RE: what to look for in a pup?
I've had 8 Labs in my lifetime. My first was a Male, then all females per the previous posts. When I chose one at 9 wks, I would stand in the pen and see the ones that would nibble and play with my shoe strings. Then I would get out and then toss a small sock in the middly of the litter. The female that grabbed and ran with the sock was my pick. Of course I checked all the other desireables per the previous posts also. All my Labs were excellent retrievers and flushers. They all did soft points. They worked on pheasants as well as waterfowl. All my females took hand signals by 9 months, some by 6 months. Ned S