Labradors originated from Newfoundland as a fisherman's companion, with strong swimming skills and thick, waterproof coats that could protect them in cold water. Their original color was black, with some white patches on their chest. As a result of gene transformations, some red colors were produced. Over time the red color was culled into lighter shades, which eventually became yellow, By AKC standards, reds are considered as yellows.
The breed was also exported to England, where they became gun dogs, and the red was also bred down to yellow. Two breeders from the UK, are responsible for the re-birth of the Fox Red color, John and Glenda Cook of Balrion and Mac Bedford. By breeding Wynfaul Tobasco to Lady Bountiful of Balrion, they proved that breeding red to red would produce a litter of all reds. Kellygreen Labradors in the U.S. purchased one of their pups, Balrions Red Alert. With the help of Keepsakes Labradors, they established the first English Fox Reds in the U.S.
The American Fox Reds are credited to Kellog Kennels, founded in 1899. They were the first Kennel to bring Labs west of the Mississippi. In 1981 they refined the line into Pointing Labradors. Natural Fox Reds were produced, but the color wasn't culled out. This is the lineage that our Peters Fox Red Labrador Retrievers represent.
The Red Color in Puppies
The litter will be variations of red in color. When first born they will tend to appear dark. After a couple weeks their undercoat develops and they look lighter. By six months their guard coat will come in darker, and this will be their permanent color, but they will continue to darken as they age. These pictures are pups from our first litter, and at 6 months when their red color started showing up. AKC doesn't recognize Red as a standard color, so they are registered as Yellow.
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