This page has been set up to help answer those frequently asked questions to save you the time of having to ask them.  If you need more info email us!

Frequently Asked Questions

• How much do your puppies/dogs cost?  The price of our pups depend on the litter and parents, as well as time of year they are ready to go home. Starting at $2500.  Our adult dogs range from $3500-$5000 depending on age, training and why we are selling them. 
• At what age do the puppies go home? Our pups go home usually the first weekend that is closest to them turning  8 weeks old.
• What do we have to do to get on a list to get a puppy?  First of all you need to either email us or call us to talk to us about what you are looking for.  After that we take deposits on a first come first serve basis.
• How much is your deposit and when is the balance of the pups due?    The deposit is $500 before the pups are born.  After the litter is born and we know if there is a pup available to you, another $500 is due by the time the pups are 4 weeks old.  Both of these are non refundable as we are holding a puppy for you and turning away other potential homes.  The balance of the pups are due by check 2 weeks before they go home or paid in cash at pick up.
• Can we come and visit before the puppies are born?  We welcome you to come and visit with us and the moms and to see the place BY APPOINTMENT ONLY.  The pups are raised in our home and we need to set up a time so that we are here and free to talk to you and show you the dogs.  *DUE TO COVID EMAIL FOR CURRENT RESTRICTIONS*
• How often do you breed the moms? Generally our moms are bred every other heat cycle which is usually about 12-16 months between litters.  On occasion we will breed them more frequently with the advice of our vet (she had a small litter or has a weird heat cycle and its better for her to do another breeding right away).
• At what age do you breed the moms?  We don't breed any of our females until they are 2 years old and have all of their required health clearances.  We don't think that the moms are physically or mentally prepared before this time for the work of pregnancy, whelping and nursing a litter.
• How many litters do you have each year?  We generally have about 4-6 litters each year.  We try to have pups in all three colors (chocolate, black and yellow (in shades from light cream to dark fox red)).
• Where are the puppies born and raised?  All of our pups are born and raised in our home, around kids, cats and other dogs.  We don't believe that raising them in a kennel, barn or garage gives them the needed attention and exposure to household noises and smells that being raised in the house does.
• Do you do c-sections and if so why? We do c-sections for our females only if necessary to ensure safe delivery of all of the pups.  
• Why do the pups all get called by color names? We put colored collars on all of our pups in birth order so that we can keep track of them from birth on.  This helps us to keep track of anything we need to and to get to know the pups as they develop.  We use those collar colors as a description on the puppy pages and in the photos.  They are always done in the same order so you can tell what number pup born yours was (Red, Orange, Yellow, Lime/Green, Blue, Pink/Purple, White, No collar, Solid Red, Solid Yellow)  If the litter is small we will use only lime or green not both.  In big litters we have solid red/yellow or red/yellow with white)
• When can we come and visit with the pups?  Because the pups immune systems are still developing we allow visitors at any time by appointment but you are not allowed to touch any of the pups or moms with the pups (we will let the moms out to meet you and then you can pet them) until the pups are in their safe period which we know based on the nomograph we run on mom when pups are 2 weeks old.  Again make sure that you make an appointment to come and visit.
• Are mom and dad on site and can we see them?  The moms are almost always on site from the time the pups are born till they are weaned.  Some of our moms are co-owned and live elsewhere up to a week before the pups are born and as soon as the pups are weaned and we do have one co-owner who whelps pups at their house.  So if you are looking to visit with a certain mom that is co-owned, ask us before hand to make sure she is here or still here if its before or after her pups are born.  The dads are sometimes on site but because we like to use the best males that match our females to ensure a well bred puppy we often use males that don't live here.  We can often put you in contact with the owner/co-owner of the male so you can talk to them and if possible we can maybe arrange for the local males to be here when you visit.  Again you'd have to ask about this up front.
• What health clearances do you do? All of our breeding dogs have OFA Hips, Elbows, Cardiac checks done on them.  We also EIC, PRA and CNM test the dogs as well as doing an eye check every year.
• Do you provide a health guarantee?  For what?  We do provide a health guarantee for 26 months for hip issues.  The exact details are listed on the contract page of our website.  The health guarantee is for hips but the pups have already had an eye check before they went home as well as a visit with the vet to ensure they are healthy to leave here.
• What is a co-ownership and how does it work? The co-ownership is a program we've started to allow us to retain breeding rights to the pick females from certain litters while still allowing them to be family pets.  You let us know that you'd like to co-own and we tell you what litters and color pups are available.  You tell us what you are looking for and we'll tell you which pups would match up with your family.  You take the puppy home at 8 weeks and raise as yours, we are allowed to take to local dog shows after 6 months of age.  We do all health clearances on pup  (we'll do some at a year and the rest at 2).  You will let us know when the pup comes into heat and after they turn 2 we will have them come back here to have a litter of pups.  Then they go back to you for a year and come back here to have the last litter of pups.  After that they go and live with you for the rest of their lives as a spayed pet.  The pros of this:  you get a VERY nice puppy at a huge discount, your pup gets all of its health clearances done for free and you have the option of getting a puppy from your dog if you choose to.  The cons of this:  you have to be away from your dog during the time they are here to have pups.  (However we have had people take vacations during that time or take another dog home while there dog was here.  We are pretty flexible)
• What all comes with the puppy? Your puppy comes with AKC Limited registration papers (just means you agree to not breed them), we do NOT REMOVE dew claws,  are dewormed as needed, vaccinated as needed, are microchipped, and have a health exam by a vet before leaving.
• When will we know which puppy is ours?  We temperament test the pups and match them up to you based on a questionnaire that you fill out.  Because the pups are still developing up to about 7 weeks of age we won’t do this until at or after 7 weeks of age.  So no one will know which exact puppy they are getting until after that time frame.  We do our best to let you know as soon as we do!
• What else do we need to bring at pick up?  If you haven't paid for your puppy already by check 2 weeks before hand you need to bring cash for the balance of the pup.  You will also need to bring a check or cash for sales tax on the pup (5.5%).  Starting now and moving forward, all of our pups will be enrolled in the AKC Puppy Protection Package.  This is a great program where you the buyer gets a $217 value for only $50.  So you need to add that onto the price of your puppy at pickup.  This program includes AKC registration, microchip registration, and much more.  Click here for more info on whats included.  
• We can't come and get the puppy right at 8 weeks, can you keep it longer?  We can keep the puppy longer but we do charge $10 per day after they are 8 weeks old for our time with training, socialization and care while the pup is here.  If the pup would need another vaccination before you can come get it, that charge is $15 per vaccination.  If it will be a longer time with us we also have training programs available at select times of the year, but this must be arranged before hand.
• Are your labs English or American?  Our dogs are all show bred (English style labs) however we believe that labs should be able to many things (family pets, hunting dogs, obedience dogs, therapy dogs, service dogs, show dogs, ect) so many of our lines have show bred dogs with hunting titles.
• Can we have our puppy shipped to us and what is involved?  No, Unfortunately due to the new APHIS/USDA legislation that passed we are no longer allowed to ship puppies.  However, you are welcome to come here and meet your new puppy and fly it home with you on the airplane.  We can even meet you at the airport with the pup!  If you chose to do this we will prepare the pup for flying by letting them play in the crates so they learn they aren’t scary but safe and fun.  We require the full price of pup and any additional flying costs for pups paid by 6 weeks of age.  Once the pup is paid for we make an appointment at the vet for the airline certificate.  We recommend that you bring a little toy and some paper towels or baby wipes (incase the puppy has an accident on the plane).  Then the fun begins and you have your new puppy!  HURRAY!
• If there is anything we didn’t answer here feel free to email us!

