# Lab question



## bigdaddyx4 (Jan 11, 2008)

I am just full of questions lately!!

What do you guys know about silver labs? I have seen a couple and heard a bit about them. I think that they are good looking, but I was just wondering if anyone has any info on them. They seem to have the color of a wiemereiner, but they are papered labs. Where did they come from? How does the AKC and other organizations look at them? 

Thanks again!!


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## Travis R. Bullock (Jul 25, 2008)

bigdaddyx2 said:


> They seem to have the color of a wiemereiner, but they are papered labs.


If it walks like a duck it is probably a duck! The first thing I ever thought of after seeing these silver labs was Wiem????

I am strongly against any breeding program that has focus on one thing, particularly something as trivial as color! These types of breedings are very detrimental to the breed and I would not only walk but run from such breedings. Spend the money you would sink into this fad and research a quality litter bred for performance, health, temperament and conformation.


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## Texscala (Sep 8, 2007)

The breed standard does not have silver as an acceptable color. 

I would not invest in one personally but some people seem to like them. Of coarse some people drop a grand on a labradoodle.


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## North Mountain (Sep 19, 2007)

Do you want a working dog or a dog to look at? I have yet to see a silver lab at a hunt test or field trial and believe me if they could do the work then they would be getting bred. If you just want a pet and like the looks of the silver then get one. I would at least ask for the standard clearances, hips, eyes, cnm & eic.


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## coolgunnings (Sep 8, 2007)

Bullock Outdoors said:


> bigdaddyx2 said:
> 
> 
> > They seem to have the color of a wiemereiner, but they are papered labs.
> ...


+1


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## Artoxx (Nov 12, 2008)

Bullock Outdoors said:


> bigdaddyx2 said:
> 
> 
> > They seem to have the color of a wiemereiner, but they are papered labs.
> ...


It also depends on how the breeding program is run, if this is a straight lab line that has been mutated to create silvers, then it is even more likely to have unhealthy genetics that are the lines that are already too closely interbred.

On the other hand if it is one of those deals where somebody took labs and mixed them with Weims for a generation or two and then bred THOSE lines together to get silver "labs" then it might actually be HEALTHIER than the lines that created it. At least for a while.

I cannot remember the numbers, but a new breed of dog has to be bred as it's own line for a certain number of generations before it can be considered "pure bred".

I have never seen or heard of a silver lab prior to this, so I have no idea what it's story is, but this info should give you some ideas to research while trying to decide.


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