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Frequent Questions & Answers
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These are some of the most frequent questions that we receive from many people enquiring about purchasing a labrador puppy from us.
Why do we breed? We have a deep passion for this wonderful breed and we love being able to show our Labradors that we have bred in the show ring, but our ultimate aim is to produce sound, healthy and quality Labrador puppies that should be capable of living normal lives. We want others to experience what this beautiful breed has to offer and the joy it can bring to a loving family. The extra fur kid! We mainly only breed to welcome an additional show puppy to our home – not producing puppies for consumer demand. To do this, we genetic screen our labradors as well as hip/elbow scoring. We combine this data along with the nature, general disposition, temperament and conformation of the parents we wish to join together.
What is the difference between boys and girls? Boys are about 2 inches taller than girls and have a more masculine head, whereas girls have a feminine head. Temperament shouldn’t be any different, it is more basically appearance that defines a boy or girl apart.
Are chocolates crazier than black or yellow Labradors? No, a colour should make no difference on behaviour! A Labrador should act and behave in accordance with your training – regardless if it is yellow, black or chocolate. We recommend you visit the Breed Standard for the Labrador Retriever - http://ankc.org.au/Breed/Detail/7
What is the Hip/Elbow Scoring Scheme? The Hip/Elbow scoring scheme has highly reduced the occurrence of hip or elbow dysplasia since 1997 (when it became mandatory to x-ray prior to breeding). The scheme is based on the theory that if both parents have good hip and elbow scores, they should pass it on to their progeny. Hip & Elbow Dysplasia is inherited developmental abnormalities in a dog’s elbow or hip joint, and the hip/elbow scoring scheme only scores the parents hips and elbows for abnormalities, but does not prevent it being pass onto its progeny. We cannot test for the gene(s) that carry this health issue as below: Quote from the Code of Practice for the Responsible Breeding of Animals with Heritable Defects that cause Disease "Polygenic disease – where more than one gene is involved and environmental effects can add to the severity of the condition. While the following diseases are not listed in the Schedule of the Act they are examples of diseases in this grouping that have widely divergent signs – canine hip dysplasia and elbow dysplasia. These are also conditions where simple and/or eff ective DNA tests are unlikely to be developed" Our Labradors are hip/elbow scored after the age of 1 year old. The procedure is performed by a registered veterinarian. The dog’s hips and both elbows are x-rayed in an extended position. The x-rays are then sent to an accredited radiographer to interpret the results – being the ‘score’. The average hip score for Labradors is now around 12 total score, with the maximum score being 65 per hip, a possible total of 130. The lower the score the better, but essentially our policy is no higher combined total score of 20 of both dam and stud (ie 6/6=12, 2/2=4 total combined of 18). Elbows are scored between 0 and 3 and the lower the score the better. We will never breed from a dog that is more than 1:1 bearing in mind there are other genetic factors that could cause elbow dysplagia despite generations of 0:0 elbows, as mentioned above.
What happens if my puppy is diagnosed with either hip or elbow dysplasia? This is a sad, but yet possible situation with purchasing any labrador puppy. We as a breeder do everything possible to ensure that we are breeding with sound dogs that have appropriate hip/elbow scores. Please see above to understand why a puppy may develop hip or elbow dysplasia. In accordance with our contract of sale, if a puppy bred by us is diagnosed with hip or elbow dysplasia up to 12 months of age, we refund 50% of the purchase cost of the puppy. As we cannot control how you raise your puppy (enviornmental effects) and we have use appropriate stud and dams for the breeding. A condition in our contract when purchasing a labrador puppy from Sybeck is that you will have Pet Insurance between 8 weeks old to 18 months of age – that covers genetic health problems. If you are ever faced with this, you know that you can provide the best treatment options (including surgery) for your puppy without worrying about the costs!
What does my puppy come with? A puppy from us comes with the following:
Can I choose my puppy’s registration name? Yes, we encourage a registration name created by you that provides a unique and meaningful connection between you and your puppy.
What is the process in purchasing a puppy from us? We are not here to sell you a puppy, we are here to find out from you if you have the right home for one of our puppies. We do pick and choose our homes to suit our puppies and to do this we need to know about you! We have an interview process with questions, but we also expect questions from you as well. If you would like to know more about any of our upcoming litters – please email us first, as we will provide you with a questionarie to complete, before we undertake a phone interview.
