Looks like? should be able to figure that out by observing mom and dad.
Acts like? good luck, everyone is different.
Where/who said you shouldn't have health clearances?
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The OP wants a healthy puppy who will be a more adept hunting companion than his current Lab. He asked about pricing. People responded honestly about pricing and what they see as red flags. We also provided reasoning why a breeder who is potentially producing a dog for themselves to compete in the show ring and or obedience/hunt tests, etc. is also most likely to produce a PET that looks, and acts like a Labrador should, with a verifiable lineage of health tested dogs behind the puppy on both the sire and dam’s side.
Why is it so hard for you to understand that the kind of breeder those of us are, or are touting, i.e. one who wants to preserve a Labs’ looks, friendly temperament, and natural hunting ability, and spends the time, effort, money to prove their dogs are friendly, look like Labs, and have the Labs’ desire to work as a retriever should, will most likely produce the dog most able to fulfill what the OP is looking for in terms of health, temperament, and ability?
And yes, I’ve spent the same money on my last three Labs as I advised the OP to budget. Nobody is telling the OP they need to go to a specialist if that’s what you are misreading. Those are things the breeder should be doing in their program to verify their dogs are not passing on genetic abnormalities to their puppies, some of which will be in pet homes. Why is that a bad thing?
Frankly, being a show dog and a pet are not mutually exclusive. My dogs are pets first and foremost, and every breeder on this board will likely tell you they produce dogs that are great pets before anything else because they live with these dogs in their houses, around their children, and take them all over the place with them, so they need to be great pets as well as show dogs, obedience champions, agility competitors, hunt test titled, etc.
If you don’t care about any of this then fine, that’s your prerogative. And it’s the OP’s prerogative to buy whatever they want, take or ignore any advice. But for those of us who love the breed and care about supporting the best match between puppy buyer and dog, as well as supporting the kind of breeder who strives to produce healthy, friendly, able Labradors, we are going to give anybody that comes on this board the kind of honest advice and insight that they might not have access to. For a popular breed like Labradors there are lots of sources of puppies to wade through, which can make finding a reputable one more difficult. Maybe not for you, since finding a reputable breeder is “just common sense,” but others may appreciate being armed with the information being provided.
Why do you care so much what type of advice someone else gets? They asked questions, they are getting good answers to their questions, very simple. Have we touched a nerve somehow?
Not everyone recognizes a reputable breeder, and the OP is looking for a Labrador with a good temperament (some of which is heritable, and why good breeders breed for Temperament first, then Health, Conformation etc...) since they have kids, with better orthopedics than their current dog, so that the new Labrador can also be a hunting companion. Since dogs are a 15+ year commitment, it is wise to carefully search for the dog you want.
Both of my non rescues were over $1,500, but I have seen decent litters IMO for $1,200, so maybe $1,200+. Just make sure both the parents have all their health clearances, good temperments, and the breeder is good enough to give you an honest answer on whether the temperament of the puppy will meet your lifestyle. IMO, only 3 ways to go for a decent breeder, one which either is breeding for breed standard or one who is breeding for excellent hunting dogs, or one who is breeding for a decent hunting dog, but closer to breed standard, I would not go with a breeder who is breeding for "pet homes".
Not understanding why its important to stack the deck in your favor when buying a pet Labrador (from a breeder who does EVERYTHING right and you end up paying a bit more) is why there are so many BYB's around today. Even when sorting through that crap, you have to deal with the BYB's that just breed their 2 dogs, no clearances, no attention to temperaments, clearances, nothing, but then sell you a "plain old pet dog" for a "plain old pet price".
And if that's the type of person you are, that's fine.
But then you have the BYB's that hide behind the "marketing" in order to get the "show breeder" prices. That's a whole other level of ripping folks off. IMO, if you are going to buy the bargain puppy off the back of the truck, at least support the farmer who's not trying to rip you off by pretending that the pedigree of champions 5+ generations back means anything.
In general, this group of Labrador folks understands why breeders do it a particular way. If you don't believe in that, might as well choose to fight a different battle. I don't expect your debate to change any minds.