looking at april/may for a yellow lab pup. have a couple of breeders here in virginia but wanted to check in and see if some have knowledge of others outside of the state. had bells put down day after christmas last year and miss having a buddy close by. everyone have a safe thanksgiving and enjoy your families. scott

My wife and I waited a year for Samantha (Sammy), our almost new black lab female pup. Picked up at seven weeks, four and a half weeks later she has doubled in size and length. We went over a year without a dog and it's nice to have her here. Everything is a chew toy. Her puppy teeth are terribly sharp, like having a musky biting you.
All said, she's definitely a keeper. I do plan to hunt her and train her for such, even though my legs are slowing down a bit.

As a guy who's had countless dogs in my life I say why on earth anyone would get a puppy is beyond my comprehension anymore. Yeah, they are cute (girl selling point) but you NEVER KNOW the personality of a dog when it's a puppy. And it's not all about how you raise them. Some dogs are just knotheads. No amount of training or raising them "right' will ever fix a knotheaded dog. Wait until they are a good 8 mos old...THEN you just starte to know what you're getting into. A puppy is a total crap shoot.

I've known people who've spent thousands training "high quality" hunting dogs. Complete waste of time and money. They are still hyper/worthless animals. And I love dogs. Well most of them.

Calvin is right. If you want a buddy, pups are fine. But if you're looking for a working dog, get a started dog. I had a few labs over my life that were great. Then I got a choc. that I couldn't get thru to. Sent him to a professional for a month. The guy said come and get him, he's too dumb to train. Didn't charge me cause he was untrainable.

How many 8 month old dogs are out there for sale? I see a lot of 8 week old dogs for sale but not 8 months.

If a 8 week old dog sells for $1000, how much does a 8 month old dog sell for? $4000?

The only dogs I seen for sale that were older than 8 weeks were the dumb and ugly ones.

I can see why people want to buy a puppy.

Both points have merit, but I reckon I'll do the puppy thing. This has always worked for us. Most of the failures I've witnessed were directly related to the owners. Perhaps a few related to the source or genetics, but can't say for sure.

thanks for everyones in=put. {she} won't be a working lab, just one that likes to be loved and give love back. i`ve had three labs over 35 years. the first was a born hunter, a lot of grouse fell because of him. the second a knothead, but him loved us and we him. bells was given to us after we moved to virginia, she was a runt that no one wanted but we took her in anyways. she had a lot of health problems over the years but was very protective of the wife and home and no one ever messed with the grand kids..... miss her more than any of the other two. our next will be our last. we've thought of a small dog but once you've lived with a lab there just couldn't be any other breed. most will understand that. tight chains. scott

This is a suggestion, but consider a British Lab. There are breeders, but they are expensive. My cousin had 3 of these, two in his house at present, and they are an absolute joy. When we stop, they sit by us, get petted and not a circus. The youngest sits on the couch and looks out the picture window, looking for his wife to come home from work. They are not hyper dogs as the AKC has ruined all American breeds.

I ask one thing though, please take your dog hunting, as not letting a hunting dog click that switch they were bred for, is something which will lessen your relationship with them and they will never know what they really are. I would though recommend the British lines as they are not race horse wild.

all our labs were shot over as to not be gun shy. they also loved to go out on the boat and spend the day on the water while we pretend to fish!! lol i`ve looked at the english, some of my bus kids had them, drove a school bus for many years here. maybe look into those?? thanks star flake. bells like to ride along on the trapline but stayed in the truck.

Spot on. I had a British and my son now has an American...mine was laid back until it was time to work, his is a rat on acid. American Labs also whine! Can’t stand a whining dog in the pit or on a stand in the timber. Running to a spot in the bot and mine would have his own spot he’d sleep until time to earn his keep. Had a buddy with an American that would run laps in the boat. Night and day difference.

This guy was my roll of the dice and boy was he 7 come 11... I worked w/ him every day twice 3 times, watched TV together in a layout blind, he loved to please me and could take a correction and learn fast force fetch one pull on the toe is all it took one time! Baseball, whistle commands, lining to the county line and a good nose, icy water pffft gungho... I bought a decent AKC female had them ofa and cerf both came back good or excellent so I bred them... I had every personality knot headed, gun shy, hyper, dopy and several like the old man... But yeah... the nice thing though was if they didn't work out for hunting I had plenty of people wanting a pet... I was able to keep a good female from the last litter to replace the knot head from the previous she's 14 now and full retirement... fetchs beans pretty good, well I mean eats them
I love them labs think that's the only dog for me

Excellent suggestions star flakes. I am also beginning the process of purchasing a new lab. My family is trying to talk me into another English lab. All but two of my previous labs have been American labs and working dogs. All have also been members of the family living indoors with us.

