When looking for a puppy, people should know that there are basically three types of breeders: professional breeders, hobby breeders, and people who shouldn't own a dog, much less breed a dog. When looking for a puppy a smart owner-to-be should look at and consider several things. There are good professional breeders as well as bad professional breeders, just as there are good and bad hobby breeders. Taking time to ask a few simple questions about the breeder and the puppy can make the difference. We try to answer as many questions as we can here by giving as much information as possible about our philosphy of breeding, whelping, and caring for our girls and their pups. To start off, we only feed our dogs a dog food that is CORN FREE, WHEAT FREE and that contains NO BY-PRODUCTS. First, CORN: Most dog foods on the market, both inexpensive and expensive, use corn as one of their first four ingredients as a filler. What most people don't realize is that dogs, like babies, do not easily digest corn. What does this mean? It means any dog food containing high amounts of corn basically goes in one end of a dog and then comes out the other, supplying very little, if any, nutritional value. If you are going to feed a dog corn based food, buy the cheap stuff and save your money, it's only going to end up laying in the yard. In addition to supplying little, if any, nutrition, corn can also contribute to skin allergies for dogs, which can be very difficult and expensive to treat once they develop. Finding a food without corn can be done if you just take time to look at the list of ingredents. Wheat should also be avoided because it also can contribute to allergies problems. Second, BY-PRODUCTS: It can be a lot harder to find a food that does not contain by-products. Most people don't realize that when a dog food says that the #1 ingredent is chicken or lamb, if the bag doesn't state that they do not use by-products, the chicken and the lamb in the food isn't anything you would want to feed to your dog, it's the by-products that they grind up which could be anything from brain to bone, not exactly what you think of when you think of when you think of feeding your dog chicken. And those foods that contain corn and by-products most likely contain corn swept off feed floors where they package cattle feed, not the corn pictured on the bag. In addition to feeding corn free, by-product free food, we also maintain our dogs daily on CANINE-PLUS Vitamins, and an additional enzyme which helps them absorb as much nutrition as possible from their food. We also supplement the health of their skin and coats with daily omega 3,6,9 fish oil which helps shedding and overall coat shine. Our dogs are given brewer's yeast w/garlic as a holistic flea and tick treatment, and in addition to monthly interceptor tablets for heartworm, we also periodically holistically worm them with diatomacenous earth. Of course our dogs are also given their routine vaccinations necessary to maintain a healthy life. When we breed one of our females, we increase her daily vitamins at the start of her cycle as a prenatal dose, which she will remain on until her puppies are weaned. Our mothers also continue to receive their regular supplements that they normally receive as part of their daily diets. We also place our mothers on the puppy food that our puppies will be weened unto. A puppy can only be as healthy as mother's milk is, and mother's milk is only as good as mom's diet. Moms are moved into their whelping boxes about 7-10 days before the big day, to give them time to nest. All of our puppies are born and raised in our home where we can keep a constant watch over them and interact with them daily to start their socialization. All of our litters are vet checked within the 1st week of their life. At that time we have the duclaws removed by our vet, which is recommended by most vets and done by any responsible breeder. Most of, if not all of, our litters are preventatively wormed at least twice. The type of worming and the number of preventative wormings is, in part, based on the time of year the litter is whelped. All of our puppies are given their 6wk Puppy Shot vaccination, which is the 1st of a 3 to 4 shot series, depending on your vets preference. Each of our new owners are given a health record for their puppy, detailing all of the above information. Our puppies are mother fed and monitored by us to assure each puppy is thriving. Our litters are registered with AKC within a week of whelping. In addition to the AKC registration application, we also provide a litter certificate from AKC, which gives three generations of the puppy's pedigree. All of our puppies go to their new homes with a puppy care package which includes their registration, litter certificate, various publications from AKC for new owners, feeding instructions, a health record, a two day supply of puppy food that the puppies have been weaned unto, a two week supply of vitamins and other supplements that we place our litters on, as well as copies of the parents pedigrees and pictures of each parent. Below is the puppy checklist from the Labrador Retriever Club of the Potomac, LRCP. Please review their checklist, as we agree with most, if not all of the points they suggest a prospective puppy owner consider prior to purchasing a new puppy. LRCP, Inc. CHECKLIST Remember you are adding a new member to your family for the next 10-15 years. NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO BARGAIN HUNT!!! Prepare to spend at least $1200 to $1500 or more for a well bred puppy. You may have known someone who has or you may yourself have purchased a "backyard" bred dog or a pet store or puppy mill dog and had