I'm new to this site. Looking to buy a chocolate puppy to bring home mid March. She will be a family pet so needs to be good with children. Any tips re local ( ish ) breeders and puppies available would be welcome. Thank you
Hi Di and welcome to the forum. Where do you live? Here is some information about finding a Labrador puppy breeder, assuming you are in the UK: http://www.thelabradorsite.com/labra...nd-a-good-one/ Just so you know, whatever your puppy's final temperament, she will bite - and quite hard - as a puppy, so, depending on the age of your children, you need to either teach the children how to deal with that, or, if they are young, ensure they are supervised at all times. Labrador puppies are boisterous and the crocopup phase can be a huge shock to people who know them as friendly, well-mannered adult dogs. I'd recommend you look through all the puppy articles on the main site, read through the posts on this forum int he puppy section (including the thread labelled "Puppy problems - will things EVER improve???", which will give you an insight into people's common struggles) and get hold of a copy of The Happy Puppy Handbook (link on the right), which many of us here have found invaluable both before and since bringing home puppies.
Hi and welcome to the forum Some great advice from Fiona, I would just chip in to read upon the health issues of Labradors and ensure that any breeder you look into does all the health checks and is happy for you to see the results. Expect to answer lots of questions about you and your family from a breeder and also be prepared to wait for a puppy if you specifically want a chocolate puppy, particularly if you want a girl (as your post suggests). I had to wait nearly a year for my girl from my chosen breeder and then changed from a black girl to a chocolate girl
Hello and a warm welcome from me and my two dogs . Excellent advice above , and as already said, please make sure that all paperwork can be seen . When I started looking for my lad five years ago , you wouldn't believe the number of breeders who couldn't provide relevant papers , had lost them or thrown away in mistake , walk away if there is any doubt and good luck
Hello and welcome to the forum! Think the guys above have hit the nail fair and square. We "shopped" for a puppy with our prime requirement of the right colour and sex at the right time. Although we wouldn't swap her for the world, Lilly who is now 5 and a half, has severe bilateral hip dysplasia. We knew nothing about health testing before joining this forum, and also nothing about what we could do to reduce the risk of hip and elbow dysplasia in the home and early months. I would really really recommend you read up and be prepared. If at the end of the day you then chose a pup which suits you based on convenience and timing, then at least you are aware of the pitfalls and have made a rational decision to do so, having weighed up the pros and cons. Sorry we are raining on your parade a bit! Its and exciting time planning and choosing your puppy
Holly is our third Labrador so we're getting better at choosing. This time we spent 6 months looking for the right breeder and the right dog. In the end we found the right dog about 100 miles away. The breeder had produced multiple KC registered litters over a long period, She had all the right paperwork, let us see the dam, play with the litter, and encouraged us to come back and visit the litter. The best thing (in my view) was that she interviewed us to ensure that we were suitable to have one of her puppies. I hope you have a successful hunt and find the right dog for you. If you have any questions then this forum is a great place to ask them. There are loads of very experienced people around.
Welcome from Hattie 8 years and our rescue Charlie 5 years. We had the same experience as Phil, we were interviewed extensively by Hattie's breeder, she told me out right she would not sell us a puppy if she didn't like us and if we couldn't answer her questions including that Hattie wouldn't be left for long periods during the day, she also wanted to meet our family. We met Hattie's parents and all the puppies too, she was very thorough, we saw the relevant paperwork. We have never had any issues with Hattie's health or temperament. Good luck in your quest for your puppy. Helen x
Hi and welcome from me and my 8 month old chocolate girl Ella ☺ The advice given above regarding health checks and the breeder in general is fantastic. I'd suggest that you may also want to find out a bit of information about the type of dogs that the breeder aims to produce. For example, Ella's breeder only bred pet labs so her main aim (after health) was to breed the right temperament for a family pet. Her girls are her babies and lived in the house and spent a lot of their lives with all sorts of people. She suggested that we come and visit before going in a waiting list so we were able to meet her and five generations of the girls so got a really good feel for the types of dogs she bred (plus she got the chance to decide if she liked us or not!). I think you'll get a general feel for the breeder and whether or not you want to go ahead. A silly point that I distinctly remember was when Ella's breeder said that she didn't take deposits for puppies as she never wanted someone to feel financially obligated to go through with the purchase. She said that if someone had any doubt, she'd prefer them to walk away rather than end up taking the puppy because they'd already paid some money towards them. Btw... We wanted a chocolate boy in January and ended up bringing home a chocolate girl in June so don't be surprised if some of your priorities change once you've found a breeder that you're really happy with ☺ Good luck, enjoy the search and feel free to post LOTS of puppy photos ☺☺☺
