Designer Breeds: Swapping Standards for Status

There are approximately 340 dog breeds globally: maybe more, maybe less. Of those 340 breeds, the AKC (American Kennel Club, est. 1884) recognizes 199 of them. 199 isn't a lot, is it? One hundred ninety-nine breeds of dogs might not seem like a lot in a country of 320 million people. Still, when you consider that, like people, no two dogs are the same, coupled with the fact that there is a breed of dog for practically every purpose under heaven, perhaps 200 breeds of dogs are ample. As of 2020, the AKC categorizes all breeds into seven groups: Herding, Hound, Toy, Non-sporting, Sporting, Terrier, and Working. All 199 breeds of dogs registered with AKC fall into one of those seven groups. Five out of the seven groups have at least thirty breeds in their groups. Two groups, Toy, and Non-Sporting have an average of twenty breeds per group. With each dog having its own unique personality, finding one in any breed that fits easily into our lives isn't particularly difficult. What about mixed breeds? How many of them are in the world? Who knows! The United States has approximately seventy-five million dogs (including mixed breeds). The United States also has the most dogs of any country. Brazil, China, Russia, and Japan round out the top 5. I know what you are thinking about China. That's for another discussion. Why would we need more with so many dogs, purebred or otherwise?

There are approximately five hundred designer dog breeds, according to vippuppies.com. A designer breed is the product of mating two separate breeds of dogs. Wouldn't that be a mutt or mixed breed? Not according to those who breed them. What's the difference between a mutt and a designer breed? Knowing the parents' lineage is all it takes to designate a mixed breed a designer breed. For instance, when you cross a Labrador Retriever with a Weimaraner, you get a designer dog breed. That's all. A mutt is more or less a bastard child. You have no idea where it came from or its lineage, but you love it just the same. Doesn't it stand to reason that if you knew the lineage of a mutt of two or more breeds that it, too, would be a designer dog? Why call them designer dogs? Why that designation? It certainly makes no difference to the dog, does it? Could it be that you could easily charge more money for a mixed dog breed by giving a mixed dog breed a fancy title? You could tell the potential clients that they are getting the best of two dogs instead of one.

In many cases, we have heard that mixed breeds have fewer health problems associated with purebreds, but that doesn't consider poor breeding standards done by careless, backyard breeders looking for an extra dollar or a thousand. Legitimate breeders of merit who have carefully selected the best dogs and bitches with lines going back twenty generations and who have also had their dog's health tested for hip dysplasia, elbow grading, eye tests, heart test, and more, realize the extra effort and expenses that come with reputable breeding greatly reduces the odds of their puppies having health problems later in life. The fact is smaller dogs live longer than larger dogs, purebred or otherwise, and when you purchase a puppy from a respectable breeder, you can be sure that you are getting a healthy dog who will be a valued and loved member of your family for many years. In the case of mixed breeds vs. purebreds, the difference in lifespans is negligible. If this is a selling point of a breeder of designer dogs, they either don't know what they are talking about, or they expect you don't.

It is even more interesting how much money designer dog breeders charge for their dogs. In many cases, 25 to 50 percent higher! That's crazy, but it's the new normal nowadays. When Wally Conron, a breeder of dogs from Australia, mixed a Labrador with a Poodle, he wasn't expecting the chain of events breeding the first designer dog would lead up to. He didn't do it for notoriety, nor did he do it for the almighty dollar. A blind man, allergic to most dog coats, including labs, needed an alternative, and realizing that labs had fur and not hair, but made excellent guide dogs, was in a pickle of sorts. Conron, seeing the problem, also had a solution, and possibly the only time that mating two separate breeds for something other than status and financial gain made sense. By crossing the Labrador with the Poodle (Poodles have hair, not fur, and therefore do not shed), he took the best traits of both dogs and bred them into one. In 1988, the Labradoodle was born. Unofficially, the Labradoodle gained distinction as the first designer breed of dog. In the thirty-plus years since there has been a spike in designer dogs. Most are bred for nothing more than aesthetics and companionship. Some would find this an attack on the purebred dog establishment. As if purebred dogs weren't enough dogs to demand our devotion, certain people, for several reasons ranging from boredom, greed, and status to fodder for bouts of narcissism, felt it necessary to challenge the status quo.

