles required to produce a grey dog.

The fist official mention of a grey lab was during the 1980s at a kennel in the United States. Light blonde or buff dogs were reported as early as the 1930s, but not much was thought of them because they were so rare. True grey dogs have two sets of recessive genes, one of which must be the chocolate coat coloration. Some puppies can get lighter or darker as they age depending on their genetics.

Improving upon the health of grey labs involves crossing to other colors occasionally. This enhances genetic diversity and prevents problems from cropping up because of a small gene pool. While not every puppy may have the desired color, they can have the right genetics to create them in the future.

When purchasing silver labrador retriever puppies for sale, it is important to understand the history and genetic diversity of each puppy. This will help in determining the potential for health problems to develop as the dog gets older. As well as this, an informative stance on the requirements and needs or the breed will make ownership happy for both animal and owner.




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