How to find a good Labrador breeder?

[Watrdawg]

I just skimmed through this thread and there is a ton of great advice. There are also a lot of great Trainers in VA and NC that are close by. Look at Black River Retrievers in Angier NC. Allen, and right now I'm having a brain cramp and can't remember his last name, has trained multiple NFC's and NARC's. If you can get in touch with him he will point you in the right direction for a great pup. They will be expensive though. Also look at Dave Wilson at Gold Leaf Retrievers. Dave works trains and runs dogs in both Hunt Test and Field Trials. Dave is a great guy and will also point you in the right direction. I got my pups from John Weller. He is out of New Bern NC. John is a great guy and also a great source. I had John train all of my dogs. I got my first one from him back in 2003. My last one just passed this last Thanksgiving. All of my dogs were Master Hunters and Qualified All Age dogs. Great family dogs and they all loved to hunt!. We ran Hunt Test and Trials in the off season and hunted all during the season. I also upland hunted my dogs.

Whatever you do stay away from boutique breeders especially those advertising Silver Labs. I've seen 5-6 of them running Hunt Tests and that was the most difficult thing to watch I've ever seen. There are only 3 colors of labs. Black, Chocolate and Yellow. There will be variations of yellow out there, ie fox red all the way to white. If a Breeder is breeding for a specific color variation be wary. Doesn't mean they will be bad dogs but just be wary. Research pedigree's and look for all of the health clearances! Especially hips and elbows.

When you pick a pup definitely get into a training program for what you want to do. This pups are typically really smart and learn quickly.

 

[KurtR]

I just skimmed through this thread and there is a ton of great advice. There are also a lot of great Trainers in VA and NC that are close by. Look at Black River Retrievers in Angier NC. Allen, and right now I'm having a brain cramp and can't remember his last name, has trained multiple NFC's and NARC's. If you can get in touch with him he will point you in the right direction for a great pup. They will be expensive though. Also look at Dave Wilson at Gold Leaf Retrievers. Dave works trains and runs dogs in both Hunt Test and Field Trials. Dave is a great guy and will also point you in the right direction. I got my pups from John Weller. He is out of New Bern NC. John is a great guy and also a great source. I had John train all of my dogs. I got my first one from him back in 2003. My last one just passed this last Thanksgiving. All of my dogs were Master Hunters and Qualified All Age dogs. Great family dogs and they all loved to hunt!. We ran Hunt Test and Trials in the off season and hunted all during the season. I also upland hunted my dogs.

Whatever you do stay away from boutique breeders especially those advertising Silver Labs. I've seen 5-6 of them running Hunt Tests and that was the most difficult thing to watch I've ever seen. There are only 3 colors of labs. Black, Chocolate and Yellow. There will be variations of yellow out there, ie fox red all the way to white. If a Breeder is breeding for a specific color variation be wary. Doesn't mean they will be bad dogs but just be wary. Research pedigree's and look for all of the health clearances! Especially hips and elbows.

When you pick a pup definitely get into a training program for what you want to do. This pups are typically really smart and learn quickly.

Allen Pleasant they run a great crew of dogs

 

[Watrdawg]

Allen Pleasant they run a great crew of dogs

Thats it. I had a pup with Allen for almost year. His assistant ran him in the Derbies. We did fairly well and then ran the Qualifiers. That was as far as we got though Made QAA and rant to trials and that was it. He didn't have what it took to make FC or AFC so we ran Hunt tests after that. If I were to get another dog I'd call Dave Wilson and have him train the dog. Dave does a great job and is only about 30 minutes from the house.

 

[KurtR]

Thats it. I had a pup with Allen for almost year. His assistant ran him in the Derbies. We did fairly well and then ran the Qualifiers. That was as far as we got though Made QAA and rant to trials and that was it. He didn't have what it took to make FC or AFC so we ran Hunt tests after that. If I were to get another dog I'd call Dave Wilson and have him train the dog. Dave does a great job and is only about 30 minutes from the house.

QAA dog is still a hell of a dog better than 99% out there. I’m going to try and run a few this year probably go get our teeth kicked in but gotta try and go run with the big dogs. We are going to run the grand this fall in Nashville. Having guys like that around you is such a great resource I’m out here training by myself and asking questions to pros over the phone and watching videos to try and figure out and fix issues I’m sure I have created not knowing what I’m doing.

