Black and brown Labs are melanistic colors. Their genes are on the brown locus. However, yellow Labradors rely on alleles found in the Extension locus, the purpose of which is to dampen black and brown genes.
Breeding a chocolate labrador with a yellow labrador can be complicated with unexpected results. There are six possibilities for offspring color combinations, and much depends on the parents’ genotype.
What Color Puppies Will A Chocolate And Yellow Lab Have?
As mentioned above, there are six different possibilities for litter color combinations:
- All black puppies
- All chocolate puppies
- Yellow and black puppies
- Yellow, chocolate, and black puppies
- Yellow and chocolate puppies
- Black and chocolate puppies
Labrador genetics is complicated, and people are often surprised by the color of the litter they have bred. Coat colors, like diseases, can remain unknown from one generation to the next.
Even for numerous generations if they carry the recessive gene. Let’s explore the different color possibilities based on the parents’ genotypes and discuss how to mate a chocolate Lab with a yellow Lab.
What is the reason for these six combinations? Have a closer look at the diagram to discover why? The yellow Lab possible genotypes are on the top and the brown genotypes down the left-hand side. Inside the diagram are the possible litter color combinations.
EEBB EEBBEEBB
EEBB Yellow Yellow Yellow
Black Choc Choc
lack Choc Cho
Black
EEBB Black Black Choc
Choc
There are three ways to be a yellow Lab and just two ways to be a chocolate Lab, as shown in the diagram. A chocolate Lab can either be Eebb or EEbb.
A yellow Labrador can be any one of three possible genotypes – eeBB, eeBb, eebb. Anytime two lowercase ee’s come together, they cancel out the three different possible color combinations of bee genes.
Upon studying all the possible combinations, you will see possibilities for all three colors in a litter from eeBb mated with Eebb.
If EEbb breeds with eeBB, all the puppies will be black because they have the dominant big B and one big E.
‘eee’ genes are powerful. These genes provide the genetic information that creates a yellow coat, and they can cancel out or influence the ‘bee’ genes that make black and chocolate. Each dog will inherit two ‘eee’ genes, one from each parent, and two kinds of ‘eee’ genes.
The big E (dominant gene doesn’t interfere with the ‘bee’ gene.
The little e (recessive gene) can mask or cancel out the ‘bee’ gene that could otherwise produce black or brown coats, and the result is a yellow dog.
How To Mate A Chocolate Lab With A Yellow Lab
When considering pairing a chocolate Lab with a yellow Lab, your primary concern must not be the color of the litter; you should aim to breed puppies for health and longevity.
The motto of a responsible dog breeder is “Breed to improve.” Responsible breeding means being able to evaluate the positive and negative points of your dogs before deciding to mate them. The ultimate goal of breeding is always to produce better quality pets.
Understand the commitment to raising a litter. In the first few weeks, the dam mostly takes care of her puppies’ needs, but things can go wrong, like a dam producing no milk, or one of the puppies gets sick, and so on.
In such cases, you must step up and support the dam and the puppies and provide for their needs. It’s a lot of work! If you know you can put the work in, and you have a chocolate female that you want to mate with a yellow male or vice versa, please consider the following steps:
Step 1 Select An Appropriate Mate
When deciding on a mating pair, you must first consider the sire and dam are registered with the AKC. If they are, you can register the offspring with the AKC.
When choosing a male for your dam, it’s essential to mate dogs that match well together. Choose a male Lab that will strengthen your females’ weaknesses and enhance her best qualities.
So, if your dam has a dull coat, find a mate with a good coat, ensuring that he comes from a dog line with good coats.
It’s crucial to seek the wisdom of other breeders, who can help you consider all the factors that determine your dog’s appearances and traits.
Two vital considerations when making your selection are health and temperament.
When it comes to health, Labs are subject to many hereditary illnesses. Some can be life restricting or, worse, fatal. The primary breeding goal is to produce offspring not affected by known genetic diseases prevalent in your breed.
Step 2 Know Your Genetics
A responsible breeder must have a decent grasp of genetics. Genetics will determine your future litters’ health, looks, temperament, and soundness.
Finding a mating pair, the appearance of the dogs must not be the only deciding factor. Instead, you must base your choice on understanding the animals’ genes and how they are inherited and expressed.
A dominant arrangement of inherited diseases requires just one anomalistic gene. It takes only one parent to be affected for the condition to manifest in successive generations.
Some conditions can be difficult to detect if the effects are mild and seem to skip generations.
A recessive arrangement of inherited diseases occurs when dogs possess two abnormal genes. A Lab with one normal and one mutant gene can be carriers. They can appear normal but pass the mutant gene to their puppies.
Defects in the chromosome structure and number can result in genetic diseases, producing severe defects. Dogs usually have 39 chromosomal pairs where genes are located.
Polygenic disorders arise from the collective function of many different genes. The precise number of genes and their unique functions are indeterminable.
Inheritable patterns can vary from one generation to the next. Polygenic inheritance often copies either recessive or dominant inheritance, leading to false conclusions about underlying genetic anomalies.
Step 3 – Finalize Stud Contract
When you have completed the essential health checks and selected a suitable mate for your dam, you must draw up a contract with the stud’s owner before breeding occurs.
The contractual agreement must be typed and printed; it should stipulate obligations and circumstances. Both parties should sign the contract, and each receives a copy.
The studs’ owner sets the fee and the type of payment. The male dogs’ owner might request a stud fee or a selection of one or more of the puppies.
The contract must state that the sire’s owner isn’t duty-bound to sign the AKC registration application before receiving the stud fee payment. The AKC cannot settle any disputes between the parties regarding contractual agreements and breeding arrangements.
Step 4 – Health Checks Before Breeding
If you expect good quality puppies, the parents should receive ongoing maintenance. Regular Veterinary care, genetic screening, pre-breeding tests, quality nutrition, and exercise are essential to produce healthy litters.
The female’s mental health needs attention as a well-adjusted female is likely to be a better mother than one with a hostile temperament.
The female will need a pre-breeding physical exam by a veterinarian about one month before breeding. Vaccinations must be up-to-date, and her vet must examine her for parasites and offer treatment if necessary.
Both the male and female should be checked for brucellosis, an infectious bacterial condition causing possible sterility and miscarriage in affected dogs.
Step 5 – Natural Breeding
An ethical breeder will not breed a female in her first heat to prevent imposing the pregnancy stresses on a young, still developing animal. It would be best if you also permitted enough time for recovery between pregnancies, so avoid breeding a female on consecutive heats.
Most dogs mate within the tenth and fourteenth day of the females’ reproductive cycle – if the female accepts her partner, mating every second day for a total of two to three matings is sufficient.
Natural breeding happens when the sire mounts the dam from behind. When pelvic thrusts cease, both dogs won’t part for up to half an hour; this is called a tie, during which a male might move until he is rear to rear with the female.
It would be best if you refrained from separating them during the tie as it can cause injury to one or both of the animals. Eventually, they will separate by themselves.
Step 6 – Artificial Insemination
When natural breeding proves to be problematic, artificial insemination is an alternative solution, and it is a straightforward procedure.
The AKC accepts the resulting offspring if insemination involved using fresh semen, frozen semen, and fresh extended semen, and as long as correct procedures are in place.
Final Thoughts
The science of Labrador genetics is undoubtedly a fascinating subject. As we can see with the chocolate and yellow Labrador, they can produce offspring of any of the six color combinations when paired.
However, a breeder’s primary focus is to improve the quality of their dogs and seek to produce healthy, well-adjusted puppies for future generations.
Make sure to provide a warm, dry, and calm whelping environment for your female when the time comes for her to birth her puppies.