# Is Golden Labrador Retriever a legitamate term? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 1, 2007, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-golden-labrador-retriever-a-legitamate-term/386293 "2007-01-01T13:57:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BluePitbull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@BluePitbull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BluePitbull)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2007, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-golden-labrador-retriever-a-legitamate-term/386293/1 "2007-01-01T13:57:30Z")
A friend of mines wanted to breed yellow labradors and train them to be drug detecting dogs. However, he refers them as Golden Labrador Retrievers. I thought it might be confusing to people, seeing how there is the Golden Retriever. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2007, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-golden-labrador-retriever-a-legitamate-term/386293/2 "2007-01-01T14:02:29Z")
It’s a pretty common name for them in Australia. Unfortunately they are about as smart as rocks…really fucking dumb rocks. ---
**Author:** ![tbdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@tbdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tbdi)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2007, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-golden-labrador-retriever-a-legitamate-term/386293/3 "2007-01-01T14:37:20Z")
There are Golden Retrievers (medium/long hair) and Yellow Labrador Retrievers (short hair). If I heard Golden Lab I’d assume it was a mix of the two. [Golden Retriever](http://www.akc.org/breeds/golden_retriever/index.cfm) [Labrador Retriever](http://www.akc.org/breeds/labrador_retriever/index.cfm) ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2007, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-golden-labrador-retriever-a-legitamate-term/386293/4 "2007-01-01T16:20:20Z")
That isn’t the recognized or registered name for the breed. Labrador Retrievers aren’t segregated by coat color like cocker spaniels. StG ---
**Author:** ![percypercy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8baadc/32.png) [@percypercy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/percypercy)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2007, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-golden-labrador-retriever-a-legitamate-term/386293/5 "2007-01-01T17:22:29Z")
It is theoretically possible with generations of careful (likely inbred) pure breeding, that you’d end up with a group of yellow labs that only produced yellow puppies, but there’d be no point. A lab is a lab is a lab. There are smarter ones and then there are the ones that rival moss for intelligence. And my cite: [Coat Color Inheritance](http://www.blueknightlabs.com/color/coatcolor.html) ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2007, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-golden-labrador-retriever-a-legitamate-term/386293/6 "2007-01-02T15:43:06Z")
Our family owned a Labrador Retriever who was golden in color. We refered to him as a “Golden Lab”, and never heard the term contradicted. While he seemed to recognize and react to a surprisingly large number of words, in most other ways he definitely fell into the “even dumber than his own shit” department. Sweet dog, though. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2007, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-golden-labrador-retriever-a-legitamate-term/386293/7 "2007-01-02T18:25:24Z")
My black lab was as sharp as a tack for the most part. even if the primitive part of his brain seemed to occasionally “take control”, and he would roam the neighborhood for the better part of the day marking everything he saw. ---
**Author:** ![brk913](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/838e76/32.png) [@brk913](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brk913)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2007, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-golden-labrador-retriever-a-legitamate-term/386293/8 "2007-01-02T18:48:24Z")
A Golden or Yellow Retriever is not a Labrador… > **[Golden Retriever Dog Breed Information](https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/golden-retriever/)** > > Is the Golden Retriever the right breed for you? Learn more about the Golden Retriever including personality, history, grooming, pictures, videos, and the AKC breed standard. > **[Labrador Retriever Dog Breed Information](https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/labrador-retriever/)** > > Is the Labrador Retriever the right breed for you? Learn more about the Labrador Retriever including personality, history, grooming, pictures, videos, and the AKC breed standard. As stated in the links above Labrador’s originated in Newfoundland while the Golden Retiever’s originated in England…two very distinct breeds, especailly when seen side by side… ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2007, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-golden-labrador-retriever-a-legitamate-term/386293/9 "2007-01-02T19:42:09Z")
[QUOTE=StGermain] Labrador Retrievers aren’t segregated by coat color like cocker spaniels. [/QUOTE] This is because coloration in Labs is fairly complex genetically. Recessive genes pop up and result in pups whose coloration matches neither parent. [Here is an article](http://www.labbies.com/genetics.htm) that explains it nicely. To the OP: AKC recognizes three colors: Black, Yellow, and Chocolate. There is wide variation in the Yellows though…from nearly white, to fairly dark brown. In the vernacular, I’ve heard them called “Golden” and “Blonde” labs. While there are dumb dogs of all breeds, as a breed, I can’t agree that labs are stupider than any others, and would argue that they tend toward being at the smarter and easier to train end of the scale. They are a popular breed for service animals, for example. No one who has watched a dog work in field trials would claim the animals are anything but brilliant. The only dogs I am absolutely sure are smarter than labs are Australian Shepherds. ---
**Author:** ![percypercy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8baadc/32.png) [@percypercy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/percypercy)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2007, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-golden-labrador-retriever-a-legitamate-term/386293/10 "2007-01-03T00:30:55Z")
[QUOTE=Kevbo] This is because coloration in Labs is fairly complex genetically. Recessive genes pop up and result in pups whose coloration matches neither parent. [Here is an article](http://www.labbies.com/genetics.htm) that explains it nicely. To the OP: AKC recognizes three colors: Black, Yellow, and Chocolate. There is wide variation in the Yellows though…from nearly white, to fairly dark brown. In the vernacular, I’ve heard them called “Golden” and “Blonde” labs. [/QUOTE] Or what I said five posts up.