HAZEL, HANNAH, THE PUPPIES AND WHERE WE LIVE:
Hazel and Hannah aren't just our pets. They are part of our family and live in our home with us. We love them very much. We can't imagine life without either of them. We only breed them occasionally and will never adopt them out after we are done breeding them.
A waiting list is always in progress before we breed. We live in Northern Indiana and have 4 children so the puppies are always very well socialized and get plenty of excercise and exploration time. We encourage families to visit us often after the puppies are 4 weeks old to see the puppy they choose.
Our goal is to keep our puppies' new families as well informed about their puppy as we possibly can as long as the puppy is here with us and with its mother. That may include phone calls, visits to our home and/or emails with photos of their first 8 weeks with us. Our website is also a form of keeping them updated and informed.
We do our best to keep our price fair for each pup and do our best at keeping the pups healthy. When being weened from mom, pups will be started on a mixture of sardines, salmon or mackeral, raw eggs & Black Gold Premium Dog Food as well.
We will also include beef/venison/turkey/chicken livers & veggies in their diets. They will have 1st shots, de-worming treatments, vet checks, be well socialized with children and introduced to lots of different sounds. Most importantly, we give the puppies lots of love!
WHY WE CHOSE THE LABRADOR BREED:
We absolutely fell in love with the labrador breed after experiencing their top qualities. Those qualities include loyalty to family,
their temperament towards children, a remarkable, proud appearance and being quite exceptional as for obedience & intelligence when given proper time and effort by owner .
We are a family with four children that believes socialization is primary key to creating quality family pets.
We do not breed for show or conformation events as we are not actively participating in these events.
We sell "pet quality" labrador puppies only.
We have come to enjoy the labrador breed best of all and admire their willingness to please their owners.
We choose to breed our labs to provide pet quality puppies to other loving families such as our own.
We are not a kennel or boarding facility. We only own 2 labradors that are part of our family. We may or may not breed our labs once a year.
We do our best to place our puppies before they are born. We breed our labs for placement in homes as pets or family companions ONLY.
However, if you get more out of one of our labrador retriever puppies than just being a family companion, such as a great hunting dog, a show dog, a therapy or service dog, a search and rescue dog or a tracking dog, then we owe you a great deal of thanks for producing such a great dog from one of our puppies and devoting so much time and energy into making your dog what he or she is!
It is YOU that deserves the recognition for all the training you've given your labrador to become such a great valuable dog! In order for a dog to be titled in field events or conformation work, it requires a lot of effort, time, training and money by the owner. Please remember that this work is extensive and requires dedication and without a dedicated, loving owner, those titled dogs would not be who they are.
HOW OUR PUPPIES ARE RAISED:
Our AKC registered Labrador puppies will make great pets or hunting dogs. Our puppies are raised with lots of love and attention.
We socialize the puppies everyday and introduce them to different environments, sounds, lots of children and other dogs. Parents of our puppies have been chosen with excellent temperaments, socialization skills and gentleness in mind.
We breed quality lab pups that make great family pets. This breed of dog offers a variety of different appearances and personalities that we have grown to love.
SOCIALIZING:
I do encourage adequate family socialization before taking a puppy home with you.
Feel free to spend a few hours at our home with your family to become socialized with the litter in order to determine which puppy you
think would be best for your family. You may feel free to visit weekly to become better associated with our litters provided there is no major outbreak of Parvo in our area and you agree to our terms in visitation, such as taking off your shoes & washing your hands if requested.
ADOPTING OUR LABRADORS OUT (RETIRED DOGS):
We will never adopt our labs out after they've "retired" from breeding because that would be a tramatic experience for them to adjust to as they are members of our family. They will stay with us their entire lives.
Our puppies are raised around our family in & outside of our home. As you can see from some of our photos, we enjoy the fact that our labrador puppies have various looks to them, which is an appealing quality labradors behold.
EXCERCISE:
The labrador is a breed that needs plenty of excercise so we are sure to include our labradors on family outings.
We go on nature hikes to wildlife areas & state parks which gives our labs the opportunity to explore, swim and become familiar with other animals on a regular basis. Our labs attend ball games and sporting events with our family as well when allowed by such events.
