Looking for our chocolate lab puppy!

Due a number of reasons we will be ready to welcome a puppy into our home mid December 2014. I know that the closeness to Christmas and winter weather means that many breeders avoid welcoming litters at this time of year, but it is the date than will mean our puppy gets our undivided attention for her first precious few weeks with us.

I check both Kennel Club and Champdogs regularly, but have not managed to find any registered breeders who are due litters around now (making them 8 weeks old in mid Dec). Is there anywhere else I could be looking?

Thanks in advance....

 

Re: Looking for our chocolate lab puppy!

You could contact the owners of chocolate stud dogs and see if they've got any details of impending litters.....or contact a breed club, they may know about upcoming litters too.

 

Re: Looking for our chocolate lab puppy!

Where are you, EmilyKathryn?

 

Re: Looking for our chocolate lab puppy!

Thank you. We're in South West London.

 

Re: Looking for our chocolate lab puppy!

We got our pup from a breeder near Usk, South Wales. He has been a wonderful dog from day one with no problems at all, now almost a year. I think they have choc pups available soon Might be a bit far for you though? Would get another one from there in a flash!!

 

Re: Looking for our chocolate lab puppy!

How exciting to be looking for a pup

In case you haven't found it already, here's an article on choosing a breeder: http://www.thelabradorsite.com/8-steps-to-buying-a-healthy-labrador-puppy/

 

Re: Looking for our chocolate lab puppy!

I googled lab breeders, particularly field line labs and found a few. From there, if they don't have litters coming up they may recommend some. That's better than the KC because when I tried the KC all the pups were booked in advance. It's fun googling as a lot of breeders have fab web sites with excellent pics and sometimes copies of pedigrees which show stud names; then you can google those stud names too, to see if they know of any litters due. Good luck.

 

Re: Looking for our chocolate lab puppy!

As you have said unfortunately the time you are looking for a puppy is not great as many breeders avoid it to ensure that puppies aren't just bought as Christmas presents!

I do know of a breeder who has a choc bitch and dog puppy available at the end of November but not sure why it has to be mid-December. Can you be more flexible on time ?

Chloe

 

Re: Looking for our chocolate lab puppy!

Thank you all, very helpful comments!

I have known from the start that mid Dec may be a problem, but I work part time and husband full time and we have 3 weeks off from mid Dec. On the 2 1/2 days a week I work our puppy will go to work with my husband (luckily self employed with large office walking distance from our house opposite a perfect park for dog walking!). I want to have 3 uninterrupted weeks at home with our puppy before this routine starts, also will need vaccinations etc. The closeness to Christmas is a shame, but we will have to work with this date.

Thanks for the googling tip, I have been looking at puppy photos for hours!

Thanks all,

 

Re: Looking for our chocolate lab puppy!

Exciting times!

Good luck on finding your pupster

I remember looking for Tatze - the time seems to go so slow, then suddenly you have a grown up dog and you wonder where the puppy time went!

 

Re: Looking for our chocolate lab puppy!

I appreciate what you are saying but please don't compromise on health checks etc just to ensure you can take your puppy home on those dates! There are probably loads of choc lab puppies available around that date on the free sites but please don't even go down that road.

Have you thought about contacting breeders who may have some ready to leave at the end of November to see if they would keep them for 2 more weeks - might be worth a try as if they really like you as a prospective owner of one of their puppies they might just be prepared to do it ?

I hope it all works out for you.

Chloe

 

Re: Looking for our chocolate lab puppy!

Thank you. We 100% would not look anywhere but a registered breeder, and have got a date to meet a litter next weekend. Breeder has a very good website with lots of info, so think we are in good hands!

Thanks for taking the time to comment!

 

Re: Looking for our chocolate lab puppy!

Good luck! Looking forward to pupster hunting updates!

 

Re: Looking for our chocolate lab puppy!

[quote author=EmilyKathryn link=topic=8206.msg116109#msg116109 date=1413036455]
Thanks for taking the time to comment!
[/quote]

Don't you worry - this is all in self interest - we can't wait for someone else to join the happy throng of problem free dog owners that we are ;D and hopefully share with us all the fun and games you'll have training/living/playing and working with him/her.

I would only provide one words of warning - Chocolate!. I had NO idea how many times after we started walking Benson we would be hearing "Oh you got a chocolate lab - how brave" or "Oh yes of course chocolate labs only have half a brain don't they". Both of these things are possibly true - but it drives SWMBO mad. That said - we wouldn't be without ours for anything. (Well - I say next time he terrifies us by disappearing into the horizon, that £50 would seal a deal, but apparently it's anything lol)

Best wishes for your search, and make sure you return with stories and pics!

 

Re: Looking for our chocolate lab puppy!

Actually, I had lots of negative comments about Chepi being chocolate but since we have got out there for dog walks we continually have amazed people: they always comment on how well behaved she is, how good her recall is and how well her socialisation is. I was a bit worried when I first got negative comments but they have been really unfounded and I am so pleased with her.

 

Re: Looking for our chocolate lab puppy!

[quote author=Jane Martin link=topic=8206.msg116152#msg116152 date=1413044512]
Actually, I had lots of negative comments about Chepi being chocolate but since we have got out there for dog walks we continually have amazed people: they always comment on how well behaved she is, how good her recall is and how well her socialisation is. I was a bit worried when I first got negative comments but they have been really unfounded and I am so pleased with her.
[/quote]

Sorry - I really should have been clearer - I was trying to say expect those comments (I know we didn't) - but then go and prove them all wrong. (Benson is probably one of the best trained and well behaved dogs around here.) 8) Now if only I could take some of the credit for the training....

 

Re: Looking for our chocolate lab puppy!

Bwahahaha! ;D ;D ;D

Sorry, I have an absolute hooligan of a chocolate that will ruin all efforts to prove choccies are sensible! ;D ;D ;D

Love them, enjoy them, and celebrate the mad zest for life and fun they bring into your life! ;D I'll never have any other colour!

 

Re: Looking for our chocolate lab puppy!

I think you would find that some Blacks would be the same as Charlie ;D

 

Re: Looking for our chocolate lab puppy!

So interesting to hear about the particular characteristics of chocolate labs! I think we are up for a challenge - we have 3 boys so have had to become patient and tolerant of embarrassing behaviour in public which probably puts us in good stead for owning a chocolate lab!

Getting very excited about meeting the litter on Sunday, hope the breeder likes us!

 

Re: Looking for our chocolate lab puppy!

Well, some would say it's just a stereotype - when people see a chocolate being exuberant they say "oh, it's because he's chocolate" but when they see a yellow or black being exuberant they just attribute it to being young or a Labrador. Same behaviour, different perception - just a confirmation bias. That's one theory