Do Labs come in albino??

[*LabLoverKEB*]

Someone told me that Labrador Retrievers come in albino! I don't think they do. They also said that every breed comes in albino! I know Great Danes come in albino, and I'm sure there are other breeds that do, but Labradors?? I don't think so! Thanks!:) ;)

[turner]

I have to agree with you. I don't think I have ever seen or heard of a Albino Lab!

[Karen]

Albino is a mutation that could occur in any species, but some animals have been bred to perpetuate it more than others. We saw an albino garter snake in our yard - as it was being killed by what was probably a shrew. It was tiny, and because it was albino was quite easy for its predators to see. But with breeds of dog, people have controled breeding so can perpetuate characteristics they like. So I imagine any breed "could" have an albino ....

[angelpuppy]

Karen is right--ANY breed of dog, or ANY creature for that matter, can have an albino variant. Albinism is caused by the total lack of skin pigmentation, a rare trait that can manifest itself in Labs, as well as other dogs and even people!! I think you are maybe confusing albinos with dogs that are simply white. White dogs are not necessarily albinos. Only if they have pink eyes, i.e. with no pigment, are they considered albinos.

I used to have an albino guinea pig...her name was Baby, but we always called her 'Bino for short!!

[Andie]

They could. I seen an ad in the paper for AKC Lab puppies, white available. So unless i missed a color a Labs somewhere, I'm guessing the white puppies are albino.

[bnormal]

According to the breed standard only black, yellow and chocolate are acceptable colors.

I do know that an albino Doberman Pinscher is not going to be a healthy animal. Not sure if that would be true with a Lab but my guess is that they would have the same health issues.

Can't point you to reference regarding albino labs but here is one regarding albino Dobermans health concerns:

http://www.dpca.org/ac.html

[*LabLoverKEB*]

Thanks everyone!!! Speaking of different color Labs...

www.silverlabs.com

They look like Weimaraners!:) ;)

[Karen]

My guess is that the advertised "white puppies" were in fact just very pale "yellow" Labs, as the color "Yellow" covers everything from off-white to gold.

[turner]

The silver labs are beautiful! One of my favorite colors is silver! Its a very pretty color.

[ownerof3dogs]

Originally posted by turner
The silver labs are beautiful! One of my favorite colors is silver! Its a very pretty color.

I think that silver labs are pretty too!!!

[grassbur]

The place in Texas (link in another message) where the Silver Labs are bred is close by a friend's place, north of Waco. I was surprised to see the dogs, but they really don't look like Weimaraners to me. Silver Labs are much broader, especially through the head and shoulders.

As has been pointed out, an albino is possible in any species, and is a trait that can be bred for. However, because it is so much easier to breed albino stock by in-breeding a family line where albinos have turned up, there can be other problems with the dogs. Sun sensitivity is always a problem.

My black Lab bitch whelped a litter of pups by a Doberman that we were fostering (inattention on my part). Two of the puppies turned out to look just like their momma, but they were white. The male developed pale spots on his ears as he matured, but the female did not. I was real surprised to discover later that she had been bred to a Lab and her owners were advertising that the pups were out of a "white Lab." There wasn't much I could do, and I know they didn't have papers--just a big fib.

Mac

[Dogz]

I never knew there was so many colors of the Labrador. I have only seen Chocolate, Yellow, and black! I have only heard of those colors also! Thanks guys! Very interesting facts!

[belles_momma15]

Is that an albino lab? It's gorgeous!!!

[Uabassoon]

That silver lab is beautiful. But $1000 for a dog!! That seems crazy to me. I don't think I'd ever be willing to spend anything more then an adoption fee on a dog.

[Kfamr]

Originally posted by Uabassoon
That silver lab is beautiful. But $1000 for a dog!! That seems crazy to me. I don't think I'd ever be willing to spend anything more then an adoption fee on a dog.

THat's exactly why i HATE breeders. There are so many animals who are in the shelter.. who people could adopt for $15-$45 dollars... and they more then like will have less medical problems then those pure breds.



On the other hand... Are the "Silver" Labs mixed with something?



And aobut white labs.... Terra, my next door neighbors Lab, now at the rainbow bridge... She was completely white, and not albino. Her mother was a yellow lab [more of a goldern color though] an i not sure what color lab her father was.. THe only coloring she had on her fur was were she used to lick her paws/ legs.. and they almost looked like a chocolate lab. Boy, i miss her.:(

[Twisterdog]

That is correct, there are only three recognised colors of labs - yellow, black and chocolate. (Which always seems like a strange naming scheme to me ... shouldn't it be either yellow, black and brown ... or vanilla, licorice and chocolate? LOL)

Anyway ... white labs are just very pale yellows bred to very pale yellows, etc. Silver labs are a variation of chocolate. Both white and silver is a fault in labs, and these dogs could not be shown, and should not be bred, according to AKC standards.

