Alfie02 Posted March 22, 2010 Share Posted March 22, 2010 Hi everyone =) I am hoping to be the proud owner of a chocolate lab sometime in the future and I was wanting some personal experience or some information on some of the breeders I have been looking at. Has anyone bought a puppy from the below breeders or had anything to do with them? If anyone has bought a dog from either of these breeders if you dont mind me asking how much did he/she cost? or the average price of a well bred chocolate lab. Lacote Labrador breeders located in the Hills district Sydney Chocmoch Labrador breeders located in the Hunter Valley Also one of the stud dogs has a hip score of 8/8. Is that ok? Sorry about the long question! Thank you for your time =) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadburylab Posted April 20, 2010 Share Posted April 20, 2010 HI Alfie, i'm in the process of getting a puppy from chocmoch and have also had some emails back and forth with raymond from lacote labradors. Both seem like like wonderful places with peple who really care about their pups. I am waiting for the litter that is born on the 28th from chocmoch and can't wait! From what raymond from Lacote told me, he's pups are $1800 and on the Chocmoch site it actually says they are $1300 for a male or female. These prices are both what i would expect when buying from a breeder as these dogs are used for show and breeding as well as you just wanting one for a pet (mine will just be a pet) Hope this has helped you a little, if you want to find out more just send them an email like i did, they both replied promptly and are great to talk to! Danielle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WreckitWhippet Posted April 20, 2010 Share Posted April 20, 2010 I'd run a mile from any breeder, breedign primarily for colour, but that's just my own personal opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Fox Posted April 20, 2010 Share Posted April 20, 2010 $1800 seems like a LOT for a lab :D From my experience most breeders of purebred dogs will sell their pups from around the $800 mark and up (some less) with the average being around the $1000 mark. Some breeds do tend to sell for a little more but I would have thought with Labs being such a popular breed that prices wouild not be sky high for the average pet (limited register) dog Do the prices reflect the colour? I'd run a mile from someone who bred for colour or sold certain colours for more than others... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra777 Posted April 20, 2010 Share Posted April 20, 2010 I'd run a mile from someone who bred for colour or sold certain colours for more than others... Certainly Choc Labs, which are neither rare or unusual! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted April 20, 2010 Share Posted April 20, 2010 I'd run a mile from someone who bred for colour or sold certain colours for more than others... Certainly Choc Labs, which are neither rare or unusual! I certainly would be wary of a breeder with that colour in their prefix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sas Posted April 20, 2010 Share Posted April 20, 2010 (edited) I'm sure there are great breeders out there that breed Chocolate Labs. I'd say it's a bit like Harlequin Great Danes, there are a bunch of shonky ones breeding the colour because people pay more for it but there are also some great dedicated Harlequin breeders. Edited April 20, 2010 by sas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted April 20, 2010 Share Posted April 20, 2010 I'm sure there are great breeders out there that breed Chocolate Labs. Yep, there are. They usually breed for characteristics other than colour too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sas Posted April 20, 2010 Share Posted April 20, 2010 I'd run a mile from someone who bred for colour or sold certain colours for more than others... Certainly Choc Labs, which are neither rare or unusual! I certainly would be wary of a breeder with that colour in their prefix. It's is an acceptable colour therefore it's not unethical to breed. How about actually providing the OP with some reccomendations of good breeders who breed this colour instead of dissing all Breeders who breed this colour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sas Posted April 20, 2010 Share Posted April 20, 2010 I'm sure there are great breeders out there that breed Chocolate Labs. Yep, there are. They usually breed for characteristics other than colour too. I don't get your comments, I really don't....of course a 'good' breeder would be breeding for characteristics not just colour....you've pretty much stated that anyone who breeds Chocolates is shonky which is not the case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sas Posted April 20, 2010 Share Posted April 20, 2010 I'd run a mile from someone who bred for colour or sold certain colours for more than others... Certainly Choc Labs, which are neither rare or unusual! No one here said there were rare or unusual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macka Posted April 20, 2010 Share Posted April 20, 2010 Alfie I have PM'ed you my recommendations and also mentioned your thread to the breeders in the labrador sub-forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted April 20, 2010 Share Posted April 20, 2010 (edited) I'm sure there are great breeders out there that breed Chocolate Labs. Yep, there are. They usually breed for characteristics other than colour too. I don't get your comments, I really don't....of course a 'good' breeder would be breeding for characteristics not just colour....you've pretty much stated that anyone who breeds Chocolates is shonky which is not the case. Please show me where I said that anyone who breeds chocolate labs is shonky. I've said no such thing. What I did say is I'd be wary of a Lab breeder that had references to chocolate in their prefix. Why? Because that to me is indicative that colour is the priority in their breeding program. There are colour breeders amongst Labrador breeders as there among a range of breeds. For the most part, breeding for colour sees a lot of other desireable characteristics given lesser priority. That's hardly a head start in the search to find a good Labrador. The right puppy for a family in a multicoloured litter may not be chocolate. What's more important, the best match for you or a dog with the right colour wrapping? We all have colour preferences. The problem arises when that preference dominates all other important factors AND breeders establish themselves to cater for it at premium costs. Edited April 20, 2010 by poodlefan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chocolatelover Posted April 20, 2010 Share Posted April 20, 2010 Hi Alfie02, My OH wanted a choc lab right or wrong. Many good breeders steer clear of them from what I understand!!!! I did a bit of reading and decided that I didn't want one that came from a long line of chocolate to chocolate breedings. If you're