MalteseLuna Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 My Auntie is looking for a Labrador puppy, she prefers the working line or "UK" look with smaller dogs. In the past she has been involved in breeding black/golden labradors - she started off fostering Guide Dog puppies and when the arm of Guide Dogs NSW that she was fostering for shut down she was told "to breed her as she is a great dog and carries good lines". So she did for 2 generations. I don't agree with her methods of choosing a stud dog nor her reasons for breeding in the past but she seems to have been swayed by my and my grandmothers discussions with her about responsible breeding, being a registered breeder and doing health testing. After loosing the original dog and her daughter she has de-sexed the grand-daughter. She is now starting to look for a suitable puppy. The truth is that she will find a puppy whether I help her or not but I would like to point her to a few breeders who might be willing to mentor her and help "lead" her down the right path. She does seem to want to do the right thing and she loves the breed. She would be willing to take advice concerning the stud dogs certainly and might be willing to "try" showing or trialling. Can anyone point me towards some breeders that have the "older style" of Labrador and might be willing to mentor someone (and sell her a main registered dog). I think helping her find a healthy dog with a good mentor is the best option! Please PM me if you want to help or suggest some breeders/mentors and I will pass them on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mason_Gibbs Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Dont know any breeders who will sell a dog on the main register to someone they dont know - sorry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atua Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 maybe jump into the lab thread and see if anyone can help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MalteseLuna Posted July 20, 2011 Author Share Posted July 20, 2011 Dont know any breeders who will sell a dog on the main register to someone they dont know - sorry How exactly is new blood supposed to get into the hobby then? I must say as someone who eventually wants to join the hobby (myself) I am stunned that so many people are unwilling to give newbies a break. I get that sometimes you get burned but if more people don't get involved in the hobby it will get less and less popular. I frankly would be very sad to see that happen. I will hop into the lab thread I would have gotten her to post but she is fairly computer illiterate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenWei Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Is she willing to do all the health tests that go with it? Not 100% sure what labs require, but in goldens they require hip/elbow scores, as well as regular Heart & Eye checks.... I expect it will be something similar in labs. There is also a lot of heartbreak, even if you breed two dogs with perfect scores, shit happens and she may well breed a dog with hip &/or elbow problems that has come down from a dog further back in the lines. How will she cope with something like that? Is she willing to remove from the gene pool a dog that she may have bought to breed but comes back with crap health results? I think there would need to be a huge committment to show the dog before anyone would consider selling them a main registered dog.... if she is willing to start with a male she may have more luck.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MalteseLuna Posted July 22, 2011 Author Share Posted July 22, 2011 Is she willing to do all the health tests that go with it? Not 100% sure what labs require, but in goldens they require hip/elbow scores, as well as regular Heart & Eye checks.... I expect it will be something similar in labs. There is also a lot of heartbreak, even if you breed two dogs with perfect scores, shit happens and she may well breed a dog with hip &/or elbow problems that has come down from a dog further back in the lines. How will she cope with something like that? Is she willing to remove from the gene pool a dog that she may have bought to breed but comes back with crap health results? I think there would need to be a huge committment to show the dog before anyone would consider selling them a main registered dog.... if she is willing to start with a male she may have more luck.... That would be something she could discuss with the breeder/mentor. She has already bred 2 generations (several litters) so she knows the heartbreak. She would be encouraged to health test by me and I assume by the mentor/breeder. I was looking for places to point her in the right direction ... not a "would she do this and that and xyz"... I can't answer that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 How exactly is new blood supposed to get into the hobby then? I must say as someone who eventually wants to join the hobby (myself) I am stunned that so many people are unwilling to give newbies a break. I get that sometimes you get burned but if more people don't get involved in the hobby it will get less and less popular. I frankly would be very sad to see that happen. I will hop into the lab thread I would have gotten her to post but she is fairly computer illiterate. Depends what you mean by the hobby?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mason_Gibbs Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 If it were me there is no way i would sell my dogs on main register to someone I dont know, too many people are untruthful and dont do the right thing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gayle. Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 Is there a breed club in her state? That might be a good place to start, she could contact them for a list of breeders willing to mentor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenWei Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 Is she willing to do all the health tests that go with it? Not 100% sure what labs require, but in goldens they require hip/elbow scores, as well as regular Heart & Eye checks.... I expect it will be something similar in labs. There is also a lot of heartbreak, even if you breed two dogs with perfect scores, shit happens and she may well breed a dog with hip &/or elbow problems that has come down from a dog further back in the lines. How will she cope with something like that? Is she willing to remove from the gene pool a dog that she may have bought to breed but comes back with crap health results? I think there would need to be a huge committment to show the dog before anyone would consider selling them a main registered dog.... if she is willing to start with a male she may have more luck.... That would be something she could discuss with the breeder/mentor. She has already bred 2 generations (several litters) so she knows the heartbreak. She would be encouraged to health test by me and I assume by the mentor/breeder. I was looking for places to point her in the right direction ... not a "would she do this and that and xyz"... I can't answer that. Encouraging is one thing, doing it is another. You will find if she DOESN'T do it, she WON'T be able to register a litter so she needs to be committed to doing it properly..... and no you can't answer those questions, but SHE needs to answer them honestly to herself and she needs to be aware that these things can happen, and worse before venturing into this kind of thing. Yes she may of bred several generations of labs, but different lines can give you all sorts of challenges. I know of one lab breeder - a well respected breeder at that, who sold a dog on main regsister to show and breed from... dog went lame and can't be shown, another one, in goldies, same thing. Both breeders did everything right.... health tests, bred from low scores etc, but shit happens sometimes. If she wants some direction - tell her to go to some shows and talk to lab breeders herself.... get to know them, and more importantly, allow them to get to know her..... get to know what breeders are breeding the type of dogs she likes. As Gayle suggested, give the lab breed club a call as another option.... Otherwise she will struggle to find a reputable breeder. If she prefers the working lines, go to obedience trials or Gundog working trials. Meet the breeders or owners there, if there are no breeders the owners will be able to point her to the breeders or working lines... There are 100's of lab & goldie breeders around, half of them nobody has ever heard of, there were 43 litters of golden puppies listed on DOL last month, most of them you wouldn't have a clue on who they are, they don't show, probably don't even do obedience with their dogs, they are just churning out puppies for the pet market, IMHO that is worthless.... how are they bettering the breed, how are they doing what is right for the breed?? All they are doing is saturating the market with dogs, possibly with temperament or health issues, and making it difficult for those, like your aunt, to want to get into the "hobby" because how is the novice mean't to know who is ethical and who is a registered backyard breeder? I'm not having a go at you or your aunt... maybe it's coming across that way, I'm not meaning it to, but yes, it is difficult, but she will need to do the leg work, and she will need to do the hard yards, she needs to gain the trust of breeders.... otherwise no-one will take her seriously, and she will be lumped into the backyard breeder basket. I think it's great that she wants to do it the right way, and it's great that your swaying her in that right direction, but it's not easy, and she needs to be aware of that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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