Finding a Breeder

How do you find a reputable Breeder?

Educate yourself and ask questions!!

1.  Does this breeder show pictures and health clearances of all of their dogs on their website?  Does this breeder have puppies available all of the time or will you have to wait for a little while because they only have puppies when they can devote alot of time to them (2-3 litters per year or less is common for a reputable breeder) Are the puppies raised in the house?  Does the breeder temperment test and do several evaluations that allows the breeder to match up the right puppy with the right home?

2.  Does this breeder ask you LOTS of questions about how you will care for the puppy?  Do they have an application process and a Sale Contract?  Do not be offended by a breeder asking how you will care for your puppy, etc.  If the breeder is genuinely concerned about the welfare of their puppies they need to know the family purchasing the puppy will take excellent care of the puppy.

3.  If you purchase a puppy from them will they supply hard copies of the clearences?  Hips and elbows are certified by OFA, Eyes annually by a Certified Opthamologist, and Hearts anytime over 1 year of age by a certified cardiologist. You can verify hip clearences at www.offa.org Eyes at www.vmdb.org/cerf.html

4.  Does  the Breeder Exhibit their dogs in some area of competition?  There are many things you can do with a Labrador, Conformation(show), Hunt tests, Field trials, Obedience, Agiliity, and Tracking.  Titles can be earned in all of these events. See the links at the bottom of this page for Definitions of titles. Do the dog have titles before and/or after their name?  Breeders that exhibit their dogs are putting their money back into their dogs not just breeding for profit.  

5.  Beware of the "unique" Labrador.  While there is a difference in the appearence of some English dogs compared to some American dogs, American dogs originally came from the same gene pool as the breed was originated in England and all dogs in the USA can trace their lineage to their English Ancestors.  The Labrador retriever standard calls for the color of the coat to be Black, Chocolate and Yellow with yellow ranging from Fox Red to Cream. A Silver, Platinum, Champagne, Buff, & White colors are not accepted by the American standard and AKC. There is no such thing as "Silver, Champagne, Buff, White, Ultra Light, Platinum, etc.  Don't be fooled by fancy words and prices.  You can expect to pay $800 to $1500 today for a quality Pet Labrador retriever puppy.  Paying more is not buying you a better quality puppy.

6.  Look for a breeder that is devoted to the welfare of the breed, who not only clears for hips, eyes, hearts, but researches the pedigrees for other health issues we do can not test for such as eplilepsy, megasophageous, and allergies. A reputable breeder will have clearance information for 4 & 5 generations of the dogs either from the stud dog owners or themselves.

7.  Does the breeder have a contract and is he/she willing to take back your puppy anytime during the life of the puppy if you can not keep it.  Is the breeder willing to be there for you as a resource for questions while you have this puppy?

8.  Designer dogs such as the Labradoodle are NOT healthier, or better than a purebred bought from a reputable breeder.  These designer dogs will not ever be accepted as an AKC breed. These breeds can not compete in AKC events and the breeders are only breeding for profit.  These dogs do not have less health issues, rather they can have more because you are adding the health problems of two breeds together (such as in Labradors it is very common to have PRA- Progressive Retinal Atrophy- which causes a dog to go blind between the age of 2 and 6. Labradors now have a blood test available to check for PRA. It is not a cheap test and most puppy-mills will not be spending the extra funds for the test. www.optigen.com

Poodles are commonly afflicted with PRA also, so now you have a mixed breed puppy that has potential hip, heart, cataract, epilepsy, allergies and PRA. Since both breeds have a higher incidence of hip dysplasia you are also doubling on that herditary issue.   Combining genes also means within a litter some dogs will have more traits of a poodle and some of a Labrador. So some will shed just like a Labrador, and some will have a combined coat that while cute as a puppy can be very difficult to deal with as an adult.

Please ask your vet if he/she honestly sees more health issues in mixed breeds vs. pure bred. Take into consideration also that a majority of people that may have a mixed breed may not spend the money for vet costs if something is wrong with the puppy/dog as it is easier/cheaper to just dump that one at the pound and get a new free puppy from the street corner. That is another question for your vet. Do they have a majority of purebred or mixed breeds that come to their clinic.



And last but not least find a breeder you are comfortable with, in buying a puppy from this person you are establishing a relationship with that breeder for the life of your puppy which hopefully will be as long as 15 years.

Other resources: www.k9data.com

There is a widely held belief that "AKC" or "AKC papers" guarantee the quality of a dog. This is not the case. AKC is a registry body. A registration certificate identifies the dog as the offspring of a known sire and dam, born on a known date. It in no way indicates the quality or state of health of the dog. Quality in the sense of "show quality" is determined by many factors including the dog's health, physical condition, ability to move and appearance. Breeders breeding show stock are trying to produce animals that closely resemble the description of perfection described in the breed standard. Many people breed their dogs with no concern for the qualitative demands of the breed standard. When this occurs repeatedly over several generations, the animals, while still purebred, can be of extremely low quality. Before buying a dog, you should investigate the dog's parentage (including titles, DNA and pedigree information), the breeder's breeding practices, the breed standard, and the genetic tests recommended by the Parent Club for the breed.

For more information, go to About Buying a Dog and visit the Parent Club website .

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