1. What kind of Labs do you raise?
Our dogs are “American”, “Field Trial” type Labs in Black, Yellow and Chocolate. They are all Canadian Kennel Club registered and in some cases also registered with the American Kennel Club. Our breeding dogs are selected for performance traits: easy to train and live with, confident and sociable (TEMPERAMENT), instinctual, birdy retrievers with good eyes, nose and perseverance (NATURAL HUNTING ABILITY), long lived, sound, and free from preventable genetic disease (HEALTH) and well structured, high-drive, and agile (ATHLETICISM).
2. How much do puppies cost and what does the price include?
Our puppies cost $2000-2500 (CDN). Check individual litter pages for an exact price. This price includes CKC registration, tattoo &/or microchip, first vaccination, deworming, a starter puppy kit with food, harness, and training references, a vet check prior to leaving our home, a 30 month health guarantee- and our lifetime breeder support. In addition to all of this, our puppies receive our full-time attention from the day they are born and go through our ‘super-socialization’ program. You also get access to our Puppy Prep Course which helps you prepare for the specific care, exercise, training and socialization needs of your puppy!
3. What do all the health certifications mean, and what are they good for?
A detailed description of this is on our HEALTH page. Here you will learn what health tests Labs should have before being bred, and where you can go to confirm tests results. Be sure that any puppy you buy is from health screened parents. This is different, much more extensive, than being checked by a regular veterinarian and being up to date on shots. A healthy puppy is important to every family, whether you are looking for a hunting or detection dog, sporting prospect or pet.
4. We would like to buy a puppy but won’t be able to pick it up. Can you deliver it or ship it?
NO. You should plan to pick your puppy up in Quesnel (if you fly in to the Quesnel or Prince George Airport, we can meet you there in most cases). It is a scenic, beautiful drive from whichever direction you travel – about 7 hours of nice highway from Vancouver – and wouldn’t it be nice to see where your puppy was born and meet his or her parents and extended family?
5. How do you raise your puppies?
Good question – one of the most important ones you should ask a breeder. Complete information about how our puppies can be found here. In short, our puppies are raised in our home, around the hustle and bustle of daily activity, and are handled individually, multiple times each day from birth. They undergo early neurological stimulation which helps to promote brain activity and growth, as well as early scent introduction which helps develop their scent receptors and neural connections in that part of the brain. When they are a bit older, we introduce them to TONS of new things so that they are very well socialized before they go to your home. These include loud noises (gun shots, bad music, vacuums, etc), other animals (cats, horses and older dogs), lots of new people (children, seniors, people in funny hats!), water or snow and ice, grooming practices, different types of flooring, lighting, smells, toys, etc. Puppies are also started on obedience training and crate training prior to leaving our home. This full-time attention allows us to get to know the puppies very well and bring out the best in them. Eromit puppies are outgoing, willing to accept change and new situations, and have a friendly, confident attitude that results in an easy to train and enjoyable dog.
6. How far in advance do we need to reserve a puppy?
Once a planned breeding is announced on our future litters page, we start to accept puppy reservation requests. We accept 6 advanced reservations per litter and usually have a waiting list for ‘extra’ puppies. Therefore it is best to contact us as soon as you start thinking about adding a puppy to your family. There are a couple of advantages to planning ahead when seeking a Lab pup. In the event of a small litter, families with the longest-standing reservations will have priority. Also, reserving a puppy from a future litter will allow you time to puppy proof your home, make pick up arrangements, and plan around your babies schedule. Buying a puppy isn’t a decision to be taken lightly and shouldn’t be an impulsive choice.
7. Is my deposit refundable?
Your deposit is not refundable unless we are not able to provide you with a puppy that will meet your needs. When you place your deposit, you are indicating to us that you are seriously committed to purchasing an Eromit Labrador. If there is an unusually small litter where there are not enough puppies to meet our reservations, you will have the option of having your deposit refunded or you may choose to transfer your reservation to an upcoming litter. However, if a puppy matching your request is available but you change your mind for whatever reason, or you change your mind before the litter is born, your deposit will not be refunded.
