Can anyone recommend a good breeder of English Labs in the Southern California area? Our first dog was from Judy Davis in Oxnard, but we hear she's retired.
Thank you!

Do a Google search for the Southern Cal Labrador Retriever Club. They should have a Breeder Referral. The High Desert and San Diego clubs are also in the area. This Wiscoy website also has a link to the clubs.

Good luck in your search.

as an English Lab. It's a marketing ploy for those who breed in volume to describe a Labrador that is bred from show bloodlines. AKC does not register the Labrador as an "English" Labrador. Same thing with tea cup poodles and chihuahuas-no such thing. Just a marketing gimmick.

The standard describes a Lab as being broad in head and strongly built. An English Lab simply is a Labrador that was bred in England. It may or may not conform to the standard. You will be better off finding a breeder who competes in the show ring and breeds champion quality dogs. A breeder who does all their health clearances and one who only has a few litters a year. There are many such breeders in the So. Cal area.

Thank you!

Thanks for that information!

Does anyone know anything about Susana Labradors in Simi Valley, CA?

Yes, stay away from them. Get your referrals from the LRCSC and Judy Davis is still around, get in touch with her and get a referral.

Had to check the website and, in general, was not impressed. However, she has had a lot of fluffy puppies and there are scads of pictures of them.

Labradors are not supposed to have fluffy coats. If someone is selling them for more money, they are taking something that is incorrect and trying to make a $$$$ from it.

Please check with the local labrador clubs and get a referral to a good breeder. JMHO

Right! We would never want a "fluffy' Lab!

http://lrcsocal.org/

This is the link to the Labrador Retriever Club of Southern California.

Thanks. Our 11 1/2 year old phone # for Judy is no longer in service. Will try to find her!

We are not supposed to discuss breeders on here, but do your homework. How many dogs does this breeder have? What venue do they prove the quality of their dogs in? Do they sell "rare" colors or "rare" coat types? Can you verify ALL of the important clearances such as OFA hips/elbows, hearts, eyes, PRA, EIC, CNM, etc? What "slick" marketing gimmicks do they use? English Labs? Rare White Labs/Fox Red? Top Quality (without a single AKC Championship on any of their breeding stock)? Do they use out stock routinely or do they mainly just breed their own dogs in their own backyard?

If they have a lot a dogs and do not prove them in some venue such as conformation, field, hunting, obedience, etc, chances are they are just breeding for pure profit.

If they advertise on their website that they have "rare" colors (which is just a shade of yellow) they are just in it for the money. If they have "rare" coat types (ie fluffies or long-coated) and hype it up as routine occurrence in a certain percentage of litters then they are totally clueless. The fluffy gene is found behind a few imported stud dogs. Breeders found that when they line bred on these few dogs, the the gene is expressed and therefore the fluffies are born. It is a simple recessive gene and there is a DNA test to determine if a dog carries the gene. The fluffy coat is definitely a serious fault in the standard and one that any reputable breeder does not knowingly want to produce. If a breeder refuses to even do their homework on the proper term and proper inheritance, do you really want to get a dog from them? Does the breeder knowingly accept the risk for the coat and sell it for MORE money than a regular coated lab? Does this breeder have the breeds best interest at heart?

Health clearances are HUGE clue as to whether or not a breeder is reputable or not. Regardless of the number of dogs a breeder keeps, proper and acceptable clearances are a MUST. ALL breeding stock MUST be cleared. Not just the relatives or a pedigree or the parents' parents. Minimum clearances include OFA hips AND elbows, and eye clearances annually by a board certified veterinary ophthalmologist. Some breeders also do DNA testing for PRA, EIC, and CNM. And yet others test for TVD and Penn-Hip.

Just a few more things to think about and questions to ask of any breeder. Just don't fall for a slick sales pitch.

Wow! Thank you to all of you kind and very informed people! We appreciate it.
We just lost our darling girl this past week and are looking forward to bringing another sweet one into our family.
We are anxious to do so, but will not act hastily, thanks to your advice!

OMG, those puppies scream Golden retriver cross, they look nothing like a Labrador, I have been breeding close to 30 years and I have never bred a "wooly" coat Labrador, Oh my, what is happening to our breed.

Actually it is the "fluffy" gene responsible for the look. In reviewing their pedigrees, it is very apparent to me where the gene came from. According to the LRC's website the fluffy gene is a gene found in the breed. Although it is rare, before Labs became a separate breed, they were part of the Retriever breed group. It was recognized at a "variety" and therefore the flat-coat (black and liver), the golden (yellow) and the curly coat (black and liver) were also considered a variety of the retriever breed. All four varieties were interbred and registered according to their coat length/color until the stud books closed and they became separate breeds. It is no wonder that some of the long coated genes still have remained in the breed to this day.

