[Helen]

Hello, my partner and I are hoping to get a yellow labrador in the next few months and wondered if anyone could recommend a good bredder in the south west of england.

 

[Jessie]

Hi Helen, I'm probably not the best person to advise you as I am a new labrador owner myself, and don't know too much, but when we decided to get a labrador, I read up on the subject and as everyone says on here, it is important to find a reputable breeder.

What I did was contact the Kent, Surrey and Sussex labrador club, and they put me in touch with some reputable breeders that were members and who were due to have/had pupies. I'm not sure what the equivilent club would be for you, but I have copied here a list of phone numbers from http://members.aol.com/summersbrook/ This is a breeders home page that I have found very useful and informative on a host of different things.


Also the breeder should ask you more questions than you ask her, the breeder we got Jessie from was very clear that we could come down and meet her, but she was very particular about who she would allow her puppies to go to, so she asked us LOADS of questions, spent time getting to know us and our children, watching how our children were with the puppies and older dogs. It was almost like a job interview, no subkect was off limits, what our lifestyle was like, our knowledge and attitude towards training etc etc. It was definately worth it as Jessie is (in my opinion ) the most beautiful puppy, with a wonderful loving playful temperament.

Hope this is of some help. Please let me know how you get on.

Salena

For a breeder near you....ask the secretary of your local breed club.

The first two operate nationwide - the others are regional.
There’s no difference in the quality of service. They’ll all help you find a good breeder.

The Labrador Retriever Club ....... Mrs H Wiles-Fone............01296 - 641498
The Yellow Labrador Club ........... Mrs M Allen .....................01300 - 321381

Northern Ireland .......................... Mrs CF Doherty ...............02892 - 639264
Scotland ........................................ Mrs AM Pollock ...............01563 - 820270
Wales.............................................. Mrs J Povall .....................01633 - 422638
Cotswold and Wyevern ................. Mrs JA Cook ....................01905 - 423942
East Anglia ................................... Mrs J Cole ........................01354 - 680375
Kent, Surrey and Sussex ............... Mrs J Minns......................02083 - 007999
Midland Counties ......................... Mrs J Allen...................... 01733 - 222643
Northumberland and Durham ..... Mr PA Smith .................. 01642 - 292965
North West .................................... Mrs SM Saunt ..................01942 - 212280
Three Ridings ............................... Mr JD Jackson..................01924 - 848743
West of England ........................... Mrs C Mills .......................01458 - 833158

 

[Karen_theArtist]

I have to admit when we first decided to actually start looking for breeders I was nervous! I had never bought a dog before and I always get nervous when speaking to people on the phone about something I wanted, but wasn't sure if we'd meet the grade! :lol:

Don't be put off by breeders wanting to know a lot about you - if you bred puppies you would want to make sure they went to good, loving, permanent homes.

This site may also help:

http://www.champdogs.co.uk/guided/all_labrador-retriever_breeders.html

If you scroll down to the bottom you can search by location and the south west is one of them. It appears that a lot of breeders are in that area. Some may have websites you can look at and also email addresses, so you could contact that way in the first instance to see if they will have or have any puppies.

Bear in mind that all listed may not be reputable, but I do know that many good breeders do list here as a lot I had recommended to me are here, as is the place where my puppy is from.

Karen