Hi everyone, I live on a Greek island and would love to get a Lab puppy. I've been there some time and owned a golden retriever so I'm not new to dog owning. My options in Greece are few and I don't want to take that risk. The UK is a far safer bet but my problem is that the puppy must have the rabies vaccination to enter Greece. So the earliest I could collect would be 17 weeks I believe. I don't know anyone in the UK who could look after a puppy from the usual 8 weeks collection date until week 17. I'd be really interested and grateful to hear from anyone who might have a solution to this. I appreciate the puppy can't be kennelled at this young age so I wonder if there are any fostering services or something. I know it sounds desperate but I'm out of ideas. Thanks for reading and I'd love to hear from anyone who might be able to help. Chris
Hi and welcome to the forum! I do believe there are some breeders in this UK who are used to this dilemma, and it might be worth enquiring with a few breeders who do export labradors.
Hi there! I'm currently looking for a breeder for a puppy in the UK though I live mainly in Germany. Even though in my case, I will pick up my puppy at 8 weeks and the wait two months in the UK until he is ready to travel, I've already had two breeders mention the option to me of keeping the puppy at the breeder's home until 15 weeks old (or until rabies jabs are completed). I also had a breeder in Germany mention this option to me. So I don't think it's rare at all that a breeder would offer this, especially if you are willing to come collect the puppy yourself.
I live in Andorra and Spain and got my latest puppy from the UK. Like Emily, I stayed in the UK for the two month that was necessary until she was old enough to travel; rabies @ 13 weeks then the obligatory wait of 21 days - you can technically have the rabies jab at 12 weeks, but this doesn't work out in practical terms because you will be having the other puppy vaccines at 12 weeks and there needs to be a week between them and the rabies jab. If you can arrange it, I think this is the best solution, because you get that time with your puppy in the early days, which is wonderful. Tough, tiring and painful(!) but wonderful. But, if you can't manage it, then you should be able to find a breeder who will keep your puppy until s/he is ready to travel, for a charge of course! If you went down this line, you should ensure that the breeder has a comprehensive socialisation plan in place. Good luck!
Thanks so much for the advice. I'll contact some breeders and see what they can offer. If anyone knows of any breeders who could help then please let me know. My ideal pup would be a fox red. Thanks again.
What time of year are you hoping to get your pup? And welcome to you from Mags, Tatze and Keir from Manchester UK Tatze is my pet dog, a black Lab and she's four years old. Tatze means 'paw' in German. Keir is my fifth Guide Dog puppy, a yellow Golden Retriever/Flatcoat cross and he's five months old.
Hi Early in the new year would be a good time for me. I don't work during the winter and early spring so I could give lots of time with puppy. Thank you for your reply.
When I started to look, everyone told me to look on ChampDogs for the UK. I've been looking for black or choccie so don't know any for fox red unfortunately. If you go the ChampDogs route and start contacting breeders that way, what I've found is that email is pretty much useless. Even though it feels rude to me (not to mention awkward), picking up the phone and calling has been the only thing that has ultimately worked for me. Even then, it's just really hard to get in touch with breeders. As I'm not English and neither are you (I don't think?), I thought I'd share this cultural lesson about English breeders that I've learned over the last month.
I know that the Champdog sute says to contact breeders via email but it dies seem that many breeders don't respond to emails. I think they like potential owners to pick up the phone and speak to them - it's nuch harder to cross examine someone by email . @Chriskef if you are hopimg for a puppy in the new year you really need to be in touch with breeders now for availability on current litters or litters due in the next weeks. Be prepared to answer lots of questions on your experience, home arrangements etc.
That's sound advice thanks. I've already started emailing but I'll see how it goes for a few days before I pick up the phone.
Don't delay too long @Chriskef as many breeders have a waiting list for litters - sometimes even before a mating has taken place so if you want a particular colour, or sex, best to start calling
