Chocolate Lab: How much did you guys pay for a pup?

Hope he recovers quickly

 

thats too bad. hope all goes well. those stories kinda make me paranoid because if something does happen to my dog my job doesnt pay all that well so it worries me haha

 

Me too!! My girlfriend got me insurance for him for my last birthday. I teased her for it but am now very glad she did. They're going to pick up 90% of the bill. That looks like you have a golden in your signature?

Edit: nvm, I looked at your pictures, he's a good looking yellow lab!

 

She was a golden/lab cross. She was a great companion. Had to put her down on 18 Feb and Annie is lonely - which is why I'm looking for a choc lab.

 

Dogs can be very very expensive! You have to be ready for anything. Watch an episode of "My dog ate what" and put yourself in that situation. They can be trained to leave things alone but it's a process and they'll inevitably get into some sort of trouble. My dog ate a PS2 controller, killed a coffee maker, ate the iron electrical cord (not plugged in thankfully), shredded a phone book and destroys dog toys in minutes (indestructible my ass). They're a big commitment!

We decided to go with a pure bred for a few reasons. The rescues around here are mostly pits (which I don't mind but because we rent, we couldn't have our dog's breed determine where we could live). If you do your homework and find a good blood line, hopefully the pure bred you get will have a better health history and avoid serious genetic diseases like hip displyasia and eye problems (I can't remember the name of the disease that labs are prone to). Plus, you get that inherent temperment and personality that comes with a lab. You can get the temperment through a rescue and have a really great dog, but you do take a slightly higher risk with the health concerns. I've had plenty of rescues in my life also and they've all been great dogs. I've also had pure breds develop the health problems I listed above even though we took great care to find a good, reputable breeder.

 

im with the gang on this one, especially if you don't need it to be textbook duck retrieval, and stuff like that i would keep it to $500 or below. every dog i've ever owned has been a stray and have always loved them to death. believe it or not a black lab puppy (less than 6 months old) just showed up at our house about 8 months ago. now he's getting BIG! vet said he is probably full blooded, but he's starting to get brown patches along his backside and stuff, really odd, but who cares?!!! he's a great dog with lots of energy (and an appetite!!)

here's a pic of him about a month ago riding on the back of my brothers toolbox up to the house. (we werent going very far at all so you know)

i love this picture, just makes me laugh. after yelling at him for trying to climb through the window he just settled right here like hes just sitting at the bar waiting to be served haha!

 

I'm sorry to hear that! It's amazing how close you end up getting to your dogs. I can't imagine not having a dog, they're always happy to see you and can always cheer you up.

 

Cute pic

 

labs are probably the best dog in my opinion. my parents have 2. a choc and a yellow. both from a local breeder and they were 500. when you get em at the minimum age they are easier to train (house, not hunting). they will love you for life and become your best friends.

good luck with the purchase

 

Thanks. She was a great companion. and one does get very attached to a dog.

That's why I got Annie 5 years ago... so I'd never be dogless Don't know what I'd do without Annie right now... and she misses having a buddy.

 

I paid $200 for my full bread AKC yellow lab and also $200 for my full bread unregistered tri colored beagle

 

I recently bought a yellow lab for $500. I felt that's high for a dog, but after doing a lot of research I found they can be anywhere from $200-$2000 with an avg price of $850. I found a breeder that was pretty good, some made breeding dogs their sole income, and the dogs seemed kinda wild. I'm really happy with my Lab, I take her to the park couple times a week and ppl with other labs coment on how well behaved she is for being so young.

I also volunteered at a no kill shelter for a few yrs. You can find great dogs there. But you can also find trouble. My mom almost lost her arm walking a pit mix that was on the adoption floor. I searched all our local shelters but all I found was Pit mixes, and I didnt want that. And we wanted a puppy, they were all pit mixes as well. That's why we turned to finding a breeder. My family always adopted dogs, and some have been ok, others not so much. Luckily they have a lot of land and it's too much of a problem. Personaly I think it all comes down to training.

 

Here's a pic BTW

 

I love labs! haha

I paid $800 for mine and it was money well spent. She is the closest thing I have or want to have to a kid right now.

Pugga - My dog tore her cruciate ligament in her left knee [sounds like what happened to your dog] about 1.5 years ago, only I didn't have doggy insurance. Between the several consultations and the actual surgery it cost me around ~$4500. Ouch, right!? But what you gonna do... If you have any questions about anything send me a PM

In terms of temperament and overall loving attitude of a labrador, you just can't go wrong in my opinion.

 

That's exactly what he did, I couldn't think of the name of it! We got quoted 4 options, "Wait and see if it heals on it's own" and 3 surgery options ranging from $1,800 to $3,500. Do you remember which procedure you went with and how the results were? We're struggling doing a lot of research on what to do. We're leaning towards a procedure called TPLO (Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy) based on what we've read.

 

I paid $260 for my black lab. The breader had 10 puppies. All the yellow and chocolate labs went first. No body wanted the black female so he gave me a good price on her. Best dog ever

 

My yellow lab was $650. Cost I am sure varies by location, one thing to look for in labs is to make sure they are AKC registered and OFA certified. Hips in labs can go bad, OFA means the mother and fathers lines have no history of hip problems. A certified vet looks at the hips to make sure.

Also, I have always been told to never buy a dog that has been bred by 2 chocolates. I guess they have all kinds of health problems.. My cousin found that out the hard way. They had to put their 3 year old chocolate down because he could barely walk. Pretty sad to see.

 

Yeah the lab rescue is at petsmart every sat. I know a couple people that have gotten ones from them and they are great dogs. Good way to save some good pups

 

I tried the 'wait and see' method' for 3 weeks, if it really is a cruciate ligament tear its only gonna get fixed surgically. Poor dog would limp badly at night after any exercise during the day.

After doing a ton a research and trying to find every option I went with the TPLO procedure even though it sounded pretty invasive because it yielded the best chances of her returning back to 'normal'. The toughest part by far is the recovery. Trying to keep a young lab down and quiet is a challenge. Your supposed to keep your dog from running and jumping for the first 4-6 weeks. Basically anything that to reaggravate the knee as its healing.

Looking back on it, it was a tough month or so, but completely worth it. She has completely recovered and is 100% back to herself.

One last thing, if you elect to go the surgical route, make sure to see if those quotes cover the follow-ups. There were 3 additional follow up visits to the vet to make sure everything was healing well which includes having some x-rays taken. I imagine this could add up fast if it's not including in the price.

 

Thanks for the info! I'm trying to get opinions from anyone I can about the procedures. It's a tough decision but it's good to know that after the recovery he can be back to normal.

Thanks again!