I'm located in Va. Beach but will travel to buy from a responsible Labrador breeder. We're looking for a Chocolate lab puppy.  I have been burning-up the internet to learn all the breeders that are listed in the AKC registry. All the websites I visited are well maintained and informative. The breeders have included the pedigree and health records and everything looks great.
Then I made the mistake of talking to a local trainer who kinda gave the hidden-story of one of the breeders here. Apparently there's more behind the scene in the breeders world, industry wide, (ie, less than reputable) than meets the eye. I now feel that I need some more help.
Any ideas?
Thanks, Mike

I bred my choc. lab to a male (Bo) that Brad Slaybaugh of Windmere Retrivers owns about a year and 1/2 ago. My female had 10 pups of which I sold 9 and kept one. I would highly recommend Brad and one of his dogs. I plan on breeding again this summer. You can check out his web page which I have listed below. Super nice guy and his male Bo has grand champion AKC credentials. He lives in Colonial Heights, Va.

http://www.windmereretrievers.com

I bought a black English female from Deep Run Farm in Goldvein (Northern VA) back in March.  She's the best dog ever.  Matter of fact, she's going back there today for a week of training and obedience work (I'm going out of town).  They have a great place and are good people.


As for windmereretrievers - I know of them too, but chose the breeder closer to me.  And I also wanted an English because I think they look the best.

I haven't decided whether to breed my female - she's 5 months now and so I need to make up my mind soon.  Am not sure that I want to deal with the heat cycles.

I got my Chocolate female from Wendy at Cresthill Kennels in Woodford, VA.  I have no complaints.

Cresthill Kennels

Dan.

Dan, we saw the Cresthill website and it looked good.
We wondered how they would be. They are a little more pricey but my wife and I are more concerned about the long-term health and breed conformity than price. How did you find them and did you visit them and others before you bought from them?
We do like the English standard more.....

Windmere Labs is a new website for me! Thanks for the link!
Mike

I talked to about 15 different breeders in the PA, WV, MD and VA area before settling on one.  We visited a few, and Cresthill ended up coming out on top.  It also helped that she had a litter, with the exact dog we wanted, when we finally made our mind up to buy.  

Wendy's breedings definitely are more field/hunting bred, and not so much for the English type show standards.  She takes them out as puppies and introduces them to birds, water, and the outdoors in general.  She gives a great warranty and seems to really care about her dogs long term health.  She will sort of interview you as much as you are checking her out, and she won't sell you a dog if she doesn't think it's going to a good home.  If I ever got a second one, I wouldn't hesitate for it to be from her.

Here are a couple pics I happen to have hosted online:

This was not too terribly long after we brought her home in 2007:



and this was obviously Christmas (2008) where she was a bit over a year old:



Good luck in your choice.

Dan.

Wow, she's a beautiful dog, great Coat!  

She definitely leans towards the American standard.

Dan - that's a great pic.  I rememeber just 2 months ago when my black female was a furball too!  Now she's a 45 pound monster - but smart as heck and loves to swim!



OP - check out Deep Run - they are more expensive, but I looked around too and think that they do things pretty well.

'05LowRider- Good looking dog too! What did you name her and who were her parents?

Here is a pic of my Dixie and another one of 3 of her male pups (out of 10, 5 and 5) sired by Windmeres "Bo"

We bought our chocolate lab from Deep Run Farms in Goldvein, VA  back in 2001.

Although we don't use our lab for hunting, she has the drive.  She also took to the water like a duck.  She's made a great family dog, but as she's getting older, she seems to be a bit irritated by the one little one (niece) when she's around.

I went with this breeder because I liked what their website showed and the way they described how they birth and ween the pups.

Good luck.

We picked up our last lab from Wendy as well.  She runs a good clean shop and breeds top quality labs.

Here's a pic of our Lab at 11 months facing down a bee.  He's classified by AKC as yellow, but he's a fox red with a lot of character in his face.

Thanks for all the help!

It seems a consensus is building here. We want to bring the puppy home anytime between beginning of July and the end of July because I'm on vacation most of August. We have found a few litters from recomended breeders that are due for delivery beginning September but that would bring us into the new school year and all of that drama.

1. Cresthill Kennels

2. Deep Run Retrievers

3. Gainesfield Labradors

4. Windmere Retrievers

5. Bay Beeze Farms Labradors

So between the timing and the availability of Chocolates, we might be leaning towards Cresthill for the time being. We are now beginning the phonecalls to the different places.
Whew, this search alone has become a full-time job.  

Something to consider, Wendy won't let you take a puppy home until approximately 8 weeks.  So a puppy borm in May won't go home with you until late June, early July.

Walt

Exactly! perfect.