We're Buying from a Breeder

[Crazy-Cat-Lover]

Just my opinion:

Labs are VERY FRIENDLY and very good with children..

But small children? 2 years old? Good luck. That Lab with that strong body will be knocking her down quite a bit.

I will make sure my dog and my daughter know how to play with each other. Sierra is great with dogs and understands that some are bigger than her. The only time I have seen a dog knock a child down is if they arent trained or exercised enough.

[BitsyNaceyDog]

I'm appalled by some of the comments in this thread.

I think .sarah, Vela, and Karen all provided great information and advise.
I can't remember if anyone said this already- You will probably have to wait for a puppy after you find a breeder. Reputable breeders generally have homes lined up for their puppies before the litter is even born.

Good luck!
Keep us posted.

[moosmom]

Ugh, I know, I should be adopting from a shelter

You COULD'VE done a little more research and looked in Yahoo under Lab Rescue. There are hundreds of labs in foster homes waiting for a furrrever home.

I hope you'll reconsider. For every purebred that is BOUGHT, another stray dog goes without a home. Sad but VERY true.

[Logan]

Labrador Retrievers are a wonderful breed and I hope you will be very happy with your puppy. My daughter was raised with an older Lab and we never had a problem. Of course, he was 7 years old when she was born so we didn't have a puppy and a baby at the same time. They are exuberant dogs though, and I have found my Goldens to be much "calmer" than the Lab was, but still, a perfect choice for a family dog. Get ready to walk, and walk, and walk. He/she will need lots of exercise, for sure, especially if you live in an apartment.

I have 3 Goldens now. Two of them, I bought as puppies, and the first did come from a backyard breeder. I know better now, but I didn't 7 years ago when I bought her. She was a gift for my daughter's 8th birthday, on January 29, 1999. Good heavens, my "baby" is turning 15 years old this coming Sunday!!!!! She's a lovely girl (the Golden, Honey) and I wouldn't trade her for the world. BUT, we also have a rescue boy and he is the greatest gift I have ever received. I will always adopt in the future, I think, because we have had such good luck with him, and I don't want to go through raising a puppy again.

We lost our elderly Lab, Murphy, in December. She was almost 16 years old and was a very laid back, lovely yellow girl. My daughter's dad has a Chocolate male and he is so well behaved and such a couch potato! The only problem I can foresee with a puppy is that you don't know what kind of personality will develop, but I'm sure if you go with a reputable breeder, you'll be fine.

Do some research and ask lots of questions, using the ideas proposed by some of the others. You don't want to buy from a breeder who is not working hard to better the breed. The testing of the parents should be done and the results should be available for your review and you also would want to know that the parents were both at least 2 years old at the time of breeding.

Good luck to you! Get ready! You're going to be busy with a puppy and a 2 year old. I don't envy you!

Logan

[caseysmom]

When my daughters were babies we had a shepard mix, had no idea what she was mixed with but she was excellent with the babies. My neighbors were set on having pure bred goldens and they are very aggressive, I know this is unusual for goldens, my point is you just don't know even with a purebred.

Most shelters will allow a trial period also, of course it would need constant supervision.

One good thing about buying from a breeder is a puppy brought up with a toddler may be more tolerant of the sudden movements of a small child.

[BitsyNaceyDog]

I haven't looked at all of the links you've posted, but here is something I noticed...

Compare the "frequently asked questions" section of these two kennels-
Terrarust gives nicely detailed answers.
Gainspride's answers were very short, most just yes or no answers. That was a big turn off to me.

[RobiLee]

Just make sure you are prepared for a puppy. Labs need LOTS of exercise. You are going to be quite a busy mom chasing around a 2 year old and a puppy. Have fun! I wish you all the best. Can't wait to see the new family member when the time gets here

[Vela]

You COULD'VE done a little more research and looked in Yahoo under Lab Rescue. There are hundreds of labs in foster homes waiting for a furrrever home.

I hope you'll reconsider. For every purebred that is BOUGHT, another stray dog goes without a home. Sad but VERY true.

This is very true, but at the same time some people prefer a certain breed and prefer to get it as a puppy from a breeder who has done extensive health testing and breeds for type and temperament. Shelter dogs can be wonderful, but so can purebred dogs. If there aren't people out there breeding type specific purebreds of each breed, pretty soon there won't be any individual breeds left because only those breeding poorly bred dogs, like BYB, and accidental breedings will be left. I think it would be a great loss if people truly took that to heart and never bought purebred dogs
so that truly honorable and GOOD breeders stopped breeding because they couldn't sell their dogs. I don't want to be reduced to having to have a mixed breed or poorly bred dog if I want a certain breed. We NEED good responsible breeders to keep breeding healthy dogs. I have nothing against rescues or pound dogs or anything else, but I think there is room for both. There is an overabundance of dogs in shelters but that is not because of proper and responsible breeding practices, that is because people refuse to spay and neuter and there are lots of BYB. By not buying purebred puppies or dogs ever, it would eventually cause the only dogs to be left to be mixes or poorly bred and/or sickly specimens of each breed. The stray problem is the result of carelessness by people, but a bigger disservice would be to allow healthy purebred dogs to cease to exist by never buying them. I would gladly pay for a puppy and help support a truly responsible ethical breeder to insure healthy specimens of that breed continue. I would also rescue a stray, but that doesn't mean I want to be limited to only being able to own shelter dogs in the future if nobody ever bought purebreds. It's great in theory, but pratically speaking there needs to be support of ethical breeders, or else who would be left to do the breeding and where would our future dogs come from? That would only further the irresponsible types to continue and that's all that would be left.

