Hi, we're looking for a labrador puppy for the first time and we're going to visit a breeder soon but the pups will only be 2 weeks old when we are with them. Is that too young to be viewing puppies? I've read around on the internet but opinions seem to be mixed. Some people say that viewing should be as late as possible so that their personalities are showing through and others say that their grown up lab doesn't have the same personality that it did at 8 weeks so it probably doesn't make much difference. Most advice says 'check with your breeder' but we're new to the process so our skills at detecting a 'reputable breeder' (despite plenty of reading and research) are untried and untested. Some of the puppies have already been reserved at only 1 week old and we're not sure if this is common or unusual. Any advice would be fabulous! Many thanks
Hi Tommo and welcome to the forum. Two weeks really is very, very young to be viewing the puppies. I assume the dam is experienced, because some wouldn't be happy with strangers around their puppies at such a young age. Regardless of that, I do think it's a bit pointless visiting the puppies at that age. They will just be little wriggly worms, with no personalities. I visited my puppy's litter at four weeks, and even at that age, they were really quite boring and squishy-puppy-ugly. I was far more interested in playing with the parents, who were just gorgeous That's one benefit - if you haven't already met the parents, it would give you a chance to see what you think of them before you commit to a puppy. Will you be visiting again before 8 weeks? Some people are after something particular when it comes to a puppy (black bitch, yellow dog etc), so if those are limited, they may be reserved earlier. Many breeders will actually do the matching themselves, to ensure the right puppy goes to the right home. That's a very good way of doing it in my opinion, as they spend more time with the puppies so have a much better grasp on which would be best suited to which home. It depends on the type of dogs that are being produced, though - people breeding for working dog or for show dogs will be more likely to be picky than someone breeding for all pet homes.
Hi and welcome! Two weeks is definitely too young to be able to tell anything much about the puppies - their eyes will be closed and they will just be like little furry maggots really. But nonetheless it will definitely be worth going to have a look, as only that way will you be able to tell if this is a breeder you can trust, if you like the mother, if the puppies look healthy and smell good, if the litter area is clean and well-looked-after, whether the puppies are in the house or in outbuildings and if so whether they have enough contact wit people, if the mother is friendly, and generally whether you feel the set up is how you would wish it to be. Also, if some of the puppies are already reserved, then the breeder may pick and choose who gets to buy her puppies - lots of good breeders don't just use a 'first come first buy' process, but are very choosy about who they sell their beloved puppies to. So yes, if you are interested, I would definitely go. It doesn't mean that HAS to be the litter you eventually choose from - but as they say in the army, time spent in reconnaissance is seldom wasted.
Hi and welcome . As some of the pups were reserved so early , it shows that the breeder is probably known for having a bitch who produces a good litter . I know of some who have a list of potential buyers even before the bitch has been mated ! I would have loved the opportunity to see my lad when he was a very young pup , we saw him and brought him home the same day when he was nine weeks old . But, as said before , an early visit will ease your mind as to the nature of Mum and how they are kept , I would say go .
Are you to choose the pup as well as just view? Good breeders do like to have people int o visit the pups, to help socialize them but two weeks old is awfully young for that, let alone choosing one. At that young age I hazard a guess most breeders would restrict viewing to family and friends who help out anyway.
I got to see my first dog when he was only a few days old, then two weeks and again at three weeks because the breeder let me help her. Really help - as in sit in the whelping box and make sure all 13 puppies fed on rotation and mamma dog got a break on a regular basis. It was really interesting and of course I took pics of all of them so can look back now and know which was (eventually) my boy. But I have to agree - they have no personality at that age - they are little eating, pooing and growing machines and that's about it. I enjoyed getting to know the mamma dog, though - what a sweetie. As far as reserving the puppies, I personally like breeders who don't even breed until their waiting list reaches a certain point. So I'd see that as a good sign. But if the breeder actually wants you to choose your own puppy at the age of two weeks old (not take home, just choose), I'd not feel all that good about that as I would want the breeder's help in choosing and would want them to wait as long as possible so that they have a chance to get to know the pup's developing personality.
