Hi there, we are in the process of getting our first labrador and we are a little nervous to say the least. We have a worry.. When we first went to see the puppy and do our choosing (at 4 weeks old) the guy said the puppies (all 7 of them) are no longer on their mother. We were both very puzzled and started to become very concerned- you hear so many bad back street breeder stories and we thought we had just stumbled upon one. The guy is talking to us, he is lovely as is his wife, the puppies are all chunky and active, fluffy coats with bright eyes and wet noses. He tells us that it has all been too much for the mother and she wasn't coping and that her health was declining ie weight, temperament towards pups, depression. He told us we can see both parents (he also has a golden lab too, not related) he goes and gets dad.. In walks the most beautiful, big burly chocolate lab, very calm, very friendly. He came in the room and sat next to my partner and enjoyed being stroked, now in come the mum and oh my god I was gob smacked, again a beautiful chocolate lab, she appeared to be happy enough- tail wagging, friendly disposition and again loved the attention but she was all skin and bone. He told us his vet had recommend he take pups off mum and introduce puppy food early. We also saw the golden lab on her bed in kitchen all chunky and appeared to be in a healthy condition. He showed us vet bills and special puppy food bought (with label on) from his vets surgery. The guy then told us it was feeding time and said we could stay and watch if we wanted to and of course we did. He disappears and returns with 7 bowls of what looked like a puppy biscuits that had been softened with water. The puppies all woke up and started to cry for their tea and the guy gently picked up and put a pup on a bowl and they all ate very noisily and happily till they were covered from head to tail with bursting round bellies- it was lovely to see. We said we needed to think about it, said our goodbyes and came home. We called into our local vets the next day and told her what had happened. She reassured us that this can happen and not to worry about it from what we had told her (what iv just told you) the puppies do appear to be happy, healthy and friendly. Now do we buy? I have to say we are very tempted and we have thought about this for 2 whole days now toying with the idea. I'd really appreciate any advice thanks as we really don't know what to do. Thank you
Re: Hi, I'm new. Sorry I should also have said that the guy is also letting the puppies go at 6 weeks old. He says it is getting to hard to cope with now 5 weeks old pups all in his sitting room. He says he can't give them all the attention they need and that he and wife are extremely overwhelmed- What with his job, his wife's job and looking after the pups. Again what should do?.. Help please
Re: Hi, I'm new. First, welcome to the forum!! What a tricky question.... Until you said that the pups would go to new homes at 6 weeks [edit - I originally had 7 weeks...typo..] I was thinking it all still sounded ok. But when I read that the pups are leaving Mum and siblings entirely at a too-early age and also that the man and his wife felt overwhelmed by it all alarm bells rang bigtime. This might sound harsh, but these people have not planned ahead and they did not understand what they were committing to in having a litter. I wonder - what else have they done in an amateurish way? Have the parent dogs had all the relaxant health checks (x-rays for hips and elbows, genetic testing for EIC and PRA and whatever else is relevant in the UK)? Personally, I would not buy a pup without all these health checks and being shown the original documents showing a clean bill of health. Personally, I would not buy a pup from these people
Re: Hi, I'm new. Hi there, and welcome. This is a tricky one, and I am sorry that you are probably going to hear from most people that this is not an ideal situation, and that you should probably say no to this particular litter of pups. You may be lucky, and all may be well, but a pup is just too young to leave its mother and siblings at six weeks. Even if the mother can no longer feed them, they should stay in a family group (in my opinion). My trainer had a golden retriever which had eight puppies. The mother sadly and very unexpectedly died when the pups were three weeks old; so the owners had to feed all the puppies at four hourly intervals around the clock... but they kept them until they were eight weeks old. Anyone who is going to have a litter of puppies should really be aware that something like this can happen - and should be prepared to step in to the breach and look after the pups properly, even if it becomes very difficult. Letting them go at six weeks is not in their best interests - or yours, as your pup will be lacking in its basic socialization at that stage. Sorry to sound negative. But this is my honest advice to you. There are lots of litters of healthy, well-bred pups out there. You don't need to inherit someone else's problem.
Re: Hi, I'm new. Hello and welcome from me too , I`m afraid I agree with the others , six weeks is too young , it sounds like you do have some warning bells too, so better to walk away and wait for the right puppy from the right breeder, sorry
Re: Hi, I'm new. I can only agree with the comments so far. I really hope you find the right puppy soon
Re: Hi, I'm new. Thank you, everyone. I really appreciate your honesty and yes we do hear the warning bells. I think after this we may very well walk away and look at other pups there are a few breeders in my area. But is this not a no win situation for the pups because if we don't bye someone else will and if they stay there they won't get the attention they need. This is awful, we didn't choose a pup but we feel like we made a connection with one little girl. Again thank you all for you honesty and advice.
Re: Hi, I'm new. Hi there, and welcome to the forum You must be so tempted after seeing such lovely puppies. Here are my thoughts. Labradors are the most popular dog in the UK. There are more litters of Labrador puppies than you can ever imagine. Many are outstanding, and many are not. Here is an article on how to spot a good breeder: And here is one on why you really should not . collect a puppy at six weeks old I am sure that these breeders mean well and want to do their very best, but this is your life and your dog - for the next twelve years. It really is worth shopping around and getting the very best for your family. Lots more here on Getting a puppy Take your time, it is worth the effort.
