Looking for a Golden Lab Puppy

mollypoppy

Does anyone know of any Golden Lab Puppies for sale preferably within the Newtownards/Bangor/Belfast area. Although will travel if necessary. Many thanks in advance

pamperedprincess

Contact local vets. They will know of good local breeders. Good luck in your search.

TillyTrippit

Also see if there is a lab rescue near to you - every bred has it's own organisation that takes in unwanted ones. We got our retriever from the North West Retriever Rescue - not a baby/puppy but still very young and daft!! Your vet would be able to tell you if there is one near.
The dogs from the rescues are also significantly cheaper - ours cost a £100 donation instead of £400 - £500 from a breeder.
hth
Tilly
xx

Lobell

Please don't buy from anyone who advertises 'golden' Labs...it shows they know nothing about the breed they are producing. The colour is yellow (anging from pale cream to fox red; but always referred to as yellow).

There are over 45,000 Labs registered with the Kennel Club every year (and probably as many again unregistered) so finding one should not be difficult. However, finding a good one that has been bred for health and temperment requires a bit more effort.

There are a number of hereditary conditions known in Labs (such as hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia, eye conditions etc) which good breeders are trying to eradicate by health testing Currently, Labradors used for breeding should be hip scored (with a total score of less than 15) and elbow scored (with a score of 0). They also should be eye-tested annually for a range of conditions. The breed club can advise further on breeders who abide by their code of ethics and conduct all the necessary tests. Contact:
LABRADOR RETRIEVER CLUB OF NORTHERN IRELAND Mrs Hughes 028926 38603

Alternatively, contact the various rescue shelters or ask the breed club about their breed rescue (they will be able to give you the co-ordinators details). Labradors are the most common breed and inevitably turn up in shelters, often as youngsters (6-18 months) when they have ceased to be cute Andrex puppies and become unruly teenagers.

kidshorsesdogs

Lobell wrote: »

Please don't buy from anyone who advertises 'golden' Labs...it shows they know nothing about the breed they are producing. The colour is yellow (anging from pale cream to fox red; but always referred to as yellow).

There are over 45,000 Labs registered with the Kennel Club every year (and probably as many again unregistered) so finding one should not be difficult. However, finding a good one that has been bred for health and temperment requires a bit more effort.

There are a number of hereditary conditions known in Labs (such as hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia, eye conditions etc) which good breeders are trying to eradicate by health testing Currently, Labradors used for breeding should be hip scored (with a total score of less than 15) and elbow scored (with a score of 0). They also should be eye-tested annually for a range of conditions. The breed club can advise further on breeders who abide by their code of ethics and conduct all the necessary tests. Contact:
LABRADOR RETRIEVER CLUB OF NORTHERN IRELAND Mrs Hughes 028926 38603

Alternatively, contact the various rescue shelters or ask the breed club about their breed rescue (they will be able to give you the co-ordinators details). Labradors are the most common breed and inevitably turn up in shelters, often as youngsters (6-18 months) when they have ceased to be cute Andrex puppies and become unruly teenagers.

A very knowledgable, sensible post.. Hopefully the advise will be followed.. There is a dog show at Kings hall Easter Tues, a lot of breeders will be there and a good place to check out dogs.. Please don't approach until after they have shown their dogs when they will be happy to talk to you.

WolfSong2000

Lobell is being very sensible - because labs are such a popular breed, they've been bred a lot by inexperienced breeders with no regard to health/temperament and this can lead to some dogs with health/behavioral problems, so it's always worth getting the hip/elbow score. Also ask to see the parents (always the mother, father if possible) and have a list of questions ready to ask the breeder - what kind of things have the pups been exposed to, e.g. children, etc,. There's got to be a dog/labrador forum somewhere online so maybe google one and ask some questions on there?

Lobell

This site will give you some of idea of the effort a really good breeder puts into breeding and rearing dogs: http://www.exelbylabradors.com/

Labrador forum: http://www.labradorforums.co.uk/forums.html

mollypoppy

Many thanks for all the good advice. Have already contacted my vet who doesn't know of any breeders, but I will contact the other sources mentioned. I currently have a black lab and a "yellow" lab but she is 11 years old all are female. Thank you

FloFlo

Hi, will a rescue centre have hip/elbow scores or would you need to pay for them t be tested if from a rescue centre.

kidshorsesdogs

FloFlo wrote: »

Hi, will a rescue centre have hip/elbow scores or would you need to pay for them t be tested if from a rescue centre.

It is very unlikely you will find hip/elbow scores from rescue centres unless they were done by previous owner and with the dogs documentation. Hip/elbow scores are done by a vet and cost £100-£200 as an anaesthetic and X-ray are needed, plus certification, this is a reason good breeders need to charge more, all these schemes cost money. Sometimes scores from parents are available on pedigree and if both these are low the pup has a better chance of having a low score but that does not always be the case..

Lobell

FloFlo wrote: »

Hi, will a rescue centre have hip/elbow scores or would you need to pay for them t be tested if from a rescue centre.

As the previous poster said, itg's highly unlikely that a dog from a rescue centre will have these tests done as an owner/breeder that goes to the trouble and expense is very unlikely to allow their dog to end up in rescue.

Testing is crucial for dogs that are used for breeding to ensure that the pups produced have the best possible chance of being fit and healthy and free from preventable genetic disorders. It's not so important for purely 'pet' dogs if they are not to be bred from (and most dogs are neutered/spayed before leaving the rescue anyway) although some owners like to have it done anyway for peace of mind and because it helps to build a better overall picture of the health of a breed in general.

mollypoppy wrote:

I currently have a black lab and a "yellow" lab but she is 11 years old all are female.

Apologies if I sounded patronising about the colours but it is a bit of a pet hate...and I don't even own Labs!! It is, however, a very good indicator of a breeder to be avoided, in my opinion. Likewise, breeders who mate 2 chocolate Labs to produce all chocolate litters...but that's a whole other topic in itself

Very best of luck in finding a puppy.