Hi When I got our chocolate lab minstrel we visited at 3 weeks then 5 weeks and took her home at 8 weeks. We were very lucky as the breeder gave us a cd of pics of the litter from birth to leaving the litter. It was easy to spot minstrel as she was the only chocolate lab in a litter of blacks. That was the reason we chose her, as we had recently lost our black girl and I didn't want to make comparisons. She was also very cute and friendly. We have recently got a yellow lab puppy now almost 11 weeks old. We first visited him at 4 weeks then at 7 weeks and took him home at 8 weeks. It was harder to chose him. We knew we wanted a yellow boy. The litter was mostly yellow with 3 blacks. In the end we chose Simba on breeder advice - that his temperament appeared 'laid back' he was also the biggest (as by all reports he was greediest at mealtime and ate the lions share of the food). Since living with us he has grown upwards a lot but has also slimmed down as he is now having only one portion of food at each mealtime. The laid back nature was important to us as he was being integrated with 2 other dogs (bitches). Minstrel already mentioned who is 5 and Poppy our Cairn terrier who is 12. We got poppy when she was 6months from someone who had got 2 dogs from the same litter plus a readily established larger dog who had taken a dislike to poppy. When I got poppy I also took my black lab with me and they were introduced to each other in the garden of the owner. They got on well so I took poppy home much to my husbands suprise!!!! He soon got used to the idea. Lisa x
Hi and welcome. I would have loved the opportunity to see Bailey at two weeks old, but we first saw him at 7 weeks old, chose him and took him home a week later - my OH had finally said yes we will start looking for a pup the day before we first saw Bailey - he was a bit shell shocked I on the other hand, was bouncing off the walls with excitement! Looking back we went about getting our dog in completely the wrong way, but we have been very, very lucky with a beautiful natured, somewhat high energy, dog who is actually now, at 16 months old, getting quite good at chilling! Enjoy your puppy search and good luck - let us know how you get on
Hi there, and welcome! We got to see Ariel and her sibling at 2 weeks old. It was a 4 hour drive one way, but well worth our time. When we had originally put our deposit down, we had requested a female with some darker markings, so the breeder chose the 2 darkest ones for us to view first. Then we were able to see the entire litter as well, which was nice. We took tons of pictures of course , and as it turned out, when we returned to get her at 8 weeks old, Ariel was one of the two the breeder had originally shown us!
I think we may have seen Tilly at 2 weeks or there about, but it was mostly to see the kennel and the parents. Certainly could not choose a pup other than color and/or sex at that point.
We weren't allowed to visit Wispa's litter until she and her siblings were four weeks old. The breeder sent several photos showing their progress before our initial visit. We were able to choose our puppy on that first visit, then see the litter whenever we wanted to. You may well be able to sense whether it's the right breeder for you, but meanwhile do some research on the forum and draw up a list of questions before your visit. Enjoy choosing your puppy!
We visited our breeder before our girls mum was pregnant and then when the puppies were 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 6 weeks and then when we took Ella home at 8 weeks. The breeder doesn't always allow visits so early but as the litter was so small (3 puppies) she was happy for the three families to visit each fortnight. Also, the breeder had her other dogs there (some too young to breed from and her 'older babies' - those retired from breeding) so we had plenty of choccy labs to give our attention to! Like others said, it will give you a good feel for the breeder and it is nice to have those photos from when their teeny tiny! Here's Ella at 2 weeks (our breeder chose our puppy - not usually done until 6 weeks when they're microchipped as this avoids confusion - but as there were only three, it was really easy to tell. There were only two females and the other female was a much lighter brown than Ella. We then put a purple puppy collar on her so that we could easily see her her in the photos that the breeder sent through). Enjoy your visit if you decide to go
We did not go and see Vanilla until she was 5 weeks old. We rang up when the litter was 4 weeks old, but could not go until then due to work. We did not have a choice as she was the last yellow girl left. When we got there the mum was by the door and would not let us pass until we said hello to her. She gave us a good sniff and after a while let us pass. We then had the aunty do the same. Not sure if this was more of a test to by the breeders to see how we would interact with the adults, or her way saying 'are you good enough for my child'. We took it as that. We never saw the Sire as it was artificial insemination. We did get the history though and all the papers to go over. Plus plenty of questions. We had no problems with that. We then got introduced to the litter and our girl was pointed out. After spending more than an hour at the breeders talking etc. we put a deposit down. We then went back at about 6weeks and then 8 weeks. We where new to all of this but had done plenty of research prior. I would say go as our girl is very much like her mum which we loved at the time.
I don't have much experience compared to most people on here but when I saw Nelly's litter they were 4 weeks and even then they looked like little wriggly moles. The mother was brilliant however and even brought the puppies over to us and put her head on my lap. Every experience is different I suppose. I do understand that by all mothers are as relaxed with visitors getting so close to their babies. However, I do think it's nice to invest in a good relationship with the breeder from the beginning- I did, which I found very helpful. Hope this helps and good luck, it is a lovely bonus and so special to see your future big doggy be so tiny!
We went to see Homer at 6 weeks then picked him up at eight weeks. We were lucky enough to find him through a friend who knew the breeders and the dogs very well and had met the puppies a few times since they were young. For our next puppy I would prefer to choose a breeder first to check out the environment and the dogs beforehand.
We picked Stanley at 3 weeks then brought him home at 9 weeks. Here he is when we went to pick the little monster
Thanks all so much for your replies! It's been great to read about your experiences and we feel a little more confident about seeing the puppies when they're younger with the intention of seeing Mum (and Dad if possible) and their environment and meet the breeder with no pressure to making a decision right away and go back again at a later date to see their personalities showing through more. Unfortunately, all the puppies have now been reserved from that particular breeder so we are looking elsewhere. That means that all the puppies were reserved before they were 2 weeks old and before we even got a chance to go and visit! Not to worry, the perfect Labrador for us is out there somewhere, I'm sure!
It is common here, to reserve a pup long before you choose which one. Often they are reserved before they are born. Picks are generally in order you paid the deposit. i.e. First deposit gets first pick etc.
We are in Melbourne, Australia and we also put out name down well before the was a litter due. We met our breeder and put our names down in the October, puppies were born in the April and we brought Ella home in the June.