However, Hazel tends to get a little excited about seeing a ball thrown around. Hazel and Hannah are at our sides during all family events and spoiled with love and attention.
WHAT OUR PUPPIES INCLUDE:
All of our puppies come with AKC registration, pedigree, a thorough vet examination, first vaccinations with record, and wormed from age 3 weeks.
We provide a 72 hour health guarantee with every puppy. Once a puppy leaves our home we cannot control
the environment in which they live but we still offer the 72 hour health guarantee. You can read more about our HEALTH Guarantee on our Guarantee page.
FEEDING OUR PUPPIES:
Feedings, Veterinary and Vaccination information page.
LABRADOR CHARACTERISTICS (STYLES/TYPES):
Some labrador characteristics include their behavior, coat color, tails and their heads.
The labrador has an "otter" style tail.
Their coat colors are usually rich in color and smooth. Colors recognized by the American Kennel Club are Black, Yellow and Chocolate only. Yellow may range from a pale cream color (almost white) to a golden fox red color (carmel or butterscotch).
Their heads can range from a blocky style to a narrow, thinner nose.
We find their best features to be their behavior and companionship. Whether you raise your dog to be a family member or choose to have your lab be a partner in hunting, the labrador is a well-rounded dog.
We have 4 children and it was important for us to have a family pet that fit in as a family member and to be very well mannered when it came to being around children.
Children are our life, so our pets have to understand that.
RETURNING A LAB TO US: It is MOST important to us that our puppies go to loving homes with loving families who will care for them.
If anyone who purchases one of our
labrador pups can no longer keep him/her, they can call us for help in finding a new loving home for the dog. There may be times when we will even take a dog back if
a new home is not found. Please NEVER send one of our pups to any type of shelter or humane society, ALWAYS call us back first so we can help place the dog in a new home. Some shelters do not keep their word and once the animal enters the shelter they are euthanized as soon as they get them due to overpopulation or other circumstances. Most people assume that because they drop their animals at the shelter that they will be adopted out to another family, but in reality, the shelters cannot possibly provide for all of the animals it receives in.
I don't believe in euthanizing an animal unless it is rabid, extremely unhealthy or the animal would otherwise live it's life out in extreme pain. I never want anyone to ever feel embarassed about contacting me for help if they feel they cannot continue providing for the dog they purchased from me. I will do my very best to help place the pup in a loving home for you with your approval.
NAMING YOUR PUPPY/PUPPY NAMES:
Click this link for a list of puppy names. AKC Registered names usually include 2-4 names. Most of the time the breeder's kennel name is used in the name so the bloodline will be recognised in the name or the breeder may require this for all of their puppies. Other times the character of the dog will be associated with registered name. The "call name" is the short name that you call the dog by. Such as with the name we chose for Hazel, "Vicary's Hazel Licky Monster." Her call name is Hazel. We included our last name as well as a name that fit her personality. She liked to lick a lot as a puppy, so my daughter came up with "Licky Monster". Very original, yes.
SELLING OUR PUPPIES:
Under absolutely NO circumstances will a puppy or adult dog of ours be knowingly sold (by us) to or consigned to pet shops or pet stores, other commercial dealers or offered at auction. We do our very best to stay in touch with new owners and keep informed of their pup's progress through life. We encourage new owners to send us photos and comments in order for us to upload to our website (permission must be granted to us through your email). We will not ship our pups or dogs. We must meet the new owners in person.
A DOG IS A DOG IS A DOG, TRAINING, TRAINING, TRAINING (CHEWING, CHEWING, CHEWING):
Every good mannered dog is what he is due to proper training by his owner or handler. Whether you train your dog to hunt, to track, for service or therapy work, or obedience, you must provide the
proper training throughout his life in order for him to become the dog you desire him to be. Without guidance and training, the dog will just be himself. For trainging dogs, I have found that repeated methods & one syllable words work best. Such as sit, stay, come, down, fetch. You can find some titles to books that may be of interest to some of you in training your dogs on our "Links" page.
We have experienced fairly intelligent labradors as pets with including basic obedience training. But like all dogs, they do have dog tendencies no matter how well trained.
They are "chewers" and love to chew, chew, chew.
