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  1. #11
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    When I semi retired about 5 years ago, I knew I was in a position to have a puppy. I had adopted a number of Labs from breeders my friends from the UK know. So after a 20 year period with no puppies, only grown dogs, I started searching for a breeder. As my search progressed, I came to the conclusion that I really wanted a puppy from my friends, even though it would require shipping them from the UK. The cost wasn't really that much higher than a top quality puppy from a breeder in the US, and I'd have a dog that I've known the lines of, and are related to the first two Labs I had. Took 3 years for a successful mating. The litter contained a mix of male/female, and yellows and blacks. My first preference was a black male. Only one black male in the litter, and they had a lady who had been waiting 5 years for a black male. My friends said I could have him, however I thought it was only right for the other lady to have him, as she had been waiting longer.

    So I told them, just pick one out that you'll know I'll like. That's how I ended up with Sophie. Despite her being one of those puppies from hell, she has grown to be a very sweet girl. During my visits to the UK over the last couple years, I've met several of her littermates, and I'm very happy Sophie was the one I got.

    When I found out the mating that led to Bruce's litter, which would be all black, I decided I wanted a male from that litter. Same breeder, the lines were different from Sophie's, there were some common ancesters, but all were at least 3 generations back, and there were still ties back to my original dogs. There were five males in this litter, and I was offered first pick. They eliminated one from the list, said his personality was not suitable, he was the big bossy pup in the litter. They sent multiple pictures and described the personality of each. I picked the one who was the medium size of the four, and had the mid level energy. They said they would have been surprised if I didn't pick him, as they had said he would have been the one they picked for me. I guess know someone for 30 years helps with the process!!!

    In the end, if you dealing with an experienced breeder, I feel it's best to have them pick the right dog for you.
    Last edited by barry581; 04-26-2015 at 09:31 PM.

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  3. #12
    Senior Dog Meeps83's Avatar
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    When we chose Maverick's breeder that was a "must have" on our list. Granted it's fun to pick out a puppy, but we wanted the right puppy. Having a puppy picked for us, I think, has made Maverick the most enjoyable puppy either of us has had in our entire lives.

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  5. #13
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    With Scully, she was our first dog and was supposed to be “just a pet”. We originally wanted a male, but more than that we wanted that breeding (it was a repeat breeding and we had fallen in love with a pup from the first go-round), so when there were only 9 females, no males, we took a female. The breeder picked her out for us. With Mulder, we went back to the same breeder, but we were now a performance home, having fallen in love with Obedience, and done some tracking with Scully. We went to visit the pups when they were about 4-5 weeks, and we got to pick out a boy that we liked, and she told us that “I will keep an eye on him and see if I think he will be right for you”. She called two weeks later and said “that boy that you picked is amazing!” and that’s how we ended up with Mulder.

    Chloe came to us as pick of the litter in lieu of a stud fee. There were three girls only in the litter, and she was the only black one. I tried not to pick on color, and we visited them several times from about 3-7 weeks while trying to decide. Eventually concluded that 2/3 would have the type of personality we wanted (the other girl was too laid-back for my purposes) and given that we prefer black, we went with Chloe. Couldn’t be happier with our decision, but it was nerve-wracking not having someone pick out the puppy for us, LOL.
    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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  7. #14
    House Broken Fredbearthelab's Avatar
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    Wow thanks everyone for sharing!! Maverick is a handsome devil! Chloe is picture perfect! You know this thread might give you puppy fever haha

  8. #15
    Real Retriever Laura's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Fredbearthelab View Post
    I think this thread just cut out 80% of breeders out there j/k j/k.
    I found it somewhat difficult to find breeders that did all of the clearances. That was my #1 priority, and a lot of the "breeders" around here are nothing more than back yard breeders. I found my breeder through a recommendation of another breeder, and she has been fantastic. Like I said, I wanted to make sure I could do what I could to get the most sound dog possible. The breeder had me submit what I was looking for in a dog, and then asked me tons of questions. I think a lot of my family members were baffled by the breeder choosing my puppy for me, and my answer to "Which one is yours?" was always "The one she picks for me." The answer to "How much are you paying for him?" was "What he's worth."

    I told my breeder that I wanted a weekend warrior that could spend all weekend hiking, but who also had an off switch in the house. What she brought me was a little ball of fire that keeps me on my toes. Puppyhood has been a challenge, but he is turning into an awesome dog. My sister says, half-jokingly, that he would have already been returned to the breeder if she had him. He's much too busy for her, but he is right up my alley.
    Hidden Content Theo 8/14/14

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  10. #16
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    Thank you for the post

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  12. #17
    Senior Dog Sandra's Avatar
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    Our breeder picked our pup (Charlie) for us, based on what we were looking for. They knew what they were doing.

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  14. #18
    House Broken CaraDeo's Avatar
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    I wouldn't think highly of a breeder who let you pick out your puppy.
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    ~Cara Deo Labradors~

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  16. #19
    Real Retriever fidgetyknees's Avatar
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    I totally agree good breeders should pick the dog because they know them best. But I am the first to admit I begged and pleaded so get the my 4 year old girl as the breeder had a lot more normal dog picked out for me, and Zola is one of the most active intense labs you would ever meet. There was just something about her I was so in love with and to this day sticks to me like glue and is a sole-mate and the best agility teammate I could ever have (I doubt I will ever be so lucky to have a dog like her again) - so I am not sorry I put me foot down and asked for what I wanted because I would not have gotten her.

    My new puppy who is not home yet, the breeder picked for the most part, I was given a choice of 2 out of 6 as those 2 were the most suited to me, luckily the one that I was liking the most was one of those 2 so I am super happy.

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  18. #20
    House Broken Fredbearthelab's Avatar
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    That's awesome! You picked Zola and she turned just what you needed.. Odd question in the end of the thread but.. I watched a show on Netflix about guys who go catch wild mustangs and have 90 days to train them to show and sale... What age is untrainable still trainable in a Labrador. Our property butsts up against a nice guys property that has a big ole 7 year old lab (he's fixed) and he comes over to the barn to hang out he had the stigma of being a wild card..after 3 months of this he sits on command, doesn't jump on you anymore and will even being a ball back every once in a while.. I know that's not training u some standards but for a ranch dog I'd say that's pretty good.
    If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.
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