Meet the Parents

The parents are our family's pets. We love the Labrador breed for the versatility in their abilities.  Labradors are well known to seek out how to please their owners.  Their intelligence and loyal love make them an excellent choice for a family pet, hunting companion, and/or service dog.   We prepare the pups as would a service dog organization during the 8 weeks we care for the pups until ready to go home.  

​

We are dedicated to improve the breed with each generation. Our careful consideration in pairing the right parents, brings us great pride in the genetics passed on to each puppy adopted.  The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) offers the ability certify bone structure health via x-rays once dogs are 24 months in age.   The goal is  reduction in the incidence of genetic disease. Since hereditary, we invest in OFA certification as needed to validate disease is not within our bloodlines.  OFA was founded in 1966; long before DNA testing was available. 

 

While OFA offers limited health testing options and is less expensive, we are very pleased to invest in DNA testing to obtain more in-depth health screenings taking advantage of the latest DNA science. Embark allows us to conduct health screening DNA testing of 170+ genetic diseases to ensure the puppies we offer have the best genetics for a long, happy, healthy life. Our "last pick" puppy is often better than most "first pick" puppies elsewhere.

 

By researching the genetics of each of our dogs, it allows for deliberate mattings to continuously improve bloodlines.  If a parent has one variant of a undesired genetic marker, we ensure it is absent in the other parent to dilute and avoid passing on any undesired trait to their offspring.  Desired genetic markers are paired by both parents to increase passing on to their offspring.

​

In addition to health related genetics, we breed for desired behaviors, temperament, and physical traits.  For example, puppies that are food motivated are easier to train.  Being in Colorado, high altitude tolerance is another DNA trait we focus on.