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  1. #1
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    Something unexpected happened this morning...

    So, I am drinking my coffee and I got an email from the breeder I reached out to last week. This is really odd because I was pretty sure she wasn't going to breed her dogs until next year. Apparently, one of the people on her waiting list dropped out and she will have a yellow male available late October. I think I almost choked on my coffee after reading her email. She said that she will need to meet us first and ask us questions before the puppy is ours. I miss Hide so much but I can't help but think that this would be a good opportunity to have a new family member in our lives.
    If we decide to get him, what are some questions that we should ask? What questions should we prepare for? It's been twelve years since we had a puppy so I feel like I'm almost a newbie to this.

  2. #2
    Senior Dog smartrock's Avatar
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    Oh wow, I bet your heart skipped a beat on that one! How exciting!

    What I've been asked by breeders:
    what attracted you to labs
    what type of home and yard do you have
    what kind of lifestyle do you lead- active, not so active, travel a lot, does your dog go with you if you travel
    are there other pets in the household
    is your yard fenced
    ages of children in the household
    will there be someone at home with the puppy most of the time, do you work outside the home, plans for letting the puppy out during the day
    have you had other labs or other dogs, are you familiar with the breed?
    how did your previous dogs die?
    my sister was asked how long she thought it should take to house-train a puppy. Um, as long as it takes?

    What I usually ask:
    FYI, we have gotten our labs from breeders who also show for conformation so some of this might not apply if your breeder is not a conformation breeder or specializes in other competitive activities. We have/had young children or grandchildren so I wanted to try to get the best sense of the temperament of the puppies we'd get.

    I did not meet the sires ahead of time but I was able to see their information online, their kennels, their pedigree, health clearances
    With our first lab breeder, I asked for references from people who had gotten pups from her. With our subsequent breeders, I had met some breeders on this forum who were able to confirm that they were good, trustworthy breeders and I met all the mom's breeders in person.
    What health clearances have both parents had? You sometimes find them on the breeder's website. You might be able to find the OFA clearances online if you have the full names or registration numbers of the parents https://ofa.org/ I wanted them to have the main clearances but I was not insistent on every clearance. The parents need to be 2 years old before they get clearances done.
    Can you visit the puppies and meet the mother (and father if he's onsite)
    How do they socialize or provide mental stimulation for the puppies before they come to their new homes?
    Does he/she have guidelines regarding spay/neutering and are you OK with those? Our first boy's breeder said 2 years, the current one said 1 year.
    What food does she feed/recommend?
    What happens if you cannot keep the pup for some reason, will they take them back?

    There's undoubtedly more but a nice conversation can occur by phone or in person so you can get a feel for them and they can get a feel for you. Once we agreed to getting a puppy from our breeders, we were sent photos as the puppies grew and felt like we got to know the breeder and the puppies better.

    Good luck. If you have other questions, ask!
    Last edited by smartrock; 09-27-2024 at 10:38 AM.
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  4. #3
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    A few things I would want to know.

    1. I'd want to check and ensure all appropriate clearances are done. This will give you an idea what's recommended. These should be done on both the dog and the bitch. https://thelabradorclub.com/health-issues/. https://ofa.org If you have the registered name for the parents, you can get some of the clearance info at the ofa.org website. If the breeder tells you they are cleared by parentage I'd want to see clearance info on all 4 grandparents. At a minimum I'd want actual clearances for the following. Hips, elbows, eyes, cardiac (I"d insist on a cardiac echo on both parents) and EIC.

    2. Has the bitch been bred previously, if yes, how are those puppies doing.

    3. Does the breeder give full or limited registration. Not a deal breaker either way, but if you ever plan on breeding you'll need full registration.

    4. Does the breeder want co-ownership? Personally I would not do a co-own.

    5. Does the breeder do performance events? Obedience, Rally, Hunt Tests, etc. Especially important if you plan on doing any of the these.

    6. What health guarantees does the breeder offer?

    7. Will the breeder take the dog back if for some reason you can no longer take care of the dog. A "good" breeder will take one of their dogs at any time, no questions asked.

