Blind Bit Of Difference

Is colour really a factor in gundog ability? Ellena Swift looks at the oft-repeated claim that chocolate Labradors make poor retrievers

- Ellena Swift

I was asked recently about my opinion on a dog’s eye color. The inquirer felt if a Labrador had light-colored eyes, it was more prone to be skittish and wild.

It was something I had never even considered. I have always preferred a Labrador with darker pigment around their eyes and on their noses. It is more common to see yellows with the lighter pigment, and as I only have blacks at the moment it is not an issue.

Despite sharing the same dam, Briar has slightly lighter eyes than my other dogs. Her drive is undoubtedly flawless and, considering the speed and enthusiasm with which she approaches every task, you could say she is ‘wild’. However, she is unbelievably gentle with my children, very biddable and happily switches off at night time. So I am not convinced her eye color has made much difference. Her temperament is very similar to her mother and two half-siblings. I feel that perhaps her breeding and environment have had more effect than her eye color.

This made me think of one of the biggest debates in working gundogs: does one color work better than another? There is the age-old argument about the abilities of the chocolate Labrador. But cocker spaniels have their own color query.

A couple of years ago a woman came training with a beautiful red cocker bitch. The spaniel had aggressive tendencies that certainly stemmed from insecurities rather than straight-up aggression — a common find in ‘aggressive’ dogs.

‘Cocker rage’

The owner asked if I felt she could be suffering from ‘cocker rage syndrome’. It was the first I had heard of it and, after thorough research, felt it was not the case for this dog.