We have wanted a Lab for as long as I can remember. We always see them and go ahh, have friends with them and always say "one day". Well now is the right time for us. We have been doing research for at least a year maybe 18 months and have now started our search. My first experience of the breeder was awful. She was a real psycho and had more behavioural problems than the dogs! She was vile. Her dogs are meant to be the cream of labs but I came away very unimpressed indeed. They were incredibly bouncy and boisterous and was quite concerned that my next experience with a different breeder will be the same? We have done so much research on Labs and yet after my first visit to see the parents, pre pups I have been left feeling awful and wondering whether other labs are the same? I am visiting a different breeder on Monday and scared in case I come away thinking Labs aren't for us. Do Labs vary in behaviour hugely from one breeder to another? I do read that people take years to find the right dog. Now please don't think I was expecting to go and see one breeder and that was that, far from it. In fact she accused me of doing too much research, whatever that is??? I have been left very disheartened. Should I stick with it?
Of course not all breeders are the same. There are good breeders, and bad breeders. You can narrow down your search to give you a better chance of finding a good breeder if you look for one registered with a kennel club scheme. In the UK this is the Kennel Club assured breeder scheme. Where are you based? The other thing is though, most Labradors are very bouncy and boisterous when young, so if the breeder had young dogs around, then this is very much how young Labradors are while you train them (I wouldn't expect dogs old enough to be parents to be like that though). We do hear from some people that say they had the perfect calm pup from day one, but that's really not the experience of most people with young Labradors - so your chances of getting a dog that is boisterous and very bouncy for the first couple of years is very high, even if you find the perfect breeder. You can also narrow down your search to breeders that are doing stuff with their dogs in an area you are interested in - so obedience, or tracking, agility, gundog work and so on. If you look for a breeder that is actively training dogs, you are more likely to find one that is breeding very trainable Labradors etc. Best of luck with your search.
Thanks. I am in France so not as straight forward. We have found a commercial breeder which we aren't keen on for obvious reasons but they have a dog school, kennels and cattery, so as far as obedience classes go I could take him or her there. As I say the french kennel club does list commercial breeders too, although I have not seen puppy farms on there.
I rather meant breeders being successful in competitions, and breeding dogs they want to keep themselves for that, rather than offering classes. Breeders like this often do not have litters advertised. Firstly because they might only have one litter a year or not even that many, and second because if they are successful at what they do, they don't need to advertise puppies. So what you could do (which is what I did) is find the breeder first, check it's the type of breeder you are interested in, check out the dogs they have, and then approach them asking whether they have any litters planned. You have to expect answers like planning a litter in late 2016 etc, far into the future. But then you could ask to be added to their 'interested' list, or you could even ask for pointers to other breeders and so on. It is difficult and it can take time. I certainly felt like giving up a fair few times searching for my last pup, found one in the end though.
No matter how many articles I read on Chocs, Black or yellow and male or female there doesn't seem to be any difference in the breeds behaviour. We are decided on a black or choc but I think a female may be calmer and a male more boisterous? Am I right? Hubbie was male everything but I have read that females are not quite so loving as a male. Basically it seems that whatever lab we get we are starting with a blank canvas. Am I right to feel scared taking a dog on through the puppy period? We cannot take a rescue as we have two cats and they take priority when looking for a dog.
It's hard work to be sure, but so very very rewarding. Don't be daunted. Like anything, if you have the right tools and the right know-how, you will do a good job
You do seem worried about how bouncy and boisterous Labradors might be? With training, and as they get a little older, most turn out to be absolutely lovely dogs, good around kids and older people etc. But while they are young, they do tend to be bouncy and boisterous. Certainly, my own male dog was a strong, well muscled, extremely boisterous, 30kg hooligan through his teenage months*, and physically he wasn't all that easy to deal with. Training them to walk on a lead can be tiresome, as they are such enthusiastic, strong dogs - I often think that if you are physically frail, or really don't want to deal with such a strong, boisterous dog, then a teenage Labrador is going to be a real challenge. You can try to find parents that display the characteristics you are looking for - trainable, calm, etc. and you might get lucky and find the perfect, angelic puppy. I wouldn't bank on it, most people find they have to just hang on and keep training through a somewhat nightmare teenage stage! I think they are worth it though, I was pretty relieved when my dog grew up a bit though! Can't have been all that bad, as I'm just about to do it all over again with a new puppy. *edited to read months not years! although it felt like years at the time....
