13 Days Old 2019 AKC Yellow Lab puppies, tummies full and ready to rest and grow!

Thank you for visiting our page. All our puppies from the November 2019 litter have relocated to their new homes. Our next litter is due Thanksgiving weekend 2020. Pictures to come soon!

 

In our lives, there has never been a time without dogs, and rarely without Labradors. Labs are steady, companionable dogs, easily trained and capable as service animals, family pet, field trial or show ring competitors, your hiking buddy or – maybe best of all – your faithful retriever when the morning is still, the ducks are up and the water is cold.

When Bruce and I discussed adding an AKC Yellow Labrador breeding program to our farm, our goal was:

To raise quality Labradors appropriate for the field, the home and if desired, the show ring, to strive for improvement in our line and the breed overall that are affordable for an owner who wants a registered, healthy dog with an excellent disposition and competitive potential. We have recently become an AKC Breeder with Heart. The exceptional breeders at Thornwood Labradors encouraged us to continue our breeding program after seeing our young female, Daisy. That was the best confirmation we could have received!

Our search of stud dogs revealed that one must be discerning, as any male that has not been castrated can be promoted as a “stud”. Before we undertook breeding Lilac, we had her evaluated to assure that she met the AKC conformation and color requirements for the Yellow Lab, got her OSA certificates for elbows and hips (elbows good, hips excellent) and then had the good fortune to find a very experienced professional breeder who could pair Lilac with a stud who could improve our line (see Stryker’s pedigree on the Puppies for Sale page).

  • Did we have the time and the space to raise puppies they way we think they should be raised?
    • Yes! We live on a 4 acre homestead in the Klamath Basin which hosts a number of livestock species, all of whom the puppies can be appropriately exposed to. (The farm even has an insulated heated kennel, but… that currently hosts our apiary).
  • Could we find a stud dog to strengthen and improve our line?
    • Yes! We found Thornwood Labradors, an AKC Labrador Breeder of Merit http://www.thornwoodlabradors.com Owner and Breeder Cheri Conway evaluated Lilac and chose the stud that would give her puppies more breadth and stout (and based on the size and shape of some of our pups, it was a good match!)
  • Could we successfully breed, whelp, raise and socialize a litter of puppies?
    • Kathy, an RN, spent years as a 4-H and FFA parent, overseeing the breeding, raising and showing of a variety of livestock. Each puppy was ID’d at birth, and has been weighed daily to check for growth patterns, inspecting for any signs of trouble in pups or momma. It takes a lot of energy to make enough milk to grow a litter, so making sure Lilac has the nutrition and outdoor time that she needs to also stay healthy and relaxed has been a priority. 
  • Do we know which physical characteristics a “good Lab” should reflect?
    • Yes! And we encourage everyone interested in our puppies to check out www.akc.org and search information on Labradors. There you will find the measurements, proportions and disposition that are expected in a registered Black, Chocolate or Yellow Labrador.