Puppy Facts
Deposit: Your deposit holds your pick and is non-refundable unless a puppy of that sex or color is not born. Deposits may be moved to a future litter once and the puppy must be chosen within 2 yrs. A deposit holds your place but does not bind me to sell a puppy to any person I feel may not be a good fit and be in the pup's best interest, when the placement can't take place at 7-8 weeks, or when communication between buyer and breeder is poor. All placements must meet with my final approval. The AKC papers return to me if there is any stop payment, insufficient funds, or dispute.
Puppy Pick-up: Some breeders pick and place the pups the way they feel will best suit the buyers; others ask buyers to pick the pups out at 4 weeks, or from pictures. I prefer the buyer have input into picking his pup and be able to pick them out before they go home at 7-8 weeks when their personalities are more developed. Since most hunters want their pups at 7 weeks, every effort must be made for everyone to reserve the weekend around 7 weeks as a pick-up date to be fair for all involved. If the puppy is born midweek the pick-up will be the following weekend. I choose weekends so you have extra time settling in your pup. Think of this as an adoption so please do not send a deposit if you have plans or don't make other plans on the pick-up date. The puppy should be your priority. If you are unable to come at that time, a puppy will be picked for you for your purposes, or your deposit may be returned at the discretion of the breeder. If it is possible you may be able to come earlier and pick out the puppy if you are unable to pick the puppy on the 7 week date, or indicate one of several pups if you have a later pick. I am available on the 7 weeks pick-up date, but if you are unable to come, you must arrange to come at a time that fits into my schedule as I run trials and have other obligations on weekends. If there is a true family emergency, call me immediately to arrange an alternate time. I arrange appointments about 1 hour apart Shipping: Most puppies ship very well, especially females, but it is extremely stressful for others. I may be able to recommend a breeder closer to you so you can drive and pick up your pup. I encourage you to find a puppy within driving distance of your home. For this reason, I may ship a puppy later than 8 weeks or I may decide not to ship the puppy at all if I feel air travel may not be for him. Puppies can be shipped by airlines, but there are certain restrictions. Puppies must be 8 weeks old to ship, the weather cannot be above 85 or below 20-25 degrees F (approximate) at any point in the route, they must a health certificate ($15 within 10 days of litter exam and @$35 if later) issued by the vet within 10 days of the shipping date, and must be shipped in an airline approved crate ($25). You may send your own crate. Shipping may be virtually impossible in the summer, shipping is usually suspended prior to Christmas, and many airlines have cut back to express jets for service that can not carry live animals to smaller airports. You must go to a MAJOR airport or airline shipping will not be possible. There are 2 methods of shipping: counter to counter, and air cargo. Counter to counter is handled in the airport terminal, the pups can be shipped in the same turn around time as passengers which is better for the pup, pups arrive earlier than air cargo, but counter to counter is more expensive; ($175-$280 depending on the airline) however, a larger crate can be shipped for the same price as a small one and used for the pup as it grows. Air Cargo is less expensive (@$140 depending on the airline), but there must be a minimum of 2 hours between transfers, the air cargo's are usually not open on the weekends (except Midwest Express, but this also varies with airports) and air cargo's are located in an area away from the terminal. A non-stop flight is best, and one transfer with a short amount of time in between is acceptable. I will not ship with 2 transfers as that is too stressful for the pup, therefore you should choose the nearest MAJOR airport. Pups arrive at air cargo about an hour after the plane lands. Crates can be purchased or shipped back to me. I have had good luck with Delta, USAir, Midwest Express, Continental, & NW. I will NOT ship through Chicago which is usually the route of UA and AA. After your pup arrives at the airport, air and water him. He may not want to eat until you get home, and make sure he is held and feels secure, preferably by the adults. Plan on spending quiet time at home for bonding and not leave for work, go to friends, make stops at relatives, or go on vacation. My preference is that the pups not be shipped. I will pick the best puppy for you if you tell me what characteristics are most important to you, (ie temperament, color, size), and if you are looking for a companion, gundog, hunt test or field trial dog
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Preparing to bring your puppy home: Please do not expect to put the puppy in a crate on the way home. This is the most stressful time in his life and not the time to crate train him so make other accommodations for the ride home. I suggest placing them on a blanket at your feet, holding them on your lap, or bringing an open box with a blanket so you can touch and comfort them. Anything other than isolation in a crate when they are separated and not bonded. As with pups arriving at airports, those that take their pups home by car should plan on getting home as quickly as possible and spend quiet time at home for bonding and not leave for work right away, go to friends, make stops at relatives, or go on vacation. This time of adjustment is very stressful for a pup; in fact it may be the most stressful time in his whole life. Make ample time for this bonding to be fair to the pup. If you can borrow smaller crates while the pup is growing that would be great; if not, I recommend buying a large crate that can be divided for housebreaking and that can be used later when the pup is full grown. The collar should be an adjustable collar because they grow fast, and a choke collar should not be used on a puppy. Other supplies are a slicker brush, nail clippers, long lead, shampoo, and a puppy bumper. I have some supplies and toys here, all priced at or below pet store prices for your convenience. Buy lots of toys and place them in a box or basket. Labs like small latex toys they can carry around, small teddy bears, and soft toys with lots of dangly feet. Natural marrow bones (never cook them) are good to keep their teeth clean when they are a little older, and you can later stuff them with cheese, liver sausage, and peanut butter and they will merrily lick them for hours, especially when they are crated. If you are interested in hunting, Retriever Puppy Training: The Right Start for Hunting by Loveland and Rutherford (I have copies here) is excellent for the novice retriever trainer with easy instructions and pictures and The 10-Minute Retriever: How to Make a Well-Mannered, Obedientand Enthusiastic Gun Dog in 10 Minutes a Day by John I. Dahl, Amy Dahl. For more advanced training, see the puppy notes in your puppy packet. Rutherford also has another book for companion pups called How to Raise a Puppy You Can Live With, Rutherford and Neil. You can order these from Amazon.com. There are hundreds of books written about raising dogs, and some breeders have unique ideas and opinions differ, or opinions have to do with more aggressive breeds or those breeds that are more difficult to train. Use common sense. Take what you want from the books and discard what doesn't make sense. Labs are intelligent, but puppies should NOT be expected to follow all the rules right away. They are puppies and need patient guidance and if you love your pup, spend time with him, exercise him everyday, and let him be a puppy and have fun, you will be rewarded with a happy companion. First you BOND by going for walks and simple obedience. Obedience classes are always a good idea. I recommend you go and watch a class before enrolling. Even a puppy class should have some structure. Avoid a socialization only class as your pup may pick up bad habits. If you don't like the way the instructor does the corrections, find another class. As you progress on the walks, take along a bumper and throw it, advancing to in the cover, across a stream etc. If you are going to train for hunting, it is important to train for obedience and retrieving separately and preferable in two different places. Remember, SHORT SIMPLE SUCCESSFUL. If you are using the Wolters books, DO NOT try to follow his timeline or you may turn your pup off to retrieving. He is far too regimentated. If you work too much on stay and steadying, you may take the drive out of retrieving. Pups need to learn that retrieving is FUN and not work and leave them always wanting MORE. |