You do need to be prepared for a puppy being a lively handful, at least for the first year. Of course training and building a relationship with your pup helps, but you're very unlikely to immediately have a calm, sedate dog. I don't think the sex makes any difference to how affectionate or boisterous they are (I've owned a boy previously). Have you looked at other breeds which may calm down at a younger age than Labs? Labradors are lovely but they are high energy dogs.
It's strange we have wanted one for so long and every time we find a link for best dog for us, and suitability with cats, tempremant, looks etc we always end up back with a Lab. We have wanted a Lab for many many years but work has not allowed us to do this. Do you recommend early training at a dog school locally? If so from what age? I know the first few months are critical for teaching and want to be sure that when we get one we are nipping problems in the bud straight away.
Labs? The bounciest dogs around! Tatze is 3 now and just about beginning to calm down (a bit!) But if you think a breeder is iffy for any reason at all - walk away. ..
Have you thought of a withdrawn or retired guide dog? They are highly trained and could be any age as they are withdrawn when they no longer want to work. Here is a link - http://www.guidedogs.org.uk/supportus/rehoming-a-guide-dog#.V0mzb0l4Wh8 .
I hadn't actually. Now there's a thought. I knownthey have a great temprement but the only reason we were looking at a Lab puppy was because of our cats. I will have a look thank you. I do think that maybe this is suitable for UK residents not French but will enquire anyway.
Just want to wish you good luck with whichever route you choose. And if you're not happy with a breeder, for whatever reason, walk away and try the next one.
Thanks for your kind words. It hasn't been easy or enjoyable so far. Psycho breeder no1 nearly put me off for life. Quite worrying there are some very unstable people breeding dogs these days. As for the drives to these places and then when you do get there they aren't any good.
I hope you find a breeder that you have confidence in and you trust, but as Sue said just walk away if you don't feel happy as this should be an exciting time buying a puppy not stressful. When we bought Hattie who was our first dog we had a lovely experience, we spent a whole day the lovely lady who interviewed us which is fine and correct, said she wouldn't sell us one of her puppies if she didn't like us, had to take all 4 of my children too, they were prewarned to be on their best behaviour . We had a lovely time with her horses, she made us tea, chatted to the children asking them how they would take care of Hattie, giving them good advice. We passed with flying colours and took Hattie home the same day as she was 13 weeks. I am still in touch with her and Hattie is 8 years old. You get good ones and bad ones I guess. Good luck!
A far cry to my recent experiences. How lovely and so happy you have a great life with your new addition!
Good luck with your search, I waited two years for my chocolate girl. She was 18 months yesterday and it was well worth the wait. Like @charlie it was a wonderful experience. We are also still in touch with our breeder and hoping to visit in a couple of weeks although it's difficult as they live 4 hours away. The breeder has also been an incredible support when Mabel was diagnosed with ED. Couldn't ask for better.
I would agree young Labradors are very boisterious. I thought they were lovely calm dogs, until I got one. Puppyhood is relatively easy compared to their adolescence which can last from 9 till 18 months. It is in that time window that most Labs are sent for rehoming. My Molly is definately a field Lab. She is very slim, athletic and even at two and a half very energetic. She is intelligent and learnt quickly, but I think that perhaps because of her parentage (quite a few FTC in her lineage) quite I dependant of spirit. I was very lucky, her breeder was a lovely normal person and Molly had been raised in an ordinary semi detached house. I met her mum who exuded good humour and friendliness, something I had to hang on tight to for the first eighteen months. The breeder had used the same stud before and kept on of the mating which I also met. There was nothing to tell me the cute little ball of fluff I chose was going to be quite the explosive creature she turned into within weeks. Seriously, Labs are darned hard work for at least the first two years. They are large dogs and do need training.
