How do I determine the quality of a lab pup with papers?

Question

I am purchasing a lab puppy from my sister and law we don't know anything about it. Her yellow lab 1 year old is expecting puppies the dad is a chocolate lab (they say silver) . I am not sure how to tell what kind of quality the puppies will be. or what to expect both parent dogs have papers How do I determine if they are show dog material. I don't know anything about how to detemine any of this like I said I have a ton of questions on this subject.

Answer 1

I hope this helps...
I have a close friend who is a breeder or labs.
According to her, as long as you have papers for both parents, you can look back through the AKC logs and see which dogs in the heritage were actually show dogs. Not all AKC registered dogs ARE show dogs or even show dog quality.
If you are not planning to show the dog....why would that even be an issue?
There ARE two different types of labrador retrievers though...
They are the barrel-chested lab (slightly shorter and stockier) and the field lab (taller and thinner).
My labs have always been barrel chested.
But they are all SOOOO lovable!!!

Answer 2

How sad. Why would you buy a pup from anyone without knowing anything about the breeding?

Your sister-in-law is a backyard breeder. If the mother and father are not AKC (or possibly UKC) registered, their "papers" don't mean squat. (Find out what registry holds the papers.) If the parents are AKC registered, you can take a look at their pedigrees and see how many dogs in their background are Champions - that is the only measure of conformational (show) quality. My guess is that there will be no Champions in the background at all. If this is the case, then the parents are of questionable background and conformation. In any event, even AKC registration is no measure of quality - only conformation titles, performance titles and health tests can determine quality.

The breeding has been done WAY too early! Reputable breeders would never breed dogs before the age of 2 years. That's because some of the health screening (which I doubt your SIL has done) cannot be completed until they are 2 years old. Hip dysplasia comes to mind immediately. Not to mention the fact that Labs, in particular, mature more slowly than other breeds and are often not fully mature until the age of 2 years. How sad for the mother - obviously your SIL has no clue how much stress pregnancy puts on a female dog.

As others have said, "silver" isn't a recognized color. Again, poor breeding choice.

So much is wrong with this litter that I would say that the puppies should be sold dirt cheap - no more than $50-100 each. If she is trying to get more than that, she's cheating people. Even at that price, I would say she's lucky to get buyers.

Answer 3

You can check out if it's pure *bread* by slicing the pup, and popping the slices in a toaster. If the dog is pure-bred, the breeder can supply the papers to register the pup with AKC. If the dog can't be registered, then the breeder lied to you. Pure-bred dogs will be much more likely to exhibit the characteristics of the breed. They are not necessarily more intelligent, nor do they necessarily turn out to be better pets. Our current dog is a red long-haired German Shepard, which is registered. Our prior dog was an Alaskan Husky, which is not a breed recognized by the AKC. The Husky was significantly more intelligent and stronger and almost never barked, making him a better pet in many ways. The GS is far more affectionate, but she likes to charge strangers until they cow, and for a while, she was grasping friends' hands in her mouth, and sometimes pinched as a result. Intelligent isn't necessarily something you want. The Australian Shepard, and the Border Collie are generally considered the most intelligent breeds, but they love to get into garbage, and they insist on herding people when there are no sheep around, which can be a nuisance. And it's largely how *you* train your dog, that determines how good a pet he is. A neurotic owner will almost end up with a neurotic dog, and a laid-back owner will almost always end up with a laid-back dog.

Answer 4

If the dam is only 1 year old & the sire is silver the puppies are not show quality.....simple as that.

Any lab worth breeding will have been shown or worked & will have had eyes, hips & elbows tested. These latter tests are only valid after two years of age.
Anyone with a quality stud won't accept a ***** without clearances and good breed type & compatible pedigree.
Silver - wishy washy chocolate - is a disqualifying fault so the sire is not show quality & a reputable show breeder wouldn't allow one to be sold with full registration.
If you want a show dog go to some shows & talk to the exhibitors. Don't just buy the first puppy that turns up.
Family or not, buying this pup is encouraging irresponsible breeding.
This will give a guide to choosing a quality puppy ;-
http://www.thelabradorclub.com/library/selectpuppy.html

Answer 5

Silver is not a lab color-labs are black, yellow, and chocolate. If you want a show quality lab then you must 1. research showing a dog, 2. attend some shows, 3. find a breeder who shows. A good breeder will have their dogs certified for hips and some other common breed issues (this means they will have a history of the parents going back several generations and a vet will have performed hip x-rays to look for problems). This is not a warrenty, just shows you a little more about the dog. Most breeders who have show dogs will have litters spoken for in advance and may have pups who are not of show quality available for placement as pets.

Having papers doesn't mean the dog is show quality. Shows are very competative and the cost of doing the circuit is high. Show dogs require lots of work and time. For a show dog you have to consider things like the spaceing and placement of the eyes in the head, the location of the ears, the carriage of the tail-you need to read and be familiar with the AKC breed standards for the dog. Also, do you want to show to make money? That is a big mistake. Most dog show folks spend money on the dogs-they don't make it. If you are looking for a nice family pet then your sisters dog may have nice pups for that. If you are serious in wanting to show or even hunt-then I would encourage you to do more research and then go to a breeder who has experience in the show ring and begin the puppy search with them.

