A Dog's Color

A dog’s color could impact life expectancy

By Shannon Molloy,

Shutterstock

A dog’s life expectancy and risk of developing serious illnesses have been linked to the color of their coats.

Stunning new Australian research from The University of Sydney has probed the health outcomes for Labradors, one of the world’s most popular canine breeds.


It found that chocolate labs live significantly shorter lives than their black and yellow cousins, much to the surprise of those leading the study.

The University of Sydney team analyzed 33,000 veterinary patient records from the United Kingdom, comprising Labradors of all colors. Besides the startling life-expectancy findings, the researchers also found chocolate dogs had higher incidences of ear and skin problems.

The average age of non-chocolate labs was 12.1 years, more than 10 percent longer than chocolate ones at 10.7 years, the University of Sydney research found.

Paul McGreevy, who led the study, said the prevalence of ear inflammation was also twice as high in chocolate Labradors, who were four times more likely to suffer a kind of dermatitis.

“The relationships between coat color and disease may reflect an inadvertent consequence of breeding certain pigmentations,” McGreevy said.

“Because chocolate color is recessive in dogs, the gene for this color must be present in both parents for their puppies to be chocolate. Breeders targeting this color may, therefore, be more likely to breed only Labradors carrying the chocolate coat gene.”

The resulting reduced gene pool for chocolate-colored dogs may include a higher proportion of genes that cause ear and skin conditions, he said.

Across the entire Labrador population, the most common health conditions were obesity, ear infections and joint conditions.

“We found that 8.8 percent of UK Labradors are overweight or obese, one of the highest percentages among dog breeds in the database,” McGreevy said.

The most common causes of death for chocolate labs were musculoskeletal disorders and cancers, he said.

Labradors have been the most popular dog breed in the United States for the past five years, according to the American Kennel Club. German shepherds, golden retrievers, French bulldogs and bulldogs round out the top five most popular breeds for 2017.

The research about color and the link with death and disease risk in Labradors will now be replicated in Australia to see if similar results occur.

Researchers also want to explore any possible pigmentation-health links in a broader range of canine breeds.

“This report can help breeders and veterinarians prioritize strategic approaches to tackle health issues in Labrador retrievers,” McGreevy said.

“The results can alert prospective owners to potential health issues and inform breed-specific wellness checks.”