heart is set on a chocolate (I wonder if they were called "brown labs" if they would be so popular :D ) make sure you do a bit of research. From what I read, it was good to have the black gene in the parentage????? I talked to breeders that didn't breed for chocolate to get their take on it too. If OH hadn't wanted a chocolate so badly then I probably would have been talked out of it. (His theory is he gets to choose the pup, I get to look after it ) As for a score of 8/8 - I guesss if the dog had done extremely well in the show ring and had an amazing temperament then maybe you could justify using him but otherwise seems high to me. Just a novice though - hopefully some breeders will point you in the right direction. And from what I have learnt since getting our pup is that if someone says something like "$1000 for the blacks/yellows, $1200 for the chocolates....." then run. I paid $1200 for mine (forgot to :D ). I think $1800 is a bit steep - although maybe you get some back when you desex or something like that??? There are so many to choose from it can be quite daunting when you start looking. I think I would have a much better understanding when purchasing a pup NOW and probably would have picked a different breeder. Don't get me wrong - we love him to bits and wouldn't change him for the world but hindsight is a wonderful thing!! So it is very wise to do your homework as you are :D Good luck with choosing your pup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mas1981 Posted April 20, 2010 Share Posted April 20, 2010 Look up some lab breeders here on the DOL forum, I am afraid I would also shy away from people who only breed one colour or have I got the wrong end of the stick here? Most breeders do have chocolate pups available from time to time, to me temperament and health is more NB than colour! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Fox Posted April 20, 2010 Share Posted April 20, 2010 And from what I have learnt since getting our pup is that if someone says something like "$1000 for the blacks/yellows, $1200 for the chocolates....." then run. Yep, this is what I meant. Nothing wrong with chocolate labs at all, they are certainly within the standard. But a good chocolate should be no more valued than a good yellow, or black lab either :D If it was me I'd first be looking at the health and confirmation of the dogs, how the puppies were raised and socialised, temperament, breeding practices etc. Then raise the issue of colour with your chosen breeder and see what they say. They may be planning an upcomming litter which is likely to have chocolate coloured pups in it. In that case it more a 'wait and see' then anything else. If you are really serious about it you may have to wait longer and through a couple of litters (and years) to find the right puppy. It may turn out that the most suitable puppy for your family might be the only yellow in a litter of chocolates. Then it's going to be up to you to decide whether you take that puppy or wait for another. Good luck with it all though. I wish I could recommend you a breeder but not having had much to do with Labs I'd rather leave that for someone who has more knowledge/first hand experience on the matter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandgrubber Posted April 20, 2010 Share Posted April 20, 2010 (edited) Lacote has spent, literally, hundreds of thousands of dollars importing dogs from the US and elsewhere and has definite opinions of the type he admires. If you like that type and have the money, I would say, go ahead. Chocos are selling for $1500 standard in WA and I think in many other urban areas. They are not rare, but they do cost more to breed, as, at least in WA, it always means doing AI and stud fees are often higher. Lots of breeders are using the dogs from Lacote these days. I think it is legit for someone who has made a major investment improving the breed to charge a premium. There are a handful of people working hard to improve the quality of chocolate Labs in Australia . . . historically there have been a lot of chocos with health, temperament, and/or conformation problems. In the US, UK, and Canada, and to some extent, Canada, work on breeding excellent chocos is much advanced. Breeding for colour is fine so long as your are not breeding for colour at the cost of health, temperament or conformation. Black is the original and dominant colour for Labs. We have yellows only through a century of breeding for colour . . . and I'd say the standard of yellows is as good as that for blacks. I see nothing wrong with bringing the choco up to the same standard and using the fact that people are lining up to buy chocolate pups even at a premium price to pay for the extra cost of working with a colour where, at this point, high quality often requires use of a distant, often imported, dog. It will not be done without a few people spending big bucks importing quality dogs (and occasionally bitches). $1800 seems like a LOT for a lab From my experience most breeders of purebred dogs will sell their pups from around the $800 mark and up (some less) with the average being around the $1000 mark. Some breeds do tend to sell for a little more but I would have thought with Labs being such a popular breed that prices wouild not be sky high for the average pet (limited register) dog ;) Do the prices reflect the colour? I'd run a mile from someone who bred for colour or sold certain colours for more than others... Edited April 21, 2010 by sandgrubber Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted April 20, 2010 Share Posted April 20, 2010 (edited) Sandgrubber: There are a handful of people working hard to improve the quality of chocolate Labs in Australia . Yep, and a hell of a lot of others milking the current demand for chocolates for all they are worth. ;) As I said in another thread on colour breeders, there are pioneers and profiteers. The latter dominate IMO. Edited April 20, 2010 by poodlefan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crisovar Posted April 21, 2010 Share Posted April 21, 2010 Find a breeder that does all the checks, breeds the type you want, the colour you want and go from there. Some Lab breeders will breed no other colour than Black, they wont have another colour in their yard, no different to preferring Choc IMO. I agree with Sandgrubber there are Lab breeders out there bent on breeding top quality Labs coated in Choc. Badly bred chocs are dime a dozen, I would pay extra for a goodun, if I was looking for one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brittanygirl Posted April 21, 2010 Share Posted April 21, 2010 You can buy a beautifully bred show quality chocolate in Victoria for $1200. $1800 seems very expensive for a pet. There are a lot of great breeders who breed all colours, and I would buy from them first. The breeder I have my choc lab from has all 3 colours and chocs are no more expensive than her blacks and yellows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now