Our Labrador Puppy Is Coming On Friday!

[Miss B]

Good luck with your search

As tough as it must be to give up your puppy when she was due to come home this week, I don't think you will regret your decision to purchase from an ethical, registered breeder I hope your pup gives your family many years of joy.

[macka]

I have enjoyed reading your comments thus far!! It's great to hear different people's opinions!! LOL @ the teens comment!! At least my dog will go through puberty well before my child so at least I won't have 2 teens to cope with at the same time

well i called the pet store and asked for pedigree papers, which they cannot provide and they were fine about giving me back my deposit, just have to go in there and get it.

now to find a new puppy! I would be able to get one from SE QLD vicinity, I am thinking of visiting my family there before the end of the year anyway, so I could achieve 2 things in one trip!

will keep you all posted on how we go

Must have been hard but I think you have done the right thing! There are lots of lab breeders in QLD and a few of them are on this forum, pop into the Lab thread and have a chat!

http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?show...30&st=13185

[ivory_kitten]

it wasn't too bad until I went in to the pet store on Friday to get my refund (the staff were nice and pretty friendly about it) but my poor toddler, was upset, he's only 20 months, but I think he just knew, he got really upset when we left the pet store!

I received a reply on an enquiry I sent before I found this site, so I am just wondering if anyone has had any dealings with Truebred Labradors in NSW? They have just had a litter of pups so would be able to get one before Christmas.

Otherwise I'm still searching, female pups seem to be harder to come by!

[Gretel]

You did well I'll be interested in replies to your question. I'm not a Labrador person but when I looked at the site there is nothing about their dogs lines or health testing. Have you gone into the Lab thread to talk to people? You'll likely get more replies in there.

[macka]

Ivory kitten, there is quite a good thread here about how to buy a purebred pup, and what questions you should be asking a breeder before committing to them: How to Buy a Purebred Pup

For me the main things would be...

• Make sure your breeder is ANKC registered
  
• Make sure both parents have had their hips and elbows x-rayed and scored, and their eyes checked for PRA. See below for details on what you are looking for. You should sight these documents before taking your puppy home.
  HIPS: Each hip is scored out of a possible 53. The lower the score, the healthier the hip; therefore a score of 0:0 would be perfect. On the score sheet these individual scores are added together to give a total rating. So a 4:4 score would be a total 8 and this is then given a rating against Australian and International averages. In Australia the median score of Labrador Retrievers is thought to be about 12, so you should not buy a puppy from parents who scored higher than this.
  ELBOWS: Elbow Xrays are "scored" very differently. An elbow score of 0:0 is perfect whereas a score of 3:3 is seriously affected. Each additional point above 0 reflects a millimetre of variation (or gap) in the elbow joint. Ideally both of your puppy's parents will have scored 0:0 for their elbows.
  EYES: Labradors can be affected by PRA, a type of progressive blindness. A simple cheek swab can now indicate whether an animal is Clear, a Carrier or is Affected. A CLEAR bred to a CLEAR will always result in CLEAR offspring.
  
• It's a good idea to actually visit your breeder before committing, so that you can meet at least one of the puppies' parents, and see the conditions in which the pup is being raised... Are they being brought up inside the home or outside in a kennel? Is their environment clean and safe? Is the mother a healthy and friendly dog? Since you are buying by distance, could you perhaps send a relative to go and have a sticky beak before hand?
  Alternatively, talk to the breeder on the phone and ask lots of questions as per above...if they sound dodgy they probably are!
  

[atua]

best of luck ivory kitten I hope all goes well for you in your search

please keep us updated and stick around here its great fun on DOL

[ivory_kitten]

Thanks Macka, I did email them back with a list of questions, so we will see if they do get back to me!! I think it will be hard for me to visit the breeder beforehand so I guess I will just have to interrogate them on the phone

[poodlefan]

Thanks Macka, I did email them back with a list of questions, so we will see if they do get back to me!! I think it will be hard for me to visit the breeder beforehand so I guess I will just have to interrogate them on the phone

Expect a similar interrogation process from the breeder's end. If you don't get asked a lot of questions that are aimed at establishing your suitability as a home for the pup, look elsewhere!

[macka]

Thanks Macka, I did email them back with a list of questions, so we will see if they do get back to me!! I think it will be hard for me to visit the breeder beforehand so I guess I will just have to interrogate them on the phone

Expect a similar interrogation process from the breeder's end. If you don't get asked a lot of questions that are aimed at establishing your suitability as a home for the pup, look elsewhere!

Yes, true.

Also I wouldn't discount NSW breeders - some are willing to fly your pup to you, given the lack of breeders in your area. there are quite a few listed on DOL with puppies or expecting puppies: http://www.dogzonline.com.au/breeds/puppie...W&Submit=Go