This page was developed to help you out in searching for your puppy, whether that puppy is from us or another breeder.  Some of the most important things about your puppy is its pedigree and health clearances.  While many people can sell you “Champion Bloodlines” what does it all mean and why is it important to you.  Here is our explanation:
Am Ch: American Champion, a title awarded through AKC for the dog competing for points awarded at dog shows.  The dog must receive 15 pts and at least 6 of the 15 have to be majors (where you beat a certain number of dogs, male or female).  In our area to get 3 points means beating 13 or more dogs or 19 or more females.  The most points you can get is 5pts in one show.  You also only get points if you are the best female or male in the classes.  So only one male and one female get points per show.  So even if you are reserve and have beat 40 dogs to get the reserve award, you didn’t be the Winners and get no points.  This is a difficult title to receive.

Can Ch: Canadian Champion, a title awarded through the CKC (Canadian not continental) for the dog competing for points awarded.  This is very similar to an AKC title but usually doesn’t require quite so many dogs.

U Ch:  United Champion, a title awarded through the UKC for the dog competing for points awarded.  This is similar to both above shows, but requires only one dog of each sex for competition.  Once a dog gains this title it can then compete for the GRCH which is alot more difficult to get and more dogs are needed to beat

There are also likely some UK CH and SUCH, FINCH, ect on the pedigree of your dog.  These are titles from different countries and similar to our title.  However the difference in many of those countries is that they need to show some working ability or pass a working test (retrieving birds) to be able to show that title. 

All of the above titles are for conformation.  This shows that the dogs structure adheres to the standard (the written description of what a labs should look like, how they should move and that they are the correct coloring, basically its what makes a lab a lab and not a golden).

