KEY POINTS:
The introduction of a so-called new type of labrador to New Zealand could have disastrous consequences for the pedigree breed, says Bay of Plenty dog breeder Virginia Barlow.
Dog experts believe silver labradors are not true labs but a cross with weimaraner dogs.
Breeders of silver labs are getting them registered as pedigree dogs by listing them as "chocolate" when they send in the forms to the New Zealand Kennel Club. Only black, yellow and chocolate varieties are considered true pedigree.
Mrs Barlow, who has been breeding labradors for three years, said there was concern among the fraternity because the introduction of weimaraner genes into pedigree stock could compromise the latter's natural characteristics.
"As soon as you cross anything you are getting away from the true nature and type of a labrador - different bone structure, different head shape and temperament. They definitely shouldn't be registered as "chocolates", she said.
Mrs Barlow first saw silver labradors on the Trade Me website.
According to James Patchett, president of the Tauranga Kennel Association and vice-president of the Bay of Plenty Gun Dog Club, silver is an unrecognised colour under current regulations.
Although most people suspect silver labradors are a product of cross- breeding with weimaraners, Mr Patchett said this was difficult to prove.
"It cannot be confirmed because everybody will deny that they ever did it - they have suddenly come out of a couple of kennels in the United States," he said.
Mr Patchett had no problem with cross-breeding but said trying to pass them off as pedigree was "not on".
Midland Labrador Trust - a New Zealand-based club for the promotion and protection of pedigree labrador retrievers - wants the Kennel Club to remove all silver labradors from the pedigree registry.
"It could end up polluting and eventually ruining the breed," said trust spokeswoman Lyndsay Wilson.
Labradors, with a double coat, are generally recognised as one of the world's top water retrievers.
Weimaraners, on the other hand, with no second coat, are reluctant to enter cold water so are poor retrievers.
Ms Wilson said one possible consequence of introducing weimaraner genes into pedigree labrador bloodlines would be that labs could eventually lose their second coat.
But it is not only physical characteristics that will change. Ms Wilson argued that weimaraners were considered more highly strung and difficult to train and were therefore seen as unsuitable for jobs such as guide dogs.
