Chocolate Labs

[anser2]

As I have already said on another post I am looking for a new gundog and have spent the past few weeks trawling through 100 of ads. I would like a golden retriever , but to be realistic I am more likley to settle for a lab as most golden retreivers are well out of my price bracket. But I am in no hurry so will wait a few months to see if a suitable golden retriever comes along. I have had 4 gundogs in my shooting lifetime and all of them have been better than average in their retreving abilities indeed a couple have been outstanding. I suspect this is not so much due to my training , more the huge amount of time they spend on the marsh and the experiance they are able to gain , marking , finding game, swimming and indeed all my dogs have been trained to put their head underwater to search for a diving duck , indeed my present black lab will dive under water like a seal when after a diving duck.

 

In my search though the Gun Dog Ads there have been quite a number of chocolate labs and a few of my friends have them. In theory I guess all labs, yellow, black or chocolate have the potential to be very good gun dogs , but for some reason I have yet to see a chocolate lab that has developed into a good wildfowling dog, ok yes but I have yet to see an outstanding one. This is not a dig at chocolate lab owners as I have seen one that I like the look of though I suspect it has a lot of show bloodlines , but I am interested in the opinion of the Forum members. Has anyone seen an outstanding one?

[motty]

I rarely see chocolate Labradors on the marsh or indeed anywhere else on my shooting travels. However, from the information I have gleaned, I can see no good reason why they can't be as good a retrieving dog as the more common coloured labs.

[fenboy]

No , though I am sure they do exist.

I think general belief is they do not tend to make great gundogs and I have yet to see one on the marsh .

Most chocolates were bred for colour rather than working ability and I guess that is the issue , though as time goes on I would expect there to be plenty of good chocolate dogs about .

[tomaddy525]

Chocolate labs were historically bred to be big show dogs, losing some of their intelligence in the process. Guarantee you'll be able to find perfectly good ones, but i see no point when you could stick to black or yellow and be 99% sure you will have a dog of reasonable ability.

[BangBangNik]

I have a chocolate lab and he is far too excitable and silly to have any work on him what so ever. On one shoot I go on a bloke has a chocolate lab that works great and my grandparents even saw a chocolate guide dog a few weeks back. (I'm sure the owner is probably dead now due to some huge accident)

A good friend of mine has just bought a lab from a very well known breeder in carleton and he say that chocolates aren't the loopy dogs they used to be and within 10-15 years they will be just as capable as golden and black labs.

Edited February 14, 2016 by BangBangNik

[tullyhubbert]

25 years ago when I was trialing labs chocs were allowed to run in minor breed tests. At that time it was thought a lot of them were hard mouthed, from what I saw at cold game tests it seemed a fair assessment.

 

That said it's unfair to tar them all with the same brush, but personally I'd stay clear as a hard mouth is the one fault you can't live with in a gun dog.

[BRYAN3]

I have a chocolate lab and he is far too excitable and silly to have any work on him what so ever. On one shoot I go on a bloke has a chocolate lab that works great and my grandparents even saw a chocolate guide dog a few weeks back. (I'm sure the owner is probably dead now due to some huge accident)

A good friend of mine has just bought a lab from a very well known breeder in carleton and he say that chocolates aren't the loopy dogs they used to be and within 10-15 years they will be just as capable as golden and black labs.

 

10-15 Years? surely they are clapped out at that age.

[kent]

Brocklebank made up a chocolate lab

I know two good chocolate fowling dogs

 

In many ways the ideal colour it's just a blend of black and yellow genes

 

Unfortunately I know a useless one but seriously suspect it's the training and entering.

 

You can't beat in the field experience it's what makes a fowling dog. They pick up so much by experience. My own dog was having a Potter about in the gardens when a skien of pinks came over. You could hear those calls over half a mile away in the distance

Dog came back to find me full pelt and sat at herl tightly with his head low looking through his eyebrows waiting to see if one might fall

 

Not so bright though as I was not carrying a gun lol

 

I never actually taught that or expected it though I praised him.once they passed

Edited February 14, 2016 by kent

[panoma1]

Chocolate Labrador? Would they not melt in hot weather?

[derbyduck]

I had a big chocolate dog soft mouthed good temprement not afraid of hard work, and as Kent said it's down to training, the only thing wrong with my dog was he died to soon ,he should have lived forever !