The silver Labrador is one such example. Such a case is unique because breeders and owners alike have convinced themselves that the silver lab is not just a designer dog but a designer breed, no less! Yes, they have arbitrarily changed the breed standards for the Labrador Retriever to accept silver as a recognized color of the breed. The breed standard, set down by the AKC and the KC (Kennel Club of Great Britain, and the oldest kennel club in the world), clearly states that there are only three recognized Labrador Retriever colors; Black (the most common), yellow (gaining steam), and the chocolate sitting comfortably in third place. A little trip down history lane tells us that silver was not a recognized color in any records prior to the mid to late 20th century. Okay, they didn't change the breed standards; they are pretty much the same as when they were established, except for the change in height for Labradors bred in America. The mystery of why and how the breed standards changed for American Labradors compared to English Labradors has never been solved. There isn't a distinction between the two; there shouldn't be anyway. The American version is taller and leaner than the English version. How did that happen? No one knows for sure. It's worth another look, in my opinion.

Winning the genetic lottery – or not

As many believe, a descendent of the St. John's Water Dog from Newfoundland, Canada, the Labrador Retriever had its beginning not in the United States but in Great Britain, where it gained recognition as a distinct and separate breed in 1903. With the importation of a very small number of KC (Kennel Club of Great Britain) registered Labradors, the AKC recognized the breed in 1917. There are no records of any Labradors with silver coats making the trip across the pond, therefore no record of the first registered Labradors in this country being silver. The AKC didn't register the first Chocolate Labrador until 1932. This is important, as it's only logical to assume that if silver was a primary color of the breed at that time, as many claims it was, why is there no mention of the color making the trip? For silver labs to be purebred, and knowing the breed came from Great Britain to here, there would have to have been silvers on the boat crossing the Atlantic. I haven't seen any records. Many of the breeders I've spoken with are not aware of actual proof of this claim. There may be reports of silver coats showing up in a few litters from time to time, but those are the exceptions and should not be considered evidence that the color was the norm and accepted as such. A morsel of agony for you to chew on is if there were any silver coats in a litter, they were culled. They were given away as pets, as they were probably good dogs, just not the breed standard and wouldn't be bred, or they were destroyed in the interest of breed purity. To prevent breeding their labs to other labs, or other breeds, many breeders require clients to sign contracts stating they will not breed their dogs. Sadly, once the pups leave the breeder, it's next to impossible to confirm whether the dogs are being bred. It's a foregone conclusion that a good portion will be bred once the puppy is mature, contract, or no contract.

Proponents of the silver lab are putting much of their stock into the field of genetics and DNA testing, citing companies like Embark and, more recently, Wisdom Panel. Both companies make fantastic claims alleging detection of a breed with 98% accuracy. Unfortunately, there was no DNA testing or genetics in the early 20th century, but all that shows us is that without those tests, the only way to prove the existence of silvers was by accurate record keeping. Again, there is no proof based on available records of silver being a primary color in the Labrador breed before it arrived in the states. Jump ahead to 1946, and you will find 1736 Labradors registered with the AKC. These Labradors were either imported from Great Britain (as the breed was becoming popular with hunters in the States and the demand for the Labrador was growing, eventually leading to its rise to becoming the most popular breed in the world), bred from British imports, or descended from British imports. Again, no mention of the silver coat anywhere. Let me remind you that an honorable mention in some magazine or newspaper article doesn't qualify as proof a dog is purebred. Of course, you will find litters that contain not only silver coats but even brindle and sable. It happens, especially with breeders who aren't as concerned with preserving the breed standard as much as they are with making money. If you need a hint what all this talk about designer dogs, DNA testing, genetics, and neuroticism comes down to, it's simple – money!

If the silver lab isn't a lab, what is it, and where did it come from? It's here where genetics works in favor of the Labrador breed, strengthening its case in adherence to breed standards set down by the KC and FCI (Federation Cynologique Internationale. Translated, World Canine Organization. Est. 1911). Located in Belgium, the FCI "...is the predominant international canine organization encompassing most of the world's nations with the major exceptions of England, Canada, and the United States, which are not members but have comprehensive cooperative agreements." The exclusion of Canada, England, and the United States as members of the FCI doesn't negate the FCI's authority, as it applies to breed standards. You will find the breed standards are practically word for word the same – with a few exceptions, such as referring to Labrador/Weimaraner crosses as mixed breeds, known as Labmaraners. I prefer Weimador to Labmaraner, but I don't get to make those decisions, and fortunately, neither do those who cross the two breeds, capriciously referring to them as purebreds. I know what the many supporters of the silver lab are asking right now – why aren't they purebred? I could end this right here if I knew it would convince you of the blatant mischaracterization of the Labrador Retriever breed by including the silver coat as a recognized color.

