Seeking reputable Labrador Retriever breeder

Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:We used Deep Run Retrievers in Virginia. I'd be more willing to try a rescue next time but for our first dog, I wanted a puppy that we could train. Our English Lab from Deep Run is a great family dog and we have not had any health issues.

http://www.deeprunretrievers.com/


Just went to their website. What absolutely beautiful labs! Lots of letters from happy families, too! Do you happen to know what they might charge for one of the trained dogs? Thanks!


Want to add that I'm referring to the obedience trained dogs, not field trained. Thanks!


I'm OP, not PP but would be interested in that information as a ballpark reference.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:We used Deep Run Retrievers in Virginia. I'd be more willing to try a rescue next time but for our first dog, I wanted a puppy that we could train. Our English Lab from Deep Run is a great family dog and we have not had any health issues.

http://www.deeprunretrievers.com/


Just went to their website. What absolutely beautiful labs! Lots of letters from happy families, too! Do you happen to know what they might charge for one of the trained dogs? Thanks!


Want to add that I'm referring to the obedience trained dogs, not field trained. Thanks!


I'm OP, not PP but would be interested in that information as a ballpark reference.


I'm the PP who asked. A friend of mine in NC paid $1200 for beautiful, well-trained black lab puppy.
Anonymous
I never heard of Deep Run but their website is honest-the sires are separated into English and American Field. The English one Sam looks great. Do pedigree searches on them and look for Dickendall, Sandylands, Rambo,Casbar in their lines.

American field labs are generally more active. Stay away from any breeder with silver-these are mixed with weimaramers. http://www.blueknightlabs.com/content/view/70/109/

Only go with a breeder that expects neutering and proof of neutering as demanded. Unless you plan to show in conjunction with the breeder. Having gotten labs from breeders the great Lab people are extremely concerned about the doodle industry-so the wonderful Labs [like mine] are not going from great breeders into doodle factories.

Dog behavior and temperment is genetic. Seeing Eye and Canine Warrior Connection breed their own dogs. The latter might use some from other breeders after analyzing all dogs in the pedigree 10 generations back!
Anonymous
I cannot remember what Deep Run charges to obedience train dogs. We were going to have them train our puppy but I read The Art of Raising a Puppy by the Monks of New Skeet and was able to do it myself.

Deep Run dogs are not cheap but we did a lot of research and they were the best breeders that I could find.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:I cannot remember what Deep Run charges to obedience train dogs. We were going to have them train our puppy but I read The Art of Raising a Puppy by the Monks of New Skeet and was able to do it myself.

Deep Run dogs are not cheap but we did a lot of research and they were the best breeders that I could find.


I'm the PP who asked after going to their site. I really appreciate your link and feel sure you have a wonderful lab--they're such great dogs!
Anonymous
Why do all of you pay so much for a purebred when you can get an amazing dog through a rescue? You'd be saving a life and getting a great dog. I think it's so sad so many people go to breeders.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Why do all of you pay so much for a purebred when you can get an amazing dog through a rescue? You'd be saving a life and getting a great dog. I think it's so sad so many people go to breeders.


That's okay. Some people see value in breeding, others don't. There are plenty of dog owners in this country.
Anonymous
Hooray for rescuers.

I love my rescued chocolate lab.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:We used Deep Run Retrievers in Virginia. I'd be more willing to try a rescue next time but for our first dog, I wanted a puppy that we could train. Our English Lab from Deep Run is a great family dog and we have not had any health issues.

http://www.deeprunretrievers.com/


X2 - have a chocolate from deep run. Love him like crazy. So smart and was already crate trained at 10 months. Wouldn't hesitate to go back for more. Lovely people.


Crate trained by 10 months? Are dogs crate trained much earlier? 10 weeks?
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Why do all of you pay so much for a purebred when you can get an amazing dog through a rescue? You'd be saving a life and getting a great dog. I think it's so sad so many people go to breeders.


That's okay. Some people see value in breeding, others don't. There are plenty of dog owners in this country.


I greatly admire people who adopt rescues. However, as first time dog owners with two young kids, we wanted to know what we were getting. With a rescue dog, you can never be sure.