Answer 6

Please don't buy from a dog bred as young as this. A dog doesn't stop growing until it is 18 months so having pups will damage the mother never mind the pups.

Apart from that there is no such thing as a silver lab. They come in black, yellow and chocolate. A choclate lab is just that, chocolate coloured (I have one) their coat should be the colour of a bar of dairy milk. If its silver - its not a lab.

If you want a dog you can show, then your best bet is getting dog dog from good show stock. Puppies should be chunky, have a good thick coat and be full of life. The breeder should be able to let you see the mother and (if possible) father.

If you want a good puppy stay away from in-laws and newspapers. Contact your local vet or kennels who will be able to put you in touch with a reputable breeder.

I am afraid the poor pups born to a 1 year old dog will be of ill health and build. It wont be allocated papers so you wont be able to show it.

Answer 7

Have the parents had health tests done (OFA/PennHip on hips & elbows, CERF/PRA on eyes, thyroid), do they have good pedigrees with working titles, championships, health clearences, have the parents been shown and pointed or earned their championships or been proven in the field, if not have they been evalauted by at least 3 unbiased knowledgable people in the breed to see if they meet breed standard. All of this needs to be in place not just bits & pieces of it. I would kind of think none of it has been done and that these dogs weren't responsibly bred or bred by breed knowledgable people since they are calling the color "silver". Silver is NOT an allowable color in well bred Labs.
Also be advised taht just because a dog has registration papers doesn't mean that they are good quality, well bred dogs..all it means is taht the pups were produced by two registered dogs of the same breed and the litter was registered.. Also be advised that if the registry isn't AKC, UKC or CKC (Canadian Kennel Club) then it is a scam registry and not worth the paper it is written on. I would recommend contacting breed clubs, hunt clubs, etc in your area and have someone come evaluate the puppies for you to determine quality.

Answer 8

If you are looking for a pet lab then the papers don't really mean that much other than you know their history. The thing that is more important to me is the temperment of the parents. If I do not like the Mama then I don't get the puppy. She raises them. It is just my preference. A lab is a great dog though some can be hard-headed. Mine loves everyone and everything. She is not a show dog or a gun dog. She hates the water and loves all creatures great and small. Just remember to do your research, socialize and obedience train the pup. You should have a great dog reguardless of what the papers say

Answer 9

Generally a nice show quality puppy will not be sold to just anyone. Show breeders know that a quality dog does not come around every day and they either keep the dog themselves or they find proven show homes to place the dog in.
i guess the biggest question i have is what do you mean by 'quality'. Generally most dogs are judged in quality in the breed ring so you should be looking for dogs who in most of their lines have Ch. (champion). Some dogs are bred for their working ability so you'd need to look into what working titles the dog may have and decide if this is what you're looking for.
If you are looking for a show quality dog, i would recommend getting a lot of reading material and attending shows. Take a look at what is out there and what dogs are doing well. Get a dog from those lines. Owning and showing a nice quality dog is a lot of time and effort and as I said, most breeders are unwilling to sell to anything other than a proven home. Talk to breeders that show their dogs and they will tell you about the time and effort it takes to take a dog to it's championship. Also visit www.akc.org and find their breeder referral person in your area. The breeder referral can provide lots of information on quality dogs and on showing the dog.

Answer 10

First you need to determine the quality of the parents. If they are not show dogs, it is unlikely that any of the puppies will be. If the dad is a "silver", then he is not show quality as that is a disqualifying fault and reputable breeders would likely not use him. Have the parents had their hips certified by OFA (labs are prone to hip dysplasia)? Have their eyes been certified by CERF (labs are prone to a number of eye diseases)?

You also need to look at the pedigree. If there are lots of titled dogs in the pedigree, then your puppy is more likely to be quality. A couple of champs or none at all means it comes from a long line of mediocrity at best.

Then you need to look at the puppy itself. If it's your first time selecting a lab, you'd probably be best to take an experienced person along with you to help you interpret the standard.

Here's a page on selecting a lab puppy, from the Labrador Retriever Club
http://www.thelabradorclub.com/library/selectpuppy.html

Answer 11

don't bother. For a start her b1tch is way too young to have a litter of pups as she is still a puppy herself. She should not have been bred from until she was 2 years old, so the pups will not be strong for starters. Secondly, I bet she never had the parents hip and elbow scored or tested for PRA before she decided to breed them. Right from the moment of conception these pups will be weedy, bred from parents who may have severe hip displaysia and go blind at the age of 2. Buy from a breeder who knows what they are doing and who has all the relevant health tests done. Incidentally, the pups will not have all their papers because the kennel club will refuse to register the puppys because the mother is too young. So they will be weakly pups with no health tests, born from parents which were too young and without any papers.