The following titles are working titles, in different venues:

WC-Working Certificate, awarded by a club and not a registry for a dog that completes the task of retrieving a duck on land and water, 2 times.  This is to test for working ability of the dog.

WCX or AWC-The advanced working certificate, the dog must do a double retrieve or its a much more difficult back to back retrieve.  The dog is expected to not break the line and must have better training and manners.

JH, SH, MH- Junior,  Senior and Master Hunter- These are the 3 hunt test titles awarded through AKC and in different levels.  Each one is building on the first and becomes much more difficult.  The master title is the most difficult and highest level hunt test given by AKC.  I’ve heard quotes of what percentage of labs get these titles but can’t find any statistics to back that up.  But its not alot.  An even rarer occurrence is a Champion/Master Hunter.  There are only 43 labs in the history of the breed (from all the way back till now) that have that title.

FC, AFC-Field Champion or Amateur Field Champion, these are field trial titles that are awarded by the AKC.  They are much different from the hunt tests and everyone has their opinions on them.  We feel that they are phenomenal and love to watch the field dogs compete in these.  The drive and focus as well as training that goes into one of these titles is awesome to watch.  In the same sense we don’t compete in this because we don’t feel its realistic to us, our dogs or what we want out of them.  We feel that the field titles have become more of a competition among the dogs than a test of the hunting ability of the dog.  Having raised and bred field dogs before we were introduced to our first show dog, we thought the energy level and desire to retrieve was normal for a lab.  Since then we have learned that a well bred show dog with working ability is much more suited to what we personally want to have and produce.  We love a dog that will live in the house and be a great family companion, but will also enjoy to hunt with us.  Our field dogs HAD to hunt and retrieve or they had too much pent up energy.  Its just what we want, and we realize and respect that many out there are looking for a more athletic, energetic, high driven dog and that’s what a great field dog is.

CD, CDX -Companion Dog, Companion Dog Excellent.  These are obedience titles.  There is a set of exercises that you need to go through with your dog and get scored on.  There are more titles beyond that with the ultimate title being a OTCH, which is an Obedience Trial Champion.  This is great accomplishment. (Titles in order of difficulty, least to greatest: CD, CDX, UD, UDX, NOC, OTCH)

Rally-There a quite a few different rally titles.  Rally is a fun new sport that many describe as a blend of obedience and agility.  Its a bit more laid back the the obedience and alot more fun for both owner and dog.  Titles, in order of difficulty, least to greatest: RN, RA, RE, RAE.

Agility-There are also alot of agility titles.  Agility is the sport where the trainer takes the dog through an obstacle course in a certain pattern.  The dog must follow the owners cues and try to do it as fast as it can without mistakes.  The agility titles that can be earned are: NA, OA, AX, MX, NAJ, OAJ, AXJ, MXJ, NAP, OAP, NJP, OJP, MXP, MJP, and then the MACH (which is VERY difficult and takes LOTS of time and is a Master Agility Champion!!)

A few others: 
VCD1       Versatile Companion Dog 1 (CD+TD+NA+NAJ)
VCD2       Versatile Companion Dog 2 (CDX+TD+OA+OAJ)
VCD3       Versatile Companion Dog 3 (UD+TDX+AX+AXJ)
VCD4       Versatile Companion Dog 4 (UDX+VST+MX+MXJ)
TD            Tracking Dog
TDX          Tracking Dog Excellent
CGC         Canine Good Citizen-passes a required list of things.
TDI           Therapy Dog International-similar to CGC but for certified  
                 Therapy dogs 

What does all this mean to you:  Well the show titles show that the parents of your puppies, or grandparents are what a lab is suppose to be.  They have the structure that a lab should have and also conform to the standard of what a lab should be like.  The working titles in the field show what your pups ancestors could do.  Its a way to prove what the dogs ability is without you having to see the dog work.  The obedience, rally agility, tracking and other titles show the trainability of the dogs in your pups pedigree and that they were smart and trainable. 

These titles should be very close up in the pedigree.  Many people will try to sell a champion pedigree but that usually means one who has a champion or two in the way back of the pedigree.  Your pups parents and for sure grandparents should have some titles or be working on them.

Besides titles, the other VERY important thing is health clearances.  At the very least your puppy’s parents should have OFA (The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals) Hip and Elbow x-rays and a CERF (Canine Eye Registry Foundation).  This should also be double checked on the web sites (links posted above).  You can use the dogs name or registration number to look them up.  Always ask the breeder if you don’t find it and give them a chance.  As bad as it seems some breeders have forged some of these clearances.  A few other clearances that are good, are Cardiac (for TVD), Optigen (PRA), EIC and CNM.

Feel free to call me or Email me if you have any questions or concerns or just need help sorting through all the information.  Thanks and good luck in your search for you Labrador puppy!