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  1. #21
    Senior Dog Maxx&Emma's Avatar
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    Athough I have noticed several questions from well meaning members of the forum, I have not yet seen any answers. I sincerely hope you do not mistake my concern for rudeness, I sincerely mean the very best.

    1. Health clearance have been addressed a few times. It is so very hard to stress how very important they are. Of course nothing is 100 percent foolproof but stacking the odds in your favor is very important, especially when it comes to Labs that can suffer heartbreaking health issues that can often be avoided.

    2. A breeder that allows you to pick your own puppy with little to no Labrador experience. I have had Labs my entire life, my breeder did not allow me to pick my puppy and honestly, she spent 8 weeks with them and knew them best. For me to spend a very short amount of time with a litter of puppies and expect to pick the one best suited to me and my lifestyle seems almost crazy!

    3. Allowing a Lab puppy to go to a home with such young children during a holiday time is fairly taboo with responsible breeders. Responsible/reputable breeders that do have litters ready at Christmas time more often than not hold the puppies an extra week or 2 for many reasons. Many breeders do not allow their puppies to go to homes with such young children for many reasons.

    Again, I hope I have not insulted you as it was not my intention. I wish you the best of luck, at the right time, with a responsible breeder.
    Last edited by Maxx&Emma; 12-03-2015 at 07:28 PM.
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  3. #22
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    Well I got visit with them tonight, is it weird to say that it was sort of life changing? I told the breeder about my family and what we wanted in a lab. She had 2 that fit my style and let me play and hold them. One seemed very active and whiny and very vocal. The other was active, but more laid back and calm. I know this personality can change, but I chose the calm one! I will pick him up on Dec 18 so he will have a week with us before Christmas hits. They are 6 weeks old and she told me that they still have them nurse once a day with their mom and I thought that was really good. They eat Diamond puppy food with a little warm water to soften the food. She has all the paperwork and health clearances for me. It was so awesome holding my future companion as a young pup. I cannot wait to get life started with our little black chubby pup. Oh and the parents looked great and were very strong well behaved labs!

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  5. #23
    Senior Dog Labradorks's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Whitetail90 View Post
    Well I got visit with them tonight, is it weird to say that it was sort of life changing? I told the breeder about my family and what we wanted in a lab. She had 2 that fit my style and let me play and hold them. One seemed very active and whiny and very vocal. The other was active, but more laid back and calm. I know this personality can change, but I chose the calm one! I will pick him up on Dec 18 so he will have a week with us before Christmas hits. They are 6 weeks old and she told me that they still have them nurse once a day with their mom and I thought that was really good. They eat Diamond puppy food with a little warm water to soften the food. She has all the paperwork and health clearances for me. It was so awesome holding my future companion as a young pup. I cannot wait to get life started with our little black chubby pup. Oh and the parents looked great and were very strong well behaved labs!
    When you say health clearances, are you talking about the puppy or the parents? If it's puppies, they do not get health clearances. Maybe a thumbs up from a vet, wormer and some shots. The parents need their clearances that are done via special genetic testing. Is that the paperwork you saw?

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  7. #24
    Senior Dog smartrock's Avatar
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    A lot of people on here are very firm on the need to have the parents health clearances done prior to getting a puppy from a particular breeding. Because this is a labrador specialty forum, insuring the health of future generations of labrador retrievers is a priority. This is the only chance you will have to be certain your puppy has as good a genetic background as possible. It's no guarantee of a problem free life but it stacks the deck strongly in your favor. You asked specifically about giving supplements to prevent hip or other ortho issues in your first post in this thread, so that's one place that knowing the parents have had clearances done can make a difference for your puppy's future. The time to find out what tests have been done on the parents is before you decide on the puppy. That's why you've been asked about what specific clearances have been done on the parents.

