Chocolate Lab Puppies: Choosing, Costs and the First Year

A chocolate Lab puppy is a Labrador with two copies of the brown gene (bb), so both parents must carry chocolate. Two chocolate parents can only have chocolate puppies, unless both also carry yellow. Color is the least important thing to choose on: look for a breeder whose dogs have hip, elbow, eye and EIC clearances, and who gives you a written contract. Start with how to find a good Labrador breeder.

Budget beyond the purchase price. Rover puts breeder prices for common breeds like Labs at about $800–$2,000, and the ASPCA estimates $3,221 for a dog's first year; see how much a chocolate Lab costs. Then use the puppy checklist, the first-year puppy guide and when Labs stop growing. Prefer to adopt? Try the Labrador rescues by state directory.