What is the difference between us and other breeders? For starters, we pride ourselves on proven dogs. Pedigrees are great, but you want to stack the odds in your favor, you do that with dogs out of proven parents! This is why all of our litters have at least one titled parent, and in most cases both parents are titled. We know that a dam contributes just as much to your puppy as the sire, so we put just as much effort into good female lines. This is why we strive to prove and title all of our dogs in our breeding program. Our dogs are pets and hunters first and foremost, so you may notice a few spayed females that we use for hunting and hunt testing and even a couple of rescue dogs at our facility. I can guarantee you the Australian Cattle Dog is not much use in the feild, but most of our labs are guide dogs here at our lodge and a couple of surrounding lodges.
All of our puppies are AKC Registered and in some cases the litter may also be registered with UKC. Puppies go home at 8 weeks of age. Not only is this the law in most states but a requirement for a Health Certificate and shippers including the airline. Deposits are taken from the time the litter is announced on a first come, first serve basis. Depending on the litter, we take anywhere from 2-4 female picks on a litter, and 2-4 male picks in advance. These are done by gender only and not by color. Picking out your puppy is done in order of deposit recieved and usually when the puppies are 6 weeks old with the exception of color preferences but in a few cases, not until 8 weeks. We usually try to put litters on live pigeons or pheasant wings to see potential prey drive, and interest for those buyers that are looking for hunt test or hunt/pets.
Litter prices may vary, but most FSR litters are $1500 and most DEO litters are $1200. This can be affected by the use of outside studs, shipped semen, vet expenses, and a few other factors. Prices would be set prior to deposits. Deposits are $500. The remaining balance is due at puppy pickup.
Deposits are non refundable, however, if for any reason you puppy is not born, we will refund the deposit, or you can roll that deposit into a different litter. Your choice. It is very important that these puppies end up in an appropriate home where they can be loved and fit in. We realize that Mother Nature does not always cooperate.
We can accept a credit card over the phone or through our invoice system, Paypal, or a check in the mail. We do also have Venmo and Zelle if need be. Please contact us before attempting to make a deposit. Flying S Retrievers reserves the right to first pick on any litter that would circumvent the pick list.
We DO NOT remove dew claws.
Your puppy will come with a prepaid microchip. This can be registered to your name and phone number, and helps in the event that for any reason your puppy were lost, stolen, or get away from you. We use Fi Nano chips. This is not a tracking device, but a form of permanent identification. These are prepaid chips for the life of your dog so you will never have any fees associated with it as a permanent identification. Please keep your phone number and address updated with this service for the safety of your pet.
Your puppy will be checked by at veterinarian at least once while in our care. This is done at 6 weeks when your puppy receives it's first set of shots. Your puppy will be on a routine worming schedule at 2, 4, 6, and 8 weeks of age. All of these are recorded for you and provided in a binder along with your registration papers. In our private litter group, we will also provide things like health clearances on the sire and dam, photos or the sire and dam, previous puppies, and training tips. If you would like a health certificate for your puppy at pick up, please let us know in advance, and we can provide one to you for an additional $35. Most dogs hauled by a USDA approved transporter will need this document as it is state law.
All of our breeding dogs are health tested OFA hips and elbows as well as genetic panels. Genetic panels cover all genetic disease commonly known in the Labrador breed. You can find all of the health clearances on each individual dogs page here on our website, and if you cannot find what you are looking for, please ask. We would be happy to provide it for you. Some of our dogs also have eye CERF certificates but not all of them as our closest opthamologist is over 6 hours away. Our genetic guarantee is only valid for diseases that BOTH parents are tested for.
When choosing a puppy with us, you also receive lifetime breeder support. For some, not much guidance is needed, but for others it is nice to have someone to bounce training, health,or breeding questions off of. You learn something new every day, and we are happy to be there to help along the way. You can always contact us via Facebook, text, a phone call, or email. Even if you just want to brag about your fur kid this month. ;) We have medical, training, hunt test, and breeding experience, but we are not medical professionals. Always follow your vets directions first and foremost.
