Lab+Expert

Home My expert on labrador retrievers is Charlie Tolkien. He is the breeder that gave me both of my labrador retrievers. I will be asking him questions that I have about labs and will be posting them here.

Me: When did you get involved into the business of breeding labs and how did you learn so much?

Charlie: 1976, a lot of study and love for the breed

Me: What are some of the main diseases labs can have?

Charlie: Hip and elbow dysplasia. Labs also have many of the same diseases we have: diabetes, epilepsy, and heart disease

Me: What makes your labs so good with families?

Charlie: We breed specific goals that few other breeders use like calmness and soundness while still maintaining a strong desire to retrieve.

Me: Do you have any funny stories about raising labs?

Charlie: We had a dog who had 14 pups in her litter, she was in the house with another dog who had 5 and every time we would let them out the dog with 14 pups would come in and steal one of the other puppies, which we had to bring back, as if she didn't have enough to do.