I would steer well clear of working lines as for colours we travelled with about 10 labs whilst over in the states and all different colours the chocolate bitch we had was called 'pudding' and that is exactly what she was, we had a black bitch who was quite lazy another that was a joy, the yellows all varied in temperament as well. The dogs can be a bit 'Bungalow Bill' but didn't have any problem with oversexed dogs either.

As for hip scoring yes an 8/8 is wonderful in an ideal world and a 0/0 is a rarity, I had a golden retriever dog and he had a average hip score but was what we call a hip improver all his youngstock had better hip scores than either mum or dad! At the end of the day you will prob never know what your puppy's hip score is because if you are not going to breed it is an expensive trip to the vet! Eyes have to be done annually.

When ringing about a pup ask for the hip scores of both sire and dam and also the dates of the eye test certificates, if you go down the road of visiting the pups ask to see the certificates for sire and dam before seeing the pups cos once you see them, you will prob take one home regardless .

Pups should not leave for their new homes until at least 7 weeks of age (which is what 'older' breeders do) or the trend these days is at 8 weeks. Most good breeders will hand on to you a 'puppy pack' which will have a small bag of food, 6 weeks pet insurance, and a diet sheet for the new pup, most will also have a contract for you to read and sign as well.

Good luck finding your new puppy and make sure you have everything in place e.g. crate etc before bringing babe home.

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