Need help w/pup

[coonman]

I went to look at a litter of labs yesterday, but can't decide on which one. Can anyone give me some pointers to help pick out a good puppy? What are some good thinks to look for? All of the puppies are about the same size and look pretty much just alike. The one that I like the most has a white star on him. I have heard that you don't won't a black lab with a white star. Does anyone know why? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks...

[Super Black Eagle]

I don't know a whole lot about pickng pups, but a real good friend of mine, who is a pro-trainer, told me the best way he knows to pick out a good pup is to let the pups out and play, watch to see which one is the most dominate, and then to roll them over on thier backs and see which one remains calm, then stare into each puppy's eyes to see which one holds eye contact with you the longest. then pull that dove wing out of your pocket and give it a fling so they can all chase the flying object, then chase each other around the yard. once you have picked the puppy you think will be the greatest of all grhch mh dogs in the south. put them all back in the kennel. go in with them, if possible, turn around a few times, close your eyes and reach down and pick one up.

i hope this helps


SBE

[Ramblin Rogue]

Warning Lengthy. My two cents. I have owned, trained, hunted with, bred, and loved labs for several years. While I am no expert compared to many, I have learned alot. First of all there is nothing wrong with white spots on pure bred labs. It is actually common in puppies and some adults, just be careful, know the background of a dog with markings. I have pure English labs and one of my puppies had minimal amounts of white puppy fur, gone now. Second. There are a hundred things said about each different trait in all colors of labs. Chocolates = stubborn, stupid, smell. Yellows/ White = Lazy, show breed. Black = Hyper, best hunter, worst family dog. These are all wrong in my opinion. I have a female Chocolate that is the best dog I have ever hunted with, very smart, eager to please, easy to train, and doesn't have a smell. Her daughter is black and an incredible retriever and family dog. The one everlasting trait that I think matters the most is sex. I would choose females over males all day. They are smarter, sweeter, easier to train and no less enthusiastic or driven. About picking a puppy, well that is dangerous business. Alot of people expect all eight week old puppies to run and get a stick the second you get it home. My first chocolate, wouldn't retrieve anything until about six months. She turned out to be absolutely incredible. Her G-Fathers are Aces High III and Riverbend's Bojangles both incredible labs with to die for resumes. She just needed her instincts awakened. I chose her because she was soaking wet from swimming in a small fish pond at 3 months old in December. I just liked her. My current pup is 1 yr. now black retrieving perfectly and the daughter of my chocolate. I have her because the boss (My fiance) said so. My advice know the blood line, medical history, and hunting background of as many of the dogs in the pedigree. That says alot. Get references. Research. If the background of Dam and Sire are good chances are your pup will be good too. Apples don't fall far from the tree. Pick the dog that your instincts like the most. The first year that you own the pup will make the dog what it is. PERIOD. Spend appropriate time and train APPROPRIATELY and the dog WILL work. They are incredible breeds.

[blackdux]

I have raised and trained a retriever or two in my life. I have also ruined a couple of decent dogs. A friend of mine, years ago, gave me a book "Game Dog" by Richard Wolters. I havent ruined a dog since, it has some great advice on picking pups. It can be found in most book stores. I have other books and training videos I have picked up here and there over the years, but Richard Wolters was the "Zen master of dog training" in my humble opinion.
Now for Blackduxs' opinion on picking pups. I have had pups with serious papers and I have had pups with papers that werent so serious. The best two dogs I ever had were the last dogs in the litter that nobody wanted, both with not so serious papers. One was an almost white Chesapeake, that nobody wanted and one was a chocolate lab, with the same problem. I still have the choc lab, lost the chessie a few years back. And these two dogs are and were exceptional in everyway. I had pick of the litter one time and it turned out to be one of the biggest disapointments I have had in a dog. There is no ryhme nor reason on picking a pup, just go with your heart, cause in the end, a good dog will help you live longer. For me, these days, performance alone means less than a complete package, personality, temperment, attitude, and the desire to hunt. If you have kids, take them with you, let them interact with the pups, see what happens. If you dont have kids, borrow one or two, make their day as well. There aint nothin' like kids and pups. Good luck

[Doc & Nash]

For what it is worth, If the litter is advertised in the news paper, odds are you need to take a long look at the pedigree. Look for past champions and Hunt Test participants. There will be initials after the names JH(Junior Hunter), SH(Senoir Hunter) MH(Master Hunter) The more MH the better. Once you find a good bloodline, then picking the puppy is easy, First decide wether you want a male or a female, then decide which color, after that take all the pups that fit into that catagory close your eyes and pick one.

As far as the white on black puppies, the ACK standard for the breed will need to be your guidline there. You can go to thier website and get that pretty easy. I would post it but on here there only a few people who can get away with starting trouble like that.

