re: What to look for when buying a labrador puppy

no problem...if you don't already have it, get a book called "water dog"....written a long time ago and is still the best damn training book I have ever read...

Take the one you are interested to a room/place with just you and the puppy and see how much his personality changes. Make sure you like how the puppy acts when his is by himself as well as with the rest of the litter.

Go to Barnes and Noble. Look for the books by the Monks of New Skete. They have a book called The Art of Raising a Puppy. In the back of that book it goes through several puppy tests.

Things to remember:
A dog that will not allow you to roll them over on their back and struggles and snaps without ever calming will be difficult to train. (Hard Headed and Strong Willed).

A dog that rolls over and plays dead when placed on their back with no struggle will not take discipline well and may crack under too much training pressure. This will be an Omega type dog.

A dog that will allow you to roll them over and initially struggles then calm down is considered the ideal dog (according to the books).

There are intelligence tests in there as well. I suggest reading the back section or buying the book.

I would ask about their parents hips, elbows, eyes. Look for any tumors on the parents skin. I would see if either of the parents "Hop" with their hind legs any when they walk around.

Also, A Labrador that comes up to your waist and weighs 110 pounds is out of standard by AKC regs.

I read where someone said no backyard breeders, and to an extent this is true. There are people that are linked into professional breeders and raise dogs for them as a hobby and not necessarily for profit. These people have access to the best dogs in the country and are accessible. The breeder usually lines up all breedings and takes the top male/female pick of the litter, the litter owner will place the rest to good homes. This is how I get my dogs.

<---My yellow on the left. Her father has been on the cover of Labrador Quarterly twice. She is a certified couch potato...that retrieves.

Good Luck.

I'm still looking for a lab pup. My lab turn 5 years old today, dumb bitch. Wife bought it thru a backyard breeder. Then it got hit by a car that screwed it up even more. Should of put the bitch down back them. She will hunt rabbits and down deer though.

I've never seen a lab not like the water. If I leave mine outside by a pool, he will take naps on the steps. Gun shy, that's a different story. Maybe 15% of them are gun shy.

My dog was $150 and I got him from the SPCA. Easy as hell to train and listens perfectly.


As far as picking a dog, don't get one from a lady who just pumps them out a couple of times a year to make money. Get a solid dog with solid bloodlines to protect yourself from getting a dog with health problems. A reputable breeder will have info about the entire bloodlines of the parents. Get one of those dogs and you will be happy. Figure out the sex you want and just pick a random one. All of these fancy picking methods don't tell you shite. Can you tell how a baby is gonna act when they are 30yrs old just by rolling a ball in front of it?


As far as male/female, males tend to have more drive but are hard headed. Females listen better and are better with families, but don't have the endurance of a male. Those are just generalities though

Some good advice in here. Thanks folks

A lot of the "tests" people are mentioning are good indicators from everything I have read, but in the end, I think it's all a good bit of chance. My black lab couldn't care less about retrieving at 2 months. Would just stare at the dummy when I tossed it a few feet. Now at 4 1/2 months I have her staying put and retrieving on command. Her sister (owned by a friend) was afraid of water at first when my dog had no problem running through a shallow crawfish pond. Now she has passed up my dog and is making retrieves in the bayou. It's all about how you address training them.

shite, no need for me here. All these fella's have covered everything I was going to mention.

OB,

quote:

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I think there are two kinds of people, a dog man(real man) and cat man(yakker)

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FIFY