It is important that they have plenty of toys around at all times or they will destroy shoes, clothes and wooden furniture!
You have to love your pet more than you love the material items when this happens.
You also have to be a teacher and train them to chew on their toys and not on your possessions.
Training is very time consuming but well worth the time involved for this breed.
Labradors are very trainable so I strongly suggest to anyone who has a lab to invest the time in proper canine obedience training
because it is very rewarding. If you don't spend any training time with this dog, expect a dog with no manners.
It is up to you, as the owner, to give your pet the necessary things in life to make him/her a great valuable pet to you and your family.
You must be willing to spend quality time with this breed of dog as they are a "people dog" and they need love and exercise.
They are very willing and eager to please their owner but will get bored if you don't show them attention and give them required excercise.
They are not "guard" dogs but do enough barking to scare unfamiliar people or animals away from the property and they will run up on people or cars who enter the property.
I recommend a "slip-lead" leash for training. I also recommend "liver flavored" treats by Cabela's or hot dogs cut up into small tiny pieces for training purposes. You can dry the small pieces of hot dogs out on a cookie sheet in your oven for a couple of hours set @ 200 degrees and cool them on your counter, then bag them in a ziploc baggie to keep fresh.
We use these often for obedience training and our dogs love them! If you think your dog is not learning (or understanding) what you are training him to do, maybe you should try a different method of training for him/her. Don't get fed up and discouraged as it could be that he/she is not understanding your method. Richard Wolters has written some excellent books on training retrievers. I suggest everyone read them before you take your labrador puppy home.
COAT COLORS/PIGMENT - YELLOW, CHOCOLATE, BLACK, DILUTES (SILVER, CHARCOAL, CREAM, CHAMPAGNE, FOX RED, LT. CHOCOLATE, BLUE, WHITE):
It has been proven that genetics make up the coat colors as well as pigment in the labrador retriever. Dilutes are considered various shades of Black, Chocolate and Yellow. Only Yellow, Black and Chocolate are AKC standards for coat colors for the labrador breed.
In my opinion if a labrador can genetically produce that color, then it should not be considered a fault by the AKC. Such as with pigment, if a labrador can produce it, it should not be considered a fault. I truly believe this is just another great quality of the labrador breed to be able to produce various coat colors and pigments. The coat color has nothing to do with temperament.
This coat color and pigment color has been highly debated in the labrador world. I believe it is all a matter of opinion for the labrador owner and what he/she prefers. Here are some valuable links to read about coat colors and types in order to educate yourself and form an opinion: Coat Color Truth and Pigment/Dudleys
and Coat Color Genetics.
THE DUDLEY (LACKING PIGMENT):
Pink Nose Labrador/Nose turns Pink/Winter Nose - The dudley labrador is what people who don't understand genetics refer to this lab as. The labradors we produce that some say "lack pigment" in the nose and eye rims or have chocolate/liver colored noses and eye rims are some of the most beautiful labradors I've seen.
They always have a nice golden or cream yellow coat and the lightest green eyes.
The labrador retriever puppy that is born "lacking pigment" is not actually lacking pigment but results from a breeding that causes the genetics of the pup to be eebb.
This means that the pup is a chocolate labrador (genetically) but the coat color is yellow. These "dudleys" can be produced from many different crosses such as black to black, yellow to yellow, chocolate to yellow and black to yellow. It all depends on the sire and dam and what their genetics are.
This link explains it the best Pigment and Dudleys.
Dudleys, or so they are called, will not have black noses or eye rims, they will be more of a pink or chocolate/liver color. This link above explains it best in stating that no dog actually lacks pigment and that this has been proven well after the AKC put their standards in place for dog breeds.
If you intend on showing your dog in AKC events, this would be considered a fault. However, it is my opinion that since these genetics have been proven that the AKC should revise their standards. This pup grows up to be one of our most beautiful labs. You can witness this on our reference page by viewing some of our photos.
This is a purebred labrador and having a chocolate/liver or pink nose has nothing to do with temperament.
It is from our experience that the dudleys are very popular.
Everyone has their own opinion in regards to what type of labrador they like or that would fit best into their family.
This is why I love this breed so much, because it offers everyone such a wide variety of coat colors, body structures and personalities.