    8. Read the breeders puppy contract. Make sure you are comfortable with the breeders policies.

    9. Ask to see the living area for the dogs/puppies.

    10. Try to keep your emotions out of the process. I know it's hard when you see those cute little fur balls, but remember this is a business transaction. If at any time during the process you have concerns or are not comfortable with something, get clarification and make sure you are 100% comfortable with everything before you make a decision.

    I wish you the best in your pursuit to get a pup, and please let us know how it goes!

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  6. #4
    Senior Dog Snowshoe's Avatar
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    I'm just going to double ditto Smartrock and Barry. Ask as many questions as you can BEfore you see the puppies.
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  8. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by barry581 View Post

    10. Try to keep your emotions out of the process. I know it's hard when you see those cute little fur balls, but remember this is a business transaction. If at any time during the process you have concerns or are not comfortable with something, get clarification and make sure you are 100% comfortable with everything before you make a decision.
    Thank you for pointing this out. It brought me back down to earth after my head was flooded with fluffy puppies. .


    I am taking notes on all of your questions so that I can ask the breeder for more information. She has a lot of health information on her website so I'm double checking the parents and writing down anything that I need to talk to her about. I believe we will be having our talk/interview sometime this weekend. Will let you know how it goes.
    Thanks again everyone! I couldn't do this without the help from the forum!

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  10. #6
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    I don't want to make any of this sound harder than it is, as getting a puppy should be a fun and exciting time. In addition to seeing the info about health clearances on the breeders website, I'd highly recommend asking to see the actual clearance paperwork, and/or looking it up on the OFA website.

    I guess I'm a little more paranoid than the average puppy buyer. I've lost two young dogs over the years, one had a brain tumor and I lost her at just under 2 years old. There are no health clearances for this, and at the time health testing was still rather new (1985). I lost another young dog to an undetected hearth issue when he died in his sleep at 20 months old. Both parents had ALL appropriate clearances that were recommended at that time (2014). I also knew many of the dogs in his lines going back on 5-6 generations on the bitches side. This pup was named Bruce, and his story may still be on this board if you search.

    Despite the best due diligence things can still go wrong, but I feel it's best to stack the deck in your favor. I also been very lucky over the years in having dealt with very good breeders who do their best to do it right. It's very expensive to do all of these clearances, but good breeders aren't in it for the money, the main goal is healthy, happy pups with great temperaments!

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  12. #7
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    I hate to dig up old bones, but here are two Bruce threads. I'm sitting here crying because it still hurts me to my core losing this boy. He would be 10 if he had lived.

    https://www.lab-retriever.net/board/...bruce+barry581
    https://www.lab-retriever.net/board/...bruce+barry581

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  14. #8
    Senior Dog smartrock's Avatar
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    Barry, we remember Bruce and that morning as if it had happened much more recently. He was so special.

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  16. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by barry581 View Post
    I don't want to make any of this sound harder than it is, as getting a puppy should be a fun and exciting time. In addition to seeing the info about health clearances on the breeders website, I'd highly recommend asking to see the actual clearance paperwork, and/or looking it up on the OFA website.

    I guess I'm a little more paranoid than the average puppy buyer. I've lost two young dogs over the years, one had a brain tumor and I lost her at just under 2 years old. There are no health clearances for this, and at the time health testing was still rather new (1985). I lost another young dog to an undetected hearth issue when he died in his sleep at 20 months old. Both parents had ALL appropriate clearances that were recommended at that time (2014). I also knew many of the dogs in his lines going back on 5-6 generations on the bitches side. This pup was named Bruce, and his story may still be on this board if you search.

    Despite the best due diligence things can still go wrong, but I feel it's best to stack the deck in your favor. I also been very lucky over the years in having dealt with very good breeders who do their best to do it right. It's very expensive to do all of these clearances, but good breeders aren't in it for the money, the main goal is healthy, happy pups with great temperaments!
    Barry- Thank you so much for taking the time to write to us. We don't think you are paranoid at all. We are grateful that you have taken the time to educate us and give us knowledge on what to ask and keep an eye out for. We remember Bruce as well (we were still just lurkers in the labrador forum). He was such a good, beautiful boy. My heart hurts re-reading the old posts.

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