white patch

Here's what I found:

http://www.akc.org/breeds/labrador_retriever/index.cfm

The Labrador Retriever coat colors are black, yellow and chocolate. Any other color or a combination of colors is a disqualification. A small white spot on the chest is permissible, but not desirable. 

i saw that too on a couple of webites. its not like we are doing anything for competition or trying to enter dog shows. what i am wondering is if its going to affect the way the dogs learn or act.

my buddys has a black lab with a huge white spot on his chest. he is one of the smartest and most well behaved dogs i have ever seen.

just because he's pure bred doesn't make him smart or even well mannered...I have seen many mixed breeds behave better then a lot of pure breds...

catmechanic Said:

my buddys has a black lab with a huge white spot on his chest. he is one of the smartest and most well behaved dogs i have ever seen.

just becasue the parents were black and yellow don't make them pure bred either unless they had papers...even those can be falsified.

It's your dog if you're happy with him that's all that should matter.

Nice looking dog

he is a really nice looking dog. big blocky head. the female is nice looking too. i don't have papers for either one. they weren't offered with duke. i could have gotten them with molly but it would cost more money.

i guess a lot of people frown on the white patch. especially when it comes to picking out a puppy.

here is a pic of duke and molly from this winter. probably january.

We have a supposed pure bread black lab with no papers...and he is completely black except the hair on the bottoms of his feet is white. Its kind of strange...u can only see them when he runs

hahaha. nice. duke has a little on the bottom of his paws too.

I heard from several vets and online sources that the white chest patch, white hairs on the toes/feet and some salt & pepper on the muzzle are all traits of lab mixed with german shorthair....we had a mixed breed litter when our lab was raped by the neighbor's GSP...2 pups were pure black and the other 6 had various combos of the above traits. I'm no breeder or dog expert (far from it!!) so I don't know if purebred labs get white chest spots or not.

you know, that could be. its possible that there could have been a shorthair in the bloodline somewhere. could be a ways back. without knowing the parents of dukes parents, its really hard to say. that could explain his ability to jump as high and far as he does. if i could get him dialed in, i think it would be fun to try dock dogs.

I have a registered chocolate lab with full papers and he too has a white spot on his chest.  This happens.  The white looks identical to that on your dog.  Because your dog ONLY has the white star on his chest and no where else, it is a good indication that he is purebred and not a mix.  My dog has been all i could ever ask for in terms of training, upland and waterfowl hunting, and as a family dog.  He has been studded out four times all at the request of other people.  Two of the females were papered themselves.  All of the females were owned by serious hunters.  In ND, we want field and water dogs with a good disposition.  I could care less if he qualifies for a dog show. 

My lab is papered, and has a tint of brown hair on his right hip.  You would never notice if you saw him, you'd have to look for it.  He also has developed some grey hair over the years.  I'm not much of a believer on papers unless you are considering breeding.  I had my lab locked up with my brothers for a few hours, but nada.  2 weeks later he got into it with a beaver.  That damn beaver ripped his ear right in half.  He had two flaps....took him to the vet and he came out of surgery with the ear put back together and no nuggets. 

The vet told us that our lab was crossed with Mastiff. Hes 110 pounds of muscle so maybe but he doesnt really look like it. But i am no Dog doctor either. I love him either way, he brings my pheasants back and doesnt back talk unlike my wife.   oops did i say that

And just for the record his name is Macho...if you would see him you would know why

<----------  Macho

Michael Jackson was white!

when we first got duke, we had every intention of breeding him. we still might. i think he might be a little young yet at 1 1/2 years. a couple months after we got him, we got another black lab, sadie. she ended up catching parvo along with every other puppie in that litter. we did a blood transfusion and she made it through that. then she got sick a couple weeks later and died.

about a month later, i got molly. she was a christmas present for my girlfriend. she is about 9 months now, and we think she is about to go into heat. we will end up separating them, but its going to be tough. we tried it one night last week. brought duke in the house since he is house broken. left molly in the kennel. needless to say at 130 i answered the door in my skivies and it was the cops. i put duke back in the kennel and she was fine.

duke is a pretty good dog. he likes to run though. i think its my fault. when we lived out at the farm, i would just let him outside and he ran and did what he wanted. he slept in the kennel at night until it got really cold out. then he got to sleep in the house. the kennel at the farm was 20x28. we were forced to move into town and the kennel got reduced to a 8x12. if i let him out without a leash, he is gone. i can let molly out and she will stay in the yard as long as i am around.

what i am getting at is will he stop with the running and listen a little better if i have him cut?

catmechanic Said:
you know, that could be. its possible that there could have been a shorthair in the bloodline somewhere.

Hey now !  Not a bad trait to have.

If you plan to breed him, having you given any thought to having his hips checked or EIC (exercised induced collapse) tested.  Not only for those you plan sell a puppy but having that stuff checked ensures that your not making puppies that will have problems. Normally you cant have a hip ceritification until they are two.
Just my two sense