I tell my clients to look at shelters for dogs who need homes. But if they want a pure breed (which I don't have a problem with) skip the pet stores and look for a reputable and good quality breeder. Visit the breeder before confirming a purchase and get to meet the puppies and at least the mother. So practicing what I preach we met the puppies and mother today.
The puppies were born September 15th, so their eyes and ears weren't quite open yet. Mom was a small lab and not show quality, but she was gentle and sweet. We're only interested in a pet and don't plan to breed or show, so the full lab quality wasn't as important to us. We were looking for a white-yellow lab (my wife likes the lighter colored ones) female who was going to be sweet and hopefully a little lazy. In this litter there were two to choose from and we handled both. One of them on the second handling laid her head on my wife's shoulder and seemed to really relax and almost fall asleep. Needless to say, that's the one my wife bonded with and the one we chose. With our deposit having been given, we gave her back to the breeder since she's too young to leave the mother.
Now we wait for another 4 1/2 weeks. We'll pick her up on October 28th, which happens to be just two days before my wife's birthday (another reason why we felt this was the right time and right puppy). We've already decided on the name Yvaine (pronounced "ee-VANE"), the name of the main female character in the movie Stardust. Pretty soon we'll be beginning a new adventure in raising another puppy. I'll keep everyone informed.
