The single dilution gene won’t change their coat, but the single graying gene will. For example, a first generation Labradoodle can only inherit, at most, one dilution gene (from their Lab parent) and/or one greying gene (from their Poodle parent). But, some are limited to particular Labradoodle generations. What cross produces silver Labradoodles?Īfter all that, you won’t be surprised to hear that a lot of coat pigment combinations can end up being described as silver in the Labradoodle mix! Someone using the term silver Labradoodle could mean a black or brown coat that is either: You can also get brown Poodles with progressive greying genes, which are known as ‘silver beige’. These include dilute black coats in Labradors (officially known as charcoal), and blue or grey coats in Poodles (which are the result of inheriting a single copy of the greying gene, or two ‘low power’ greying genes). On top of all this, there are other shades of grey in both breeds, which owners or observers without an interest in the finer details of color inheritance might also casually describe as silver. So it is likely that all silver Poodles have two copies of the greying gene (and powerful ones at that!). The bright platinum color described by the Poodle community as silver is the most extreme possibility. So there is a scale of possible color outcomes for fading Poodles, depending on how many copies of the greying gene they inherit, and how powerful each copy is. Different versions of the gene behave more and less powerfully as well, depending on their exact molecular structure.

But inheriting copies from both parents causes a dog’s coat to fade more dramatically. The progressive greying gene is incompletely dominant, which means that Poodles only need to inherit one copy from one parent in order for it to take effect. Poodles with the progressive greying gene are born black, and fade (known as ‘clearing’) over several months, starting from 5 or 6 weeks old. On the other hand, a silver Poodle is a black dog with two copies of a progressive greying gene. Silver Labradors are born silver colored. Since the dilution gene is recessive, a Labrador must inherit a copy from both of their parents for it to take effect. That is, they possess two copies of a recessive dilution gene, which suppresses pigment production in their fur. A silver Labrador is a brown dog with a dilute coat.

Part of the problem is that silver Labrador Retrievers and silver Poodles are very specifically defined colors, but they are not the same color.

Silver blue labradoodle