Labrador breeder recommendation?

Because my thread seems to have been eaten...here we go again! ^^

If all goes as planned, I'll be adding a Lab pup to the family next summer/fall. I've been eagerly waiting for two years now, so I've jumped the gun a bit and started looking at breeders (have been for quite awhile now, actually LOL). The problem I am having is finding a breeder whose dogs I'm happy with "type" wise. I'm almost beginning to think my ideal look doesn't exist, which isn't really a big surprise...I'm rather picky.

I want an "english" style Lab and I am a firm believer that Labs should be the medium sized breed the breed standard calls for...not the 90+ pound tub of lards I've been seeing. Most of the breeders I'm finding don't have dogs that structurally I am happy with. I also want a black Lab, so some breeders I've found are automatically out because they don't breed that color. I'm not planning on doing any hunting (or any other sports), so a highly driven dog is not what I want.

I pulled some pictures off of google of the look I really like in Labs. Most of these are guide dogs because those are the ones I could find that seem to be middle of the road in type:





When all is said in done, I'm going to care more about the temperament and the health of the dog than the looks...but I'd still rather try to find a breeder that is breeding the type I like.

I have been drooling over Kelrobin Labradors for quite awhile now, but I'd really like to find a breeder who would be willing to let me keep future-boy-puppy intact until I feel it necessary to neuter him. A neuter-by-X-age contract isn't a deal breaker for me, but I would prefer not having one just because I'd like to have that choice.

Does anybody have any breeder suggestions? I'm north west of Indianapolis by about 45 minutes. I'm willing to drive up to a day (8-10 hours) in any direction to get a pup, but I'd really prefer to not ship, so I'd like to limit myself to breeders in my general area.

No recommendations, but those Kelrobin labs are GORGEOUS. I love Jake. <3 Good luck in your search! How exciting!

Have you thought about getting a service dog washout since you seem to like the type so much?

You and I have very similar preferences in lab looks. I love the breeder that you posted-if you find others with similar dogs please let me know!

I hope this stays here long enough for you to see it, but check out

LABRADORNET - Labrador Typecasting

You should be able to find lines with those dogs in it by googling the "type" and lineage. Hope that helps some!

Oops, that said, *my* personal favorites are the Holton Classic, Whitmore, and Lawnwood types.

I am really really really aching for a puppy. A male black Lab pup that I can do some noncompetitive obedience work with and therapy work with is my dream dog at the moment. If it looks like a puppy wouldn't be the best fit when the time rolls around, that is an interesting option that I'll have to look in to. I'm also considering adoption a medical research dog through the university, but that all depends on the timing and the dog...and regardless, I WILL be getting my puppy at some point.

Thanks for the link, Charlie. I'll see if I can get it to help me out!

I have a few favorites that I think you would like - you (& others who are interested) can PM me if you want.

Do they not have puppies avalible that wash out? I wouldnt think each and every puppy would go into the program?

Most schools rarely disqualify pups (unless there is a health issue) and even then most often the puppy raiser home gets first dibs on the dog, and then if they don't keep the dog, there is a waiting list that is quite long. If that's a route you want to go, you'd want to get your name on a list now.

Yup. I actually was a puppy raiser for Leader Dogs in high-school, so I know the system pretty well. I know they don't have "wash outs" under a year, as it is at a year the pups go back for evaluation. Then the ones that pass the evaluation are put through further training, and the ones that pass that are matched with a person. The pup we raised is now a Guide dog, but we did request to take her back when she retires.

If you look really hard you might be able to find a pup. Up until I got Logan I was on the list for a poodle pup from American Poodles at Work. They simply don't have the space to train all the pups they produce, so some are rehomed as puppies. You're more likely to find this in a smaller school.

There's a breeder that comes to the clinic fairly often for OFA stuff and AI/timing stuff. I don't know if it's what you like in a lab, but if I were to ever get a lab (and that's not likely lol) I'd definitely get one of his based jsut on looks. I don't know a ton about his breeding program other than he obviously does OFA hips/elbows.

ETA: I just googled and this is his website: Home

The dogs on there are FAT compared to how they look when they come in. I swear they've not been that chunky when I've seen them. I dunno, maybe I've just always seen them pregnant and don't notice the fat lol. Maybe he fattens them up for the conformation ring. I can't recall how much the dogs weight, but I can easily find out. They are fairly short, though, short enough that I couldn't even consider one when I was looking for an SD candidate (Logan is 26 inches and PERFECT height). But I absolutely LOVE this dog, she's such a sweetheart: Scarlett

This dog is pretty nice too, but Scarlett is still my favorite Presley

I love the Whitmore dogs.

The last two yellow Whitmores are perfect to me, but that one black looks like too far in the "weedy" direction and I don't like his houndy ears. The one after has a weird looking head IMO. The Holton Classics look nice.

I'm a fan of the Holton Classics, the Mardas dogs, and the Lawnwoods. I don't like too thick and stocky or too weedy.

What amazed me about the 'type' page is the part at the bottom where they mention the size of the same dog in conformation weight and field trial weight. I would expect a difference...but 20 lbs? Wow. Makes me wonder if I'd like the look of show labs a lot better if they removed 1/4 of their body weight.

From what I understand it is very common for labs to have at least 5-10 lbs of weight put on them for the show season. It really confuses me why judges would be rewarding fatter dogs since this is a breed that is supposed to be athletic. This is why I would have trouble showing labs in confo and doing well--I have a real issue deliberately putting that much extra weight on a dog to show it.

I actually like the weedy/houndy look. *shrug*

I like a "middle" ground when I look for Labs - I think its because I'm so used to Harleigh, who is more field-type.

However, I really love Salty Dog of Tampa Bay... to me he is gorgeous. I also love Piper from Piccadilly Labs. However, I love Sonya and Tango from WindyCanyon as well.

I think there are some Lab breeders that DO have overweight dogs, but most of them have a lot of bone and if you put your hands on them they really aren't that fat. I don't think you can judge by a picture if the dog is overweight or not, you really have to get your hands on them.

Take Finn from WigWag Labradors for instance - to some he is FAT, but if even if you look at his puppy pictures he was twice as big as the rest of his littermates. He just has a lot of bone and substance - personally, I think he is gorgeous!