The dogs we select for our breeding program meet the following criteria:
➳Tested for all relevant genetic diseases We would never breed a carrier to a carrier (which could result in an affected puppy). We use reliable laboratories (DDG or PawPrint Genetics) to test for all of the genetic diseases relevant to the purebred Labrador gene pool. We believe that Labradors exclusively come in Black, Chocolate, and Yellow. The dilute (or silver) gene does not occur in the purebred or responsibly bred Labrador Retriever.
➳Hips rated "Good" or "Excellent" by OFA X-Rays of the hips and elbows are taken at two years old and sent in to the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals. The panel of veterinary radiology specialists evaluate the conformation of the "ball and socket" joint and rate them compared to others in the breed. Dogs with passing ratings have a significantly lower chance of producing a puppy with hip dysplasia. However, since there are unfortunately many environmental factors that play a role in the development of canine hip dysplasia, it does not guarantee that a dog or any its offspring will never develop hip dysplasia.
➳Elbows rated "Normal" by OFA This means that there are no signs of dysplasia present in the dog's elbow joint. Elbow dysplasia is a "blanket term" for several developmental issues in the elbow, all of which result in osteoarthritis, which is quite painful and can cause significant lameness especially later in life. Dogs carry two-thirds of their weight on their front ends, so having normal elbows is very important! As with hip dysplasia, there are injuries and environmental factors that cause a dog's elbows to become dysplastic, so be sure to take precautions protect your growing pup's elbows.
➳ Advanced Cardiac Evaluation via Echo Our dogs are evaluated by a board-certified veterinary cardiologist between 1-2 years old to detect any congenital heart conditions. Tricuspid Valve Dysplasia (TVD) is a common congenital heart defect in Labradors that can usually not be picked up by "normal" vets without special equipment. This is why it is very important to have our breeding dogs screened for this defect using echo doppler.
➳Annual ACVO Eye Exams Our dogs have their eyes examined by board-certified veterinary ophthalmologist annually. The purpose of this is to look for late-onset eye problems that may crop up from year to year. Since Labs are a sporting breed, good eyesight is very important for being functional hunting and service dogs.
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➳Good Overall Health We do not keep a dog that has a chronic health problem, autoimmune disease, skin allergy, or food allergy in our breeding program. We run yearly bloodwork & urinalysis on our adult dogs to monitor their overall health.
➳Sound Structure & Functional Conformation A dog that is not "built right" is more prone to injury. That's why we prioritize conformation and work to improve it with each breeding. We also exhibit our dogs at AKC Conformation shows to have their structure judged against others in the breed. ➳ Well-tempered, Intelligent, and Stable We take pride in how versatile and trainable our dogs are. Life is easier with a smart, well-adjusted dog. We are extremely picky about temperament. The dogs that we select to keep in our breeding program must be easy to train, friendly, good with other dogs, gentle when they need to be, not too wild, not too lazy, and able to connect with humans.
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