great success. However, the high number of serious problems seen in the breed today make this event unlikely to reoccur. Chief among these are temperament problems ranging from aggression to shyness to hyperactivity. Hip dysplasia, eye problems causing blindness, heart defects that can severely shorten life span and auto immune disorders and cancer are also becoming prevalent. Responsible breeders will do all they can to avoid these problems by researching pedigree and screening parents for certain inherited problems before breeding. Keep this checklist by the phone when you make your calls and Good Luck!!! Where did you find out about this breeder? Responsible breeders usually have a waiting list of puppy buyers. They usually don't find it necessary to advertise in newspapers or with a sign out in the front yard. Do both parents (the sire and dam) have a hip clearance from the OFA (Orthopedic Foundation for Animals), PennHip or Wind-Morgan? Ask to see the certificates. "My vet okayed the x-ray" is not a valid clearance. Prelims can be done before two years, but some dogs can fail to get final OFA clearance at two years, even if they passed before. Do either parent have other clearances, Elbow, Heart, and Thyroid? These are some of the other problems labradors can have and some breeders are checking for. Are both parents at least 2 years old? Final hip clearances cannot be obtained before that age. Prelims can be done before two years, but some dogs can fail to get final OFA clearance at two years, even if they passed before. How often is the dam bred? If it is every heat cycle, THIS IS TOO OFTEN, and may indicate that profit is the primary motive for the breeding. Do all four grandparents, siblings of the parents and any other puppies that they may have produced have these clearances? A responsible breeder will keep track of these statistics and honestly discuss any problems that have occurred in the lines and what has been done to prevent them from reoccurring. Is the breeder willing to provide you with references and telephone numbers of other people who have purchased puppies from them? Will the puppy have a limited registration with a mandatory spay/neuter contract? A breeder who cares enough about the breed to insist on these is likely to be a responsible breeder. On what basis was the sire chosen? If the answer is "because he lives right down the street" or "because he is really sweet", it may be that sufficient thought was not put into the breeding. WILL THE BREEDER TAKE THE DOG BACK AT ANY TIME, FOR ANY REASON, IF YOU CANNOT KEEP IT?! This is the hallmark of responsible breeding (and the quickest way to make rescue obsolete). Is there a written guarantee against congenital health or temperament problems, that does not require you to return your puppy or euthanize it? Will the breeder be available to answer any question you might have for the life of the dog? Is this someone you would feel comfortable asking any type of question? Is the breeder knowledgeable about the breed? Is he or she involved in competition with their dogs (field, obedience, or confirmation)? Are there a majority of titled dogs (the initials: CH, OTCH, CD, JH, WC... before or after the names) in the first two generations? The term champion lines means nothing if those titles are back three or more generations or there is only one or two in the whole pedigree. Are the puppy's sire and dam available for you to meet? If the sire is unavailable can you call his owners or people who have his puppies to ask about temperament or health problems? You should also be provided with pictures or videos. Have the puppies been raised in the home - not in a kennel, barn or the back yard? Is the breeder knowledgeable about raising puppies, critical neonatal periods, proper socialization techniques? Puppies that are raised without high exposure to gentle handling, human contact and a wide variety of noises and experiences OR are removed from their dam or litter mates before at least 7 weeks, may exhibit a wide variety of behavioral problems! Does the breeder provide you with a 3-5 generation pedigree, a contract to sign, copies of all clearances and guarantee, health records and material to help you with feeding, training and housebreaking? Have the puppies temperaments been evaluated and can the breeder guide you to the puppy that will best suite your lifestyle? A very shy puppy will not do well in a noisy household with small children, just as a very dominant puppy won't flourish in a sedate, senior citizen household. A caring breeder will know the puppies and be able to show you how to test them so that good matches can be made. Do the puppies seem healthy, with no discharge from eyes or nose, no loose stools, no foul smelling ears? Are their coats soft, full and clean? Do they have plenty of energy when awake yet calm down easily when gently stroked? Do the puppies have their first shots and have they been wormed & vet checked by the time they go to your home? Does the breeder have only 1 or at most 2 breeds of dogs and only 1 or 2 litters at a time? If there are many breeds of dogs there, the chances are the breeder cannot devote the time it takes to become really knowledgeable about the breed and if there is more than one litter at a time it is very difficult to give the puppies the attention they need and may indicate that the primary purpose for breeding is profit, rather than a sincere desire to improve the breed. Does the breeder belong to a Labrador Retriever Club and/or a local All-Breed Club. Do you feel comfortable with this person, after all you are entering into a decade long relationship? Are you feeling intimidated or pressured? If so, keep looking!
QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF....ARE YOU PREPARED TO...Take full responsibility for this dog and all its needs for the next 10-15 years? This is NOT a task that can be left to children! Invest the considerable time, money and patience it takes to train the dog to be a good companion? (This does not happen by itself!!!!) Always keep the dog safe; no running loose, riding in the back of an open pick up truck or being chained outside? Make sure the dog gets enough attention and exercise? (Labrador puppies need several hours of both, every day!!) Live with shedding, retrieving, drooling and high activity for the next 10-15 years. Spend the money it takes to provide proper veterinary care including but certainly not limited to: vaccines, heartworm testing and preventative, spaying or neutering and annual check ups? Become educated about the proper care of the breed, correct training methods and how to groom? (There are many good books available, invest the time to read a few.) Keep the breeder informed and up to date on the dogs accomplishments and problems? Take your questions to the breeder or other appropriate professional before they become problems that are out of hand? Have the patience to accept (and enjoy) the trials of Labrador puppyhood, which can last for three years, and each stage afterward? Continue to accept responsibility for the dog despite inevitable life changes such as new babies, kids going off to school, moving or returning to work? Resist impulse buying, and instead have the patience to make a responsible choice? If you answered yes to ALL of the above you are ready to start contacting breeders. Start early because most responsible breeders have a waiting list ranging from a few of months to a couple of years. Remember, the right puppy IS worth waiting for!! Good luck in your search!
The above excert is from LRCP's website. For more information about Labrabor Retriever Club of the Potomac you can click on the following link: http://lrcp.com/ . Although LRCP states that most well bred puppies will cost between $1200 to $1500, in general, most of our puppies are available for between $600 and $1000 depending upon the type of AKC registration that is desired. Our limited registrations start at $600.00 to $750.00 depending on the breeding. If you plan to have your puppy spayed or neutered then a limited registration is probably what you want. Dogs with limited registrations cannot register litters and cannot participate in certain AKC activities. Full registrations are available for $850.00 to 1000.00 depending on the litter. As an incentive to promote responsible breeding, for those individuals who choose to purchase a full registration, we offer a $150 refund for the purchase price of the dog upon completion of OFA certification or Penn Hipping. If the new owners complete and provide us with proof that they have had their puppy/dog OFA'd or Penn Hipped to check for hip dysplysia within 30 months of age we will refund $150.00 of the original purchase price to help offset the cost of the certification. This is our way to try to promote a healthy continuation of our line and the breed as a whole. Limited registrations can be converted into full registrations at a later date if owners have the necessary health certifications completed, although there is a $100 processing fee, which does not include any AKC fee that may apply. For more information on Limited and Full Registrations you can click on the following link: Limited/Full Registrations. For any additional information or comments on our site, please feel free to contact us by email @ htlabs4u@yahoo.com. We hope you enjoyed our site.
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