Common Questions
How are puppies placed with families and show selects our puppy?
The way that pups behave early on is an indicator of what kind of dog they will be as adults. This is one reason why we spend so much time socializing, watching, testing, and finally placing our pups in appropriate homes. Within a few weeks of birth, the puppies personalities start to emerge. Some are rather placid, calm little guys, not the first to the food or to the gate when someone comes to visit. They are happy sitting on your lap, don't fuss much when they are groomed, and don't really seem to get worked up over anything and are always underfoot. Then there are some that are more outgoing, that will climb over the heads of their brother and sisters to get to the food bowl first, first to run to you, more head strong and confident. They are not happy sitting on your lap because they want to play or explore.
These two types of pups are representative of some the personality types that we test for when placing puppies into their new homes. At seven weeks old we have a temperament test performed on the puppies by a stranger to them using a test created by the Monks of New Skeet. During the test, which involves a series of situations designed to see how the puppy reacts under new and different circumstances, we carefully watch the pups and then they are given a score for each area. We combine the results of this test with what we know about the puppies to help us choose the ‘right’ home for each puppy.
At what age should we spay/neuter our dog?
We recommend not spaying or neutering before 18-24 months of age, when the growth plates are closed. Early spaying/neutering can cause unstable joints and be more susceptible to cruciate ligament tears, ACL issues, hyperextension, hip dysplasia and elbow dysplasia. Additionally, hormones contribute to how your dog looks as a mature adult. HERE is more information.
Why are Greenstone puppies placed on AKC limited registration and not allowed to be used for breeding?
Like most responsible breeders, this policy helps protect our dogs and our breeding program. Breeding Labradors responsibly takes years of research of pedigrees and lines and a vast amount of knowledge about the health, temperament and structure of a Labrador. We are fully aware of the fact that many would love to get one of our dogs to use to mass produce puppies for financial gain, without spending the time, effort or finances required to breed responsibly. We have no desire to have our dogs used in this matter and AKC limited registration is one tool we have to prevent our dogs from being used for breeding purposes. We want our dogs to be family members – not puppy factories.
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Should I get a male or female?
One of the most common questions we are asked is about the differences in the males and females. There is little difference based on the sex alone and very few sex linked personality traits (same with coat color). For this reason, we encourage every person interested in a puppy to keep their options open. We spend time with each individual puppy every day of their lives from the time they are born until the day they leave. Because of our strong desire to place each and every puppy in the right home we temperament test each of our puppies and try to place each puppy in the home that they are best suited for.