lab wish list

[BIG BOB]

I am going to purchase a lab soon. I want a yellow one.... but other than that I really don't have any other needs. Male/female. ...rescue/breeders. .... I will train for therapy work. So my questionto you veterans is if you were in my shoes what would you get or look for to avoid any mistakes Thanks

[Snowshoe]

Ok, I'm confused. I thought from your other thread you pretty well had a male picked out already? Did that fall through? There were lots of good suggestions on what to look for in that thread. You look for the breeder first. Unless you are going the rescue route.

Newbie from Indiana

[Tanya]

first an foremost i want a breeder who has done all the health clearances on the dogs (and they pass) prior to choosing the dog sot breed. i want well structured labs (structure is important to physical health) and of solid temperament. PERSONALLY i want a breeder that proves their dogs in things I am interested in - so in your shoes I'd want a breeder that has dogs certified with TDI or has breed many who have gone on to do so.

I want a breeder that questions what buyers want in a dog and ensures best fit. One that spends 8 weeks watching, socialization and seeing what pup would best fit which buyer an recommend that pup.

THEN I look at colour and gender. actually I am leaving gender out of my next choice as I have a preference on colour. If the puppies in a specific litter that fit my "needs" are not yellow I will decide if I move to another litter or take another colour But I won'T sacrifice temperement/right puppy for color/gender.

ETA: what are health clearances? here's a great link with info an a break down. labs are prone to MANY health issues, however if you select "healthy" adults you are most likely to produce "healthy" puppies. The only way to tell the health of the adult is by doing these specific tests (aka clearances) not by a general "my dogs are healthy an have their yearly check-ups):
Clearances For Labs

[Tanya]

For the record my own lab is a rescue and he was a therapy dog, for a few years we visits a long term care facility. I also know of many other rescue dogs that are also therapy dogs. So you can absolutely get a rescue. If you go with a rescue I HIGHLY recommend a dog that is 2 years or older so you see the "full personality". Puppies from unknown parents and even young dogs can go thru various changes as they hit maturity (1-2 years of age) so if your goal is therapy dog, I would highly recommend a 2-4 year old dog that has the temperament for it.

[BIG BOB]

Thanks Tanya that is what I was looking for if my situation falls through I will go the rescue route. I have a heart for them. We loved our rescue pug. .... snowshoe-i may be in line for a great male dog being trained for therapy work but that is not guaranteed. I was just curious about your guys thoughts sorry for the confusion. My bad.

[Abulafia]

My thoughts were never on color, but on the breeder and the type of dogs they produce. I did slightly prefer black or yellow over chocolate (have had two less than stellar experiences with poorly socialized and untrained chocolate labs—so it's just a personal thing, nothing rational), but I was open to either color, male or female. I wanted health, health, health, and bred for temperament, and with great care.

I researched breeders for several months before writing to ours. It was another seven months before we got our pup home. I know my research was thorough... but I also realize now that I lucked out a lot. Amazing breeder, and an amazing dog.

I had sort of thought I'd want a male, for what it's worth. And kind of went back and forth on black or yellow. But at some point I just decided to let the breeder pick, and told her that. We ended up with a black female (this was an all black litter... I had been in line for a black and yellow litter, but passed on it because I was worried about timing not being optimal). She is literally the best dog ever created.

So... I would focus on health and temperament.

[BIG BOB]

Great advice Abulafia. I think the temperment is key. Along with health. I'm glad you responded....

[windycanyon]

As a breeder, if I don't think the person REALLY knows what they want in a Lab, and only tosses out color, I will send them onward. I'd suggest you really decide what is important and go forward from there. If you truly want to do therapy work, you need to focus on temperament.

[Annette47]

In addition to the good advice already given, one thing I would suggest is to get out to shows, performance events, etc. and meet the breeders and their dogs in person. Granted, this was back in the dark ages before everyone had a website, but that’s how we found our first Lab - Scully. We went to a dog show and met a 4 month old pup who was EXACTLY what we wanted in terms of looks and especially personality. Spoke to the owner who introduced us to the breeder who was at that show. That was in August. Over the winter we went to an Obedience trial just to watch and the breeder was there showing one of her other dogs, and we chatted. The following April Scully was born from a repeat breeding that produced the pup we had liked so much. We had originally wanted a black male, but the litter was all female, so we got her. Neither gender nor color was a big factor for us, although all things equal we usually prefer black dogs. Now that I have two yellow pups (no choice as none of the black survived) they are growing on me though Both Scully and her big brother Decker turned out to be wonderful dogs and we now have life long friends in the owners and breeder. Mulder came from the same breeder and Chloe and the pups are directly descended from him. So do your homework, but make sure you make a point of meeting the dogs up close and personal as well - just because they look good and even work well doesn’t mean they will click with your personality.

[BIG BOB]

Windycanyon....and .... Annette47 - thanks and i am getting the yellow male with parents of great temperment and reputaion. very happy and nervous at the same time. i don't want to screw this up.... i have not trained a dog for therapy before so i hope this little yellow guy is forgiving to "handler error" LOL when he arrives - i will try to post some pics.

*** the deal with the breeder is that he will not be altered for a few years so he can sire some puppies... what should i expect about marking - if anything?