One word, dilute.

Labrador Retrievers come in 3 colors: black, yellow, and chocolate (worth mentioning again). Except for the chocolate Labrador, there are no dilutes in the breed. What makes chocolates dilute? The bb allele. Weimaraners carry the bb allele, too. Silver supporters have built their case based on this misconception; silver labs are a dilute of the chocolate Labrador. If both carry the dilute gene bb, why is the silver lab silver and not chocolate?

What exactly does dilute mean concerning dogs? Labrador colors are defined by their genes; the "B" gene determines whether the dog is black or chocolate. The "E" gene gives it a yellow color. In the case of the chocolate lab, puppies that inherit the dominant "B" gene from either one or both parents will be black; if they inherit two recessive bb genes, they will be brown. I wish that were the end of our lesson on the rudiments of gene splicing. Unfortunately, it is not. Where did the silver color come from? The dd allele. Okay, where did that gene come from? The Weimaraner, of course. The debate gets brutal from here. Any Labrador genetic chart you find on Google will give you B's and E's. What you won't find are any D's. Please note that in 1943 the Weimaraner was recognized by the AKC as a breed. Is this important? You see, it's all about timing. Somewhere between the arrival of the Labrador Retriever to the United States from Great Britain, and the arrival of the Weimaraner from Germany in 1929 (after much lobbying by Howard Knight, an American hunter spending time in Germany, compelled the Weimaraner Club to permit him to bring some dogs back to the states for obvious purposes, and a hefty price) to the United States, a connection was made. Remember when we were scratching our heads about why the breed standards changed for Labrador Retrievers born in America to those original Labradors brought from Great Britain? What made the "American Labrador" taller, leaner, and more spirited than its European counterparts?

Okay, let's compare some standards: In 1916, Great Britain suggested the heights for the Labrador breed were to be 22' to 22.5' inches for dogs and 21.5' to 22' inches for bitches. These were only suggestions, not written in stone. In 1917, the AKC adopted the standard suggested by Great Britain. Thus, becoming the official breed standard of the Labrador Retriever in the United States. In 1950, the British Standard Revised stated the above measurements as the "Desired height for dogs..." Interestingly, in 1956, the AKC Standard Revised (dubiously) said, "No disqualification for height." Heights of 22.5 to 24.5 for dogs and 21.5 to 23.5 for bitches." Notice anything strange about those measurements? The apex height of 22.5 inches was now the nadir. An additional two inches were added, making the apex 24.5 inches! Where did that extra two inches come from? I'm glad I asked that question. Let's hop over to the Weimaraner page and check out its breed standards for height. Well, well, well, what do we have here? It looks like the Weimaraner is a good two to three inches taller than the Labrador Retriever brought over from Great Britain, but for some reason, it's just an inch or so taller than the American Labrador. I wonder how that happened? Coincidence, perhaps? Hardly. Coincidences are rare, if at all. My initial conclusion would be that some ambitious American hunters liked the durability of the original Labrador Retriever but also saw some perks that came with the Weimaraner, such as very high energy and stamina. English Labradors aren't allergic to exercise. They make excellent retrievers and require lots of mental and physical activities to maintain a proper balance, or they can and usually do become couch potatoes. Labs love to eat. You feed them – anything – even healthy food, and you do not exercise them, they will get fat. Period. Weimaraners add that extra umph! Combine the cleverness of the Labrador Retriever with the high-octane fuel of the Weimaraner, and you will have one helluva hunting dog. Is it starting to make sense yet? Let's suppose the intended purpose of joining the two breeds was not to add a new color scheme to the existing and established black, yellow, and chocolate but only to improve on established traits present in both breeds? If that is the case, you cannot blame them. After all, many people do not care, one way or another, about preserving any or all breeds of, well... anything. They just want the best dog for the job. Combining the Labrador with the Weimaraner may have just made sense to some savvy hunters. Indeed, there's a good possibility that deception wasn't a motivating factor initially.

Just an observation, that's all. Okay, back to boring genetics.

