Supporting Paws does not endorse any one breeder so please be cautious if you are told otherwise. We are always on the lookout for breeders who may be able to provide us with top class Labrador retriever puppies.
There is no such thing as a Labrador (or any other breed) that are bred for autism or any other disability so please don’t get caught out! We are regularly contacted by people who have been sold a puppy that is “ideal to work with an autistic person”
We do not endorse any breeders and are not able to give advice to individuals on where to source a dog from. Here are some guidelines:
A responsible breeder will:
- Spend time chatting to you on the phone.
- Arrange a time for you to visit to meet their puppies, along with their mum and siblings, in the place where they were born and raised.
- Be happy to have more than one meeting to ensure you and the puppy are compatible.
- Be happy to answer all your questions – and ask you just as many to make sure their puppies are going to a good home.
- Be happy to show you their Local Authority licence if they’re breeding and selling pets as a business (to make a profit).
- Provide genuine paperwork/certificates
A responsible breeder won’t:
- Rush you into parting with cash in exchange for a puppy.
- Stop you seeing the mother by saying that the mother is at the vet’s, asleep or out for a walk. If mum isn’t there, then the puppy wasn’t bred there.
- Offer to deliver a puppy to you or meet you somewhere random like a car park.
- Hand the puppy over before it’s 8 weeks old – it’s illegal to sell them younger than that.
- Say ‘it’s normal for the breed’ about health issues such as snoring – all puppies should be born with the best chance of living happy, healthy lives, whatever breed they are.
- Use Kennel Club registration (or any other registration) as a guarantee of quality or health and happiness.
Be cautious or breeders who have a constant supply of dogs. A bitch should have no more than 4 litters in their life time (6 is the legal limit in the UK) it is also best practice that there is at least 12 months between litters.
