There are only THREE colors recognized by the AKC: CHOCOLATE, YELLOW & BLACK however, two RARE colors have been able to be produced from the Yellow & Black: FOX RED & SILVER.

The Fox Red is CLASSIFIED AS YELLOW (as the deepest degree).

The Silver is CLASSIFIED IN EITHER THE CHOCOLATE OR YELLOW

They are both rare and hard to get. AKC does not regard highly the color SILVER; it had been thought there was a mix of breed in order to get the silver.

Note that some breeder's will discredit the Fox Red Color if it is not the deep Fox Red; this is FALSE.

ALL VARIED COLORS WITHIN THE RED SPECTRUM ARE FOX RED, COLOR DOES NOT FULLY MATURE UNTIL AROUND 20-24 MONTHS OF AGE, and it is difficult to determine as pups. Most pups that are Fox Red color, fade within the first week, then deepen, then fade again and so on. This is because of the the losing of the baby hair ongoing until they reach adult hood with their adult coat, hence the reason why their full color does not completely intensify until FULL maturity. The same can be the case for Chocolates; the color CAN change from light-to-dark until they have gained their adult coat.

I recently ran across a web site regarding fox red and cream color labs. This particular breeder claims that these two colors that are in the yellow spectrum are not rare; that they're just normal varying shades of yellow. The claim goes on to state that ads are preying on the unsuspecting public; don't fall for it.

Awareness is everything. Fox Red and Cream color Labradors are in fact rare. They are difficult to get in litters that seem to have the promising matching make up of the sire and the dam.

They are in the classification as Yellow; that doesn't change how rare they are. Unfortunately, there are some breeders who will stop at nothing for marketing purposes.

I have been breeding Fox Red Labrador Retrievers for more than 6 years; trying to get them for more than 16; have produced only 1 cream (white) colored lab in the process.

Fox Red color Labs do deepen in color as they mature; their full degree of red is not seen until 18-24 months of age.