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Thank you for your interest in our puppies. I thoughtfully plan for our puppies well in advance, researching pedigrees, checking health clearances, and making sure that any Labrador that I breed or breed to has a correct Labrador temperament and is of the highest quality!
My goal with each breeding is to improve upon and compliment our female's conformation and breed type, with a male that has compatible qualities. I hope all this planning and research will present us with happy, healthy and beautiful Labradors!
It is very important to us that we place our puppies (or adult dogs) in the very best *forever homes* that we possibly can. We require that our prospective new families fill out our Puppy Questionnaire Form prior to scheduling a visit with us. This form helps us to get to know what you are looking for in a new family member and also helps us to get to know you and your family a little better. Our pet puppies are placed with Spay/Neuter agreements and on AKC Limited Registration. Any potential show prospects stay here with us! And we do not sell Labradors for breeding, so please do not ask us!!
Our puppies are raised in our home with lots of attention and love. They are socialized with my children and their friends, and once old enough, with our other dogs. As our puppies grow they are also exposed to a number of new experiences which allows them to become healthy well adjusted puppies, ready to take on the world! This level of attention ensures their social development and their readiness to take their place as a loving member of their new family. Early socialization, daily contact and handling of puppies (newborn - 8 weeks) is critical and is something we feel is a very important part of our puppies daily routine.
There are many Labrador breeders out there and while many are truly reputable and respected, there are breeders who who will take advantage of the *ill informed* or *novice* puppy buyer. BE CAREFUL!!! I strongly recommend that you make a point of VISITING the breeder you are speaking with prior to placing a deposit on any puppy!! Many times a visit to the breeder that you thought sounded wonderful and full of knowledge on the telephone may reveal some disturbing issues that will only come to light by *VISITING* the breeders home.
We believe that if someone chooses to breed that they should commit to "giving back" to their dogs by providing their dogs with the very best housing and living enviournments possible. We try to do that here by continually updating our dogs living areas (ie: new fences, dog beds, dog houses, new toys, bones, heated living areas etc...). Our puppies are raised in our home, are house trained, learn house manners, receive basic obedience and show training. Our adult dogs DO NOT spend 100% of their lives "crated" inside our home. They DO spend much of their time outside (weather permitting), hanging out with us in in the house and/or our heated kennel area. Our doggie "kennel" area is connected to, and is part of our home and was built with our dogs specific needs in mind.
Large dogs need room to run and play, preferably "on grass". We feel this keeps them physically healthy and mentally stimualated. Breeders who have been breeding for many years should know this and certainly have had time over the years to provide a *proper* living situation for their dogs. If they have not done that, this tells me that they do not "invest" themselves first and foremost in the well being of their dogs and you may want to look elsewhere for a breeder who cares and is more commited to giving back to their dogs.
The following is a list of questions that you should ask any breeder that you contact regarding their puppies. Make a point to ask *many* questions and please VISIT prior to reserving your puppy. Please take the time to educate yourself........after all this is a lifetime commitment for you, your family and your new puppy!
1. Ask what the OFA Hip AND Elbow certifications are on the prospective puppies parents. Ask to see copies of the certifications. Prospective puppy owners should ensure that the breeder of their puppy have had radiographs of the dam's hips submitted to the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals for review by experts in the field of canine orthopedics and hip dysplasia; likewise, the breeder should have ascertained the Sire's OFA certification. All certificates should be available to the prospective puppy owner for inspection. You can verify OFA information with the parents AKC numbers at the following web site www.offa.org
2. The key to prevention of eye disorders lies in the attempt to control both environmental and hereditary factors. Proper nutrition is essential to healthy eye development. Screening breeding stock for the presence of eye disorders and eliminating affected individuals from the gene pool is a major contribution toward eradicating eye disorders within a breed. Ask to see eye certificates of both parents. Eye clearance certificates would be provided from THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF VETERINARY OPHTHALMOLOGISTS (ACVO) AND/OR THE CANINE EYE REGISTRATION FOUNDATION (CERF).
3. Ask the breeder about where they whelp, raise and keep their puppies from birth to 8 weeks of age? Ask to see the area/s.
4. Ask the breeder about what measures they take to socialize their puppies prior to their arrival in your home?
5. Ask the breeder about what type of diet they have provided to the Dam (mother) of the puppies during pregnancy. And ask what they have fed their puppies during weaning until the time they go to their new homes. Puppies AND their mothers should be fed a raw foods and/or an "all natural" PREMIUM brand dog food. Examples of these would include:
Fresh RAW (BARF - "Biologically Appropriate Raw Foods") foods fed along with a premium food such as; Premium Edge, Wellness, Innova, Solid Gold, Wysong, Eagle Pack Holistic, Canidae, Biljac etc...
Typically a low cost or generic store brand dog food will be of a low nutritional quality, there is a reason that the food is priced low! In our opinion a low quality, low cost food is not something you should feed a pregnant or lactating female with puppies (or ANY dog!). In today's society we are now well aware of how nutritional deficits affect human pregnancy, birth and intelligence in young and growing children - the same nutitional issues also apply to our dogs. Having a healthy, well cared for dog *prior* to any breeding is essential and a key factor in having healthy puppies!
6. When you visit a breeder ask to see and meet the Dam of the Puppies. Also ask to meet the Sire if the Sire is on the premises. However many times the breeder will not own the Sire. Quite often when planning a breeding it is necessary to travel quite a distance to find a Male which compliments your female and who has an appropriate pedigree, health clearances, temperament and conformation.
7. Visit the breeder prior to reserving a puppy. When you visit the breeder ask to see where they keep their adult dogs. The area should be secure and safe for the dogs, they should be clean and all be in good weight, happy and healthy.
8. It is important to prove the quality of your breeding stock. To that end I believe that the breeder should make an effort to show their dogs in conformation. Ask the breeder what recent shows they or their dogs have attended. Ask how well their dogs did at the show? Ask what their upcoming plans are and if you could attend to watch, even if you're not interested in showing a dog yourself...it's a good time to assess quality!
We hope that this information helps you in your search for a quality puppy! If you would like to inquire about our plans for future puppies please send an e-mail to mirabellelabs@roadrunner.com
If you would like to schedule a time for a visit, please fill out our Puppy Questionnaire form. Once we receive a completed questionnaire, we will send information regarding the parents of our puppies. This information will include OFA Hip and Elbow status, Eye clearance information as well as pictures and pedigree information. We can then plan to speak on the phone (603-539-6156) and set up a time for a visit. At any time during this process please feel free to ask me any questions you may have.
References from previous puppy owners, 3 Veterinary Practices, other Breeders and personal references are available upon request, please feel free to ask us for this information.
Thanks for taking the time to read this!
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The content of these pages is not public domain. All images, backgrounds, photos and graphics on these pages are original images, are design copyrighted (Dana Loud © 1997-2007) and are the sole property of Dana Loud. Reproduction and/or distribution, by electronic means or otherwise, is expressly forbidden!
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