New research published in the Oct. 21 edition of Canine Genetics and Epidemiology suggests coat color in Labrador retrievers may be tied to health and longevity.
Sadly, the much sought-after chocolate Lab lives a shorter life span and has higher rates of skin and ear diseases relative to the black and yellow-coated varieties.
Now, please read on before vowing to never get a chocolate Lab or begin the mourning process for one you may own currently.
Worldwide, a group of researchers were involved in the work colLaborating between the University of Sydney and the University of London's Royal Veterinary College. They looked at the records of 2,000 Labs living in the U.K. that were hand-picked from a larger data set of 33,000 Labs.
The rate of pyotraumatic dermatitis, commonly known as hot spots, was more than 200 percent higher. Infections of the ear canal were also more prevalent.
The work showed black or yellow Labs lived 12 years in the U.K. and chocolates made only 10.7 years.
At issue here is what many people rail about who are opposed to inbreeding lines of dogs to get specific traits or traits that breed true. They assert correctly that when in the course of breeding animals, we select for one, two, or a small handful of traits we desire and the rest of the gene makeup is ignored. And because of that, bad traits creep in and bad things happen. Skin infections, food allergies, cancers, etc., all receive some of the finger pointing.
Such studies are also flawed. Worth their salt, the researchers themselves would likely tell you far more needs to be done to be conclusive. Labs in the U.K.? How about Labs worldwide? When I told a relative who is a geneticist about this study, he quipped he'd bet the incidence of skin cancers in yellow Labs with pink underlying skin that live in Australia is higher than in the chocolates.
The point remains, however, that in fewer than 12,000 to 15,000 years, man has taken a wolf from being a wild animal to being a Chihuahua, or a cocker spaniel, or a dachshund without a lot of regard for the other physiologic implications.
This has left some breeders of purebreds wondering what to do to best safeguard the breed. They employ geneticists. They scour pedigrees across various continents. They do the literal math determining coefficients of inbreeding. And they look for sound lines to outcross with models of the breed from other locales. It is not uncommon for dogs to fly transcontinentally to provide natural cover.
At the same time, reproductive specialists, called theriogenologists, work with breeders to provide services. Fertile embryos and sperm now fly from one place to another for implantation and artificial insemination.
All this takes money, something the backyard breeder likely doesn't have, and so brothers are bred to mothers and sisters and so on, and the genetic consequences continue.
It is likely this article will create a certain amount of heartburn. Some will shun the stellar companionship a chocolate Lab can provide. Some great pups will languish in shelters "because I heard they don't live as long."
One of the best dogs I ever hunted over was a chocolate Lab. He was a big bruiser of a dog and fearless, chasing and dutifully retrieving wounded ducks across the Snake River near Bruneau, Idaho, all while dodging ice floes.
If I wanted a big dog, I'd surely consider a Labrador retriever, but I'd also do my pedigree homework, regardless of breed or coat color.
Charlie Powell is the public information officer for the Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine, which provides this column as a community service. For questions or concerns about animals you'd like to read about, email cpowell@vetmed.wsu.edu.
