New dog idea.

 Sparta can be a punk with visitors too (his breed dictates that) but when he gets too pushy i put him in a down/stay right by my heel. yeah it interrupts the visit but its more important that he behaves............... unless i dont really want company...... then i just say "sorry he's just very protective! you might want to come back later!" Kaydee was the same but it was more serious with her. if she felt something "wrong" with that person then it was to their benefit to stay in their car or on the other side of the fence.

 My mom was talking about that with me.  The hip thing mainly.  Max had the hip displacia however you spell it? It is common in labs and shepherds.  Not positive if the people we got him from had any proof of that (I know they did with other tests) but I was only 11 at the time.  She said once we find out if the people still have the dog (they also have the parent dogs living in the same home) we will get into that with them. She doesn't want to risk that again with a dog.  There is SO much to research before getting one thats why she wanted me to contact them asap and find out things considering we wont be getting one until April.

Thanks again! as far as the training I will def look at the forums.

 It's a good thing that you are doing research on the various breeds that interest you. That way you know what health problems a breed is known to have and you can be better prepared with questions. I'm not advocating getting a dog from a breeder over a dog from a rescue organization or a shelter, but I would seriously encourage you to not take statements of 'oh, they are healthy; we've never had health problems; or the vet said she was healthy to breed, etc." if you go with a breeder. There are certain test for each disease to show whether the parent has the problem. Not all dogs show symptoms of (for example) hip dysplasia, but they can carry the gene and pass it on to their offspring.

A dedicated breeder will do the specific health test for their breed to clear them for breeding. They know their lines and what health problems the dogs in their pedigrees have had. Though sometimes you will still get a dog with hip dysplasia from parent's that are cleared. Genetics are a funny thing. Science has come a long way, but it has just as far to go when it comes to genetics. You can stack the deck as much as possible for success, but you can still get health problems. A reputable breeder will be there for support if something like that does happen. They will want to know that a specific pairing produced a health issue.

Having said that, if you get a dog from a shelter/rescue of unknown background (and you can determine his breed if he's a mixed breed), there are steps you can take to help keep him as healthy as possible. With hip dysplasia, keeping the dogs weight on the lean side, moderate exercise to not overstress joints, a good food and supplements, and periodical x-rays (by a good vet) to monitor the hips to help head off real deterioration/problems can go a long way to the dog having a good, healthy life. That is just one example, but I just wanted to put that out there.

 All the puppies were sold. I am seeing if there are any pure choc labs in shelters or rescues but no luck around here :(

thatamandagirl

She doesn't want to risk that again with a dog.

Check with your vet and see how much for the hip x-ray to diagnose displasia.

Mechanical Angel

I vote for a Cocker Spaniel!

That was my first thought. They're med size and the ones I've known aren't yappy and have a deeper bark when the do bark. You should definitely research whatever breed you're considering. There's so much great info out there! Good luck!

 The thing with the cocker spaniel is my mom isn't a fan.  I am personally a fan of any dog they are all adorable to me but not to her lol.  She now pretty much has her heart set on a chocolate lab.  Now it's just a mission to find one... every one we have called have already been sold so we're just crossing our fingers we will find one.

 Your best bet for a healthy lab is to look for BREEDERS, rather than puppies.  You may have to go on a waiting list, because many good breeders breed only very rarely and carefully.  But it's still a good route, because they may refer you to someone else who has a litter or a litter planned (remember a good breeder is not just about making money or completing a sale - it is more important to them that their breed is preserved and their pups go to good homes).  If a PUPPY is not hugely important, they may well have, or know of, an older dog that they need to rehome. (I think that is how Liesje got Kenya?)

Taking a pup "because it is available" is chancing going through a lot of heartache.... Waiting for a pup that has been bred very carefully stacks the odds in your favour that the pup will be physically and temperamentally sound

Plus, I would not want to hand money over to a person who did NOT breed "only rarely and carefully", so if you don't want to wait for a pup from a good breeder, just keep checking out shelters.... the right dog will come along eventually.

 Yeah I found this one really good one but all the puppies had already had deposits on them and they said they weren't sure when they would have another litter.  They gave me a link of another one that they knew and I contacted them but  have not heard back yet so we'll see.

Waiting is the hard part because I have been used to having a dog for the last 12 years.!

I think I know what you mean.... I think this is one reason I will never have less than 2 dogs, because losing one and then having a dog shaped hole in my life would be just so weird and difficult.  Just keep telling yourself that the next dog will likely also live with you for 12 years or more... you owe it to yourselves and the new dog not to rush it

stardancnminpin

thatamandagirl

 We raised him around people and fine and he was GREAT for a few years but he became VERY protective and he couldn't be around people besides us or frequent visitors.... We loved him of course but we are getting to where we want a dog that can bark when someone is there but not be that mean that they bark the ENTIRE time someone is over. He never bit anyone or anything but we never gave him that chance. It was just crazy and of course the older he got the worse he got because he was sick and having trouble seeing also.

 

I was hoping one of the trainers would comment on this, but I want to point out that this can be a problem with any dog of any breed. There are steps you can take to stop the dog from barking non stop when someone comes over, but it will take time and commitment from both you and your mom on an ongoing basis. Training/reinforcement never stops. And just because the dog is fine with people away from the home doesn't mean the dog is going to be fine with them in HIS territory.

I hope you will stick around and browse through the training forum here and ask questions. We've got some wonderful people on here.

Good luck with your search!

I know I didn't comment directly, but that's the reason I always tell people to do socialization and puppy class VERY early.  By 16 weeks, you've almost lost the opportunity to create a confident puppy that can deal well with novel situations for the rest of its life.  Not that many dogs are born that way - it's a matter of learning.

I'm not sure where in NY you are but these are two good contacts to start with:

 These are the two regional Lab clubs listed on the Lab Club of America's website. They can usually put you in touch with breeders and also put it out there to their membership that you are looking for a Chocolate Lab.

Also there are quite a few breeders listed on the Lab Club of America's breeder list: http://www.thelabradorclub.com/subpages/breeder_search_results.php?cri=bystate

 There are also a few rescue contacts in NY for Labs listed on the website:

http://www.thelabradorclub.com/subpages/rescue_search_result.php

You need to clarify what they mean by "2 year guarantee".  A breeder should have a take back policy FOR THE LIFE OF THE DOG.  A good breeder will INSIST on it, it will be written into the contract... because it is important to them that they know were each of their pups end up, and how they turned out. 

Speaking of which - IS there a contract?

A breeder can have certificates up to their eyeballs for themselves and their dogs, but if they don't have a life time take back policy, I go elsewhere... that's pretty much my only blanket rule.

 I just glanced at it because we weren't sure yet if we could even get them. It is a written up thing in a word document that I saw that both sign. All i noticed was it said the guarantee was for the hip displaysia. I didn't check what else it said because that was moms big concern. I also read online that if they are going to have that they would show signs by 2 years old so maybe that is why for that guarantee it's two years? Not sure.  When mom gets her taxes (thats what we're using for the pup) she will be calling the place and asking them the million questions she has before we even go see them so we'll go from there :)

Thank you for your concern though. I'll keep ya updated :)