i am planning on breeding my lab in a few years but wanted to ask some things im not sure about.

first of all, do you have to screen all puppy buyers before they go to new homes? what if they live miles away? cant you just ask questions instead? and do the puppies have to see the vet as soon as there born? when do they have their first injections and is it up to the breeder or the new owners to take the pup to have its injections for the first time? is the injection given at 8 weeks the first vaccination or is there injections needed before that? also, when do they need worming? and finally. is it safe for the puppies to go outside when they havent had their first injection? one last thing, what guarantees do i need to make before i sell the pup to a new owner? and how can i guarantee against health if i am unsure?

as you can see i want to find out as much as possible before i do breed her. she is kc reg with all health tests and is superb breed standard with an excellent tempremant.

Hi - welcome to CD!

I do apologise if all that I am saying seems so elementary to you - but someone else will read this post, who might not know - so I am going from absolute basics!:D

First of all, if you are planning to breed your lab, the very best person to be in touch with is her breeder. She will (or should) be able to confirm that yes, your lovely girl is an excellent example of the breed, she should know the lines that she is from, and which lines you should be looking at for a stud. If she can't help you with these points, then join a labrador breed club who will advise you.

Secondly, make sure that all the relevant tests have been done - not just checked with the vet, but that she has had her hips scored (which generally means a full anaesthic, unless you can find an experienced vet who just uses sedation); her eyes tested, and all other necessary tests. If you aren't offered these - don't use that stud!

Thirdly - buy "The Book of the Bitch" - it's available from Amazon. This is absolutely the Breeder's bible!!

If you have gone through all this, and decided that yes, you still want her to have puppies, ask yourself why? Do you want to keep one of her pups yourself? Will you be able to take two or three weeks off work when she has her puppies? Will you be able to provide lilfe-long support to the buyers of your puppies? Would you be able to take one back after, say 9 or 10 months, if the new owner can't cope? Or if the new owner, for any reason, cannot keep the dog, would you be able to take it back after say 3 or 4 years? It's a big responsibility being a breeder :D!

Personally, I send out long, nosy and detailed questionnaires to potential owners. I talk for hours and hours on the phone, and if I feel there is anything that I am uneasy about, I don't take puppy enquiries any further. I have asked for references as well at times! Our puppies went from Essex to Scotland, to London, to the Midlands and also to West Africa! I should add that we drove over 150 miles to take our girl to the right stud dog!

Mum needs to be wormed during her pregnancy, and personally, I start worming puppies at 3-4 weeks, then 2 weeks later, then again at 8 weeks, and advise worming again at 12 weeks. My puppies left home at 8 weeks. They did go out into my garden.

I have the vet check my puppies and Mum over on day 1 - I'm so lucky - he lives fairly close and he will make house calls:D.

One of my puppies had a hernia - the potential owner was told about this immediately, and it was mentioned in the puppy contract, and I undertook to pay to have it repaired if necessary. They all left with free health insurance for 6 weeks, their full registration papers (all of which I endorsed), and I and all the new owners signed a contract - me to say that the puppies were leaving with a clean bill of health (all having been vet checked again just before leaving) and the owner undertaking to carry out the necessary health tests at 1 year. They also left with full feeding instructions, copies of the hip & eye scores of both Mum & Dad - and most importantly - my telephone number with instructions to ring me at any time if there was any problem!

I hope this is of some help to you - it's good that you are thinking long term - breeding is a long-term commitment - it's hard work, costs a bomb (forget about making loads of dosh if you are doing things properly) - but it is also so rewarding - and you also extend your family - I like to feel that all the owners of our pups are now part of our extended family.

Regards

Margot