However, there is a standard set forth by the AKC for showing events that requires the labrador breed to "LOOK" a certain way for conformation (show) purposes, just as every other breed.
The yellow labs with black pigment and the chocolate labs' noses will also lighten up in the winter time to change to a pink sometimes, but then will get darker. This is commonly referred to as "Winter Nose". The labrador's nose can also lighten up if scratch or damaged in some way.
Some say the pink nose is rare and some say this should not be bred because it is a fault according to the AKC standards.
But I say it's beautiful! It's no different than people producing children who are faired skinned,
with blonde hair and green eyes. It's not rare, don't be fooled.
As long as both parents carry a yellow gene and a chocolate gene they can produce this pup.
 This is a Vicary dudley Pup (eebb genetics)
WATERDOGS:
Labradors love water and snow! Once they see a puddle, you have a drippin' wet dog that went mud bogging!
Be patient and let them play otherwise they will become bored and sad. Labs need fresh cool water to play in during the summer. A small, clean, kiddie pool does the trick for hot days.
WEATHER:
Labradors can be kept outside in the winter as long as the temperature doesn’t drop below 20 degrees. Their coat will thicken, but it is important to keep them outside during the fall so the weather change is not drastic to them and their bodies and coats prepare for the change.
Our labradors are "inside" dogs during harsh winter weather. We don't allow our dogs to be outside on a full time basis when the weather gets harsh. These dogs are very adaptable to the climate changes in Northern Indiana but we believe it is important for owners to keep their pets indoors during the winter if they can. And please remember to always provide plenty of food and water for your pet.
Labradors make perfect indoor pets when trained well.
BLOW COAT/SHEDDING:
Labradors tend to blow their coat in the spring and fall. Our yellow labrador blows her coat every spring and tends to shed more than our chocolate does and her coats becomes very thin during this time. Our chocolate blows her coat late summer and tends to lighten up in color a bit.
HOT SPOTS/SKIN IRRITATIONS:
Labradors can get what are called "hot spots". When their skin gets irritated and very wet or infected in some way the infected area can grow to the size of a dinner plate and this can happen very rapidly. It is very important to keep the skin irritations dry and clean and seek a vet's advice as soon as possible. If your vet has you come in he/she may cleanse the area with a medicated surgical cleanser and shave the area of the hot spot to allow it to stay dry. You may even need an E-collar to prevent the labrador from licking the wound.
Hot spots are nothing to mess with when it comes to the labrador breed. I am not a vet, so I recommend that you call your vet the moment you see any irritations on your labrador's skin.
SHOCK COLLARS:
Please do not allow your pup or dog to wear a "shock collar" before the age of 6 months or weight of 50lbs. Do not allow the dog to wear the shock collar on a daily/hourly basis. Check the prongs to be sure they are not digging into the skin or irritating your dogs neck in any way. We only put shock collars on our dogs when they are going outside and we allow them to wear the collar loosely so as not to irritate the skin once they are properly trained with our underground fencing system. The collar comes off as soon as they are back in the house.
THE CHOKER COLLAR/THE PRONG COLLAR:
I do not recommend using these collars at all due to the labrador's coat and skin being loose and thick around the neck. These dogs grow quickly and I believe a choker collar can become embedded in the skin of a labrador very quickly. I believe the prong collar is not safe either for the labrador, because it can poke right through the skin of a labrador's neck. Please never use these. For training purposes, I recommend a "slip lead", this is a rope with a slip-like collar that just tightens around the neck without prongs of any kind and when the handler lets loose, the rope loosens around the dogs neck.
I also recommend "liver flavored" treats by Cabela's or hot dogs cut up into small tiny pieces for training purposes.
BATHS/BATHING:
It is also very important to not bathe a labrador any more than once a month or
longer if you can let it go. Our labs are patient when it comes to bathing time and will sometimes even help themselves in the tub for a bath.
DRY SKIN:
If you notice your labrador has dry skin, add a little cod liver oil or mineral oil to the affected area twice a day. Seek a vet's advice.