FWIW, a wooly coat is NOT the same as a fluffy coat.

It's a long coated gene. It's recessive and was brought here by some stud dogs that were imported. Do a google search for long-coated labradors and you'll see some pictures of adults. Patty Streufert from Gateway Labradors has some information on her website. Like someone said, there's a DNA test for it available through DDC.

No such thing commented about if a breeder has alot of dogs and doesn't participate in AKC venues then they are breeding for profit. While it may be more common to go through a club's list of breeders and find many of them competing in AKC show ring events, hunt tests, obedience, agility, rally etc, I don't necessarily the grind of weekend showing of my dogs. I enjoy sticking close to home with our dogs and enjoy them immensley. We go for hikes, practice retrieving games on our property and when we go to dog parks. They are not kenneled dogs and we keep our adult Labrador population down to 5 adults and there might be a few " Tweens " still waiting to grow up and pass their health clearances. I am not a competatiave type person in nature. The reason I got involved in this hobby is simply because I enjoy the entire process of planning, breeding, raising, screening families and yes getting my adult dogs back from time to time. I do all the health clearances but I don't do AKC events. I go to dog shows and specialities but I don't compete. I don't understand why show breeders get so hung up on titles and competing. It is a personal choice for each breeder and is not for any one breeder to cast stones just because some of us don't do things exactly how you do it. As long as we who don't compete act responsibly, are ethical, honest and look out after the betterment of this breed, why is there so much judgementleness among show breeders ? I see Labrador breeders/judges in the hobby for over 25 yrs or more, producing Labradors that are not my ideal or would stand up to AKC's standard in structure or temperament. Why is this ?

I guess if you are not proving the quality of your dogs, then it is hard to say your dogs measure up to some sort of standard. Kennel blindness is rampant among backyard breeders who say their dogs are the best, or that they breed for the betterment of the breed yet do not compete to PROVE their claims. If the show ring is not your cup of tea, PROVE your dogs' worth by earning performance titles. How can you say you are breeding for the betterment of the breed if you don't compete and put your dogs out there to see how they measure up?

And just because a person shows and finishes a lot of dogs, is not a measure of a reputable breeder either. There are many show mills that pump out puppies and take no responsibility for them once they leave the property. Clearances are falsified or not done but the "promise" of paperwork will follow never materializes.

Like I said before, you want to do your homework and find a breeder who proves the quality of their breeding stock (not leave it in the backyard), who isn't out to push their dogs on you or give you excuse after excuse as to why they don't show or otherwise prove the quality of their dogs and most importantly someone who you feel comfortable dealing with.

those dogs aren't my cup of tea - not to mention that for the amount of $$ they are asking I expect more than a partially house trained pup that can do tricks. For $7K I would expect some field training and enough obedience training to be able to get basic level competition done.

I don't consider myself a back yard breeder though. I used to go to dog shows with my earlier dogs that I bought from other breeders. It's not like I don't know what I am looking for when I evaluate a litter and keep my chosen one or ones. I understand what movement, correct structure is, type is, etc. I think in the beginning of this hobby, one has to go to dog shows and do alot of research on whatever breed they chose to breed, learn the ropes but as far as long term showing and other events, that part of the hobby is not a deal breaker.
I sell only to companion homes anyway and I can tell you after all these years, they really don't give a darn about fancy titles. What is important to them is that they adopt a puppy or adult dog from a breeder who they feel comfortable with, that their new puppy is raised in a clean environment, that their puppy has been propery socialized, that their new puppy's parents all have their health clearances, that the breeder stands behind their written health warrantee, that the breeder is available anytime they need advise, that their new dog has good temperament and is healthy.

True, we want all those things you listed. A sweet, healthy black Lab we can bring home to be part of our family.

Kathryn - The San Diego Labrador Club is having their specialty show February 18th & 19th. It would be a good place to meet breeders. Judy Davis may be there.

FYI - from what I have heard, there are several people in the San Diego Labrador Retreiver Club that have litters of black puppies right now. Some are ready to go to there forever homes now.

Looking for Judy Davis, we have one of her labs, she has been sick for two months with a hack like cough, seen vet 3 time this month need to get opinion on what to do.

Have you had your girl's heart checked? Age?