    In truth, the majority of family pets in the US are not obtained from breeders who have the health clearances done on the parents and do not know the status of previous generations of that breeding line, or they are gotten through shelters or rescue organizations and no genetic background is known. I suspect most people do not have any idea of the health issues their chosen breed are subject to. They see the puppy, they fall in love, and the puppy comes home. They think their dog is so special that they decide it needs to parent a litter himself so they find another "nice" lab, or they buy another lab, and they have puppies, and the parents are young and the debilitating problems labs can develop are not yet evident in the parents but it doesn't mean they are good from a genetic standpoint.

    If the parents do not have those official clearances, I would strongly advise you look into getting health insurance for your puppy right from the start. Many of us have had to have surgery done on our labs for a range of issues, obstructions from eating things they shouldn't, elbow dysplasia, torn ligaments or cartilage in their knees, hip dysplasia, and the various lumps and bumps dog can develop at any age. It can be expensive to provide all the care they need over their lifetime. Paying out monthly for health insurance for your pet may seem costly, but having to pay a few thousand dollars for surgery can be an expense many people cannot just cough up at a moment's notice. People come on here asking what they can do about this problem or that problem to avoid the expense of surgery because they cannot afford to pay for surgery if their dog has an obstruction or $2000 to repair an ACL tear, or their dog has been hit by a car and has a broken leg that they cannot afford to have operated on. And these are problems that can happen even with a perfectly bred lab. You can find some information on the board about what insurance others have gotten for their dogs and if you're still confused, start a new thread to ask again.

    A lot to consider.

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  9. #25
    Senior Dog Maxx&Emma's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Whitetail90 View Post
    Well I got visit with them tonight, is it weird to say that it was sort of life changing? I told the breeder about my family and what we wanted in a lab. She had 2 that fit my style and let me play and hold them. One seemed very active and whiny and very vocal. The other was active, but more laid back and calm. I know this personality can change, but I chose the calm one! I will pick him up on Dec 18 so he will have a week with us before Christmas hits. They are 6 weeks old and she told me that they still have them nurse once a day with their mom and I thought that was really good. They eat Diamond puppy food with a little warm water to soften the food. She has all the paperwork and health clearances for me. It was so awesome holding my future companion as a young pup. I cannot wait to get life started with our little black chubby pup. Oh and the parents looked great and were very strong well behaved labs!
    Exactly what papers did you see? Were they hip/elbow ratings from OFA ? Did you see a heart clearance, PRA testing for eyes, EIC and CNM clearances, etc? The health records from a general vet do not cut it, these are specialized testing that are VERY IMPORTANT!! There are no substitutes and "my vet says my dog is healthy" is absolutely the worst.

    Of course a litter of sweet Lab babies is incredible and extremely hard to resist! If the parents of the litter do not have the above clearances, I urge you to run, not walk! Find a breeder that does things right so that you and your family can avoid the heartbreak of irresponsible breeding. And that "calm" puppy you chose may very well have been the crazy puppy of the litter 10 minutes prior to your arrival! What you see when you are there means little and unscrupulous breeders will say what they think you want to hear, unfortunately.

    If my posts have offended you, I sincerely apologize. I was unaware of what it takes to breed a great litter and what a responsible breeder is. I paid dearly and it haunts me to this day. If I can educate/help one person to do it right it makes Ozzy's life mean even more. I really hope you understand and take the advice that has been offered with the best of intentions.
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  11. #26
    Senior Dog Abulafia's Avatar
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    We didn't pick out Hoku. I'd filled out the very long application, and had talked w/ the breeder for the following seven months. Some friends asked "when do you get to pick out the pup?" and I admit I felt a little odd responding... "Well, I don't think I get to. I think she picks the pup." This response was met w/ some suspicion.

    I was an idiot to think that I could have possibly picked the right dog upon pickup. They were all there, all drowsy, all adorable. I saw one who was adorable, and later learned my husband had hoped that it wouldn't be her. When the breeder went to pick up Hoku—seriously, they all looked pretty much perfect—I was all "Ok, that one!" They all looked so perfect. But then I learned that Hoku had been the breeder's second pick for a keeper, and as I've seen her grow, she is a perfect example of that breeder's type. Would I have known? No freaking way. Would I have known her personality would be perfect for us? No freaking way.

    When we get our next pup, it will be from this breeder, and I will, again, trust them to pick our pup for us.