[BC_MoM]

Oh well........best of luck to you. I can see you really want a puppy instead of adopting an adult Lab, knowing it's personality.

Can temperments be 100% guaranteed? I didn't know they could. Puppies love everything and everyone, so of course they will love kids.. but they can change as they grow older.

Good luck to you whatever you do!

[dab_20]

I am happy you've decided to get a puppy, and are going about doing it in a responsible way. I'm not much of an expert on these things, but Vela, Karen, .sarah, and others have given you good advice.

I woulden't put you down for not adopting from a shelter, because if I did, then I would be a hypocrit! I can understand adopting from shelters is much harder then it seems sometimes...

Good Luck, and can't wait to see what you've chosen!

[K9soul]

With a child that young (and living in an apartment), I'd still personally highly recommend/advise getting an adult dog who has been around young children and has developed his/her personality, and is over those hyper/nippy puppy stages. Best wishes with whatever you decide to do. Looks like you have received some good advice on finding a reputable breeder.

[Corinna]

I don"t have advice but to say please check on other dogs the breeder has sold . Ask for a referal list from them and call the folks and talk to them. I did that when I looked for Merlin While it helps it doen't nessacarly cover every thing Merlin was the first of the pups my breeder has raised that got cancer. 6 litters and he was the first. He was 7yrs old most of his litter are still alive and going strong only one other dead hit by a car .breeder really misjudged that owner when they came to purchase the dog.
Another good source is your local feed store ask them about folks who buy from them . Thats how I found my breeder she did more than I had on my list of what they do to raise pups.

[Cataholic]

First- I say to the Kay's of the world- Don't EVER give up fighting the good fight. Rescue. Rescue. Rescue. I applaud you sticking your neck out, and for every dog that I know gets euthanized, surely your attitude help keeps another one alive. One day, the world will change, at least I pray that it does.

The difference between the term BYB and "reputable breeder" is nearly non-existant, IMO.

As for a two year old, an apartment, and a cat- looking to add a puppy? WOW. With an 17 month old (well, I am rushing it by ten days), 6 cats and a small house- I am at my limit- time wise, space wise, energy wise. Sure, you might be 100% the person I am, I accept that, but, I don't think so. A puppy? With a 2 year old? In an apartment? Something is going to give. Not immediately, perhaps, but, in short time. I pray that your breeder born pup doesn't become one of the voiceless ones Kay works so hard to avoid.

Sure, you didn't ask my opinion. I don't care. I don't speak for you. I speak on behalf of the animals that are being killed daily. Intentional breeding is irresponsible breeding. Until the day we stop killing the innocent animals- that is my position. If you don't like it? That is okay. That means I still have my work cut out for me.

Johanna

[lv4dogs]

I agree with some of the advice you have been given. Sarah & Vela have some excellent posts out there for you as do some others.

I understand why you want a dog from a reputable breeder with a young child in the house and I am glad that you are going about it the right way. Just be aware that a young puppy has a lot of energy & has no basic manner yet. Excpect the puppy to teeth even on humans, chew up your daughters toys, is not potty trained yet and did I mention he/she will have lot of energy. lol
Even though I personally would never get a dog from a breeder no matter what unless I am planning on showing him/her I still will stand by your side. IT is your decision & you are doing it the right way at least.

Just be aware that if a shelter won't allow you to get you are more than likely to run into the same problems with a reputable breeder (everything except the child part anyways).

Expect to wait at least about 6 months if you go with a reputable breeder, sometimes up to a few years. Decent breeders have waiting lists, especially for puppies that are going to companion homes. You may find an older dog that they have available right away or one that they want to be shown in an event but usually not a companion puppy.
You should expect to pay no less than about $600ish but of course the price can go up thats for sure.

Be sure to look well into the future. This dog will be your child for 12+ years. Will you be able to find other apartments that allow large dogs?
You said Dh doesn't want a long haired breed & has no answer, please ask him again why. Because if it is a hair issue.... well some labs can be very heavy shedders.

A true reputable breeder usually *but not always* concentrates on one breed. If you come across a breeder that breeds more than one breed please be extra cautious with them.

You say that:

The only time I have seen a dog knock a child down is if they arent trained or exercised enough.

That is so not true, well maybe when you are talking about an adult dog that is trained but when dealing with a puppy its a whole nother story. They are young & simply not cordinated enough or sometimes gets a little too excited. Expect this to happen often during the first year especially.

A lot of rescue organizations especailly ones where the dogs are in foster homes know a lot about the dog. They know if they are good with children, what behavioral issues they may have, grooming issues, etc... etc.... You will have much more luck dealing with them than with shelters.

[Muddy4paws]

Everyone is too quick to judge, its getting "cold" on here now.

I brought my lab from a breeder, like karen and others have said make sure you see the parents and make sure the breeder is respectable as long as you are prepaired to do your research everything should be ok

The fact of the matter is that you have a child and you need to think whats best to fit around your family so dont feel too guilty about what others are saying, I know there are millions of animals out there looking for homes but adopting an dog its not always suited to everyone.


I'll look forward to seeing photos!