I could be called the "Ralph Nader" of the Labrador breed....

Angie

They are completing water retrieves to hand by 4-6 months of age.

Ironspike,,, Sorry but puppies should be doing that before the go to their new homes at 7 weeks....

Angie

I've tried to stay out of this one but I can't stand it any longer. I would not purchase a pup from a breeder that wanted to keep it until 12 weeks of age. I have never heard such a thing.

As for pups and ages at which they are retrieving. My pup was retrieving pigeons at 5-6 weeks of age and was doing water and land retrieves with ducks at 8 weeks.

Hate to rain on your parade Chris but Mandigo dogs were show dogs that never saw a hunt. Also Lean Mac was never hunted, just field trialed.

Also have your breeding stock checked for eye issues. Mandigo kennels had a problem with it.

Angie

Has nothing to do with it.. Angie just wants to protect the breed that is becoming more and more hoobled with bad genetic defects.. She will also recommend some good breeders if you ask her.

line breeding has caused a lot of problems(in a lot of animals) because people looked first at performance and ignored genetic problems.

What anyone buys is their own business, and where you buy is your own business.. but regardless of angie tone you have to atleast respect the fact she cares enough about the animals to make sure they have the best chance to live a very full life and she makes that very clear. Just my 2 cents

you do have some nice pups and angie can be abrasive but she does know what she is talking about. you just have to understand she is coming from the field trial hunt test side of it and you are coming from the hunting dog side. IMO there is a differance.

I totally agree. I purchased a puppy at 14.5 weeks and that will never happen again. The adjustment period was far greater than any puppy I purchased at 7 or 8 weeks old.....I just don't see the reasoning behind keeping a puppy beyond 8 weeks if you are a breeder with every intention of selling them....

u can even order micro chips and do them yourselves.

Iron Spike,

FWIW, most Vets don't recommend microchipping until what they consider Spay/Neuter time....that is around 20 weeks or so...

Having said that, they will microchip anytime you request it, whether that is 8 weeks, 12 weeks, 20 weeks, or older....

We microchip our own and since we do, and many of our pups stay til 4 months of age, we wait as long as possible. You're right, vets will chip if requested... but if you ask them, they prefer to wait. I believe I said 'shy away', rather than 'refuse' and this is what I meant by it.

We actually keep them to 4 months - sometimes longer. There are folks who want a hunting dog, but don't have the money to first buy a dog, then take it to a trainer - and they don't know how to start it themselves. They're not looking for fancy pedigrees or field trialers - they just want a solid, steady dog that will jump in the water and bring back a duck so they won't have to. We provide them with a very affordable way to get a gun dog that is still plenty young to mold to their needs, but is already house broken, crate/kennel trained, water retrieving, steady, etc. Yes, we breed them, but what makes us unique is that then we start them, too.

I can believe that you have never heard of such a thing - that's what many of our buyers say... but at the same time, it was exactly what they needed. Everyone has different circumstances.

It sounds like you are well enough versed in training your own dog that you don't need such a service. That's great. You have the ability to just go out, buy a pup and start it yourself. But not everyone is so blessed... there are spouses that don't want to take on a pup that's not housebroken, or horror stories of previously purchased pups with great potential that morphed into expensive pets... whatever. What we offer may not fit a need of yours, but it does fulfill a need for many folks out there. We find it fulfilling to help them out - and we love working with the pups.

There have been no adjustment problems with any pups we've placed, to date. Perhaps that is because during the lead time, we work so closely and stay in constant touch with the pups future owners.

I completely understand your explanation above for keeping pups to that age however, when you threw that out earlier you did not give any clarification as to the why. If anything you seemed to indicate you did it for no other reason than to make sure the pups were ready for their new homes. Although I don't agree with that practice I understand why now and can agree to disagree with you.

You said they "shy" away because at 7 weeks they are so "small". It has nothing to do with size, if that were the case then no toy breed dog would ever get chipped. It does have something to do with age and your 12 week time frame is still early per most "good" Vets recommendations.

I'm not sure that folks get as upset with what Angie might say as with the way she has of saying it. She is at the very least abrasive and more often rude. Folks with litters are not her enemy, or maybe they are.

The fact that she has a business and is selling pups would make one think she would try to be at least somewhat accomodating on the board. The fact that she doesn't seems to raise some hackles. Her posts are predictable. Rather than present her view in positives, she attacks, it's tiresome and gets old in a hurry. I give her the benefit of the doubt that her motives are good, but her delivery makes you wonder.

You are also referred to as the "Jackazz of the THF Gun Dog Section". Congrats on your accomplishments!