Another looking for Lab

[TMan]

I already called some of the folks listed in the threads here but most only have males or don't have a yellow lab. I've also searched a lot of the sites for Twin cities area breeders and I prefer not to pay > $1K for a wired high energy dog. Anyone have any good tips on where I can find a YL pup from a smaller Dam and Sire that will be a good family dog and hunt a bit? I fought off the wife's demand for a Jack Russel Terrier and got her convinced the Lab is the way to go for us and my 5 year old daughter. I've had three labs in my life and they were all great dogs. Now it's time for another. Anyone have any experience with Goldberry Labs in Mankato?

Any help is much appreciated.

[LuciandTim]

Look no further..Open up the Pioneer or the Tribune. Tons of listings for Yellow Labs in there. The Pioneer Press is sitting right in front of me and there are 5 listings for Yellow Labs just in this paper. I'm sure you can find a great dog in there.

[Mr.Seaguar]

Dude, I feel your pain. I went thru this a year ago looking for my dog. I actually bought mine in SD. I just went down the SF newspaper classifieds and got some numbers to call to inquire about dogs. It was stressful and somewhat tedious. BUT, now I got an awesome dog. Mine is hunter prority 1,2,3 but hes still good with people. I cant beleive people pay a grand for a puppy. I paid $400 for a 6 month old BLM that had 3 generation field trial champions on both sides. Just think, if you only spend $400 you can still get the russell.

[Hossienda]

I would recomend Sauk River Labs from Osakis. Their main stud, Jake is a wonderful yellow, and they have many upcoming litters. I have an 8 month black from them and she is a wonderful dog. She stays in the house with us and hunts a fair amount as well. Just do a Yahoo search and they come right up at the top.

-Hossienda

[jeffyo45]

T-Man

My 2 1/2 year old yellow lab is from Goldberrys. He has turned out to be a much better hunter than I thought he would be. He is great around the house and with kids. He is pretty hyper when people first come over but he usually settles down pretty quick. I am afraid his hyperness when people come over is mostly my fault as when he was a puppy I would rough house him right when I would come home. He loves to lay around and watch TV with me but also loves to get after the birds. He has had no health problems to date and we have hunted some pretty godawful cover. I personally don't think I will get my next dog from Goldberry but that is mainly because I want a dog with a little more drive to retrieve. Here is a picture of him on a recent SD pheasant hunt.

www.shutterfly.com

Feel free to email me with any more questions.

jonell (at) cbiz (dot) com

[Dbl]

I purchased a British Lab from KT British Labs in Elbow Lake. The best source of info that I know of on these dogs is Dennis Anderson's site, britishretrievers.com. These labs are smaller, more gentle temperment, very good family pet and great hunters, and easy to train for the novice. Because the breeding is tightly controlled by reputable breeders, many of the issues that American Labs have (hips, etc) are not generally found in these dogs. I spent a lot of effort to find just the type of dog that you seem to want and could not be happier with my choice. Good luck in your search.

[TMan]

Thanks all for the info. I did go through the paper and actually looked at a couple FYL's this weekend. I think I prefer to use a breeder at this time and wait for my dog in Feb March some time. I know this may put me in the $600-750 range but I feel its a good investment. So, if this slight change gives anyone any additinal leads or references I might need to follow please let me know.

I like the sound of Sauk Rapids Hoss, I actually looked them up before. I also looked at Alma Bottoms and a few other presumably (How would you know?) reputable breeders in MN. I will not be doing much, if any, waterfowl hunting, mostly Grouse and Pheasant so a pointer line in a lab is an attractive option, but how does a dog with that high pedigree aclimate to the family? Herein lies my internal conflict and question to you folks...?

Mike

[Hossienda]

TMan,

I would say that my lab has fit in just fine with us. It is just my wife and I, but in a month we will have a baby and don't really forsee any change for the dog. She gets to hang out with us in the house when we are home and loves for us to throw a ball for her to retrieve. She also loves laying on the foot rest for the chair when we are on it as she really seems to want to be as close to us as possible. When we are gone, she stays in a large kennel in the basement. I really can not say enough about her as she is a great dog and so smart. She is going back to Dave, the breeder, for obedience/force fetch in January.

Almost forgot to mention that the nice thing is she is a medium sized dog. I believe she is basically full grown and tips the scales at 60 pounds.

-Hossienda

[lawdog]

jeffyo

My 6 mo old is from Andy Blaschko at AB Kennels in St. Peter but he is 3/4 from the Goldberry line as Andy's yellow female was a Goldberry dog from one side of the kennel and he bred her to Charlie's Gandolf to get this litter (obviously the other blood line).

What do you mean by "little more drive to retrieve"? I know Andy hunts his dogs a lot and I don't see any problems with the little one yet, but I'm wondering about that statement. He sure seems like a good little guy so far!

By the way, Andy at AB Kennel is another good place to check for dogs!.

[Dbl]

That $750 price is about right for British Labs. They make a great family dog. They have a gentle manners and are good with kids. I don't think we could have found a better family dog and a good hunter to boot. The HSOforum I mentioned in an early post was incorrect. It should have been britishretrievertraining.com I would urge you to take a look at this breed. They do sound like the dog you are looking for.