STOMACH BLOAT:
Gastric Torsion or Stomach Bloat or Twisted Stomach is a serious condition for labradors. This condition is where the stomach fills up with air (or gas) and makes it difficult for the dog to breathe because of the pressure placed on the diaphram and other organs. The pressure can also affect the viens and cut off circulation of blood to the heart. The air-filled stomach can twist and rotate causing it to cut off the blood supply to the stomach and thus the stomach dies. Signs of stomach bloat include swollen belly or abdomen, quick, shallow breathing, the dog may not be able to rest (restlessness) or seem to be able to get comfortable and seems irritated, vomiting with nothing coming up from trying to vomit and slobbering or foaming at the mouth excessively. If your dog is unresponsive or pale or doesn't seem to be his/her normal self, as always, I recommend getting your dog to the vet as soon as possible. Sometimes when a dog is not feeling well, they will not move from the spot in which they are laying. Or they may seem to look right through you as if they are in shock. Get your dog to the vet immediately if your dog shows any of these signs.
Our first labrador, Gracie, was put on meds to heal a wound in the front of her chest from running into a rusty fence once. After just 2 days of being on the meds, she became very unresponsive, she wouldn't move, she would not use the bathroom, she was foaming at the mouth and she would not acknowledge us. We immediately took her to our ER vet here in Goshen only to find out that she became severely sick from the medicine (antibiotic) she was on to heal the wound. Once we no longer gave her the medicine, she started reacting better and became more lively.
INDIANA BREEDER LAWS:
INFORM YOURSELF - Indiana breeder laws are listed here.
BREEDING DOGS:
ALL OF OUR PUPS ARE SOLD ON LIMITED REGISTRATION unless you can prove you've made valuable efforts to improve the pup and/or get the pup titled in some way. If you have done this or are working on this, we can discuss limited AKC registration being lifted and the spay/neuter clause being lifted (if needed) on your pup. Breeding dogs & raising labradors is a lot of hard, devoted work. It's not a job you take lightly or a job you take on just to show your kids the experience. You need to be absolutely certain you can place every pup before it is born. As you can see, we always have a waiting list in place BEFORE we breed. Our waiting lists start well in advance of our dams being bred. We want to be absolutely sure each of our pups go to loving family homes, so if you are not willing to keep in contact with me during the pregnancy stage of the dam or the first 8 weeks of your pup's life, then you are probably not going to get a pup from us. We want devoted people who we know will love the pup and be there for even the beginning of his/her life to take on the responsibilty of owning one of our pups.
Before deciding to breed, you must also take into consideration the cost and the work involved. A litter of puppies eats a lot starting at about 4 weeks old. We don't just feed our dogs and pups dry dog food so the cost for feeding is much more expensive than your average puppy food. The clean up is sometimes an hourly job when the pups reach 3-8 weeks old. They need fresh cedar bedding frequently. They need vet checks by a licensed veterinarian. They need to explore new sights and sounds and smells and they need your time and love. In addition, if your pups are not registerable, you may have a harder time placing your pups in homes. During these tough economic times, you better be absolutely sure you are prepared to raise each pup if you can't place him/her. Some shelters are refusing to take on new additions at this time, so don't think you can just drop a litter of pups off at a shelter if it doesn't work out for you. The responsibility is ultimately yours. It's not the same as raising ONE pup at all.
PET QUALITY/TEMPERAMENT WORTHY:
We raise our labradors as "pet quality" labs only. We do NOT offer or guarantee "show quality", coat color, size, weight, markings, disposition or breeding ability on our pups. We breed for temperament, health and looks. If a dog has a bad temperament, I don't care how healthy & good looking he is, I don't want him around my children, so he wouldn't be "temperament worthy" to me. I trust my licensed veterinarian as well as myself to determine whether my dogs are healthy.
EUTHANIZING DOGS:
Animals that are euthanized at shelters or other animal agencies are commonly sent to meat rendering facilities to be processed for use in cosmetics, fertilizer, poultry feed, pharmaceuticals and pet food. Yes, pet food!!!!
In my opinion this is absolutely ridiculous! Another reason NOT to feed your dog store brand/bought dog food!
Euthanization information that I have found is listed on this link and on this
link.
