To understand the chocolate lab first requires a history lesson. Chocolate was not always a recognized lab color. The only recognized colors way back when were yellow and black. Breeders drowned the brown ones at birth and denied they even existed. The breeders kept it quiet and didn't breed the dogs that produced the color.

Fast forward 100 years and suddenly chocolate is a popular color. At first breeders producing chocolate pups simply bred for color. Any 2 dogs that produced chocolate pups were paired simply because chocolate puppies sold for more money. Black labs have never been more expensive than other dogs so they were always bred for traits other than color.

There are now several bloodlines of chocolate labs that are bred specifically for field work. These chocolate dogs are nice. I have judged a lot of these dogs and the talent and trainability seems to be on par with any other bloodline.

That being said, I personally purchase black labs. The price of chocolate puppies is still significantly more than black puppies for comparable pedigrees.