Once the litter is announced and we receive your deposit, if you are an avid social media user, we can add you to our private litter Facebook group. We usually start these groups one week before the puppies are due to be born. This allows you to watch the puppies grow on almost a daily basis. Many of our puppy buyers are out of state, and this is a fabulous way for you to get to know the litter better, with videos, photos, and funny stories. This gives you an inside look from the time they are concieved to birth, first food, potty training and outdoor adventures. We also try to do weekly photoshoots!
We have several shipping options available once you have chosen a litter and puppy. For sending a dog via the airlines we prefer to use our private flight nanny for an additional $400-$600 depending on which one you choose. Flight Nannies will take your puppy as a carry on and they go from my hands to yours and are never left alone during their travels. The flight nanny list that we provide is composed of industry professionals and are very careful to use safe puppy protocols. On occassion we use a dog shipping company and send dogs with either Delta or American Airlines, depending on the season and destination. For airfare, crate, transport, and health certificate, you will most likely spend $350. We also have a great ground transport option or two that start at $400 as well but dont recommend it for a young puppy.
Our Guarantees
Your new puppy is guaranteed to be virus free for three business days from the date the puppy is received. Although we have done everything we can to prevent these things, parasites, coccidian, and giardia are common problem in animals, especially young puppies, and can be treated; therefore, these are excluded from this guarantee. We are a bird dog kennel and our dogs are exposed to parasites slightly more than most. A visit with your own vet within 3 days is recommended, including a fecal exam, to confirm the health of your new puppy, and establish a relationship with him/her and your new puppy right from the start. If any parasites are found, treatment is the purchaser’s responsibility.
Your new puppy is guaranteed to be free from the following genetic diseases through parentage: EIC (exercise induced collapse), DM (degenerative myopathy), & CNM (central-neural myopathy). We guarentee every genetic disease that both sire and dam are tested for. We do NOT guarantee any genetic diseases your puppies parents are NOT tested for. You will be provided with copies of parents’ clearances including OFA results. All testing is listed on each parents page and litter pages. If you do not see something there, and have a concern, please feel free to ask.
This guarantee does not cover mistreatment of puppy, injury, accidents, poisoning, etc., dog is not overweight, underweight and has not been used in agility, running, jumping or over exercised during their growth period of 24 months during the period of guarantee. It does not cover trauma related or environmental factors that have affected the dog adversely. Flying S Retrievers does not guarantee your dog’s hips against any form of dysplasia which is attributable to non-genetic causes. If the dog is bred before two years of age, this contract is no longer in effect. This guarantee applies only to the original purchaser of this dog.
If you choose not to return the signed contract prior to or at puppy pickup, your guarantees are no longer valid.
Initial Health Guarantee:
The puppy you are adopting is guaranteed to be in good health at the time of sale, with first vaccine and a series of de-worming given as deemed necessary by our veterinarian (Dr. Hass or Straight at Gregory Animal Clinic) This is all recorded on the health record you will receive when you pick up your puppy. Good Health is defined in the guarantee as free of serious illness or genetic defects that will shorten your dog’s life.
Should your puppy be deemed to not be in Good Health, the puppy will be accepted back to Flying S Retrievers. At Buyer’s discretion, puppy will be replaced with a comparable puppy of same value (or of greater value where the buyer is willing to pay the difference) from the first available litter of Buyer's choice. Flying S Retrievers will not refund any additional cost to the Buyer including shipping, taxes or medical expenses. No cash refunds will be given on puppies.
Terms of the Initial Health Guarantee:
· A licensed veterinarian must examine the puppy within 72 hours of adoption at the puppy buyer’s expense or first shots if specified by the breeder.
· Upon findings by a licensed veterinarian that there is a serious illness or genetic defect that alters the life of the puppy, buyer must notify Flying S Retrievers within 72 hours.
· The puppy must be returned to Flying S Retrievers within 7 days of the notification at the buyer’s expense.
· Flying S Retrievers reserves the right to have the puppy examined by a licensed veterinarian of its choice at their expense. Should there be a discrepancy between the buyer’s and Flying S Retriever’s licensed veterinarian’s findings, Flying S Retriever’s veterinary finding s shall control.
