Fox Red Labradors

[WildRosie]

Are Fox Reds exclusively a working line ? Today I saw a Labrador in a classic FR colour but his body shape was more akin to a regular yellow or brown Labrador, i.e. chunky! Just wondering if it's normal for FRs to have breed lines beyond working. Thankyou.

PS. I'm brazenly assuming the dog I saw today was a boy. I can't be certain but he was a very handsome pooch.

I don’t know the answer but you’ve made me realise I’ve never seen a chunky “show lab” fox red! My gingerdor comes from a working line and when we first got him fox reds weren’t particularly common where we live - people were often asking us if he “had lab in him” 😂

Thanks Worry. I haven't seen that many FRs myself but those I have seen have all been quite sleek and toned so quite likely to have been from working lines. The one I saw today really caught my attention.

Well it’s just a dark yellow lab and the KC accepts all hues of yellow so sure there are show lines too. I had a fox red Labrador rescue eight years ago (and she was eight when I adopted her) and she definitely had the chunky barrel short leg look, though being a rescue I have no idea of her actual pedigree.

My fox red is definitely the sleek and slender version of the lab, although he's not the biggest eater.

Fox red (dark yellow) was certainly more prevalent in working lines, but has become so fashionable that I'm sure there has been plenty of mixing with show lines with today's indiscriminate breeding practices - particularly with chocolates in the hope of full litters of 'on trend' colours, I would hazard a guess!

Thanks all. It would appear His Nibs was a show FR. I like all Labradors anyway but he was quite striking.

Ooh, I’ve never seen a chunky fox red, I bet he was a beauty.

Our fox red has a chunky blond dad and a slim fox red mum from strong working lines. He’s the darkest in his litter (still quite fair) and is by far the smallest, slimmest boy, although he eats like a horse and is incredibly strong ( he’s very active). He’s got a typical working Lab personality- in turns highly intelligent and driven, and idle as a toad. He’s been easy to train as a gundog and we’ve lately turned our hand to dog agility classes, where people regularly fail to identify him as a Labrador.

Here, in my gratuitous Labrador shot you can see the working dog in him. Like a coiled spring….

@LabraDabraDoo

Here, in my gratuitous Labrador shot you can see the working dog in him. Like a coiled spring….

Raring to go...!

The one I saw was a real beauty - wish he was mine.

I think a lot of people are now realising that labs ought not to be chunky fat things, although the best of breed at Crufts a few years back was a barrel, shameful.

My fox red lab (currently sunbathing in the conservatory) is of the big ‘chunky’ variety. Same size as a yellow / black lab

Cherrysoup while I am fond of Labradors in all their forms, I think you might be right, especially if you want a more active dog. I would not do agility (or even aspects of gundog training) with a Lab carrying extra weight.

However, we have been informed by randomers that our Lab is 'dangerously thin' and 'can't be a pure Labrador'. Every time I visit the vet I anxiously ask, only to be told he's normal and healthy and that people think he's too thin as they are so used to seeing chunky (and overweight) Labs.