What to ask a breeder at first contact:
...be that contact in the street, by email or telephone.... this will save so much heartache later when the answer is negative to any of them but you are staring at a bunch of cute pups which you REALLY want to buy. So many times we hear people saying they KNOW they shouldn't be buying, but they got there, and the pups looked basically healthy, and the breeder seemed nice....and so.... they went for it knowing they should be walking away...
Lets lay out the first contact BASIC Questions so you can save that heartache, possible wasted desposits and huge embarassment:
Absolutely essential:
1) Are BOTH parents hip scored? What are the scores for each?
2) Do they BOTH hold current (dated in the last 12 months) CLEAR eye certificates under the BVA/KC eye testing scheme?
3) Does the breeder own mum and can she be seen?
4) Have the puppies been Kennel Club registered?
5) Can you see copies of not just mum but dads hip score result sheet and eye certificate?
6) Were the puppies wormed at 2, 4 and 6 weeks of age (and 8 weeks if that is relevent age wise)?
7) Does the breeder give you a diet sheet, copies of the documents for the sire and dam and a basic puppy pack when yu pick your puppy up?
8 ) Were the puppies born and raised in the house to a certain age OR well socialised if raised outside, with plenty of human contact and access to sounds and smells of a day to day household?
Desireable:
9) Have mum and dad been elbow scored? What is the result? can you see the certificates?
10) Have mum and dad been Optigen tested? can you see the certificate?
11) Are they fed on an easy to obtain food?
12) Do they fall between about £450 and £700 in price? (If not you have to ask yourself what is missing as they are too cheap or WHY they are overcharging - adjust that to where you live in the country - London may be MORE expensive, Scotland may be cheaper!).
13) Will the registration documents be ready to take when you leave with your puppy?
I can explain any questions if you like but if you ASK at least the first 8 questions, even in pleasant conversation, not necessarily firing them like a firing squad, you will save yourself a lot of trouble later. They are the basic essentials.... and will be found in many hundreds of litters a year!
The actual SCORE you would be looking for for a positive hip score result is between 0 and lets say, 20.... OR if one parents is slightly higher than a total of 20, then the other should be a fair bit lower.... even if they are hip scored, if BOTH parents are over or well over 20 (combined score from both hips e.g. 8:9 = 17 hip score) walk away just as if they hadn't been scored.
Elbows, the only result you would really accept would be a total of zero or one for each parent IF scored.
Caring for a lab:
1) Feed good quality food or BARF (biologically appropriate raw food - google search).
2) Exercise 5 minutes per month of age (3 month pup = 15 minutes A DAY MAXIMUM) until a year old (then about an hour to an hour and a half a day). This is for forced exercise e.g. walking out, chasing a ball etc ... mooching in the garden etc doesn't count as the pup can stop when tired
3) get them well socialised with people, dogs, kids, traffic, loud noises etc
4) strongly consider a basic obedience class
5) GET INSURANCE AND THEM NEUTERED WHEN OLD ENOUGH
Bitch vs dog:
1) dog will possible try and roam when a near-by bitch is in season
2) bitches come into season twice a year or so (resolved by speying)
There is an absolutely excellent forum for lab owners that will give you all your answers and more.
Lab pups are very hard work, are 'puppies' in behaviour until about 2 years old and most chew a lot. They are very intelligent however and need mental stimulation daily to stop boredom.
I strongly recommend a crate for when they are still pups for their safety when alone.
Sorry for the long reply!
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