[TMan]

Thanks DBL, I found that site and looked at Andersons details. I about fell over when I saw the $1,250 price tag for his. I found another Brit Lab breeder out past Glencoe but don't recall his name. He was $900. I'll continue looking and go with someone for a spring pup soon.

[Dbl]

KT British Labs are $750 and he has pups ready in March. Call Tim or Kim if you are interested. They were great to deal with and my family loves our dog. I will agree with you on the price of Anderson's but they have impecable credentials. I believe there is another breeder in Stillwater, don't recall the name and another that I checked in South Dakota. A quick google search will find them.

To be honest I was not prepared to spend $750 but I can't say I regret it. The blood lines of KT Labs come from Wildrose Kennels in Missouri, the original importer of British Labs to this country. They produced Drake, the current Ducks Unlimited dog of the year. Again good luck. If you have any questions or concerns e-mail me and I will give you my phone number so we can talk in person. I know this is a big decision, I just made it 8 months ago.

DBL

[email protected]

[larryz]

We purchased a chocolate lab from The Captains Kennel in Mountain Iron last spring. They are very good people with very good dogs. They also have yellow and black. They have pups to fit most most everyones needs with prices to match. We are very happy with our pup.

[Bushwacker]

Hossienda

What female is your dog out of. I have had a deposit down on a male from the JakeXMagic breeding since July 1st. I have a little female now that David trained(force fetch and advanced OB) Jake is a great dog and I can't wait to have one of his offspring.

[Hossienda]

Bushwacker,

My pup is from JakexMagic. She is a high drive dog that does not stop until she gets the birds up. Last weekend, 3 guys and 3 dogs all standing around talking while my pup Grace is working her tail off no more than 10 yards from one of the guys and she finally stopped. When she stopped, the big rooster decided it was time to go. She is a fantastic dog to have and I can't wait to have her go to Dave for the Force/OB training in January. A friend of mine originally from Sauk Centre has a male from the same litter. He used to live in Alex but moved to Rochester during the summer. His dog is doing very well also.

-Hossienda

[Blaze]

I'm sure I'll get zinged for this one, but...

According to Dennis Anderson's BritishLabs.com - there have been 11 litters so far in '04 = 60 pups or so X $1250/pup and you're looking at $75K/year in puppy sales. SHEESH! Think maybe I'll get in on a little puppy breeding action too. Nice paying part time job...plus the training money if you get into that too.

Maybe it's just me, but anyone else get the feeling it may be more about the $$ than the dogs? I'm sure there are some great dogs coming out of that kennel, but how can a breeder effectively evaluate what he's produced when you're talking 60 pups a year?

[LABS4ME]

As a breeder (and no I don't get anywhere near 1250/pup) the $75K you state is made IS NOT profit. The expenses of a litter are real... There are huge expenses in importation fees of these dogs, obviously vet bills, a fair amount of marketing etc. I'm not saying he's not making a tidy little sum off his dogs, but there is A LOT of work in a litter of pups, and at 10/pups to the average litter, with pups sticking around 7-8 weeks, he literally has pups on the ground year round. That is a full time job in itself... and even if he's making 35K off the pups it's no more than working another full time job. If you don't think there is a lot of work to raising litters of pups, you haven't done it yet!

As far as putting too many pups out to know what he is producing, part of that fault would lie in the purchasers of the pups. While from what I know, he does have a good reputation as far as his dogs and pups, I think lot of people will buy from him no matter what, just because of his name. All people who are looking to purchase pups should really investigate several different litters and breeders before making a decision. Be sure to ask for references.

One thing I really try to strive to tell people is; "no matter what you're paying for that pup, be it $400 or $1200, it is the cheapest part of owning that dog", so make sure it is what you want as far as talent, personality and genetics.

Good luck!

Ken

[Koda]

I would recommend Sauk River as well. I have a 2 year old Yellow Male out of JakexSundance that sleeps about 20 hours out of the day at home is awesome around kids and when the gun comes out of the closet it's like a switch gets turned on and he will hunt all day and absolutly lives to retrieve!!!! My wife wanted a small lap dog but after having the lab for two years she's already preassuring me to get another lab !!

I believe a few pups from previous litters were actually used as therapy dogs as well so you know they have a good temperment.

at around $650 I'd consider these pups a bargin!!!

[kjgmh]

I got a yellow male for Deloia Kennel in Duluth. I have been very happy with him. He did end up being bigger than both of his parents, but the wife wanted a big dog anyway. He usually has a couple litters a year.

[Dough]

Been raising Labs and Chessies for 9 years, i will have a litter in February of yellows. Both parents good hunters, good lines in female male is purebred Lab, female-1/2 lab 1/2 chessie. i have references. $150 dollars your pick for pups. need picks, references, or general info call me at 218-436-3567. Alex Levenhagen "Doughs Pros Kennels"

[Ole1855]

Tman,

I spent alot of time looking for exactly what you are looking for. I wanted a female out of smaller parents, I found her 4.5 years ago at the Game Fair. At that time she was $550, I don't know what they would be charging now. I can't remember the name of the breeder off the top of my head but he was from up near Mahnomen, I have all the papers at home. I'll try to remember to dig them out tonite.

Ole

[The Bronco Kid]

Tman, you should give Tim Melham at Four Winds Kennels a call and see what he has for labs for sale. 763-682-5860

Tell I referred you