I got a 2 year old black Lab this last fall with papers, great dog. He's a little rough around the edges when it comes to hunting but he's comeing aroud in a hurry, pretty quick learner. Great with kids and other animals. I was kind of nervouse getting and older dog but I don't regret this one one bit.
The guy I got him from is a Lab breeder. he said he was getting rid of the dog because he wasn't going to breed him anymore. I'm wondering why you wouldn't breed a 2 year old great dog anymore? He's also one of the best looking Labs I've seen, I've gotten a lot of comments on him!


One more question! He's scared of water he won't go in if he can't touch the ground. Any suggestions?

Go swimming with him. That's the best way.

I thought that would probubly work!
I think I'll wait a while though the water here in MN, is plent cold yet[&:]\

Thanks,
Bird

1. ANYMORE ? A dog under age 2 shouldn't have been bred in the first place
You can't get OFA certification on hips or elbows if the dog is under age 2, and IMO, if a dog doesn't have OFA certification on hips and elbows (and CERF on eyes), it shouldn't be bred.
2. I guess I would have asked him.

the new lab i just got got me wondering how someone wouldnt find the time for thier dog, but i can see that alot better than why you said......it' sounds to be just business to them........sad.......

Take it slow with an introduction to water, baby steps, don't force the issue, put on some waders and get out knee deep, wait for the water to be 60 or above. One of the best ways is take out to where other dogs are working in water, if he sees them having fun he might not be able to resist.

If there's any way you can reach the breeder, I would do so to find out why they stopped breeding him. As a small breeder of Cavaliers, that raises all kinds of red flags for me. If there is some kind of problem, you need to know about it. My concern is that a reputable breeder should have said something about why the dog was being let go.

We show our dogs in conformation and the breeding helps pay for our show habit. If we keep a puppy that grows up and is not good enough to show, we may put it up for adoption, but usually we breed it with other dogs that have strengths where the new one has weaknesses. However, if we have a puppy that has some type of congenital health problem, we will not breed that puppy and it will be put up for adoption. HOWEVER, the new family will be informed of the problem and the price will be adjusted accordingly. Most times the price is free to a good home (plus the cost of a spay/neuter) for a congenital problem. It doesn't happen very often, but it does happen.

Like Doc E said, 2 years is about the time we would START breeding our dogs. Another red flag.

huntnma, not intended to be a criticism, but we breeders can't keep everything. We have 7 dogs and are at the limit of what the City will allow for our hobby kennel license. When one of our dogs gets too old to breed or have a health problem as indicated above, we have to place it in a new home. Believe me, that is not an easy thing to do! We get attached to the puppies and have a hard time watching them go, but letting a dog go that we have had for 7 years is a hundred times harder. That's one of the things I really hate about breeding, but it has to be done; those are the ones where we really screen the potential families hard and actually put in the contract that they have to keep in touch with us. They will only go to local families, also.

Bruce

This guy didn't seem to have any problems with getting rid of him!