(Please scroll down for Health Requirements)
ABOUT OUR KENNEL AND BREEDING FACILITIES
Our dogs are a part of our family, and any visiting animals are treated the same. These are our kids, and we love them more than words.
We have moved and are now finishing our new facility. Boarding at our kennel is included with breeding (up to 1 week, additional days: $5.00 per day). It consists of 6 foot high welded wire panel runs, in view of our house. The runs are 10x10 kennels, with rubber flooring, and 3x3 individual doghouses with clean cedar bedding. Heating in the houses during the colder days, shade screens and pools during the hotter months. Nights are spent in our home.
This is located on a 2000 acre parcel with flat and side hill terrain leading down to a meandering slew for swimming. The surrounding grass and wheat fields make a great area for exercise and games.
If you would prefer, indoor boarding in 3 x 8 runs can be arranged at our Veterinary clinic (at your expense).
We use: Animal Health Center, at 10302 Wallowa Lake Highway, Island City, Oregon 97850, (541)963-6621
AHC is who we use for all our veterinary needs. There is a veterinary on call 24 hours a day, and I highly recommend their facility, since I know it inside and out. My family has been their client since I can remember, and I worked at this clinic for nearly a year. They have a nice clean, friendly, professional environment, with plenty of knowledgeable staff. This is also the clinic we use for seaman collection should you choose to do artificial insemination.
We also offer the added bonus of providing on-sight services at approved outside kennels, if circumstances require it.
If pickup/drop off is necessary, transportation is usually provided in our station wagon using a divider or large and extra large crates. Animals find it very comfortable with bedding, toys and temperature controlled environment.
Our other option is artificial insemination. Please contact us if you are interested in shipped seamen services.
HEALTH REQUIREMENTS
In trying to promote the healthiest breeding practices possible, we have required several things. These will allow each puppy the longest, happiest, most healthy life possible.
Firstly, we have addressed the common problem of Hip Dysphasia (HD) within the Labrador Breed. The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) has a registry program that grades the quality of each dog's Hip Joints (at 2 years of age) as: Excellent, Good, Fair, Borderline, Mild, Moderate, and Severe. Nearly all Veterinarians Have the capability and paperwork to take the required radiographs. This testing is around $150, lasts a lifetime, and ads the information to a database for research. All responsible Breeders require it. We will only allow breeding with animals that receive "Good" or "Excellent" ratings.
Secondly, our concern is the growing problem of Congenital Cataracts, and Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA). The Canine Eye Registry Foundation (CERF) is an organization dedicated to grading and making available information on all types of eye problems. They offer testing thru local Veterinary Optimaligist, for annual grading on Eye health. We are requiring all breeding stock to have a current eye evaluation (within one year). This easy test costs about $30. We would be happy to help you find the closest registered clinic to your location for convenient testing.
Although Some Veterinarians and state laws recommend/require slightly different Vaccination schedules, we don't subscribe to any particular opinion on scheduling. Our only requirement is that any breeding stock has proof of up to date vaccinations for everything that their Vet has recommended: Rabies, Parvo, Distemper, Bordatella (Kennel Cough), Hepatitis, Leptospirosis, Parainfluensa, and Lime Disease.
Worming is a very important part of any animal's health schedule, and parts are too often neglected or forgotten. There are medications that must be given for Round and Flat Worms. Exposure to dogs with worm infestations will spread quickly if not kept up to date. Also if your dog lives in an area where there are mosquito's you must give Heart Worm medication as well. It's up to the owner as to other recommended medications for Fleas and Ticks.
A mandatory test for all responsible breeders if for Brucellosis. This disease is contagious (including to humans), and can run rampant thru a kennel if exposed. All breeding stock is required to obtain negative test results, and most Vets should provide this service for around $40.
There are several other clearances that We've chosen to make optional to get thru OFA in our breeding program. An increasing problem within Labradors is Elbow Dysphasia. It cost's about $100 (additionally) wile getting your hips x-rayed to include the elbows at the same time. We Highly recommend doing this.
Another OFA (once in a lifetime) clearance that we've chosen to get on our animals is Cardiovascular. This cost's around $40, and is recommended but not necessary in our program. Thyroid Clearances are also available thru OFA.
Although there are no tests available at this time, we also want to do everything in our power to overcome the problem of Seizures. If a dog has displayed seizures any time in the past, and it was not caused by outside influences (trauma, poisoning, or infections), than we will not breed with it.
After whelping, all litters will receive at least one inoculation before being homed. We also highly recommend having dewclaws removed as early as possible to assure future owners that there won't be any associated leg damage wile hunting or other rigorous activities. Labradors being the extremely friendly breed that they are, should be permanently identified with a chip or tattoo either by the breeder or owner to avoid loss or theft of their family member.
Another stipulation of our breeding contract is that the litter must be kept together until at least 7 weeks of age. We highly recommend keeping the puppies 7-8 weeks before allowing them to go to their new homes. This insures proper socialization and produces a much more tolerant/socially healthy dog later in life. Also the breeder can insure the puppies have been started right and have all the appropriate care during this formative time. Our contract also includes that the Bitch being bred can't have litters the previous or following heat cycles (meaning only 1 litter a year), to insure that we aren't implicated in "puppy mill" type breeding. "puppy Mill" is the derogatory term used to describe breeders that have puppies for the sole purpose of making money, that generally create poor quality and too many animals, and use poor ethics in their program. It is also much more healthy for the breeding females to have an open (not bred) cycle between litters for recovery and a prolonged quality of life.
We strongly discourage Line Breeding, and will not except breeding to bitches with the same dog listed within two generations of the breeders dog and/or our pedigree. Far too many healthy problems have arisen from inbreeding. Although many reputable breeders are proponents of line breeding and feel that particular dogs are such ideal specimens of the breed they are worthy of repeatedly being bred back to, there is no way to detect what recessive genetic flaws that dog may have from previous generations or mutation. Breeding back to that single dog could cause a multitude of different problems, that can easily be avoided by choosing to breed to one of the numerous other outstanding specimens of the breed that could be chosen to strengthen any attributes that the female lacks.
All responsible breeders will also have a Puppy Contract and Puppy Information Packet. The breeder will strongly scrutinize the background and intentions of any potential buyer for breeding purposes. Unless otherwise stated in the contract, all puppies will be sold under Limited Registration. This means that they cannot be bred for registered puppies until the limit has been lifted. The breeder can lift the limit when the buyer has proven that he or she has all the appropriate health clearances and intentions. There may also be a Spay/Neuter Contract, if the breeder chooses. It is a common practice to offer a partial refund to buyers that can later prove they have spayed or neutered their animal. This is our way of helping against people that may want to try Backyard Breeding. "Backyard Breeding" is the derogatory term used to describe people that have litters without adequate knowledge or have the wrong intentions for breeding. This is generally associated with people that don't get health clearances, and have less than ethical breeding practices- usually from lack of knowledge.