Next litter of Red Fox Labrador puppies expected on September 21st, 2024.
Next litter of Red Fox Labrador puppies expected on September 21st, 2024.
We receive lots of phone calls and questions from prospective puppy parents. Many of you have the same questions so we put this FAQ together to try and answer as much as possible online. Of course, if you don’t find what you are looking for here, contact us. We are more than happy to talk with you and answer any additional concerns.
We had lived in the Denver, CO area since 2006. We have many friends, clients, and dogs in the Denver area. In 2024, we made the decision to be closer to family and relocated to Grand Junction, CO where our daughter resides. It was a difficult decision but the best choice for our family.
We are a small family breeder in Western Colorado and produce a maximum of 1-2 litters per year. We usually go 7-8 months between litters based on the heat cycles of our females.
We don’t have a waitlist per se. We maintain a list of subscribers who are interested in a Labrador puppy and keep in regular contact with them. Once a litter is available, subscribers will have the first opportunity to secure a puppy. Puppies are then offered on a first-come, first-serve basis via our website. At any given time, we have approximately 300+ subscribers to our list. As our business has grown, it has become too cumbersome to maintain multiple lists and be fair to all subscribers…this is the best option to give everyone an equal chance to secure a pup.
It’s a lifestyle choice and a business choice. My husband and I have full-time jobs and each litter takes 5-6 months to produce. From heat cycle to delivered puppy, it’s a long process. We breed Labradors because we have a passion for these animals and want to share them. We don’t overbreed our females and we don’t want to have so many puppies at once that we can’t properly care for them. Our current process represents a good balance of ethical breeding and works with our lifestyle.
Our breeding is focused on premium genetics, not a specific purpose like hunting or show dogs. We want to produce the healthiest dogs possible with the best genetic qualities. That said, our females and males often have a championship bloodline and come from parents or grandparents who were hunters or AKC show dogs. About 30% of our offspring become hunters and participate in AKC field trials. Another 20% end up as service or therapy dogs but the vast majority become loving family pets.
We will only accept deposits when we have a confirmed pregnancy and know we are going to have a litter. Subscribers receive regular updates will be notified when our website is available to place a deposit. This is usually 2-3 weeks after breeding occurs. Taking early deposits, sometimes up to a year in advance, became an administrative burden for us. In addition, we don’t like holding deposits without knowing when we would be producing a litter.
Our average litter is between 9-11 pups. The most we have had at one time is a litter of twelve. Ten deposits works out well and is manageable for us. During the pregnancy, the vet will “guesstimate” how many pups will be in the litter but they are often wrong by plus or minus one pup….it’s hard to count them all accurately when they are jammed in there.
Yes, puppy deposits are 100% refundable, for any reason, until the pups are born and you electronically sign your puppy agreement. It’s approximately 6 weeks from the time you would place a deposit to signing your agreement. Once the puppy agreement is executed, deposits become non-refundable. This is because we have turned away other potential buyers and will incur costs to find a new home for that pup.
Absolutely! We are very transparent with our business and you can view a copy of the sample puppy agreement online.
We understand life happens. Your $500 deposit is 100% fully refundable until the puppies are born and you have electronically signed your Puppy Agreement. At that point, we have reserved a puppy for you and have most likely turned away other potential buyers. If you are unable to take your puppy, and it occasionally happens, the initial deposit is non-refundable because of costs we will incur to find the pup a new home. You may roll your deposit to the next litter in case your circumstances change in the future but this will only be allowed one time.
We don’t know the individual genders until the pups are born. There’s just no way to tell in the ultrasound or the x-ray when multiple puppies are in such a confined space within the uterus. If you have reserved a specific gender and we do not have a puppy available, you have three available options: 1) Immediate refund 2) roll your deposit to the next litter where you will get priority 3) accept a pup of a different gender. Completely up to you.
Absolutely! You are more than welcome to visit us in Grand Junction, CO as much as you like. We only ask two things: 1) Please wait until the pups are at least two weeks of age 2) give us a 48-hour notice when you want to come by so we can make sure someone is available to meet with you. Weekends are generally best but we can accommodate weekday visits too.
When the pups are four weeks old, we will start making appointments with individual clients for puppy selection. Puppy picks will occur in the order deposits were received. If you are not local, we are more than happy to do a video call and help you select the best pup for your family. In addition, we will post a ton of pictures online so you will get to see them as they grow.
Yes. Complete details can be found by visiting our health guarantee page.
No. We tried this in the past but have found it unnecessary. We really get to know and stay in contact with many of our clients. By the time you place a deposit, we have already talked with you multiple times and will know if your home is a good fit for one of our pups. In our time breeding, we have only turned away 1-2 families that were not a good fit.
We are a registered business with the State of Colorado and therefore are REQUIRED to collect sales tax. In Colorado, agriculture animals (cows, goats, horses, etc.) are exempt from sales tax per the Colorado Agricultural Exemption list. However, dogs, cats, fish, etc. are considered domestic animals and are subject to state sales tax like any other good or service in Colorado.
Yes, there is no formal naming standard for this color of Labrador so you are likely to see both terms used when describing these dogs. You may also see advertisements for a ‘fox red pointing lab’ and it is the same dog. The Labrador is a versatile breed and all Labradors, no matter what color, can be trained as hunting companions to point.
Yes they can! Although the AKC does not recognize “red” as an official color for the Labrador breed, Red Fox Labs are registered as “yellow” and can be fully certified for field trials, competition and breeding. Red Labs are actually a deep, dark yellow that appears red. This is similar to “white” Labradors which are a pale yellow, registered as yellow, but appear white.
No, this is a common myth and Internet tall tale. The Red Fox Labrador breed is 100% canine and has no relationship to the red fox. Its red coat is strikingly similar in color to the red fox and is probably where the name came from, but nobody knows for sure. This Labrador color originated in Canada during the late 1800’s in a camp off the Atlantic coast. The color is a product of careful breeding between black and yellow labs to achieve the red appearance.
Many factors contribute to the adult size of a dog including genetics, diet and exercise. On average, female Red Fox Labs range from 55-70lbs and males are a bit larger and muscular from 65-85lbs. Genetics are a major contributor to the final size of a dog. Based on our experience, pups will be within 10% of their parents body weight when they are full grown.
We have decided not to ship our puppies as “cargo” with the major airlines. The carriers have instituted a number of restrictions on shipping live animals and it has become very cost / time prohibitive for us. In addition, air travel in the baggage compartment of a plane is EXTREMELY stressful for the dogs. We feel it’s in the best interest of our clients and the puppies not to transport them as cargo at this time. This may change in the future and we will evaluate air shipping options annually. That said, we have very flexible delivery options and have sold puppies accross the United States.
Updated 2024: Previously we had removed the dew claws from all of our pups. However, recent veterinary research has shown that dew claws are beneficial to leave intact for large breed dogs. Therefore, for any of our litters whelped after 2023, we will NOT be removing the dew claws.
Join our subscriber list with no obligation. Subscribers will receive advance notice of new litters and available puppies.
Remember, we are a low-volume, family breeder producing 1-2 litters a year. Most of our pups are sold through the subscriber list.
NO SPAM EVER..we promise! Unsubscribe at any time.