Re: Hi, I'm new. Good advice from everyone. Finding a nice looking litter of Labrador puppies is not hard. Finding a competent breeder is harder, but much more important. It gives you the best chance to find a dog that will be healthy and suited to your needs. I get the impression from your post that these people are well meaning, but perhaps are a bit out of their depth. I'll tell you about our experience when we were looking for a pup in 2012 and it might give you an idea of what to look for in a breeder. It took us about 6 months to find the right breeder and the right litter. It was a litter of 7 pups, working line parents, a breeder with multiple KC litters, parents with good hips and eyes, a good number of FT champs in both sire and dam's lines. What impressed us was that the breeder interviewed us to make sure that we were suitable to have one of her dogs. It wasn't an obvious interview, but questions were asked about our experience, motivation, intentions and lifestyle. There was a clear subtext that she would not sell if she thought we were unsuitable. We had a chat about the type of dog we were looking for and she let us play with the litter to see their personalities. We met the dam, which helped us to see her personality, but didn't meet the sire as he was from another breeder. She encouraged us to come back and see the litter as they grew, which we did even though it was a 200 mile round trip. What really impressed us was that she rang us a few days before collecting the pup (just after 8 weeks) and asked us to delay by a week as the litter was weaning rather slowly and she wanted to be sure that the pups were settled on solid food before she'd let them go. Before we collected the puppy we had several phone calls about what to bring, going down to details like the collar size of the puppy so we could get a lead. We left with copies of the pedigree, medical certificates for the parents, a free bag of food, a towel that smelled of her dam, and a clear set of instructions for the first few weeks. From first contact to collection we knew that we were dealing with a professional who put the interest of her dogs first. It was a good experience and gave us confidence that we had made the right choice.
Re: Hi, I'm new. I agree with Hollysdad. Our experience with the breeder we bought our pup from was very similar, she 'interviewed' us, and relaxed once she realized she knew OH and his previous dog from picking up. The whole process made me feel very confident that we were getting the right pup, from the right place. And so it has proved! I did walk away from another puppy, that I really loved and wanted. He was a big, beautiful yellow lab, showy and chunky. But the set up was a bit dodgy, and the parents did not have hip scores... OH persuaded me not to go down that route. I was very sad, as I really wanted a big male show-bred dog, and got the exact opposite!!! (Small, working line female... : ). But in retrospect I can see that buying a puppy from breeders who dont test the parent dogs is just playing Russian roulette. And of course I absolutely adore our Poppy now.
Re: Hi, I'm new. Hiya. My experience was not so positive with the breeder as some others on here. When we went to see the pups at 5 weeks, the breeder did ask us questions such as how many hours we worked and about our home life. We were offered collection at 6-8 weeks old - We collected Harley at 7 weeks old as nearly all the pups were being collected by the local police force the same that weekend (I did check that this was the truth!). We were shown and given copies of all KC reg for both parents along with hip/eye scores on both and we met the Dams father. The kennels were outside and there were lots of other litters with parents. The breeder said only one other litter belonged to her and that she rented the kennels rather than them being in the house! This did worry me a bit, but I fell in love with one girl (who I now have). We were not given any guidance or item that smelt of the dam or any follow up. We found out that nearly all of her litters have gone to the police prior to this one which was larger than usual (10 pups). This was this dams 1st litter. We made the decision to go ahead and purchase Harley and I am so glad that I did - she is very calm (well. Most of the time!), very easy to train and very loving. I'm glad I took the gamble and it paid off, but if I would of known more about what to expect from a breeder, I probably wouldn't of gone through with it. Think long and hard before making any decisions. Good luck
Re: Hi, I'm new. Hi everyone, thank you all so much for your advise. We spoke to the breeder and asked if he would be able to keep her longer as we really did want the little girl we had seen. He said yes and she is now 7 weeks (that was as long as I could get him to keep her) and we got her yesterday. She was the last one and when we went to pick her up she was all alone- no siblings or mother! Bless her it was a pittiful site. Today however we are over the moon, we know it wasn't ideal but the pup in a no win situation if we left her. I hope you all will understand and not judge us too harshly, all I do know is that she is happy now. Thank you all again
Re: Hi, I'm new. Congratulations on your new puppy. Let us know how you get on and don't forget we love puppy photos
Re: Hi, I'm new. Welcome and congrats on your new puppy. What is her name? Defo need to see pics Ternaya and Harley (14 weeks old) ;D
Re: Hi, I'm new. Glad that she has found a home with you.....as you say perhaps not the most ideal situation but now she's with you and things will be great for her! Welcome from Lisa and Simba, chocolate labX (15 months)
Re: Hi, I'm new. Hi and welcome from me Helen, Hattie 6 years and our rescue Charlie nearly 3 years. No one will be judging you as you did what you wanted and felt you should do. I did the same thing when rescuing Charlie - my heart always rules my head Looking forward to some pictures and a name. Good luck and enjoy your puppy