Paying $1,000 for a lab of any color is simply insane, when labs and lab mixes are probably THE most common dog put to sleep in shelters. I know they are around here, anyway, hands down. But paying $1,000 for a dog that cannot ever be shown in conformation due to a color fault is REALLY insane. What are people thinking!?

A white animal is not the same thing as an albino. An albino would have pink eyes, clear toenails, no color on them at all. The gene for albinism is often genetically linked to the gene for deafness.

I hate the term "recognised" colours ....:mad: :mad:
Isn't this crazy ?? Why are some colours less wanted than others ?? This is mainly why I hate breeders ..:mad:
My niece has a white buldog ; is very very rare . Know why they are rare ? Because the "unrecognised" colours ( like WHITE) are killed immediately after they are born . HOW CRUEL CAN HUMANS GET ....
Sorry , I was pretty heavy here , but this really makes me so mad ... :( :(

[Desert Arabian]

YES... THERE ARE ALBINO LABS


How do I know?

a) because of hours of boredom, I do research on labs and I read that they do come in Albino.

Plus- I got proof!!

B. Hair Color in Mammals 1. In Labrador retrievers, one gene pair codes for the quantity of melanin produced while another codes for melanin deposition. 2. Still another gene locus determines whether melanin will be produced at all, lack of any produces an albino (recessive).

This was taken off of: www.apsu.edu/lyle/elnotes.htm

Oh boy, I feel like I get a pat on the back.

And to make sure that this wording meant "labs come in Albinos", I made my mom be 100% sure that that was what it meant in layman's terms, and she was 100% positive. (See,I can't understand fancy wording like that.I'm a little on the dumb side, in case you haven't noticed- LOL!)

So there ya have it- Labs can come in Albino.

[Petna]

I live in england and i see lots of labs i even have one myself but ive never seen that colour lab before but i must say i don't see many white or red labs any more do you?:)

[Grandy]

Hi there -

I don't know for sure if labs come in albino, but I attached a picture of my sweet girl (Bu), who is 100% white (with a bit of yellow tinge on her tail). I think she's classified as yellow lab, but she is pure white! :)

Have a great day!! :D
Amy

[Logan]

I just love seeing pictures of Bu, Amy!!! And I love her white coloring!!! :)

Many of you are correct in the comments about varying colors in the Labs (Golden Retrievers are the same way). A Yellow Lab can be quite light (as seen in Bu's picture) and also very yellow. Murphy, our Lab, is old and has a lot of gray now, but her coloring is almost tan, and she's a Yellow Lab. I like it because God made each one of them unique, just like my Honey and Lilly whose coloring is not the least bit alike.

Logan

[Grandy]

Thanks Logan!! :) That's so nice! Love your sweeties too!!! :D

Amy

[luckies4me]

Not all pink eyed white animals are albinos. In rats we have the white spotting/husky gene which is the cause of odd eyes, blazes and dalmation high white rats. Some rats get completley bleached, like the dumbo PEW girl I have here. She is indeed a Russian Blue but the gene has bleached all of her coloring. This is also the gene responsible for double odd eyes, i.e. dark colored rats with two light eyes, which should be black but will both be pink.

[wolfsoul]

I don't think there has everbeen an albino lab....I'll have to look it up :)
Albinos in the dog world are extremely rare though...The dogs that most people think of, like white danes or dobermans are almost always partial albinos. ;)

[Desert Arabian]

Paying $1,000 for a lab of any color is simply insane, when labs and lab mixes are probably THE most common dog put to sleep in shelters.

The Pit Bull and Pit Bull mixes are the most common dog breed destroyed in the United States. :(

[cali]

I used to have an albino guinea pig

um there are no albino piggies, I also have what some people call albino, white with pink eyes, however it is not albino its called PEW(pink eyed white)

just saw what luckies said, she is absolutly right.

[tracsgirl]

P.E.W. in the rodent world is another name for albino (pink eyed white). Anytime an animal has no pigment in it's body it is an albino. It would be the same genetic makeup of the other sibblings in the litter, but the albino gene covers its real coloring, because it is a dominant gene. There are white labs but they have gold eyes, if they have pink eyes they are albino. Albino animals are rarely healthy as the sun causes cancer to their unpigmented skin and their immune systems are lacking in antibodies for certain cancers and certain pathiological disease. A blue eyed white would have less problems but would probably still have sunburn and conjunctivitis.Dogs with blue eyes have chance of deafness esp. with blue eyes and high white coloring. To my knowledge silver labs have not been registered since 1993 has this changed? Last I knew they had to be registersd as chocolates...

[wolfsoul]

Silvers are still registered as chocolates. It does resemble chocolate to me, so I guess it makes sense.

