After finding a litter of purebred Labrador Retriever pups for sale, we made the half hour trip to check them out. And there were quite a few to choose from; this mama lab had twelve pups—and it was her first litter! (Trust me, she looked like a worn out mother!) Since she’s a yellow Lab, and the father is a chocolate Lab, she had yellow, chocolate and black puppies. We were thinking we wanted a chocolate Lab, and there was a female chocolate available. We were more than a little excited.
The kids with the Mama Lab and the Puppies. She’s exhausted!
My children and I got to visit with all eight puppies still left on-site, and guess who came trotting over to us first? The chocolate Lab. She was sweet and playful, but I kept glancing over at the yellow Labs. They were gorgeous, almost white in color, just like their mother, and I was a bit smitten with them. But it turns out the yellows were all taken already, just not picked up yet.
“Are you sure they’re taken?” I asked the owner. “Like, maybe the people who put down the deposit will flake out?”
“Yes, I’m sure they’re taken,” she said.
“Really, really sure?”
“Yes. Really, really sure.”
So, we could choose between the chocolate and the black Labs. The mellowest of the bunch was one of the black pups, and the runt of the litter was a black Lab, too. Both choices were appealing; perhaps the mellow dog wouldn’t gnaw on everything in site, and maybe the runt would end a smaller Lab, which we want.
My kids loved them all. Riley was hoping we could take home four or five of them. (Yes, the very same Riley who loves cats and doesn’t like dogs.) Jack reminded me he wanted a puppy that would have puppies some day.
Riley with a few puppies.
The puppies all looked healthy, but a little small for 7 weeks. I suppose when a dog on the smaller end of the breed size gives birth to a dozen dogs, they’re going to be smaller, too. And that was a plus. Mama is only about 60 pounds, and the father is 65 or so. Mama was so sweet and friendly I could have snatched her up and taken her home. And the father was a gorgeous, silky brown. So our visit left us satisfied with the temperment of the parents and the health of the pups. We went home without making a decision, but feeling pretty confident we’d be coming back in a few days to pick up a pup.
But I couldn’t stop thinking about those beautiful yellow labs. Should I wait and find another pale yellow lab? The dog is (hopefully) going to be with us for a good long while. Do we “settle?”
I talked it over with my husband. He loves chocolate Labs, and we were both pleased with the size and sweetness of the parents. They were purebred, but didn’t have papers. This wasn’t a problem for us. We’re not breeding or showing them. We just want a great pet. And the parents seemed like great pets, so wouldn’t the pups be, too? They were all friendly and healthy and so darn cute. How long would we have to wait to find another pale yellow lab that was the right size, right price and right temperment? We were lucky to have found such a great batch of puppies. So, we made the call. “We’ll get the sweet little brownie.”
The New Puppy!
And now the preparations begin. Oh, there’s so much to do before this new family member arrives! I almost feel like I’m expecting a baby all over again.
—————–
Have you missed any of the articles in this series?
If so, you can find them at:
The Bringing Up Puppy Series page.
Related posts:
- Bringing Up Puppy Series – The Furs Flying
- Bringing Up Puppy – Getting Closer
- Bringing Up Puppy Series – Lost