Hi there,welcome to the Forum,you've come to a great place for advice.Our dog is a yellow boy and is now 3,he is our first dog and we didn't shop around we went straight to a breeder trusted by our friends who had a long history together.This breeder owns and runs a Gun Dog Kennels and is really experienced at exporting dogs around the world ...a big plus for me doing it the first time living in the Middle East. I knew about health checks and seeing papers and was satisfied with all that. I had read up a lot on what to expect and how to prepare but kind of glossed over the fact that we were getting a 'Working Line' lab rather than a ' Show -Line' lab,telling myself it will be fine,i'll enjoy giving him plenty of physical excercise,not realising how much more there would be to it. I got a bit of a shock to be honest ,when this highly sensitive,massively prey driven bundle of energy torpedoed into our life! I had to get with Dexter's program pretty quick for things to not go wrong and count my blessings that I found the Forum for help and support. don't get me wrong ,I wouldn't change Dexter for the world but if our circumstances hadn't been such as they are I may have found it difficult to devote the time i needed to to give Dexter the mental stimulation he needed to keep him healthy and happy.I guess what I am saying is to think about matching the type of dog you choose to your lifestyle.....whichever you choose a Labrador puppy is a massive time and effort commitment but the rewards are absolutely wonderful....good luck with your search. Best Wishes angela x
Hi and welcome Just wanted to say there is some really good advice above. The happy puppy book really is worth reading before you start looking as it will help you know what to look for and also to be aware of bringing a puppy home. My girl's mum was a police dog, her dad was a working gun dog. We have been very lucky that at home we haven't really had any problems since the day we brought her home around behaviour (except barking and jumping up at some visitors). She learnt within a few weeks to not bite, and was housetrained within 2 weeks. It's hard work initially, but in my opinion so worth it. She is brilliant with my nieces/nephews and God children (aged 2-12). They love training her and playing with her, but I supervise their interactions always.
Wow thank you for the welcome and the brilliant advice. I have already ordered puppy book and recall book by pippa We are clear on most things but not sure about workin/ show bred. We are a retired couple. Very fit and active. Lots of grown children and grandchildren so the pup will get plenty of attention. Think we need to be looking for a family bred pup rather than kennels maybe. All advice being devoured ps we have owned retrievers before
Emily out of curiosity where did you get Ella please ? Sounds like the dog we are looking for. Wondering if she is breeding again next year ?
Welcome to the board. I am in Canada and from the way you express yourself I'm going to guess you are somewhere in the UK. So I wonder, what are the differences between family bred and kennel bred? Where I am we warn against what we call BYB. Back Yard Breeders can be very good people but most often do not have the best interests of the breed at heart, usually because they don't know any better. But it's wise to avoid such breeders as Labs can be prone to a host of health problems (as can most breeds) and what we call a Reputable Breeder who does all the usual health clearances, belongs to the breed club and is active in the breed is most likely to be the source of a healthy puppy that won't end up breaking your heart along with your wallet. We hear people say, "I just want a pet." But you want a healthy pet with the potential to stay that way. Right? I will let someone from the UK deal with working versus show lines, it might not be quite the same here. What kind of retrievers did you have before?
Re: working vs show lines, it's all a bit confusing! Here are a couple of stereotypes for you: Working line dogs can be easier to train Working line dogs can be more highly-strung Show line dogs can be more laid back and family-friendly They are often very different shapes I have two working-lines dogs. One in particular is very sensitive (nervous of new situations, people etc) and the other, too, to some extent. They are both nervous of children and will bark at them. That is less to do with breeding and more to do with lack of socialisation around kids, though, due to where I live (and the fact that I don't like kids, either!). Both of mine are easy to train (I do basic gun dog training with them); Shadow is an amazing little dog who picks things up really quickly. I have to be more careful with Willow not to over-face her because she's so sensitive, but she still loves training sessions. Contrary to many reports, mine have no trouble at all settling at home and will happily snooze the day away on the sofa until it's time to do something more fun (walk, train, play, eat). I work at home, so it's important to me that I'm not being constantly pestered. My two are a very different shape to the breed standard, which is what show line dogs generally aspire to be closer to. Mine are much shorter (although taller than their parents) and finer; their heads are small and slim and they are much more leggy looking than a typical show lab. Even taking into consideration the fact they are adolescents and will bulk up a little bit, they will always be much finer than a good show lines dog. I have a good friend who also has a working lines Lab, and he has much more of a traditional shape head much broader than my two) but he is far taller than a good show lines dog and leggier. You often see fat dogs of both types, but far more often on the show lines, because people expect them to be big and heavy. There is no need for this, and should be avoided to promote good health and protect the dog's joints. Generally, when