What we are looking for is the missing link, that elusive piece of the puzzle that would tie this all together, allowing us to focus our attention on more mundane matters, like how to survive in this upside-down world. First, if we are to build some sort of foundation, we must first acquire a clear and precise explanation as to why it is so crucial that silver labs be considered purebred Labradors. For that, I have no answer. I don't believe they are and therefore cannot give you a definite answer, one way or another. For that matter, why not call them Labmaraners or Weimadors? Indeed, the rest of the world has no difficulty acknowledging the existence of Labradoodles, Goldendoodles, and so on. If the curly coat of a Labradoodle is a clear giveaway that a Labrador and Poodle were crossed, why can't the silver color be a clear giveaway that a Labrador was crossed with a Weimaraner? One theory is probably the most likely; the Labrador Retriever is the most popular dog in the world. The Weimaraner isn't. But its coat is not the dull black, yellow, or chocolate either. Combine that with the selfish, self-important, me-first attitudes that permeate our society today, and what do you get? A silver Labrador. Of course, that is only a guess. A narcissist will never admit they are a narcissist, nor will they admit they are breaking the rules just to fill an emptiness inside their souls that coffee, caviar, and The View will never fill.

The missing link is the dd allele—the smoking gun on which this whole argument rests. One group says the allele has always been present, making it part of the breed. That statement is true to a point. As was stated earlier, there may have been silver coats in a particular litter, but they weren't accepted as breed standards and culled. Flash forward one hundred years, where whims like wishes are waiting to be granted; where dogs are put on higher pedestals than humans; where all dogs matter, and what you get are fewer puppies (including silvers) culled from litters of unscrupulous breeders who have no intention of adhering to breed standards but are more concerned at making an extra buck. This goes for the AKC and, quite recently, the KC of Great Britain. Both have fallen from grace, succumbing to the almighty dollar. The AKC now allows silvers to be registered as chocolate. I could go on about this, but the simple fact is, unless the AKC wants to check every individual litter, there is no way to police every birth verifying color, making it much more difficult to confirm whether the dog being registered is a chocolate, or silver being registered as chocolate. It's much easier just to accept the fee and move on.

The other group, made up of primarily legit breeders, intent on preserving the bloodlines, remain firmly planted in their convictions, agreeing that though the silver gene may be present in the breed, it is not an accepted color. If the dd allele is present in the Labrador Retriever, it's not inherent to the breed. Again, look at any color chart on the internet, and none of them will contain the dd allele. You will find them in the Weimaraner breed. Most canine enthusiasts will acknowledge the dd allele is commonly found in the Weimaraner. How can you not, when it's right in front of your eyes? Silver enthusiasts won't admit that it is not inherent in the Labrador Retriever breed. For instance, a blonde-haired, blue-eyed young woman takes a DNA test, discovering that she is twenty percent Italian. Does that automatically make her purebred Italian? Of course not.

What does Embark say about their claim that they can tell you what breed your dog is? Not what many silver enthusiasts want you to believe. Again, it all comes down to the integrity of the owner. Embark has no way of verifying whether the owner uses a sample from the dog they are claiming or a sample from another dog. Yes, it could be that simple. If you are under the impression that no one is that deceitful, think again. The lengths with which silver fans will go to show all social media that their silver is a purebred Labrador Retriever is beyond obsessive. Embark also explains that their tests can detect admixture three to four generations back. Still, many ancestors more than six generations back wound up not contributing any DNA in the dog's genome, and no DNA test would ever be able to detect that far back. So, if a silver owner says their genealogy goes back ten to twenty generations, they are not being truthful. Genetic admixture results from introducing a new genetic lineage into the population. In a nutshell, Embark's records consist of DNA samples that cannot be verified as accurate, based solely on the integrity of those submitting the samples. Sure, you could make those submitting samples sign something acknowledging there is no fraud. Again, how would you verify the validity of the samples unless you personally checked each one? Certainly not cost-effective.

The LRC (parent club to the AKC for the breed) believes the silver Labrador isn't purebred, stating, "It is the opinion of the Labrador Retriever Club, Inc., the AKC parent club for the breed, that a silver Labrador is not a purebred Labrador retriever. The pet-owning public is being duped into believing that animals with this dilute coat color are desirable, purebred, and rare and, therefore, warrant special notoriety or a premium purchase price." This is the parent club of the AKC! Yet the AKC allows owners to register their silver dogs as chocolate labs. Why? Again, the reason is money. They also state that the original breeders of silver Labradors also bred Weimaraners. It can't be a coincidence (as stated above) that the American Labrador is roughly two inches taller than the English Labrador that crossed the pond in the early 1900s.

