Demand breeds peril for Chocolate labradors

CHOCOLATE labradors are becoming less healthy and are living shorter lives because of demand for the breed, scientists have warned.

A study found the sought-after dogs typically die sooner than black or yellow labradors and are more prone to serious disease.

As the gene responsible for a chocolate coat is recessive, breeders require two chocolate labradors to produce the right coloured puppies. Royal Veterinary College (RVC) research warns that this means the gene pool is narrowing, increasing the risk of genetic disease.

These include ear conditions and skin complaints such as acute moist dermatitis, known as hot spots, which can be extremely painful.

The study, the first of its kind, analysed data from a sample of 33,320 labradors registered with UK vets

It found that while the average lifespan of a non-chocolate labrador is 12.1 years, chocolate dogs tend to die a year and three months earlier. Figures also showed that, overall, nearly one in 10 labradors – Britain’s second most popular breed – is overweight.

Prevalence was higher among male dogs that had been neutered.

Chocolate labradors have steadily increased in popularity since becoming established in the UK in the early part of the 20th Century.

Professor Paul Mcgreevy, of the University of Sydney, which collaborated with the RVC, said: “The relationship between coat colour and disease may reflect an inadvertent consequence of breeding certain pigmentations.

“Breeders targeting this colour [chocolate] may therefore be more likely to breed only labradors carrying the chocolate coat gene. It may be that the resulting reduced gene pool includes a higher proportion of genes conducive to ear and skin conditions.”

The most common health conditions across the whole breed were obesity, ear infections and joint conditions.

This finding supports research published two years ago that identified a gene mutation in the labrador that predisposes the breed to overeat.

Black labradors are the most common colour, favoured both as pets and working dogs, followed by yellow labradors and then chocolate labradors.

The authors caution that the study may under-estimate the true number of dogs with health problems, as the data are likely to include more severely affected animals that require veterinary treatment and there may be lower reporting of health issues in less affected Labrador retrievers.

In January a poll of more than 10,000 people crowned the labrador as Britain’s favourite dog. However, figures released by the Kennel Club in June showed the breed had been overtaken for the first time by the French Bulldog.

The new research is published in Canine Genetics and Epidemiology.