 

[ResearchinStuff]

try and figure out and fix issues I’m sure I have created not knowing what I’m doing.

Man that's dog training in a nutshell for sure. Just spent an hour telling my wife how my main goal with this dog is to be a better trainer than I was with the last one.

 

[Ridgerunner1]

Cougar, my wife’s uncle raises and sells them, he has built an extremely great name himself in the lab business. He’s a retired k9 officer, and probably the most reputable breeeder I know of . if you would like some info on him just let me no he’s in Virginia .

 

[ResearchinStuff]

Pickup day

 

[MountainTracker]

Pickup day
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I better not show my daughter she’s been begging for another lab.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Billinsd]

Fc/Afc are the pinnacle of the retriever games but how many people have stood beside one of those dogs? I would say the average person would have a tough time handling one of those dogs with out a pros help or prior knowledge of dealing with a high drive retriever. Most of the guys would have a hand full with a hrch/master dog.

I've gone beyond that with my field trial GSPs. They give new meaning to high bird drive, and being a challenge to handle. When and if I get another Lab it would be a master dog, with great blood lines on both sides having master hunter, especially both Mother and Father. Labs have the very best personality a hunting dog can get in my opinion. I would spend about $7,000 or so for a trained one about 3 years old. I just don't duck or goose hunt much and I vasty prefer the range and insane drive my shorthairs have. And they will dive into the tules after pheasants, even after their eyes and noses are a bloody mess!! Bill

 

[KurtR]

I've gone beyond that with my field trial GSPs. They give new meaning to high bird drive, and being a challenge to handle. When and if I get another Lab it would be a master dog, with great blood lines on both sides having master hunter, especially both Mother and Father. Labs have the very best personality a hunting dog can get in my opinion. I would spend about $7,000 or so for a trained one about 3 years old. I just don't duck or goose hunt much and I vasty prefer the range and insane drive my shorthairs have. And they will dive into the tules after pheasants, even after their eyes and noses are a bloody mess!! Bill

Your not going to find a 3 year old master dog for 7000 a started dog is going for 5 right now. Have to double your budget . Not that I would ever sell him but my 5 year old hrch/mh is worth 15k with how prices are now.

 

[Billinsd]

Your not going to find a 3 year old master dog for 7000 a started dog is going for 5 right now. Have to double your budget . Not that I would ever sell him but my 5 year old hrch/mh is worth 15k with how prices are now.

Correction, I was talking about a dog with a couple Master passes, not a "Master dog", and the Mother just had a senior title. And it was $7,500 K firm. The trainer said the owner had about $25k in training into the dog, just nuts!!! However, the owner had to sell the dog because the owner had health issues. The dog took a couple months to sell!! This was back in October. The dog's name was Nacho and $7,500 was a screaming deal. I asked Evan what he thought and he recommended that I get a dog with at least a Master title and that both parents are Master Hunters, but that would have cost a hell of a lot more of course. Yes, $10k for Master titled dog!!
Bill

 

[ResearchinStuff]

Nacho is a good name, might have to steal that for the que. My last 3 have been Neo, Largo, and now Mako, 2 syllables ending in O is the rule.

 

[Billinsd]

Nacho is a good name, might have to steal that for the que. My last 3 have been Neo, Largo, and now Mako, 2 syllables ending in O is the rule.

Yep, he was a gorgeous Yellow Lab!!!

 

[KurtR]

Correction, I was talking about a dog with a couple Master passes, not a "Master dog", and the Mother just had a senior title. And it was $7,500 K firm. The trainer said the owner had about $25k in training into the dog, just nuts!!! However, the owner had to sell the dog because the owner had health issues. The dog took a couple months to sell!! This was back in October. The dog's name was Nacho and $7,500 was a screaming deal. I asked Evan what he thought and he recommended that I get a dog with at least a Master title and that both parents are Master Hunters, but that would have cost a hell of a lot more of course. Yes, $10k for Master titled dog!!
Bill

Ya that makes way more sense . That is a good deal. You figure 900 a month at the trainer for 6 months a year . 3 year old average to get a mh and then costs of test it can add up fast. Don’t know how true but a guy told me to get a fc you will have 40k into it if you have a pro do it.