Labrador Retriever coat colors are black, chocolate and yellow as recognized within ALL written breed standards including AKC and FCI. This article is not going to go into the depth of canine coat color genetics, but rather keep things simple and within reason for most people. At the end of this article, I will add links to some sites that will be helpful for those interested in the genetics of coat colors. I want to start with our basic Labrador colors and their variations.  Later we will discuss the “so-called” Silver and White Labradors and also talk about mismarking or unusual colors that can happen in the Lab. BLACK: The basic color.  Black Labradors are solid black. A small white spot on the chest is permissible.  Sparse white hairs in between the toes and footpads are common in some of the blacks.  Some mature black Labradors will have a red or orange hue to their coats at certain times of the year.  This is known as casting.  Casting can occur when the Lab is shedding and the hair is dead but also can be a result of bleaching from prolonged exposure to the sun.  CHOCOLATE:  Chocolate or “Liver” Labradors can range in shade from a light to very dark chocolate color.  A small white spot on the chest is permissible.  Eye color on chocolates can range from yellow through brown.  Darker coat and eye color are most desirable in chocolates. Washed out chocolate coats and light eyes are not attractive for this breed.  The chocolate coat is hard to maintain in one uniform color.  The sun easily bleaches the chocolate Labrador, giving him the appearance of various shades of the chocolate color scattered throughout the coat.  Keeping the chocolate Labrador out of the direct sun or the use of mink-oil with sunscreen lightly spayed on the coat will help the chocolate Labrador look his best at all times. YELLOW:  Yellow Labradors can range is shade from a very light cream all the way to a fox red color with various darker shading along the ears, top line, tail and hocks.  A small white spot on the chest is permissible, however will not be noticeable in the lighter shades of yellow. Yellow Labradors should have black pigment on the nose, lips and eye rims.  The black pigment on the nose of mature Labs can fade in the wintertime to a brown or pink color.  This is typical and the black will return with warmer weather.  Labradors that lack pigment will have either brown or pink eye rims, nose and lips and they will never turn black.  This is not desirable.  Breeding chocolate and yellow Labradors will result in yellow offspring without pigment so this practice of breeding yellows to chocolates is not recommended.  Newborn yellow pups are born without pigment but within the first days of life the black pigment starts to come in.  If black pigment has not developed within the first 7-10 days of life, the puppy will not have black pigment. MISMARKINGS: White seems to be the biggest bugaboo and most shunned marking in the Labrador breed.  A small white spot, stripe or patch on the chest is very common and does not lessen the quality of a Labrador, nor indicate it is not pure bred.  Sparse white hairs can appear on the tips of toes, between the footpads, on the heels, near the groin, and under the neck.  However, if white spots are large and white markings are highly noticeable, then this is not typical and could indicate the dog may be mixed with another breed.  Scarring can also result in white hairs on a Labrador. Splashing is described as a black Labrador with tan or yellowish hairs on the legs and sometimes neck and chest.  This mis-marking looks as if the black lab ran through a mud puddle and was splashed with muddy water, hence the name “Splashing”.  This is a mis-marking that had been noted in the breed for many generations.  It is not wise to breed any Labrador that is splashed, as this will only perpetuate the gene for years to come.  It does not affect the dogs ability to be an excellent pet or hunting companion. Black & Tan:  Like the splashing, black and tan has been recorded early on in Labrador history. The black and tan is a serious fault and under no circumstance should this color be perpetuated. SILVER LABS: There absolutely no such thing as a pure bred silver Labrador.  Those professing to breed and advertise silver Labradors are misrepresenting the color of the dog on the AKC papers.  The American Kennel club and FCI breed standard does not recognize silver as a color for the Labrador, nor does the parent club.  These silver dogs are a result of cross breeding a Weimaraner to a Labrador and radical inbreeding schemes. DO NOT FALL FOR SUCH A SCAM!   To read more about so-called silver Labs (CLICK HERE). WHITE:  It never fails, several times a week I get phone calls and e-mails for white Labs.  I tell people without trying to sound rude, that there is no such thing as a pure white Labrador.  The color yellow is the correct term, but when people see a Labrador that is of the very light cream shade, they instinctively say, “White”.  The only mention of white that I have read of is mentioned in the book “Advanced Labrador Breeding” written by Mary R. Williams.  I have produced many Labrador pups that could be classified as white when pups but they always mature to have the tale-tale signs of shading of some from or another, either on the ears, back, etc. The shading is very pale and almost unnoticeable and pigment as black as coal but I am sorry to say, it is still classified as yellow and not white.  The gene that produces pure white such as seen in the Maltese, white German shepherds, white boxers and other breeds does not exist in the Labrador.  I do understand how people can easily use the term “white lab” when they see a pale yellow but white is not a term to be truly associated with the Labrador breed. For anyone interested in Labrador coat color genetics, I have added some of my favorite links that will offer more detailed explanations. VetGen Coat Color Inheritance by Blue Knight Labradors B/b, E/e and Beyond