After much searching and lots of questions we've finally found a "breeder" that we're happy with. I say "breeder" because that's not what they class themselves as, it's just something they do now and again. They own the mother and both parents are pedigree. We can choose at around 5 weeks of age (they will let us know exactly) and take home at 8 weeks.

I know one of the rules is don't give deposits but they were asking £50 and that's what we've done. We've got pick of the litter which is 3 bitches and 5 dogs, however they're keeping a bitch and they believe the owners of the father also want a bitch.

I've had extensive Q&A with them online and spoken to them on the phone and they come across as very genuine and they care where their puppies are going to, rather than just how much money they are making as some other people I've spoken to do.

I'll be completely honest and say we are breaking 2 rules. The parents haven't been scored, however neither them nor their siblings have ever had any problems. A few other people selling labrador pups haven't scored the parents either, I guess it's a money and time thing. I know it's supposed to be very important but someone has to give those puppies a home regardless of their parents scores.

The 2nd rule we've broken is that they're not going to be KC registered. The reason being is that the people who buy from them want them either as working dogs or family pets, they don't show them or anything like that. This doesn't bother us, we have no intention of showing them or even breeding.

So there we go, please don't have a go at me for the above. This isn't a spur of the moment or a last resort, we've asked a load of questions over the past few weeks to this person and our gut feeling is that this is the person we're happy buying from. I haven't checked the date exactly but 8 weeks falls around mid July.

little unfair to say I've ignored everything I was told. I listened to everyone about the other breeder and walked away from them. If everyone followed the strict guidelines about buying a labrador what would happen to all those dogs not up to scratch? They'd probably end up in rescues.

The rescue labradors that we saw didn't have scoring information and weren't KC registered either and the rescues stated experienced homes only.

I can see this is just going to go downhill and I shouldn't be made to feel bad about bringing a puppy into the home. We will love and care for this animal no matter what.

Thank you to everyone who helped along the way. I'll leave it at that and won't be coming back.

Please don't leave!!! I think you will make amazing first-time owners. ((hugs)) and I'd love to read updates on your pup's progress with you.

As far as health-testing goes, IMO having all the tests done on the parents doesn't mean you necessarily get a healthy dog anyway! My pointer had epilepsy, his parents didn't. My munsterlander had hip dysplasia (as did most of the litter) but both parents had good scores. She also had a miss-placed bladder which is not something tested for anyway.
If you take top care in feeding, vaccinate sensibly (imo this means rarely), exercise carefully as they grow then you can still have a healthy dog into old age even If the genetics are not top notch. The munsterlander I mentioned above was diagnosed with severe HD at 8months of age! We were told she would be unlikely to live past 5 or 6 yrs but she lived a full and happy life until 15 yrs old. We kept her fit and thin and she ate a raw-food diet and only suffered arthritis in her final couple of years. She was the sweetest, gentlest, smartest dog I ever had.

Obviously nothing is guaranteed when it comes to health and genetics, but no one can argue that the odds are positively stacked in your favour when pups come from multiple generations of low/clear scoring health tested ancestors. The fact that some conditions that have been known to effect this breed (PRA, CNM, etc.) can be ruled out entirely through health testing to me speaks volumes.

Labradors are the most numerous breed in the country and there are plenty of excellent breeders who care about the health of the dogs they are producing. It just seems a little odd to me that someone should wish to support a backyard breeder when the options for good breeders are numerous with this breed.