Silver Labradors and the AKC 574 Code
What It Really Means for the Breed
For the first time in the breed’s history, the words:
Labrador Retriever Silver (574)*
now appear on the American Kennel Club’s official color list.
The Labrador Retriever Club (LRC), which has long resisted any acknowledgment of dilute coated Labradors, recently supported the addition of this new color code.
The change was quiet, almost bureaucratic. Simply a new line inside a table on AKC’s website. But its implications are anything but quiet.
The decision has left breeders across the country confused, divided, and asking the same questions:
- Does this legitimize silver Labradors
- Is AKC changing its stance
- Is this a step toward acceptance or a strategy for containment
To answer that, breeders deserve a clear, honest, and thorough analysis. One grounded in fact, not rumor or social media commentary.
The Good
A Win for Honesty and Legitimacy
The addition of the Silver (574)* code represents several undeniable wins for the breed’s integrity and for dilute coated Labradors.
1. Silver Labradors are finally labeled honestly
For over 40 years, dilute coated Labs were required by the AKC to be registered under their base coat.
- Dilute chocolate registered as chocolate
- Dilute black registered as black
- Dilute yellow registered as yellow
Breeders were not being deceitful. They were following AKC rules.
Now, the registration paperwork finally matches the dog standing in front of the breeder.
This is a win for honesty, accuracy, and transparency.
2. The decision confirms AKC’s historical position
A color code does not create legitimacy.
It reveals it.
The AKC has always registered dilute coated Labradors because:
- Their parents were AKC registered
- AKC investigated the issue in the 1980s
- No conclusive evidence of impurity was ever found
If AKC had believed dilute Labs were crossbred, they would have purged them from the registry decades ago. But they did not.
The new 574* code simply reflects the position AKC has held since the beginning.
Silver Labradors are purebred Labradors.
The AKC governs purity. The LRC governs show ring aesthetics.
The registry is the final arbiter of purity.
3. Public perception finally matches registration reality
Most families do not read asterisks or understand club politics. They see only:
AKC Labrador Retriever Silver
To the general public, that is legitimacy. Full stop.
4. This aligns Labradors with AKC’s long standing pattern
This is not a radical shift.
AKC has always registered purebred dogs whose colors the parent club disqualifies, including:
- White German Shepherds
- Parti Poodles
- Alternate color French Bulldogs
These dogs are purebred, registrable, and legitimate.
They are simply not conformation eligible.
Silver Labradors now join that same category.
The Bad
Blind Spots, Compromises, and a Containment Strategy
While the 574* code is a win for honesty, the implementation is flawed and creates real issues.
If the LRC’s goal was truly to track the dilute gene (dd genotype), this is a failure.
1. Charcoal and Champagne are not tracked
- Charcoal (dilute black)
- Champagne (dilute yellow)
These have no color code.
They must still be registered as black and yellow.
This hides two thirds of the dilute population.
2. Carriers (Dd) remain invisible
Carriers spread the gene more than dilutes do. Yet:
- They look identical to standard Labs
- They cannot be identified visually
- They have no tracking code at all
3. Historical records are permanently muddied
Forty years of dilute Labs were recorded under black, yellow, and chocolate.
These records cannot be corrected.
4. Charcoal and Champagne breeders may keep using old codes
Not out of deceit, but because AKC still allows registration by base color.
This means dilute statistics will always be incomplete.
The registry remains partially blind.
The Reality
What This Means for the Breed’s Future
The reality is simple.
The AKC governs purity.
The LRC governs conformation aesthetics.
The registry, not the parent club, is the final authority on purity.
The 574* code has created two opposing narratives.
Narrative 1
The Containment Strategy
For preservationist breeders, the new code is a fence.
A way to:
- Map where the dilutes are
- Warn others away
- Track lines they already failed to stop
- Maintain political pressure against their use
It is a tool of control and gatekeeping.
Narrative 2
The Legitimization Strategy
For dilute breeders, the new code is a pathway.
A quiet but formal acknowledgment that:
- Dilute Labs exist
- AKC recognizes them
- They are purebred
- They deserve accurate labeling
- Someday they may deserve show ring acceptance
This mirrors the path of the Merle Great Dane, which eventually became conformation eligible after decades of resistance.
The Strategic Roadmap
Can Dilutes Ever Be Shown in Conformation
Right now, 574* keeps dilutes out of the ring by design.
But history shows acceptance is possible.
The Model
Merle Great Danes
For decades, Merle Great Danes were:
- Disqualified
- Controversial
- Considered undesirable
Yet they were essential in producing Harlequins.
Eventually, after:
- Performance titles
- Scientific evidence
- Breeder unity
- A membership vote
Merle Great Danes became fully show eligible in January 2019.
This is the blueprint.
The Strategy for Dilute Labrador Breeders
Step 1
Prove Function Through Performance Titles
Dilute breeders must:
- Compete in Hunt Tests
- Earn Obedience, Rally, and Agility titles
- Document temperament
- Showcase sound structure and working drive
Every titled dilute Labrador erodes the critics’ argument.
Step 2
Neutralize the Health Argument
Anti dilute rhetoric often leans on false claims:
- Dilutes have CDA
- Dilute is unhealthy
- The dd gene causes problems
None of this is supported by breed wide data.
Dilute breeders must:
- Use OFA
- Use CHIC
- Publish results widely
- Publicly track health data
Data is stronger than rumor.
Step 3
Use the Registry to Your Advantage
The 574* code is a strategic tool.
Encourage owners to use it.
More accurate registrations create more undeniable data.
Step 4
Push for an LRC Membership Vote
When:
- Performance
- Health
- Popularity
- Scientific legitimacy
become overwhelming, the membership itself may vote for change.
Once the vote happens, AKC will follow.
This is exactly how it happened with Merle Great Danes.
The Bottom Line
The 574* code is not a threat.
It is a recognition.
It is a tool.
It is, whether critics admit it or not, a public acknowledgment that Silver Labradors exist within the AKC gene pool and always have.
The silver Labrador has won its place in the American registry.
The political fight is no longer about purity.
AKC already answered that.
The only remaining fight is about aesthetics and control, and that battle will eventually be won through:
- Performance
- Unity
- Science
- Time
The breed has evolved.
And it is time for the parent club to catch up.