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  13. #27
    Senior Dog Maxx&Emma's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Abulafia View Post
    We didn't pick out Hoku. I'd filled out the very long application, and had talked w/ the breeder for the following seven months. Some friends asked "when do you get to pick out the pup?" and I admit I felt a little odd responding... "Well, I don't think I get to. I think she picks the pup." This response was met w/ some suspicion.

    I was an idiot to think that I could have possibly picked the right dog upon pickup. They were all there, all drowsy, all adorable. I saw one who was adorable, and later learned my husband had hoped that it wouldn't be her. When the breeder went to pick up Hoku—seriously, they all looked pretty much perfect—I was all "Ok, that one!" They all looked so perfect. But then I learned that Hoku had been the breeder's second pick for a keeper, and as I've seen her grow, she is a perfect example of that breeder's type. Would I have known? No freaking way. Would I have known her personality would be perfect for us? No freaking way.

    When we get our next pup, it will be from this breeder, and I will, again, trust them to pick our pup for us.
    It's funny, I am in touch with the owners of 2 of Maxx's littermates. I wanted a laid back mellow boy to do therapy work with and that is exactly what I got, he excels at his "job"! Another owner wanted a puppy with a bit more drive as he is an avid duck hunter, he got what he wanted, that pup is obsessed with ducks! The other also wanted more of a mellow pup because they had grandbabies, his owner says he has been a dream with those babies from day one! Not too hard to believe as I think most well bred Labs are great with kids.

    Now that I know better I really see the difference a good breeder can make. They spend at least 8 weeks caring for a litter, they know the babies better than anyone. There is no way I could have chosen my puppy and been as happy with his personality. A good breeder is worth their weight in gold and I don't think they get the thanks they deserve often enough. They absolutely do not get rich and sometimes suffer unbelievable heartbreak. I hope those that do it right know how much they are appreciated.
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    Ozzy - 10/2002 - 06/2011 - Rest well my sweet boy. You are forever remembered, forever missed, forever in my heart.

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  15. #28
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    If you read the OP’s posts, they were given the choice between two very similar puppies, which I think is reasonable.

    Scully was our first dog and was chosen for us by the breeder. Since we were already actively competing with her when it was time to get our second pup, the breeder (same one) let us “pick” at about 4-5 weeks with the caveat that she would “keep an eye on him” to see if he was really going to be good for what we wanted. She called us 3 weeks later to tell us “that pup you picked is really something special!” - that was Mulder.

    With Chloe since she was a pick puppy (we got her in lieu of a stud fee) we were the ones that picked her. We had input from the breeder and from some experienced friends who had come with us a few times to see them. The consensus was that there were two puppies - her and a yellow that were very similar in structure and temperament and that either would probably do well, but while we would have taken a yellow, given an even choice we prefer black so we took Chloe. From what I hear, the yellow girl is doing very well in her home, but unfortunately the owners didn’t have the time/interest to compete with her, although apparently their trainer for the puppy/beginner classes really wanted them to as she thought the pup would be very good.

    With the two we have now, we failed to pick, LOL. I do know which we would have kept if we were only keeping one, but I’m not telling!
    Annette

    Cookie (HIT HC Jamrah's Legally Blonde, UDX, OM2, BN) 6/4/2015
    Sassy (HIT Jamrah's Blonde Ambition, UDX, OM2, BN) 6/4/2015

    Chloe (HIT HC OTCH Windsong's Femme Fatale, UDX4, OM6, RE) 6/7/2009

    And remembering:

    Scully (HC Coventry's Truth Is Out There, UD, TD, RN) 4/14/1996 - 6/30/2011
    Mulder (Coventry's I Want To Believe, UD, RN, WC) 5/26/1999 - 4/22/2015

    And our foster Jolie (Windsong's Genuine Risk, CDX) 5/26/1999 - 3/16/2014

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  16. #29
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    -shadow2-jpg-shadow1-jpg Here is Shadow, 20 minutes of playing and he is wore out!

  17. #30
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    He's a little cutie!

 



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