The Most Common Color Of Labrador Retriever Sadly Gets Adopted The Least

Adopting a dog can be a life-changing choice for both the owner and the lucky furry companion who's welcomed into the home. Yet, potential pet parents may be unaware of the biases that exist when it comes to adoption. So-called bully breeds, such as the pit bull, which everyone has big misconceptions about, are often overlooked, but preconceived notions can also affect more-popular breeds. For example, take the Labrador retriever. Its most-common coat color is black, but black Labradors often go unadopted compared to its white, yellow, chocolate, silver, and red counterparts.

This phenomenon is called black dog syndrome, and it means that shelters generally see lower adoption and higher euthanasia rates for canines with black coats. In a 2016 study published in Anthrozoös, researchers from the Department of Sociology at the University of Louisville examined data to better understand this phenomenon. They found that breed was more of a determining factor of adoption than coat color based on a sample size of 7,440 dogs, but coat color still came into play, with black dogs being adopted slightly less than non-black ones.

Labrador retrievers are very smart, compassionate, and loyal pets, and coat color doesn't change a Labrador's behavior or make it less worthy of a forever home. Still, some potential owners seem hung up on factors like fur color when adopting a dog. Here's why, as well as some hope for the future of shelter adoptions.

We've all heard that black cats are considered unlucky and, unfortunately, have lower adoption rates, and while black dogs like the Labrador retriever are less notorious for being unlucky, its bias is also rooted in centuries-old superstitious beliefs. Black dogs appear throughout folktales and religious texts as harbingers of evil or ill omens. For example, the British Isles have a long-held tale of Black Shuck, a big black dog that dishes out awful omens with its glowing eyes. In Christian texts, a black dog is known to represent an evil spirit and is sometimes said to be the devil in disguise.

While many modern-minded individuals feel they are far removed from superstition reasoning, these outdated ideas have had their effect on modern media, continuing the bias. Black dogs are often depicted as evil or scary in films, video games, literature, and TV series. This continued depiction of black dogs as negative can be seen in seminal literary works like 1901's "The Hound of Baskervilles" by Arthur Conan Doyle, modern pop culture such as The Grim in "Harry Potter," and horror movies like "The Omen," which relied on disturbing visages of black dogs as a precursor to death.

Another modern issue affecting adoption rates is visibility, with black dogs less likely to stand out in a dimly lit shelter or in a photo that doesn't have complementary lighting. When many adoptions start by finding that adorable picture, the black Labrador may fail to make a strong first impression. Adopting in person and letting the personality of a pooch shine through can go a long way in beating the stigma of adopting dogs with black coats.

Despite a long history of trepidation toward dogs with black coats, this trend may be beginning to subside, at least in certain areas. According to a 2013 paper published in the Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, New York state shelters showed that coat color did not generally affect the length of dogs' stay before getting adopted. Instead, the central discrepancy was large dogs being adopted less than small ones. The article posited that the bias toward black coats may be more linked to specific regions than a widely held belief.

Meanwhile, a 2023 study published in Animal Welfare further challenged the idea that coat color plays a significant role in adoption processes. Notably, the length of stay and euthanasia rates from two shelters in the Pacific Northwest showed no difference when considering coat color. Instead, major factors included folks having specific breed preferences and not wanting to adopt an older dog at the shelter. So, while the stigma for black-coated dogs still seems to exist, at least anecdotally, the chances of finding the perfect home may continue to increase for the lovable black Labrador retriever.