Opinions on this lab breeder?

Maxy24

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#1
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!
 

*blackrose

"I'm kupo for kupo nuts!"
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#2
So long as the health testing checks out, the puppy buyers are happy with their dogs/they are known for producing good dogs, and they aren't over breeding their bitches....I wouldn't not recommend them to your Aunt and Uncle.

They personally aren't producing the style of Labrador I prefer, but that doesn't mean they aren't producing nice dogs in their own right.
 

Stingr69

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#3
They appear from what I can see to be a "hobby breeder," not a hard core "show breeder". They have a good number of litters from a large group of their own bred dams so they are not overbreeding the girls. Conformation ring awards are nice to have but not always a requirement for a puppy buyer. They produce a lot of pups to sell and that is the intent of the operation. The nice Dams from the litters are kept as they are the "producers" for the kennel.

If you desire a pure bred lab for a companion and all the parents have good health checks, they probably could provide a suitable animal. That is what they are set up to produce. :) JMO.

-Mark.
 

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