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I have all 3 colors of labs. Bailey (yellow) and Jack (black) were from the same litter. In the shedding contest, it was always a tie! It was kind of funny because the combination of the black and yellow fur on our floors made it look like we had a gray dog! Our chocolate lab seems to shed less but she a mix (probably with a spaniel).
We have rescued another black lab, Fish, and he doesn't seem to shed as much as Bailey. His coat is not as thick.
I wonder if high quality dogfood can help with the shedding. I don't think it does because we feed our lab good quality food. I am convinced that the yellows shed more than the other 2 colors! Thanks everyone.
I have had Labradors all my adult life. I have always had blacks as field trial competitors. Black as competitive show dogs and as hunters. Tess is my first live-in all the time cuddly labrador. She is a yellow and no dog I have had prior sheds as much as she does. I use a furminator several times a week....does not matter the season, you can get enough hair from her to knit yourself another dog. My blacks shed, but not like this. Didn't think it could be possible that the shedding had something to do with color, but I could be a believer now.
Upon further review, my yellow lab definitely sheds more than the other 3 (yes 3 now) combined!! The funny thing is that he is not supposed to be on the sofa but he leaves way too much evidence to the contrary...busted!!
I can't believe our yellow isn't bald with the amount he sheds. I will say that he as an individual always had more of a fluffy coat than the tighter coat typically found on labs. When he was a pup he almost looked like a chick. He would do great in a cold weather climate. It comes off in sheets in the spring and summer.
If you have a yellow lab and are considering wood floors, choose a light color. Dark floors will show every single hair.
I have a black lab mix and his coat is very shiny, shows off his muscles well. I think he sheds quite a bit so I don't know that I could live with a yellow lab in the house. The only yellows that I know are outside only dogs ... perhaps because of their shedding?
Just from my experience grooming dogs, yellow labs have a much thicker undercoat than black labs, particularly on the back just before the tail (where they like to be scratched). While labs are known for their shiny coats when young, a shiny coat has a lot to do with the quality of the food you feed them. One thing they really like, which may help, is to use the textured mitt to brush them. I also used it on them in the bathing stage and they love it and it helps remove that undercoat which is the cause of the shedding.
I have thought that the chocolates and blacks have a different type of coat than the yellows. They are shiny and sleek looking whereas the yellows aren't shiny and have more of that rougher look to them. But don't we love our beautiful yellows no matter what?!!! Love my Piper. And I was thinking, "thank goodness my hardwood floors are light."
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