Okay, so you decided to add one more fur family member to your pack? Somehow, the Labrador’s eyes were just too irresistible and the choice is made. Lab it is. Now, the difficult part comes.
Which one do I choose, they are all, oh, so sweet and adorable! Black one, pure black magic, a chocolate one, or a white one who will become chocolate with the first roll in the mud?
The researchers of the University of Sydney have found out that the color of a dog’s coat may have a significant impact on his life expectancy as well as on health issues common for labs, such as obesity and hip dysplasia. The research was on collected data of 33,000 Labradors from the UK using a random sample of 2,074 dogs with the main aim to find out what disease they may develop.
The results of the study were a pure surprise as chocolate Labradors were found to have a slightly shorter lifespan than their yellow and black cousins, at an average of 10.7, compared to 12.1 years. Chocolates were also twice as prone to ear infections and develop four times as many skin diseases as non-chocolates.
The chocolate color is a recessive trait, so breeders of chocolate labs have a much smaller gene pool to work with, and a smaller gene pool comes with a high probability of passing on genes that increase the risk of disease. The research was not able to provide the information on whether this longevity applies to all Labradors or only those in the UK.
Feature Image Source: Pixabay