HIP DYSPLASIA (HD):
Common in many large breed dogs, Hip dysplasia (HD) can be caused by genetics, diet & over feeding, too much excercise, trauma and the environment in which you live. For more information on this disease and my perspective on this disease and guarantees related to puppies and refunds, go to:
Our Guarantee Page.
HUNTING DOGS/TITLED DOGS WITHIN PEDIGREES:
We get a lot of questions about hunting dogs and whether our pups would make good hunting dogs so we thought we would address the issue here.
We've had hunters purchase our pups and are in the process of training them for this kind of work.
A good hunting labrador does not always have to come from "titled" dogs within a pedigree.
There have been many great hunting dogs title without having parents that have titled.
You can start a UKC or AKC registered labrador pup in hunt tests without having titled ancestors within their pedigree already.
I guess you first need to ask yourself about how far you intend to go with your dog's hunting.
Will it be just for pleasure or to have him active in hunt tests and to become titled?
It really has to do with the trainer or handler in addition to the dog.
Hard work, lots of devoted time & great effort to train are put into the dogs you see that are titled. It doesn't come easy, but it can be easier depending on if the dog has drive and ambition to hunt. I have had hunters call me up and explain to me that after a year of solid training and great hunting with their labs, their lab just "lost the drive". This can happen for various reasons such as age and/or being scared of something associated with the hunt.
I have also had hunters call me and tell me what extensive training they've just put their labs thru with some top quality trainers only to have disappointment in the outcome because their lab has learned very little from that. So you really need to be careful of who you hire to train your lab as well as being involved as much as you can yourself with the training.
There have been many top Field Champions and Master Hunters produced from untitled parents and there have been many top Field Champions and Master Hunters
that produced pups that were not good hunters and didn't have the drive to hunt.
This is why you will see some breeders selling their litters as Pet Quality only, because usually if they believe they have a great potential for a great hunting dog or a prominent show dog,
they will keep that pup for themselves and sell the rest as Pet Quality only.
I don't know of any breeder that will guarantee you that you'll get a great hunt dog or show dog from their litters. It's just not possible for them to know until they work with the dog and become aware of the dog's abilities.
It would be very stupid for them to make a guarantee as such because it really does rely greatly on the owner/handler/trainer as to the outcome of the dog's abilities or if a show dog, their dog's looks.
No dog is just born to be a Master Hunter or becomes one by the owner throwing him/her into the hunt. So much training is necessary.
Many trainers will offer "started dogs" for a much higher price. These dogs/pups have been introduced to waterfowl and guns and have been trained as for obedience and more.
There are some hunters that don't want to go through the training themselves with puppies and prefer started dogs. I recommend going thru the training with your dog if you're going to be the one hunting with your dog.
We are not avid duck/waterfowl hunters but our family does hunt deer and small game.
We believe your dog is what you make of him. Investing the quality time and effort into your dog can be very rewarding. Don't forget to take into consideration the money as well that it takes to get involved in hunt tests and dog shows.
Our puppies have extended pedigrees that include National Field Champions, Master Hunters, Champion Show dogs, Tracking dogs and Canine Good Citizens. The sire's mother's pedigree is loaded with hunters as well.
My belief is that you have to train a labrador in any field that you want him/her to work in.
It takes a dog with drive and a consistant owner and/or trainer to be considered for the hunting work and we have definitely produced pups with drive for hunting or tracking.
We have also produced pups with more of a service/therapy temperament that are doing great at their jobs.
We have had duck hunters and families purchase our pups and say that they have been very easy to train so far.
Most of the dogs within our immediate pedigrees were hunting dogs for pleasure or sport, not for hunt tests or to be titled.
Hazel and Hannah are family dogs, yet Hazel has a strong drive for tracking and retrieving. Hannah is more laid back, mellow and has a service or therapy-like temperament.
Samson's (the sire we commonly use) pedigree on his mother's side is loaded with titled dogs. His sire is also involved in hunt tests, but not titled. Hazel's and Hannah's pedigrees inlcude Champion Show dogs as well as Feild Champions.
We've done some research of Hazel's & Hannah's pedigrees. Some kennels include Sandylands Kennel, Bradking Kennel, Sunnybrook Kennels, Shamrock Acres, Candlewood's and more.
Please take some time to review our extended peidgrees here.
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