I was once told by a Labrador breeder that you should never mate Chocolate and Yellow together, you will end up with a very light Chocolate and Yellow eyes. Apparently it is preferable to mate Chocolate to either another Chocolate or a Black carrying Chocolate.

Is there any truth in this?

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No, to put it shortly, I'm just about to get my girls out and then kit up for work. The pale chocolate is part of the chocolate gene, nothing to do with yellow. The problem lies in the skin pigmentation, you can end up with what's known as a dudley, where the lip and eye leathers and nose aren't the right colour

ETA the preference to mate to black carrying chocolate or chocolate I assume is if you wanted chocolate pups? And just to say (reading your post second time round missed that bit) yes it is preferrable, simply because of the issue with skin pigmentation. Eye pigmentation is a completely different issue

Yep

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RIP all my babies.
Monty LabxGSD 1972-1982
Jody Black Lab1982-1999
KizzyLabx Goldie 1983-1994
Larry Yellow Lab 1985-1993
Charlie Black Lab 1986 -1997
Ben Yellow Lab 1985-1999
Pud Choc Lab 1989-2003
Bridgit Black Lab 1991-2004
Floss Yellow Lab1992-2006
Millie Yellow Lab1994-2010
My boy Ted, my first my last my everything.Golden Retriever 1/8/98-28/6/2011

most breeders won`t do it as they could end up with dudleys, personally i think dudleys are absolutely stunning though and have a soft spot for them as far as i`m aware it won`t cause any other problems than the possible undesirable lack of pigmentation

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owned by:

jake - chocolate labrador
sydney - liver/white english springer
twix - dlh cat
lacey - dsh cat

never forgetting my baby banjo running free at the bridge, RIP baby xx

They have amazing eyes don't they. It's funny how even the most knowledgeable breeder (he's been breeding for over 40 years) can get things a bit wrong.

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i don`t really know much about breeding but have been looking into dudleys as i fell in love with one i met and wanted to know more about them. from everything i`ve read up on there`s no reason why health wise they can`t be bred together, purely looks wise. they have the same eyes as choccie labs (or mine anyway) but with the lighter coat it`s just stunning, wonder if there`s any good breeders who ever have dudleys as i`ve only ever been able to find ones in america

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owned by:

jake - chocolate labrador
sydney - liver/white english springer
twix - dlh cat
lacey - dsh cat

never forgetting my baby banjo running free at the bridge, RIP baby xx

NO, NO, and..................... NO


If you mate chocolate to yellow, unless the yellow carries chocolate, and the chocolate carries yellow, ALL puppies will be black. With both chocolate and yellow being recessive genes, in order to produce it in a litter - the yellow needs to carry chocolate, and the chocolate needs to carry yellow.

You need the presence of certain colour combinations to produce 'Dudleys' and these can actually be produced from two black parents.

I've got a chocolate carrying yellow, and providing I mate her to a yellow with black pigment who doesn't carry chocolate, then the pups would be yellow and black and not be affected by pigmentation issues.

The issue arises when both parents are, or carry yellow and chocolate, because then you face the risk of yellow pups with no black pigment - this situation can arise mating

• Two yellows both carrying chocolate
• Two blacks both carrying yellow and chocolate
• A chocolate carrying yellow and a yellow carrying chocolate
• A black carrying yellow and chocolate and a yellow carrying chocolate
• A chocolate carrying yellow to a chocolate carrying yellow

Some breeders don't like to mix their yellow and chocolate lines - but recessive colour genes tend to linger longer than expected sometimes.

My eldest boys grand-dad is the product of a yellow and black mating - with not a chocolate dog in the 5 generation pedigree - yet he is chocolate - and you have to go back quite some way to find both lines carrying the chocolate - one is obvious, one not quite as much.

My chocolate carrying yellow is from a dominant chocolate to a chocolate carrying yellow - she is the darkest of my dogs, and while her eyes took a little longer to darken (just as her mothers did - and mum doesn't carry yellow) - she is my darkest girl here with superb pigment, and a coat that looks black in certain lights.

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So yes, there are 'risks' with mating chocolate to yellow if both dogs haven't been DNA colour coat tested - but if they are, and you carefully think through what is being mated, then there shouldn't be a problem.

I've spoken to some puppy enquirers who who almost believe any progeny will have two heads or other type of deformity

The following link should hopefully shed a bit more light on it.

It is the yellows with NBP (No Black Pigment) that people want to avoid.

Coat Color Inheritance

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What you need to know before buying a Labrador puppy