Got your point. We came across one breeder who didn't want to lower price on pup, but he didn't say no!, he just didn't get back to us at all, which now makes sense, it's not about money it's about good pup.. Thank you so much! Hope we find our new house member soon... ❤️
I have a registered black Labrador. I'm looking for a companion/girlfriend for him. I found a black lab puppy and the women who is trying to give her away says she full blooded but she has white on her chest. Does some full blooded labs have white on their chest?
Yes, this is possible and is called a "mismark". However, papers would be the best way to tell if the puppy is a Labrador. Here is more information on telling if a puppy is pure bred: https://www.thelabradorsite.com/is-my-dog-purebred/ To be perfectly honest, your post rings alarm bells as it doesn't sound as if you have much confidence in this breeder - have you done your research? Have you met the parents? Have both parents had the full range of necessary health tests and can the breeder present the necessary certificates (or can you look up the results on the Kennel Club website?) : https://www.thelabradorsite.com/health-screening-for-labrador-diseases/
Hello, We are looking for a lab puppy after a long time considering the idea. The search has been an interesting but frustrating experience so far. A good example is this: We have been in contact with breeders who haven't tested their Dam for example - but selling the puppy on the Scoring of the Sire. I am wondering if we are too risk averse? We make contact with a breeder/person who is selling the Pup and we ask if both parents have been tested at least Hip/Elbow before visiting.
That's not too risk averse at all in my mind. The bare minimum anyone should expect is that both dam and sire have had elbows and hips scored. That still isn't anywhere near enough for me, but definitely the absolute minimum.
I would think this would be a normal expectation for a decent breeder to expect this question and to have done so. It's such a risky business anyway, and even with good scores and health tests things can go wrong, but good score reduce the risks. I would hold out for a breeder that tests.
Thanks for the replies I went to see a lovely puppy ready to go home in a few weeks. Parents' Elbow Scores were 0/0 Sire Hip Score was: 3/6 Dam: 4/6 How are those Hip Scores as I'm in two minds about buying. Other half wants him.
Those are good hip scores. Equally important to health is temperament. This has a large genetic component so you need to make sure that is sound. You should be able to meet the dam at least, preferably the sire too. I would be on the look out for any sign of anxiety - how do they react to sudden movements, unexpected noises, strangers in general etc. Of course, you shouldn’t go out of your way to scare them, but just keep an eye on any flinching behaviours. I stress this because I have two anxious dogs and they are hard work! I knew the parents well and wouldn’t have said they were overly anxious but in hindsight I can see the dam was scared of thunder storms, moving furniture and other unexpected things. My two struggle with novelty, one is fearful of male dogs and can aggress towards them, the other is quite badly noise phobic and has been medicated for that - she sometimes won’t even leave the house because she is scared. They were both very scared of children when younger and would bark and lunge at them. I have worked really hard with them for the last three years and made good progress, but honestly every time we go out, we can be faced with situations that have to be managed. My third Lab is from rock solid parents (I made sure of that) and is SO easy. Yup, she’s boisterous, bouncy, over-friendly and loves to find novel ways to humiliate me, but walking with her is pure joy because I just don’t have to be looking over my shoulder to make sure there’s nothing that might startle her or she might react to. Sorry, this has become an essay about something you didn’t ask about, but you can probably tell I’m passionate about breeding for good temperament! Back to health, I would also want tests (or hereditary clear) for CNM and EIC for sure and preferably HNPK too. SD2 maybe, although that depends on the lines to some extent.
The more info the better. With the pups we have seen so far the breeders have done hip, elbow and eyes.
Ah yes, eyes, I missed that off my list This should hopefully be both the BVA Eye Scheme (which should be repeated every year) and also the test for PRA. If you look at this page of the KC website, you can find out what health tests each dog has had, along with the results: https://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/services/public/mateselect/test/Default.aspx I'm not 100% sure if the "hereditary clear" markers are automatically added if there is no way the dog can be affected or a carrier, but if not, you should be able to check back through the pedigree to work out if there is any chance of your puppy having EIC, HNPK and PRA if others in the lineage have been tested. The genetics of these conditions is very simple: each dog has two genes for each condition. To be affected, they need two "bad" genes. To be a carrier (not affected), they need one "bad" gene. To be clear, they have no "bad" genes. Each puppy will have one of the gene pair from the sire and one from the dam. So if both sire and dam are clear (no "bad" genes), the puppy is "hereditary clear" - they don't need to be tested because there is no way they can be a carrier or affected by the condition. If the sire and dam are both affected, the puppy will definitely be affected. If both sire and dam are carriers (they each have one good and one bad gene), there is a 25% chance the puppy will be clear, 25% the puppy will be affected and 50% chance they will be a carrier. Being a carrier isn't necessarily bad, it just means that, should you want to breed in the future, you need to make sure that you're breeding with a dog who is clear, so there is no chance any puppies will be affected. By this same note, these genetic conditions don't need both parents to be tested in all cases. So, if the sire, say, is clear of all three, then you know that your puppy cannot be affected by any of these conditions, because it needs two bad genes (one from each parent) to be affected, and daddy-o doesn't have the bad genes to pass on. In this case, it's not necessary for the dam to be tested. But, if the sire is a carrier or affected for any of the conditions, then the dam should be tested (or known to be hereditary clear) so you know there's no possibility of getting a pup with one of these conditions.
