Labrador breeder recommendation?

In love WindyCanyon dogs, especially "Sam"......

This is true--a lot of it really is fur too--bench labs do tend to have much more coat than field or pet bred labs. Jack is kept lean, but he has a lot of coat and I swear it adds 5 lbs visually to his frame. Also they are a breed with a lot of skin--that sounds weird and it's hard to describe but it's true. You do really have to get your hands on the dogs to know what their physique is like. Now once you do some of them are definitely fat, but yeah it is hard to tell from a pic.

I love Sam as well... he is just gorgeous!! I'm growing more and more in love with Chocolates these days... <3

You know I was really never that into chocolates until I got one. I was planning on Jack being black, but I preferred his personality to those of the black males in the litter. I do prefer the very dark chocolates though--the darker the better.

Lots of gorgeous dogs in this thread! Salty is just GORGEOUS. Nice to hear someone has experience with the Kelrobin dogs - I really, really like them. I think I'm going to email the breeder soon and just make contact and see if they have any litters planned for next year.

I think type wise, I like the Mardas type the best.

Man, i posted lots in your other thread but I don't remember the breeders. LOL

I *LOVE* windy canyon though!! If only I was ready for a puppy I'd love to have a puppy out of Mata. The breeding sounds like my ideal size and type. <3

Me too! I really like field labs the best. There's a lab at our dog park who isn't 'fat' but he's just... big. And personally I don't like it as much. He's still an awesome dog though

This thread has me sort of wanting a Lab again. Virgo was more along the Holton/Whitmore type and I would love to have another one that looked like her.

Finn is just too massive for me, fat or not. Too much bone, while being too short, and probably a bit fat, and, or, with very loose skin (particularly in their females). He looks more like a Rottweiler or short haired Newf to me. Even if its not fat, its important that an actual working retriever not be too ponderous. They need to negotiate fallen logs, holes, banks, shallow water, etc.

Some of the Kelrobin dogs look ok (too big for me, but not insane) but others seem to embrace the fat English Lab stereotype (Oliver...). Most of the Mardas types shown are a bit more moderate then those.

I personally prefer the more moderate and less-bone Labs myself, but since the OP was asking for more Bench-style Labs I figured I'd give some examples of those. (I do agree that Finn is a bit too much for me personally, still gorgeous to me though!)

I don't know if I could get used to a Lab with more bone, just because I'm so used to Harleigh's thinness.

I just got around to looking at those Windy Canyon dogs...oh my gosh, are they stunning! I just wish they were closer to me.

I prefer the more moderate type dogs, but if I were to fudge from that moderate type I'd prefer a more "heavy" dog than a "lighter" one.

I love labs, and I think I like the same type of lab as you do. I like them a little blocky, but not so much as most show labs are.
When I was younger we had a lab from the Sho-Me lines. Great dog! she wasnt too stocky but not skinny leggy looking at all either. She had the best tempermant, sweet, calm, but not lazy either.
Here is their site Sho-Me Labradors AKA Show Me Labradors Labs Puppies Yellow Pups
I also Fount another breeder I am interested in. They have the British type Labs.
More of the calm tempermant of the show lines, but not quite so stocky. and they use them for field work, but they are not as crazy hyper as the american field type.
there aree more breeders of the british type but heres one I have been kinda talking to, as I have been wanting to get another lab eventually Wildwind British Labradors

Hope I helped!

I contacted Windy Canyon, explained what I was looking for (and said I loved their dogs and wished they were closer LOL), and asked if they knew of any breeders near me that might fit the bill of what I'm looking for. She recommended Deep Run Retrievers. While they're a bit farther away than I would like, it is still doable. Anybody have any experience with them?

And, on that note...when would be a good time to start actually contacting breeders? I probably won't be ready for a pup until the fall of next year.

She is nice - she is actually a member on the Lab board Wish I was closer to her as well because I'd love a pup from her someday, won't be ready for another Lab for quite a while though. So ya never know, I just might be close that way. lol

As far as contacting, it really depends. I've been in contact with a Vizsla breeder for 1 year (maybe a bit more) - I've met her and a few of her dogs and one of her dogs is actually in my agility class (smallest world ever!). Anyways, yeah I've been talking to her for that long and I won't be ready for a puppy for 2 or so years:lol-sign:

Most will probably have a waiting list, so I don't think there would be a problem contacting them now honestly.

That's actually where I contacted her at. Figured I might get a better response if she had a "face" to put with the inquiry.

I think I'm going to wait to start making contact until after this semester - that way I know how my (hopefully) last semester will be like and if I do need to take more classes after this spring I'll know if it will be feasible for me to work full time and take the classes, which will factor in to whether or not I have the money to get my own place and time to get a puppy. :lol-sign: Good to know I'm not jumping the gun too early, though. I always feel like they'll be annoyed with me since I'm not ready for a pup for at least a year yet.

I really like those Deep Run dogs! Solid without being cumbersome.

Yep

Now that I know what my living situation is going to be like, I'm pretty sure I'll be able to get a pup early 2013 (after graduation). Although I will most likely end up adopting a small rescue mutt (potentially a Mexidog), I still can't not look at Labradors, so I've started weeding down my list of breeders (and adding a few more LOL).

Anybody know anything about this breeder? http://www.crittercreeklabradors.com/index.html

I'm worried since they are basically strictly bred for hunting that they may have too much drive for what I want (especially since I don't hunt), but I won't know until I ask. I think their dogs are gorgeous (remind me so much of Blackie and Sadie), and I also like the fact that they don't require a spay/neuter by a certain age - only that if the dog is bred, it MUST have a title and it must have passed its health clearances.

That is why I've actually weeded out some of the breeders I was looking at - I don't want to be told what food to feed my dog, I don't want to be told what vaccines my dog must have, and I don't want to be told that I must alter my dog by X age. I will feed a high quality diet, I will make sure my dog is titered and UTD on rabies, and I won't breed the dog...but I want to make those decisions on my terms in the best interest of my dog.

Just wanted to say that I know Anne from WindyCanyon personally. She is a phenomenal person and her dogs are so great. Her descriptions and pics do not do her dogs justice!!!

I love Tango, Kiku, Envy and Sonya..but I love all her dogs and I am not a lab person. I would own one of her dogs in a heartbeat!