[martymonty]

Hi
Has anyone purchased a puppy from Staghorn Labrador Breeders, I have been in contact with this woman and she will be having a litter
of puppies sometime this year. Just wondered if you were happy with the pups and the facility. I know some people recommended Bralex breeders as well, but can't remember what other breeders in Ontario (We are in the Niagara region) that were recommended.
Thanks

 

[BigBrownDog]

Not a breeder - but those are really lovely dogs with nice pedigrees.

 

[Tanya]

Nicole recommended them so that says A LOT. (she knows her stuff). I have met one of the dogs bred by them but with another breeder (breezeline) - Bekham, and he is an absolute doll, great dog, great temperment.

Bralex is great. Breezeline is great. and I had suggested Blue South Bluesouth Labradors

When you look at the staghorn website, notice how they list ALL the clearances for each dog and talk about their accomplishments in conformation? those are good signs.

 

[labby]

I haven't purchased a puppy from her but she has a good reputation as being reputable.

 

[Luvmydog2much]

She's good. Try LeeAnne at Oaksill Labradors too, she's probably closest to you.

 

[LuvBrown]

Both breeders mentioned are top notch.

 

[martymonty]

Here is a kennel closer to where we live, very hard to find breeders of chocolate labs near us and who are expecting litters (I know I don't ask for much eh, lol)
They are Cooperslane kennels in Arthur, ON. Not a ton of information on their website, but hoping someone has heard of them?

 

[Tanya]

As we keep saying - clearances - there is ZERO talk of clearances, NONE, on any of the dogs at that kennel. you can e-mail/call to ask but that is a bare minimum you should require, that BOTH parents have ALL their clearances.

They aslo don't do anything with their dogs.

at four weeks pups are sent to the kennels, where they get less socialization to household sounds and interactions, not idea, you should prefer a breeder that raises the litters indoors for 8 weeks.

There ARE fewer good chocolate lab breeders, plks there are just naturally fewer chocolates. So yeah if you want a dog in the next month from a breeder and hour or two from you - there won't be many (if any). You are going to have to expand your search adn be a little patient. You've gotten lots of great recommendations, you can even ask THOSE breeders if they know someone closer to you or someone that has a litter sooner. But having to wait until summer and driving 3 hours is actually pretty good for a puppy from a good quality breeder.

 

[nicole]

Getting a puppy isn't like ordering something from a big box store, we can't just go to the back and pull one off the shelf, so you might have a bit of a wait for a good one! Stick with one of the previously mentioned breeders.

 

[labby]

Here is a kennel closer to where we live, very hard to find breeders of chocolate labs near us and who are expecting litters (I know I don't ask for much eh, lol)
They are Cooperslane kennels in Arthur, ON. Not a ton of information on their website, but hoping someone has heard of them?

Let's just say any breeder who doesn't include registered names, clearances and pedigrees on their sites are generally not breeders I would recommend. Breeders are usually proud of their dogs and their accomplishments and shout it to the world on their websites.

Does that clear it up for you?

 

[CaliforniaLabLover]

Let's just say any breeder who doesn't include registered names, clearances and pedigrees on their sites are generally not breeders I would recommend. Breeders are usually proud of their dogs and their accomplishments and shout it to the world on their websites.

Does that clear it up for you?

Hear, hear, Laura!!!

You shouldn't have to do too much investigation to find out the pedigrees, clearances, and accomplishments behind a puppy you may be interested in.

 

[martymonty]

I got in touch with the breeders recommended, some of them do not expect any litters until later this year. Bluesouth recommended Apple Meadows labs but have not heard of them. Will get in touch with that breeder and see what she has to offer. Hard to find chocolates isn't it?

 

[Tanya]

I got in touch with the breeders recommended, some of them do not expect any litters until later this year. Bluesouth recommended Apple Meadows labs but have not heard of them. Will get in touch with that breeder and see what she has to offer. Hard to find chocolates isn't it?

there are not THAT many good breeders and the good ones don't have many litters per year. you need to start researching and conversations wtih breeders many months or a year before you are ready for a dog. And again, as mentioned in your threads, there ARE fewer chocolates overall. You may need to be patient or travel farther.

 

[martymonty]

if one of the breeders recommended on here suggests another breeder, would it be safe to say that breeder is reputable. what should I be looking for when they list the pedigrees and history of the moms, dads, grandparents, etc. We will not be "showing" this pup so not sure what I should be aware of. some do not list the pedigrees, but are more than willing to send to me. Bellebrook labs were recommended to me by one of the breeders listed on here and she sent me the guarantee information as well as the pedigree for all her
labs.

 

[LuvBrown]

I wouldn't worry about the pedigrees. You aren't going to know one dog from the next. What you need to be concerned with is the CLEARANCES. You want copies of the Hips, elbows, heart, eyes, EIC and CNM tests. OR if they give you the name of the sire and dam (you can use the pedigrees for this part), you can look on the OFA website to confirm hips, elbows, heart and CERF eye testing there. If the parents have ALL of the tests, then I would take the next step.

And yes, typically if one of the breeders on this site recommended a breeder but they in turn sent you somewhere else, chances are that breeder is OK too.

 

[martymonty]

thanks for the info, can anyone tell me when you see the listing for their hips, elbows, heart etc. sometimes it will say 40%, 60%, etc. what does this mean exactly.

 

[martymonty]

also, when I pull up the pedigrees of the mom and dad of the pups being born, what info am I looking for to check on the OFA website for clearances. There is all kinds of stuff written on these pedigree sheets.

 

[LuvBrown]

thanks for the info, can anyone tell me when you see the listing for their hips, elbows, heart etc. sometimes it will say 40%, 60%, etc. what does this mean exactly.

Percentages usually correlate with a different Hip rating system called PennHIP. I think the lower the number the better the hip score. Like if it says 40%, it means that 40% of the Labradors have better hips than the Lab in question.

If the breeder is in Canada and doesn't have their clearances with OFA, there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with asking them to mail or email you copies of all the clearances now. And there is nothing wrong with having them explain how the PennHIP system works. If they are a good breeder, they'll have all the papers handy and will be happy to explain how the ratings work.

And for OFA, you bring up Orthopedic Foundation for Animals and on the left side you can put in the exact name or the registration #.

For example, using a dog that is famous in our lab history, this is what you'll see when you search on a name:
Orthopedic Foundation for Animals

Click on the name in blue and you'll get a full listing of everything:
Orthopedic Foundation for Animals

Arnold is a dog from back when many of today's clearances were not part of what breeder's routinely tested for. For your searching you want to see hips, elbows, CERF and heart listed. EIC might be listed depending on where the breeder did the testing. If you go down the page and click on one of the younger offspring, you can see how they have up to five different clearances listed in the OFA database. That's what you are looking for.

 

[DaleM]

Can anyone recommend a Breeder for a show quality Lab with great tempermant in Western NY or surrounding area?

 

[labby]

Contact the Iroquois LRC The Iroquois Labrador Retriever Web Site