Should any of the above terms not be met, the Initial Health Guarantee will be held void.
Serious illness and life altering defects do not include: umbilical hernia, external or internal parasites or bacteria, coccidiosis, giardia, undescended testicles, inverted vulva, skin or food allergies, under bite or over bite. The preceding list of illnesses and defects are not an exhaustive list.
Flying S Retrievers does not make any guarantee or warranty to the puppy’s personality or disposition although we take great pride in making sure your puppy has been well socialized and introduced to many sights, textures and sounds before going to his/her new home.
Genetic Health Guarantee: The puppy you are adopting is guaranteed to be in good health and free of genetic life threatening illness that result in death for one year. Should your puppy die from a genetic life threatening illness in the first year, puppy will either be replaced with a comparable puppy of same value (or of greater value where the buyer is willing to pay the difference) from the first available litter of Buyer’s choice. No refunds will be given. Flying S Retrievers will not refund any additional cost to the Buyer including shipping, taxes or medical expenses.
Terms of the Genetic Health Guarantee:
· A licensed veterinarian must determine the cause of death. It is up to the buyer to provide evidence that cause of death was genetic.
· Upon finding by a licensed veterinarian that there is a genetic defect that caused the puppy’s death, the buyer must notify Flying S Retrievers within 72 hours.
· All the dog’s vet records must be sent to Flying S Retriever's vet for his opinion to determine the cause of death.
· Should there be a discrepancy between the buyer’s and Flying S Retriever’s licensed veterinarian’s findings, Flying S Retrievers veterinary findings shall control.
Should any of the above terms not be met, the Genetic Health Guarantee will be held void.
Hip Guarantee: Flying S Retrievers follows and implements the Orthopedic Foundation of Animals (OFA) guidelines for evaluation and grading of hip dysplasia. We guarantees buyer’s puppy to be free of hereditary severe hip dysplasia for 26 months. Should the puppy be found to have hereditary medium to severe hip dysplasia within 26 months, Flying S will either replace the afflicted puppy with a comparable puppy of same value (or of greater value where the buyer is willing to pay the difference) from the first available litter of Buyer’s choice. Money will NOT be refunded in lue of a puppy. Flying S will not refund any additional cost to the Buyer including shipping, taxes or medical expenses. Puppy hips are influenced by enviroment, so please make sure your dog has good footing and avoids steps as much as possible. Also limiting hard exercise at a younger age can help minimize damage to the hip joint. Here is a chart to help you assess the risk of hip health in puppies.
Puppies bought on Full Registration
FSR only supports ethical treatment of animals and breeding practices. Anyone buying a puppy on full registration for breeding purposes agrees to continue testing and ethical animal husbandry. Hips, elbows, and eyes must be done by 26 months to guarantee them. If your puppy is bred prior to doing this testing, or bred with failing OFA results, the puppy contract is also null and void.
Unless you are an established approved breeder, your puppy will be provided with limited registration until proof of health testing is done Once this has been provided, we would be happy to change it to full registration.
You agree to test your puppy for genetic diseases prior to breeding.
When registering your puppy you will include "of FSR" at the end of the registered name.
What do we test for?
We are always looking at where we can improve our program and standards. One of the things that is ever changing is health testing. We use Paw Print Genetics or Embark for all of our genetic testing as these are the only two testing companies that will test a sample more than once for accuracy. The following are the recommended testing for the Labrador Retriever.
OFA Hips
OFA Elbows
OFA Cardiac
OFA Petellar
OFA Dentition
Exercise-Induced Collapse (EIC)
Hereditary Nasal Parakeratosis (HNPK)
Progressive Retinal Atrophy, Progressive Rod-Cone Degeneration (PRA/PRCD)
Retinal Dysplasia/Oculoskeletal Dysplasia 1 (RD/OSD)
D Locus/Dilute Gene
We are also adding Copper Toxicosis and Startgardts Disease to our dogs as we test and add new dogs to our family and program.