Labradors come in different colors and they come in white color too. Some labradors look as white as snow and some have a little darker shade than white.

Actually, what is a White Labrador? Is a White lab different from the normal labrador? In this article let us have a look at the beautiful white labrador dog and we provide you with all the interesting information about white labradors.

 

White Labrador- What is a white labrador actually?

Yellow labradors come in different shades. A yellow labrador can produce litter that can range from fox red color to light cream color. Hence the coat of a yellow labrador appears in many colors such as darker fox red color, fox red color, darker yellow, lighter yellow, cream color and also white.

Hence a white labrador retriever is nothing but a yellow lab whose shade appears to be lighter in color when compared with other yellow labs.

 

Does AKC recognise a White Labrador retriever?

According to AKC, the Labrador retriever coat colors are black, yellow and chocolate. But it recognises differences in shades in a yellow labrador. Have a look at its statement. Yellows may range in color from fox red to light cream.

As white colored labrador is simply a lighter shade of yellow, it is recognised by the AKC as a yellow labrador and nothing else.

Visually it is considered special by people because of its pure white color, but actually, it is nothing but a pale version of the yellow labrador.

 

How are White Labrador puppies born?

Yellow labradors always produced puppies of different shades. In olden days during the period of 1950’s more people preferred their labrador color to be dark rich yellow.

But the changes in trend always occur. After the mid-1950’s light colored seemed rare and more desirable for the people and people started preferring more lighter shades. Thus the pale colored yellow labrador gained popularity among the people.

So the breeders preferred selective breeding of lighter shade labradors to produce labs of more lighter colors. Thus lighter shades were selectively bred to produce white lab puppies.

Thus a white lab puppy was born from its lighter shaded yellow labrador parents.

 

Difference between Albino labrador retriever and white labrador retriever

Then what about Albino labrador which also appears white?

This is completely different. Albinism is a genetic condition in which there would be a complete absence of pigmentation of nose, eyes and skin. A white labrador does not necessarily have to be an albino labrador. In a majority of the cases, a white labrador is not an albino labrador.

In a white labrador, you can observe its dark eyes and dark nose which is due to its pigmentation, whereas an albino labrador retriever does not contain any pigmentation. When you observe an albino labrador’s eyes, nose and skin it appears pale pink in color.

You must also know that this absence of pigmentation is an undesirable genetic trait which causes various health issues such as light sensitivity, sunburns eye burns and also increases the risks of skin cancers in dogs.

 

White Labrador types

Actually, Labradors can be categorised into two types. One is the Show type and the other one is the Working type. The show type is called the English labrador whereas the working type is called the American Labrador. Then what about the types of White labradors? Similar to all other labradors white labradors can also be classified into two types.

 1.White English lab

The White English Labrador is a show type that is gaining its popularity, especially in the USA. A white English lab tends to be more heavy with a bigger chest and wider head with a shorter body when compared with the American type.

In comparison with the working type, they are quite silly and little difficult to train. They can be good family pets to stay at home and are wonderful in the shows.

 2.Then what about White American labrador?

Though American labradors are preferred to be in darker shades, White American labradors do exist.

White labradors with slim bodies and more agility tend to be the working type Labrador. They are highly energetic and are perfectly suitable for field works.

 

Getting a White Labrador puppy

To get a white labrador puppy, two yellow labradors have to bred selectively to get more pale colored puppies.

Even though yellow labs are bred selectively, there is no guarantee of a whole litter of white labrador puppies. The puppies in the litter can vary in colur from darker shades of yellow to paler shades of yellow. Moreover, the coat colur of the puppy changes as it grows in age As the puppy grows into an adult, its coat color can become either darker or lighter.

So this sparks a question, Are white labs rare? Is it difficult to get a pure white labrador? I say Yes because a yellow labrador litter cannot guarantee you white labrador puppies.

Even though white lab puppies are born, there are chances they may not remain pure white as they age. By the time they turn into adult dogs many white labs get a darker shade of yellow color on its ears.

 

White lab breeders and their practices

Even though many breeders adopt healthy breeding practices to ensure proper health of the little, there exist some breeders who adopt unhealthy breeding techniques to encash the customers wants.

The rise of popularity of white lab puppies has made the breeders breed yellow labs to produce labradors of paler colors.

As the white labs are quite rare and not greater in number, the white labrador breeders adopt excessive breeding between the available white labs to produce more and more white labs. This breeding between the pale colored labradors ultimately decreases the size of the gene pool that increases the risk of genetically inherited diseases.

Remember few things about a good breeder

A good breeder will provide you with a good healthy labrador puppy because he will focus more on the puppy’s health rather than its color.

A good breeder will not adopt breeding practices that may be detrimental to the health of the dog to obtain a particular color.

 

White lab price

Anything which is rare quotes high prices. This is also the same in case of a white labrador. Due to the rarity of the white colored labrador, many breeders try to sell the white lab puppies at higher prices.

Hence a white labrador price may be higher than a normal yellow labrador.

Even though some genuine breeders prefer to sell the white lab puppies at the same price like any other yellow labrador, some breeders try to take advantage of the rarity of the coat color by selling white lab puppies at higher prices.

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