bred for purpose, working lines dogs are bred to be good workers - so, easily trained, strong, fast, good swimmers, able to withstand a certain amount of pain (because they will be running through undergrowth and getting scratched) etc etc. The way they look is less of a consideration, so there is a broad spectrum of body types. Generally, when bred for the purpose of showing, show lines dogs are bred to be as close to the breed standards as possible, so they are much more similar in terms of body shape. They must be able to be calm and collected in the show ring. Other than those personality traits needed for their respective purposes, serious breeders trying to get field trial champions or show champions will have less interest in the dog's personality. So, if you are after a dog just as a pet, you're better off not going for the dog that has a multitude of champions in its recent pedigree, and look instead for a breeder whose sole intent is to make the best pet dogs available. It sounds like this is what you're after. These dogs may not be the perfect candidates for either showing or working, but are far more likely to fit into family life. If they have been bred for this purpose over a couple of generations, then the psychological differences between show and working type dogs should be far less. That is not to say there are NO serious breeders of champions who neglect the personality aspects of their dogs, but they will be harder to find. Some breeders will also insist that their puppies go to homes where they will be worked. Looking at the parents will give you some idea of how your puppy will grow up to look, so you can assess the size of the "finished product", and their temperament will give you the best idea of how your puppy could turn out. You should be able to meet both parents and, preferably, full siblings from previous litters. See how settled the parents are around strangers (you), your kids, and how relaxed the mum is to have you around her pups. The adult dog you end up with won't be a carbon copy of its parents, because it is also influenced by the socialisation you do at an early age and throughout its life, but traits are often also genetic, so you will have an easier time with a puppy who comes from good pet parents. Sorry, that was a bit of a tome! I'm sure that other people will be along for some comparisons, too.
Mine first 2 are a combination of show and working lines as the breeder I chose wanted dual purpose labs. I like dual purpose labs too, not as heavy as the show, they look like very old fashioned labs. He worked and showed his and mine from him both have been lovely dogs. the younger female has a bit more working dog in her and she a clever cheeky little thing. My last lab has about 3/4 working line in him. I can tell the difference as he defiately has more prey drive and is much skinnier than the other 2. His dad comes form a big yorkshire show kennel which line breeds and works their dogs too. His mum comes from a very good working kennel. He's lovely but has defiatley been more of a challenge than my first lab, His temprement is slowly becoming much calmer and that soft calm that I love in labs is starting to assert itself. Doug is very Zen, Rory is young and silly but he's getting better every day.. Both are great at home and brilliant house dogs. I don't know if this is down to breeding or just personality, I suppose some of it must be but, all my dogs have been so different even if they have been from the same mum. My young lab is also entire and i think that has had some bearing on his drive. also I become more experienced at managing them and now tackle my training in a more relaxed way, which lets them develop in a way they don't find too stressful.. I now tailor the training to the dog and don't go by the book.
Hi and a warm welcome from me and my 13 month old choccie girl, Mabel. You've been given great advice already, so I don't have that much to add. I waited for 2 years for my girl. I found my breeder in Wales, through doing loads of research on the Internet. Went to visit a couple of times (we live in Coventry so it was a fairly long drive) and found out we are very like minded. Ive stayed in touch with her ever since. If I could offer only one piece of advice it's make sure the parents have all the health checks, despite having done this my girl has elbow Dysplasia so there's no guarantee, it's just the better way to go. Good luck on your exciting journey, looking forward to photos.
Hi and a welcome to the forum from Fred and me. Fred is a 21 month old black lab. I have only had working Labs and have always be happy with them. All I can say is dogs are like children, they are all different and have they own personality. We are a active family and had three boys , all men now and had no trouble with any of our dogs.Good luck with your search.
I really think you have to carefully examine the parents - for whatever ability, temperament and conformation you are looking for. I just do not think you can rely on generalisations of 'working' or 'show' if you have in mind a dog of a particular type or with particular characteristics. In so many ways it's best to view your search as a search for the right parents, not for a puppy. The vast majority of Labradors are bred without any serious consideration of achieving a particular result. They are bred by people in love with their own fabulous dog(s), and not by people seriously aiming to achieve a particular outcome. So, find the parents with the characteristics that you are looking for - and try to see objective proof of ability, eg dogs supplied as assistance dogs if you are looking for calmness, success in a sport if you are looking for that, and so on - and don't compromise on health results (also check out the EBVs of the parents, not just the results for the individual dog). Best of luck with your search!