They go on to say, "Although we cannot conclusively prove that the silver Labrador is a product of crossbreeding the Weimaraner to a Labrador, there is good evidence in scientific literature indicating that the Labrador has never been identified as carrying the dilute gene dd. The Weimaraner is the only known breed in which the universality of dd gene is a characteristic." What evidence? Take a look at the color chart once more. See any dd alleles? Neither do I. A particular thorn in the side of Labrador Retriever purists, even those with the most documented genealogies of their kennels, is the question of recessive traits like dilution in their bloodlines. Like a virus dormant for years, these recessive genes can appear in a litter of puppies, who should not contain any silver at all. Acknowledging that the genes can remain dormant, it's fair to assume that people did breed Labradors with Weimaraners in the past. Suppose it happened one time, and a litter of pups produced some silver puppies, but no more breeding occurred between the respective dogs. In that case, generations in the future will carry that gene, though you may never see another silver in a litter for many years unless you bred a descendant with a Weimaraner.

Many silver enthusiasts feel that in time the pressure will get to the AKC, and they will finally recognize the silver lab as a purebred lab, so instead of three colors, there will be four. Except the AKC doesn't get to make that decision, the parent club does. It happens to be the LRC. It doesn't appear to be in any hurry to add a fourth color from its statement above. There's no basis, genetically, for the silver gene in Labradors. Silver enthusiasts can kick and scream until they are blue in the face; they can cite journals, magazines, even internet sites, but nowhere does it claim that silver is, in fact, a recognized color for the breed. It makes it even more apparent when the breed standards state the silver coat is a disqualification.

To put it another way, if a silver lab is a purebred lab, why is the silver coat a disqualification? Chocolate is a dilute color, yet they are purebred. You see, this is where the waters get muddy when you challenge silver enthusiasts. They are not concerned with showing the dogs or interested in adhering to breed standards. Black, Yellow, and Chocolate can all be shown, as they are purebred, but not silver. Many accredited breeders charge hefty fees for their pups, as they invest a lot in their dogs. Be aware that although yellow labs can be shown in the ring, those possessing a chocolate pigment (dudley/liver) cannot be shown, as the dilute pigment is a disqualification. Certainly not a popular rule amongst many breeders, but the dogs are still purebred.

Most breeders will tell you they aren't in it for profit but for the breed. Typically, not charging enough to cover expenses. Why do they do it if they don't make money? They love the breed. This goes for breeders of every breed – even mixed breeds. In the case of silver labs, whose breeders ask for 25 percent or higher than the average asking price of what breeders of the established three-color Labrador breed ask for their dogs, money is the driving force behind the motivation to produce the coat. Go to any lab group on social media and ask what people have paid for their silver dogs and be prepared to catch your lower jaw before it hits the floor.

In many cases, be prepared to pay upwards of fifteen hundred dollars to two thousand dollars for a silver lab or more. There's no way! See for yourself. Typical costs for purebred Black Labradors hover between seven hundred and fifteen hundred dollars. In some cases, depending on the pedigree and how many champions are in the lineage, you may be required to pay as much as two thousand dollars for a purebred Labrador. Silver breeders can't and shouldn't in reasonable conscience charge what they do because their dogs can't be shown and thereby proving they are prime examples of the breed. Would you spend your money on a silver lab with no pedigree to speak of, or on a Black, Yellow, or Chocolate lab whose lineage goes back generations, containing many champions and proven hunters?

Breed standard and lineage do not mean as much as being part of the cultured class for many silver enthusiasts. Trips to the local dog park, pet store, and in some cases, even the grocery store can offer the validation they crave. All that matters is that the dogs are loved, given good homes, and not overbred. The debate will go on indefinitely, I'm sure. Eventually, there may be a concession, but don't count on it anytime soon. To say, "... it can't be proven that Weimaraners and Labradors were bred to make the silver lab" isn't accurate either, as there is no way to prove it either way. Anyone's guess is when and where the dd allele first appeared in the Labrador breed. It's not that anyone has a problem with silver as a color for dogs. It's a very sporty color for a dog. It's a safe assumption that if silver labs are purebred Labradors, the standards would have indicated so before now. Perhaps a deeper look into the past will answer many of those questions.