Hello,
We are looking for a chunky black lab dog puppy to join our family.  We would like him to
have been well loved by children and adults alike and so used to children.  Hip and eye test certs would be desirable and first jabs, but we are genuinely looking for a family pet, who will not be left on his own for long periods of time.  We are looking to pick up our puppy from the 27th December.
If you can help us in our search please could you email any details on :vjm@satairhg.com
Hopefully,
The Martin family

Hi Martin Family,

I've fairly recently become the owner (or rather owned by) a black lab.  Can I give you some well meant advice please?

Firstly - please make hip/eye certs essential (regardless of whether your pup will be a family pet or not you want to have the best possible pup and whilst certificates don't provide you with a guarantee they do offer peace of mind and prove you are buying from a responsible owner) Please also buy a KC registered pup - for the same reasons.  Our pup hadn't had her first injection - I think this very much depends on the breeder - it wasn't a problem for us, we took her to the vest within 48 hours of bringing her home - a good breeder will supply your puppy with 6 weeks insurance.

We also wanted a chunky lab, we were advised to search for 'show stock' rather than a 'working line' our puppy is really chunky but in proportion!

We found our pup via the internet initially, via paying to join the epupz site - we then met the breeder several times, the first time was even before the pups were born.  She was vetting us just as much as we were her - and it's important to meet the mother of the pups at the very least!

I'd advise you to be flexible about collection date - I doubt many reputable breeders will part with a puppy between Christmas and New Year on the grounds that 'puppy's are Christmas presents' and there's simply too much else goign on to allow you to dedicate the amount of time needed.  They don't arrive to order either ;)  We waited 2 months longer than planned to make sure we got the right puppy.

The best thing you can do is contact the Labrador Retriever club (search on google) and ask them for details of breeders/puppys in your area, then you know for sure you won't be buying from a puppy farmer!

Please believe me, it will be worth the extra effort in the long run (and potentially the extra expense - you're looking at anything from £450 upwards from a reputable breeder).  can I also suggest you invest in a copy of 'Ther perfect puppy' by Gwen Bailey (if this is your first pup)as this book gives some good tips on what to look for in both a breeder and a puppy!.

I hope you find a puppy soon and wish you many years of joy with him/her...

Oh one more tip - we did bags of research in the end we opted for a bitch as we were told by many mnay lab owners that they are calmer and from my personal experience with our own bitch and other peoples dogs, i'd have to say I agree.

Best of luck
Nicky

labrador breed clubs contact details at the bottom of the page :)

That is excellent advice Nicky - the Martin Family would be well advised to follow all of it!

Thanks Onetwothree,

It's all the things I had to find out for myself before we got Kiera - I'm so glad we did everything properly, the result is a wonderful, well mannered, easy to train, healthy and loving puppy that I wouldn't change for all the world.  I hope this family are as lucky as I've been.  Saving a few pounds on a 'cheap' puppy just isn't worth it and having a trusted breeder who you can go back to for years to come is frankly priceless.

Kiera is the first dog I've owned and the relationship with Jenny (the breeder) has been worth all the hard work and research to find her, she's been able to offer very good advice on a couple of small problems we've had and has been very reassuring and offered great advice on things like diet, when/if to spay etc.  These things seem unimportant before you get a puppy - but when a you need to make a major decision - like about spaying - my god to you appreciate some 'professional' advice - away from the vet.  I class Jenny as a trusted advisor who has the welfare of my puppy front of mind!  I can't stress enough, just how important I think this is!!!! :)
Nx