In the North East section of the US, well bred Labrador Puppies from Health Tested Parents can range in cost anywhere from $3,000 to $4,500.

When one refers to Health Testing in Labradors there is a plethora of testing that should be done on every Labrador that is used in a breeding program.

These tests include but are not limited to the the following:

• OFA HIP and ELBOW Clearances

• Yearly Eye Exams on all Breeding dogs.

• Progressive Retinal Atrophy

• Heart Clearances by Color Doppler by a Certified Veterinary Cardiologist.

• EIC (Excercised Induced Collapse)

• HNPK (Hereditary Nasal Parakeratosis)

Not only are the parents of our litters health tested, but their parents, grand parents, and great grand parents have also passed all of their health clearances as well.

Good puppies begin well before the parents are ever bred. Keep in mind that to raise a good, well bred puppy (that is worthy of breeding) to adulthood, takes time and money. The cost of the health testing that responsible breeders adhere to easily runs well into thousands of dollars.

When looking at purchasing a well bred puppy, one must consider not only the cost of the puppy, you must also consider the breeders years of experience as well as the cost and time that the breeder has devoted to producing that special litter of puppies.

After 35 years of actively showing and breeding, we are easily into our 10th generation of well bred. beautiful, healthy Labrador Retrievers with temperaments that are easy to live with. That is a lifetime of dedication to the breed.

Sometimes a retired show dog, or young adult may be a better option for some people. An older dog does not require as much time as a young puppy. They will normally have all of their health testing done, so there are no surprises. You will already be able to know what the looks and temperament of the dog will be. They have already had all of those puppy vaccines finished, are most likely crate trained and sociable with other dogs.

We always keep puppies from each litter we breed. Sometimes the show potential that we saw at 8 weeks, is not what we are looking for at 12 months. There are many reasons a breeder will place one of their older pups or dogs, but do not expect a discount price for one of these dogs. By the time these dogs are offered to a pet family, they have already had most if not all of their health clearances done. Including hips and elbow x rays.

This is very often a difficult task for the average person that is just looking for a well bred family pet. Most reputable hobby breeders are involved with some sort of AKC activities with their dogs. Some show their dogs at AKC conformation shows, some in obedience trails, and others in Hunt Tests. (Very often the backyard breeders only incentive to breed a litter is to try to make a profit. They put nothing back into the breed., and care very little about health testing the parents, grandparents and great grandparents}

Serious breeders are always looking to improve on each generation they breed. Good breeding stock is built upon MANY generations of careful breeding. Good breeders choose sires and dams after careful inspection of pedigrees, health tests, overall conformation and temperament of the dogs being bred.

I often hear people say *But I am not looking for a show dog, I just want a pet* Keep in mind, that for every litter bred, the goal is for the breeder to keep a puppy or two for themselves to move on with to the next generation. The remainder of the litter are placed with families looking for a wonderful, handsome, healthy, well bred pet that will be a cherished member of their family for many years to come. Choose wisely.

Even though you do not want a show dog, you reap the benefits of all of the time, money and knowledge that has gone into breeding that special litter of puppies. I always tell people to choose a breeder that they feel comfortable with and work with them. You may have to wait weeks or months for that special puppy to become available.

BEWARE of the breeders advertising rare Silver Labradors. AKC Labradors come in just three colors:

• BLACK (a small white spot on the chest is permissible)

• YELLOW (color can range from a light cream to a fox red)

• CHOCOLATE (can range in color from a light chocolate to a very dark shade of chocolate with a small white spot being permissible)

THESE are the only three colors acceptable in the Labrador.

Additionally, the following link (from The Labrador Retrevier Club of America) also looks into the dilemma

of the the Silver issue as well as the issues having to do with labradoodles.

We sincerely hope that you will gain additional knowledge into the Labrador Retriever from this atricle.