8. Do you sell your puppies with breeding rights?
Puppies sold as competition prospects, or to reputable breeders may be sold with full registration and CONDITIONAL breeding rights upon request at our discretion. Please ask AT THE TIME OF RESERVATION if you are interested in this option. All other puppies are sold on a non-breeding agreement. This agreement is reversible per our contract once your puppy turns two years of age. You will have the option to regain full registration and breeding rights provided that your puppy has successful met the health testing requirements listed in the purchase contract, and that you have forwarded the results to us. In some cases there may be a fee to reverse the agreement – the full details will be outlined in your puppy purchase contract. In any case, breeding Labs is not something to be undertaken lightly and therefore we are extremely picky about releasing breeding rights.
9. Do you sell adult dogs or older puppies?
Occasionally we may have such dogs. Typically, they would fall into one of four categories:
1) an older puppy that has been held back from a litter but is now available either for co-ownership or for regular sale.
2) a young started dog who has undergone basic training (6 months to a couple years old)
3) an older female retired from our breeding program. (usually 5-7 years old)
4) Rescue/rehome dogs
The price of an older puppy or young started dog is more than that of an 8 week old puppy, and is set individually depending on what level of training they have achieved. Retired dogs are made available at a reasonable price to approved families looking for a family pet, hunting or competition dog. Retired dogs are house-trained, obedience trained and may even have some advanced training in either field work or a performance dog sport, and make great dogs for first time dog owners or someone looking to skip all the puppy nonsense.
Rescue dogs or dogs being rehomed will vary in age and training level. When a dog comes to us from this type of situation, they are completely health checked by our vet, spayed or neutered, and then spend time going through basic training before being made available for adoption. The adoption fee for a rescue dog is quite low and simply covers the costs incurred in getting the dog ready for adoption.
10. How many litters have you had? How long have you been breeding Labradors?
Labs have been in my family for many generations. As a youngster, I helped my Dad train his dogs and became a dedicated assistant in the whelping and rearing of the puppies. The first litter I raised in 1997 under the guidance of my dad was from my sweet black female named Flash. Later that year, I purchased Nestle as the foundation for my current line, and she had three beautiful litters for me prior to retirement. Nearly all of our females and resulting litters are descended from Nestle. You can see pictures of the puppies we have produced on our ‘Bred By Us‘ page.
11. What about Dewclaws? Do you remove them?
No no no!!! Removing dewclaws is the old-school method of preventing dewclaws tears in the field. However, recent research indicates that dogs without dewclaws are much more likely to end up with front leg injuries, including arthritis in the wrist. This is suspected to be because the front leg can not stabilize itself on sharp turns and quick stops without having a dewclaw present.
We have had dogs with and without dewclaws and I can tell you that we have not had any problems hunting our dew-clawed dogs. It is very important to keep up with the trimming on these nails, as with all nails. We have noticed a significant reduction in turning and stopping speed from our dogs who do not have dewclaws, compared to our dogs who are ‘fully fingered’. Our dogs with dewclaws are also more easily able to get up on ice, should they ever fall through during hunting. Because of these above reasons, we are no longer removing dewclaws from our puppies. If you are seriously concerned about tearing your dogs ‘thumb’ while hunting, we recommend using ‘vet-wrap’ to wrap the area. However, for most scenarios this is not necessary.
If you are still wondering why I do not remove dewclaws, please click on each thumbnail photo below to see how dogs are using them to keep themselves upright at great speeds. Front dewclaws are indeed a useful appendage and we do not feel the risk of tearing one justifies intentionally increasing the risk of other injuries through dewclaw removal. More info about dewclaws can be found HERE
Eromit Labrador Retrievers 
Thank You, I am glad to hear that when I get an Eromit Lab, it will have dewclaws. I have had dogs with and without them as well. I do believe they are necessary.