So I'm still trying to help my aunt and uncle find a lab puppy. Their first plan fell through (only one yellow female and the breeder is planning to keep her) so I've been going back through the breeders I sent them to see who has litters coming up.
One of the breeders that I was hopeful about is Riorock: http://www.riorocklabs.com/ . Initially looking at the website, it seems they have a litter due in February and one due March. Two litters, sounds fine. The first litter has blacks and yellows and the second is all yellows so I figured if they got on their list they'd have a really good chance of getting a pup, if not from the first then definitely from the second. Health tests are all there. They don't have any titles which is a bummer, though they do show and mention the results on each dog's page.
My main concern has come from looking at their facebook page. They had litters in:
November (Memphis/Fergie)
September (Molly/Hunter)
September (Hunter/Tipsy)
May (Hunter/Dazzle)
April (Rhys/Poppy)
February (Hazel/Hunter)
February (Rhys/Fergie)
So yeah, 7 litters last year. Seems like a lot. Their website says "we breed very few litters of puppies". Somewhere else they say "we only breed a few litters a year". They have a kennel and say "Each litter is whelped and raised in our home for the first several weeks"...I'm not sure exactly how long that is but I assume at some point they go into the kennel which I'm not thrilled about.
I'm just not sure if I should recommend these people or not. I like all the health testing they do, I like how up to date everything is and that they post so much on their facebook page (as do their puppy buyers). I like that they require you to come visit before you take home a pup. I like their informational articles (on health, crate training, house breaking, puppy supplies list). I'm just afraid I'm being swayed by a good website.
HELP!
One of the breeders that I was hopeful about is Riorock: http://www.riorocklabs.com/ . Initially looking at the website, it seems they have a litter due in February and one due March. Two litters, sounds fine. The first litter has blacks and yellows and the second is all yellows so I figured if they got on their list they'd have a really good chance of getting a pup, if not from the first then definitely from the second. Health tests are all there. They don't have any titles which is a bummer, though they do show and mention the results on each dog's page.
My main concern has come from looking at their facebook page. They had litters in:
November (Memphis/Fergie)
September (Molly/Hunter)
September (Hunter/Tipsy)
May (Hunter/Dazzle)
April (Rhys/Poppy)
February (Hazel/Hunter)
February (Rhys/Fergie)
So yeah, 7 litters last year. Seems like a lot. Their website says "we breed very few litters of puppies". Somewhere else they say "we only breed a few litters a year". They have a kennel and say "Each litter is whelped and raised in our home for the first several weeks"...I'm not sure exactly how long that is but I assume at some point they go into the kennel which I'm not thrilled about.
I'm just not sure if I should recommend these people or not. I like all the health testing they do, I like how up to date everything is and that they post so much on their facebook page (as do their puppy buyers). I like that they require you to come visit before you take home a pup. I like their informational articles (on health, crate training, house breaking, puppy supplies list). I'm just afraid I'm being swayed by a good website.
HELP!