Key point to remember, what ever the puppy cost you to buy it will be the cheapest money you spend one it. I paid $500.00 for Nash one year ago, as of now, I have over $3500.00 invested in him. So I guess what I am tring to say is do not let a higher price tag for a puppy scare you. But in the same breath I will tell you that if you do you homework on the bloodlines, you can find some great dogs out their for $200.00-$300.00.

Either way Good Luck.

[Jeff]

I would go with blood lines and refrences to the Parents qualities the most. After that individual puppy characteristics don't matter that much. It is easy to see a blood line that has two and three breedings away as top notch dogs and then the closer to the litter that you are buying have a drop off in titles. That would be a turn off to me. THere are not garuntees with anything, especially dogs, but why not try and tip the scales in your favor as much as possible? I would get the best breeding that you can find and afford. That doesn't mean go buy a $3000 puppy, but if you look you can find a lot of real good litters for real inexpensive prices. A good place to start would be a UKC breeding out of HRC. For some reason UKC doesn't seem to have quite the meaning as AKC at the moment. However there are a ton of great dogs in UKC/HRC that are really really great dogs with top notch lines going for $500 or less. At the same token on the other side there are a lot of FCXMH AKC dogs going for a lot more however you can find a good inexpensive breeding there. I would really take your time and pick the best litter. Then once you pick a litter, let the breeder pick the dog for you. How can you decide what dog is best suited for you in a few hour or so visits? Meet the breeder, ask them questions and then let them feel you out and get to know you then let them try and pair you up with the dog they think best suits you. That would be my advice.

[blackdux]

I left out one thing. The very best Dog I ever had the pleasure to hunt with was a Lab/chessie mix, bought out of a pet store in a mall. His name was Boomer, just a duck dog, all in one place, at one time. He belonged to a friend of mine. Boomer had grit, desire, ability and nothing even close to a pedigree, kinda like me. I hope this helps you find a good dog.

[gator]

what jeff said...figure out what you're willing to pay, find a pedigree that's fits that price and may (please read may) have a sire and dam that contributes qualities you want...trace that pedigree for health, make sure the sire and dam are healthy (i.e. hips, eyes, etc)...after that, it's pretty much a crap shoot...i wish i could tell ya that you can turn one over, scratch it's chin, and the one that shakes it's left leg while blinking it's right eye was gonna be the one to become a HRCH, MH, FC/AFC and never miss a lick in the blind....but, unfortunately that's not the case...go w/ the pedigree (although that's not even the end all, be all) and health, just to make the odds a lil better...then, join a retriever club in your area and learn...train hard, learn every chance you get and by gosh, don't forget they're dogs and prone to screw up...my 2 cents...gator

[coonman]

Well I picked a puppy yesterday. I kinda took everyones advice and made a choice. I knew I wanted black so I narrowed it down to 2 black puppies 1 male 1 female. I ended up choosing the male because he was the one that was the most interested in me. Plus he hunted the whole afternoon for the dove wing that I hid from him. He found it everytime. Well thanks for everyones advice. Good Luck this season.

[eastwoods]

Sorry, I'm piping in late, but maybe this will help somebody and sounds like what you did anyway:

Pick the best litter you can afford, Pedigree!!!!!!!!! I'd be scared of a white star, haven't seen to many of those at the line, hehehehehehe. Any pup from a good litter is good and may become a champion; however the best pick from a lesser litter doesn't have a chance.

Once you have the litter you pick a dog based on the pup's disposition or attitude, you pick a race horse based on physical characteristics. it doesn't matter how fast a dog runs or swims if you know what I mean, but a racehorse it does. With dog's you want one that is not scared of new things, happy, and curious.

Another thing, is you. Are you a dominant trainer then you need a dominant dog, do the roll over test and pick the alpha struggler that rolls it's eyes back in it's head trying to get away. If your a gentler sort pick one that will let you hold it down on it's back, give in while you pretend choke it. If your smart enough you can alter your training/actions to fit the dog, but why bother unless your running field trials. Generally speaking, the taller a person you are the more dominant dog you need, but that is not a rule. If dog's tend to tuck their tails around you then get a dominant pup. Bitches can be very dominant. If dog's jump up on you all the time and that doesn't make you madder than you know what and you put a knee in'm hard the first time or if your dog's tend to break a lot you need a softer dog, the fire in the belly seems nice, but that aint what you need, she'll break your heart like a bad woman.

Lastly, get a live duck and put a sock over it's head so it can't peck the pups. Tie a string around it's wings and pull it around by a string. The pup that stays on the longest is the one I'd get most of the time.

Hopefully, that all made sense because that's the way it is.