My current best hunter is a beast. He comes from a long line of Hunt Test Champions and has more prey drive then any dog I've previously owned. He hunts himself bloody every time out.

Unfortunately, that kind of drive comes with trade offs. He has none of the gentleness or even intelligence of a normal lab. He is super high-strung, energetic, aggressive (can't be around children other than immediate family) and neurotic. I have to exercise him half to death each morning just to keep him calm enough to live with throughout the day. I throw a doggie Frisbee for him every morning until he's too exhausted to continue. I actually have to shut down the exercise because I'm pretty sure he'd keep going until he killed himself. This is in addition to regular evening training sessions and long walks with the wife.

I knew what I was getting when I bought him and I know not all American labs are this way or at least not to this degree. He's a great hunter, my best to date but he's not a good family dog.

This is what he sometimes looks like after a hard upland hunt in the thick stuff.



My last English lab was a lovable, gentle giant. He was also a working dog but was much more laid back. He would also hunt himself bloody on occasion (I think they all will) and could get pretty intense but didn't have the drive the Hunt Champ has. When he got tired he'd quit trying. There's no quit in the yellow shown above.

Here he is after a pheasant hunt.



But he was an excellent family dog and everything a lab is supposed to be; gentle, eager to please, intelligent and easy to live with.



I don't think it will take too much convincing to talk me into an English Lab pup next June.

Some strains are just freaks true but a lot has to do w/ the owner, neglect kennel them all summer and take them out opening day a scream at them and fry them w/ a collar... the dog doesn't have a clue lucky if it's been introduced to a live bird!

An excellent point that I happen to agree with.

That's a handsome lab Catcollector. It sounds like you are also a fan of Richard Wolter's teachings.

Thanks Lugnut he was a once in a lifetime I'm sure I got him the year my Dad past away in 99 so River filled his hunting spot... yeah the game dog, water dog were my guides first time actually, got him on live birds at a game farm right away and he took to water like a fish could catch a duck below the surface.... And did something I never taught him catching geese out of the air! not like a fielder but when we'd hit a goose and sail it he'd go straight for them and the goose would position into the wind and he would have to trail from behind and well once a goose gets air they're faster and he'd lose so anyways he's like disgusted so the next time he runs straight at and sees the goose position into the wind ol Riv decides to quarter up wind makes the goose pause and that pause Rivs was able to get the upwind on the goose and then come at the goose collision course he leaped into the air and caught the goose WOW! He did that once more and of course missed plenty but man that's some spirit and brains... He past at 11 w/ blastomycosis horrible fungal lung infection... Miss my ol Riv... On huntn trips he'd ride in the extended cab back seat and every hr or so rest his chin on my shoulder and give me a lick not a big slobber just a enough to say are we there yet...

All my labs have also been trapline companions. Even the freak. LOL

Sounds like a great one. I love a thinking lab!

I would just as soon have a pup as a started dog. I can work with it to do what I want, how I want. I got my pup at 5.5 weeks and he found his first bird I knocked down at 8 weeks. Get them and take them. They don't learn staying home. No I could not hunt hard with him then, but I knew I would in a year and he would be doing what I wanted. Between three of us we shot 117 birds over him the year he turned one. He's not even a bird dog.

Sent you a private mail with more information. We raise labs.

Concerning not wanting to buy a puppy. Calvin is correct in that sometimes no matter how well you think you can pick a puppy, the dog may not turn out to what you want.
I personally would much rather buy a puppy. I have done it both ways. In my opinion, I can usually get the best out of a dog. When I have bought older dogs there have been some that were impossible to teach the old dog new tricks. Sometimes you get fooled. I just bought a 3 year old German Shepard from Germany. (We raise them also) She is a wonderful dog, but it was really a crap shoot. Germans are a tough customer at times.

I love puppies and love training them.
We do offer dogs that are trained at various levels but the cost of course goes up.
I do not recommend getting a pup before 8 weeks old. They really should be with their mother until then. Really. Plus in Maine it is the law.

Good luck in your search
Mac