BHG Articles

There are many disputes that surround the existence of the new addition to the dog breed world, the Golden Labrador. Hearing its name, you might think that this breed is either a golden colored Labrador or a cross between a Golden Retriever and a Labrador Retriever. One of these assumptions is true while the other is not.

For one, there is confusion as to whether there really is a golden colored Labrador. A yellow Labrador Retriever is of existence but would it be possible to have a golden Labrador? If you know or have heard some people trying to sell a golden colored Labrador, be warned for this is a wrong and deceitful way of describing a Labrador Retriever variety.

There are only three colors accepted for the Labrador Retriever and these are: black, chocolate and yellow. Golden is an unacceptable variant and is said to be non-existent. Golden-colored Labrador is a name supposedly coined by breeders who found a strong-yellow-colored Lab in from a Labradors litter.

There are people who claim that there are new and rare variants of Labrador Retrievers and breed authorities give warnings to unsuspecting buyers that these claims are considered scams. Some buyers who are fooled by the convincing insistence of golden Labrador” breeders are surprised to realize that the puppy or dog they have bought are no different from the yellow Labrador. Some scammers even claim that the golden variety of the Labrador has been verified through DNA testing by experts but there is no truth to this.

Now that the golden-colored Labrador has been proven wrong, the only truth behind the existence of a Golden Labrador is the fact that it is a crossbreed between the Golden Retriever and the Labrador Retriever. These parent breeds are without a doubt excellent pets and have millions of enthusiasts combined around the world. But this new hybrid, albeit a newcomer, is slowly starting to have its own set of followers around the world, too.

A hybrid dog is generally developed to possess the different characteristics of its parent breeds. The distribution of characteristics, however, is not equal as 50-50 but instead, sometimes may come out as 40-60, 30-70, etc. Moreover, not all strengths of the parents will be manifested through the hybrid and sometimes some trademark temperament of the parents will not show at all in the hybrid.

The Golden Retriever is a well-known water retriever and is an excellent swimmer. The hybrid Golden Labrador may get this skill from the Golden Retriever but may not be as excellent. On the other hand, the Labrador Retriever is the most popular pet in the US for reasons that it is highly trainable, gentle and amiable. It is also great in scent detecting and in fact, is used in many police and military works.

The crossbred Golden Labrador may or may not be a completely superb detector like the Lab because it all depends on the genes that it inherited. This hybrid may sometimes come out having the distinct characteristics of one parent or sometimes it can be a combination from both the Golden Retriever and the Labrador. The appearance of the Golden Labrador also varies and sometimes may look like the Golden Retriever, the Labrador Retriever or both.