[Kfamr]

Originally posted by YellowLabLover
The Pit Bull and Pit Bull mixes are the most common dog breed destroyed in the United States. :(
And pit bulls have to be the most beautiful breed ever. I hate people. :(

[wolfsoul]

Here it's the rotties and rotti mixes to be put down first :(

[*LabLoverKEB*]

Originally posted by Kfamr
And pit bulls have to be the most beautiful breed ever. I hate people. :(

I couldn't agree more!:) ;)

[wolfsoul]

Originally posted by lut
I hate the term "recognised" colours ....:mad: :mad:
Isn't this crazy ?? Why are some colours less wanted than others ?? This is mainly why I hate breeders ..:mad:
My niece has a white buldog ; is very very rare . Know why they are rare ? Because the "unrecognised" colours ( like WHITE) are killed immediately after they are born . HOW CRUEL CAN HUMANS GET ....
Sorry , I was pretty heavy here , but this really makes me so mad ... :( :(

I hate that too :mad: I think that it's good to have boundaries in conformation, otherwise anyone could enter their dog, but when people kill dogs because they can't enter them, or because other people can't, that's just cruel :mad: They shouldn't be breeding their dogs if they don't like the colours or other traits they produce :mad: :(

[GoldenRetrLuver]

Silver Labs??? Somone told me about them before, breeders registered them as chocolate labs under AKC so they could b registered! They are generally bigger then the yellow, black, and chocolate Labs. But, they are pretty cool looking, they remind me of Weims!:)

[lab_lover_123]

I have been wondering this myself recently, my AKC registered black labs just had pups and one of the 8 came out pure white. His ears, nose, paws, ans even where his eyes are supposed to be are pink. Could he be an albino?

[Tollers-n-Dobes]

Lab_Lover_123, Labradors do not come in Albino. The pup your dog had looks to be a very light yellow (not white) with light pigment. They're often reffered to as "Dudleys", for some reason. Not sure what the correct term for them is though. A member here by the username of ".Sarah" has two light pigmented yellow Labs - one really light yellow like your pup (Nova) and a darker one (Luka).

[BC_MoM]

That pup with the blue collar is a parent?!

[Danegirl2208]

That pup with the blue collar is a parent?!


I am wondering the same thing :eek: i certainly hope not!!!! :mad:

[k9friend]

I know of a new type of golden retiever. It's called a platinum retriever and it's white. It's beautiful.

[mike001]

Platinum is just another example of bad breeding. This is what leads to albinos, all these so called different whites. When they are bred, out comes the albino trait. There has been a few ads on some sites of white labs. From the description you gave of your pup, with red eyes and pigment it would be albino.
If lab breeders allow these dogs it turns out the same as the shepherd that some people are now breeding.They are against the standard, why breed them and propagate faults and weaknesses?
I think reputable breeders are right in culling whites in a litter, otherwise we would lose the standard for all dogs.

[*LabLoverKEB*]

I am wondering the same thing :eek: i certainly hope not!!!! :mad:
Oh gosh! :( I really, really hope not. She's probably another one of those irresponsible breeders... :( :mad:

[lab_lover_123]

The picture I have up is the only picture I have of the two togerther. She is about 4 months in that pic but she is about a year and 5 months now. Do not worry...i know what I'm doing.

[applesmom]

Breeding a lab at just over a year old is not to be recommended. They aren't old enough to have their hips certified at that age.

[*LabLoverKEB*]

Breeding a lab at just over a year old is not to be recommended. They aren't old enough to have their hips certified at that age.
I have to agree.... breeding ANY that is just over a year is wrong...
And I don't think you know what you are doing.

[lab_lover_123]

I'm sorry but I have to disagree, I do know what I'm doing. I grew up doing this with my mother. Besides how am I to control when my dog goes into heat? Just curious!

I found out she was pregnate when we went to get her hips ready for her to have pups.It was a shock to me as much as it is for you. i'm happy with what we did, we have 8 pups and I have Midnite, thats all that matters to me!

[lab_lover_123]

I forgot what I was doing, turns out the pup is just a yellow pup. He is not albino but he is not a freak. Both the mother and the father carried a yellow gene and passed it on producing him!

[leansnslobbers]

I'm sorry but I have to disagree, I do know what I'm doing. I grew up doing this with my mother. Besides how am I to control when my dog goes into heat? Just curious!

I found out she was pregnate when we went to get her hips ready for her to have pups.It was a shock to me as much as it is for you. i'm happy with what we did, we have 8 pups and I have Midnite, thats all that matters to me!


First off, you control your dog when she goes into heat by keeping her properly contained to keep her from being bred. That's what RESPONSIBLE people do when they keep an intact bitch.

Secondly, OFA certifications can not be done until age 2, and simply having a vet doing a hands on exam or even an xray does not mean that your pet has good hips.

Thirdly, if you do not know the genetics of your breed, you should not be breeding. You need to take a few years and do some more research.

Finally, you found out she was pregnant when you were at the vet, which tells me that this was not a planned breeding, and likely not a very well thought out or researched stud was not used.

[leansnslobbers]

Also, to clarify something I saw posted in this thread, albinism does not exist in Great Danes. A white dane is not an albino, rather just a white dane. :)