[TONY R]

I can not say i have ever seen what i would call a GOOD working chocolate labrador, But that does not mean they dont exist.

I tend to be a black lab owner myself its just my preference, and if the fit took me to have a chocolate or a Yellow or a fox red i would have one in a heartbeat.. IF! I was happy it was from breeding or at least imediate parents i thought i could turn into a working dog and remember breeding is not a 100% guarantee anyway.

Way i understood the chocolate line was that it was all ways present and they cropped up from time to time, and that if both sire and dam were chocolate carying in thair bloodline the litters would cary some chocolate dogs, so quite why the colour should make them hard mouthed /hard to traim etc etc i cant understand.

If you cant live without a chocolate lab just buy one and treat it like all the others you have had, But me as i said LABRADORS Vare BLACK at our house.

[E.w.]

There's no such thing as a bad colour only bad trainers,I have a chocolate lab and she's 14year old, been a great fowling dog and worker you name it she's done it, I'd have one tomorrow from the right lines.

[kent]

The only issue is the show world went mad for them as did the pet breeder. Show and pet lines normally lack a certain amount of desire. That said in the right hands

It's a freak gene mix of yellow and black as a blend were as yellow gene is fox red it's just that some like the sound of a fox red, we used to call them dark yellow and sell them a tad cheaper till they became fashionable

Now if I see a fox red litter advertised I expect to see a litter of regular yellow pups and an idiot breeder

I have a dark yellow dog if someone says he is a nice fox red I ask if the person knows what a fox actually looks like

 

Like I say seen two good chocolates at work and brocklebank made one up

[scotslad]

Last 2 posts are spot on,

 

Seen a few very decent choclate labs over the years, with the right trainer/training absolutely nothing wrong with them.

How many bad/terrible black labs have u seen?

 

As has been said just a reccessive trait, but some problems may be genuine because people are breeding rubbish together, if both sire and dam are hard mouthed possibly pups will be too? or atleast more likely. Thats the problem when u have a small gene pool of a specific colour

 

I would also say fox red labs will go the same way as choclates far roo many people breeding complete rubbish with no thought put in other than how much they'll make.

When any colour is worth more than others u will always have some people breeding rubbish for profit

[greenshank1]

In the states they seem to have plenty working chocolate labs.

Is that due to them having a bigger gene pool ??

[fenboy]

In the states they seem to have plenty working chocolate labs.

Is that due to them having a bigger gene pool ??

 

More than likely, same reason why they have plenty of good Chespeakes and they are much harder to find over here.

[Tomo-1]

Now they are a good looking dog. I would like a Chesapeake Bay myself, shame the Mrs is alergic to dogs?

[anser2]

Thanks for every ones comments on Chocolate Labs.

[scotslad]

In the states they seem to have plenty working chocolate labs.

Is that due to them having a bigger gene pool ??

 

Or possibly the way they're trained.

Have u seen many and wot are they're standards like?Seen a few americain hpr FT and was pretty shocked by everything about it. And the dogs did not look that reat either

 

In the States and europe they also have traditional english/british pointer/setter breeds retriving like an hpr which they never do here

 

 

Think like with any working dog u pay ur money and take a gamble.

If u've seen/know the parents work the gamble is less or if reccommendded by a mate u trust who knows his dogs also putting the odds more in ur favour.

 

For a fowling dog no matter wot colour i'd be looking for a personal recommendation coming from a fellow folwers breeding

[Fal]

Last 2 posts are spot on,

 

Seen a few very decent choclate labs over the years, with the right trainer/training absolutely nothing wrong with them.

How many bad/terrible black labs have u seen?

 

As has been said just a reccessive trait, but some problems may be genuine because people are breeding rubbish together, if both sire and dam are hard mouthed possibly pups will be too? or atleast more likely. Thats the problem when u have a small gene pool of a specific colour

 

I would also say fox red labs will go the same way as choclates far roo many people breeding complete rubbish with no thought put in other than how much they'll make.

When any colour is worth more than others u will always have some people breeding rubbish for profit

 

+ 1

[labstaff]

Not sure about for fowling but a chap I know has 6 and they are all fantastic picking up dogs, out twice a week on 300 bird days. One was the first chocolate to qualify for the igl championships back in 2008. Then again he is a fantastic trainer. The only problem I can see is finding a suitable working chocolate strain as there still isn't many people working them (compared to black and yellow).