I know someone whose adorable, small, cute puppy ended up being part rottweiler (after being told he was something else by the rescue organization). He's a sweet dog and they love him, but owning a rottweiler mix would make me nervous. Certain places won't take him for boarding and many people are scared of him.

I know someone with a rescue dog who has horrible anxiety problems. It was really sad and she ended up putting him on an equivalent of Prozac, which helped, but did not cure the issues. It seemed he had been abused in the past or held on to a fear of abandonment. This dog has been extremely high maintenance and is lucky to have an owner who has the time and patience to properly care for him.

My sister has had a rescue dog who has constant diarrhea since they adopted him four years ago. They have spent thousands on vet bills, tried every drug, food (gluten-free, etc) and other remedy possible and she's still cleaning up at least a couple times a day inside their house, not to mention, the diarrhea is impossible to entirely clean all the times he goes outside. He can't make it more than a few steps from the door, so she's constantly scrubbing her driveway and her kids are always stepping in it. They're in a horrible position right now- they don't want to send him back to the rescue org b/c they feel bad for the dog and their kids love him. However, my sister feels like the dog is ruining her life.

These are all extreme examples. Most rescue dogs end up being great pets. And you can have health or behavior issues with purebreds. We all know that many purebreds have particular health problems. However, with a purebred, you go in with a lot more information, which make the odds better that the dog, especially if it's a puppy, will be a good fit for your family.

Our puppy came crate-trained from the breeder at 12 weeks. He was also well on his way to being housebroken. Perhaps we'll look into a rescue dog one day, but with two children, a busy life and a tiny backyard, I needed a certain type of dog to make dog ownership work for our family. We selected the breed based on characteristics we wanted in a dog and he conforms perfectly to what we were expecting.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Why do all of you pay so much for a purebred when you can get an amazing dog through a rescue? You'd be saving a life and getting a great dog. I think it's so sad so many people go to breeders.


+1 to everything 11:15 said. I've been to websites for shelters and even for breed-specific rescue organizations and it's amazing how many times they pass a dog off as X when it's clearly X plus a little bit of Y (pit bull, Rottweiler, whatever) mixed in. That works for some people. That doesn't work for other people. We have friends with amazing rescue dogs, and friends with rescue dogs who are still cowering and terrified even after years in their new home.

For some people, knowing that you are working with a reputable breeder (NOT a backyard breeder or puppy mill) means knowing you are getting a dog with multiple health certifications, that has likely been raised around humans and you have a pretty good amount of knowledge about its background and probably temperament.

No doubt there are lots of wonderful dogs in rescue, and we are exploring that option, but I also know pretty specifically what we want and don't want, which means we can't rule out working with a breeder.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:We used Deep Run Retrievers in Virginia. I'd be more willing to try a rescue next time but for our first dog, I wanted a puppy that we could train. Our English Lab from Deep Run is a great family dog and we have not had any health issues.

http://www.deeprunretrievers.com/


X2 - have a chocolate from deep run. Love him like crazy. So smart and was already crate trained at 10 months. Wouldn't hesitate to go back for more. Lovely people.


Crate trained by 10 months? Are dogs crate trained much earlier? 10 weeks?


Yeah / my bad. I meant 10 weeks. Absolutely loved his crate. No whining or crying. And no accidents in the house ever!! It had been a long time since I crate/house trained a puppy and it was virtually done for me. And the pp who recommended the monks of new skeet book, I love their philosophy too!!
Anonymous
1.2 million dogs were euthanized last year in the United States.

The notion that there are plenty of other dog owners out there to deal with the problem is wrong.

And a big problem are breeders. Maybe not the breeders YOU'RE doing business with, but the industry as a whole.

If you do your research, you can easily find a rescue dog that will meet your needs. In the process, you'll be teaching your children a great lesson about compassion and flexibility.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:1.2 million dogs were euthanized last year in the United States.

The notion that there are plenty of other dog owners out there to deal with the problem is wrong.

And a big problem are breeders. Maybe not the breeders YOU'RE doing business with, but the industry as a whole.

If you do your research, you can easily find a rescue dog that will meet your needs. In the process, you'll be teaching your children a great lesson about compassion and flexibility.


Thank you. We will take that into account as we make the decision that is best for our family.
Anonymous
Man, I automatically think so much less of people when I find out they bought a dog from a breeder.
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