Can I pick a puppy? No, we choose a puppy for you. As we are watching them grow and develop, we are looking for certain traits/personalities that we believe would be suitable for you and/or family.
How are your puppies socialized? Our puppies are whelped inside our house (usually in the lounge room!) they become very familiar with us and our kids handling them from day 1. From here they are consistently handled, patted and carried around the house by the kids and us. At 4 weeks old, they move outside to our puppy area and this is when we start playing with them with toys and start teaching some basic manners. We are lucky to have Linda and Greg who are retired and the puppies are cared for 24/7 with lots of love from the grandkids. We have a rich socialising program for the puppies which includes as the puppies grow older, toys of various nature, size and noise for them to play with and a new addition has been cat tunnels which they absolutely love! Please make sure you visit our Sybeck Labradors Facebook page to see videos of our puppies! Once the puppies get to around 5 weeks, they start to go outside to their day yards. They have a smaller one initially, then a larger one with different activities for them to play on and in. The puppies also spend time with our older dogs and on our back verandah. The puppies by the time they go home are all used to eating individually in their own bowls. The puppies are used to a variety of surfaces when they go home, which is important in the puppy's development. We have grass, gravel, concrete, fake grass, ramps, steps, they never show any fear from these surfaces, due to their enrichment program with them. The puppies are also used to the ride on lawnmower etc and learn not to touch the washing! We also have a lot of videos of our dogs on Linda's Rodorbal You Tube page:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUoRGWoz-40icWI3SNaHFzA/videos
When can I start walking my puppy? It is the myth that puppies need to be exercised from a young age – this is WRONG! We do not recommend you exercising your puppy until after he/she is over 1 year old. For every 1 dog year – is equivalent to 7 human years. With this in mind, a 6 month old puppy is equivalent to a 3 ½ year old child – would you take a 3 ½ year old child on a 2km run? NO! And neither should your puppy be expected to walk that distance without the possibility of an injury. Our ‘Care for your Labrador Puppy Guide Book’ has more information about this topic and how to combat boredom in a puppy.
Why do some Labradors cost more than others? We believe that colour is not a factor for adjusting the cost of a Labrador. All our Labrador puppies are the same cost regardless of colour (yellow, black & chocolate) or girls/boys. Some of our dogs will be more expensive at times, which reflects where we have additional costs using frozen semen and flying the future mum interstate to be mated.
When can I visit my puppy? For bio-security reasons, we don’t allow visits until the puppies are over 6 weeks of age, this is when they have received their first vaccination against Parvo, Distemper and Hepatitis. As the puppies are relying on their antibodies from mum prior to 6 weeks, we don’t wish for someone to visit and bring in Parvo or any other disease which could be carried on your shoes, hands or clothing. As we want to be as transparent as possible, we have set up our facebook page where you can see photos and videos of the puppies growing up – we want to show you how our puppies are raised in a loving home environment and not by any chance a puppy farm.
Can I meet the parents? For sure, where possible. As a reputable breeder striving to improve and breed better quality Labradors, we will most likely use dogs that are not local to us (ie – interstate, overseas with frozen semen). Please be assured, our reputation is extremely important to us, and we would never breed with poor temperament dogs at any cost. The concept by the RSPCA that “you should meet both parents” is targeted at back yard breeders – who don’t understand temperament and just breed for money.
Do I have to pay a deposit? Yes, our deposit is only $500. Our deposit is fully refundable, it is merely a commitment to us, and us to you for a puppy. We would never want you to pick up a puppy from us, if you cant provide him/her the best quality home they deserve. You will only be requested to pay a deposit when you are specifically allocated a puppy from our current litter. Our terms in regards to paying a deposit is:
(*)Remember - we would have said no to someone else. We fully understand paying money to a complete stranger, but please be assured, we will acknowledge receipt and will do right by you and your puppy.
When should I NOT pay a deposit? WOW – this question is being thrown around a lot these days, due to so many people being tricked out of money for a puppy. Please DO NOT pay a deposit to a breeder for any of these reasons:
If you see or hear of statements like the one below: “Deposit is $1000 which is not refundable due to change of mind but is if something was to happen to the puppy” Would you be happy to throw $1,000 away? - STAY AWAY!! |
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