Our Philosophy

PROPER SOCIALIZATION

We consistently hear how smart and responsive our puppies are, how they love to retrieve, and that they have their parents’ warm quiet personalities.

We feel much of this is due to the environment we provide for them in early life. Interacting and socializing with our puppies starting at a young age is a priority for us (see below). Research has repeatedly shown that proper socialization during the Formative Weeks (5-12) of a puppy's life impacts confidence and desire for a strong human bond. When a strong human bond is established at a young age, the puppy will tend to be more responsive and will want to please his owner as an adult.

An under-socialized pup tends to listen because it has to, not because it wants to. This negative attitude can show in the way the dog presents itself when called. For example, a dog might show a dumpy, somewhat slunken appearance instead of holding its head high with a confident glad-to-do-as-you-ask expression.

EARLY NEUROLOGICAL STIMULATION

The first part of our socialization program ENS starts at the age of 3 days and continues through day 18. Check out the research behind this at https://breedingbetterdogs.com/article/early-neurological-stimulation

ADDITIONAL SOCIALIZATION PROGRAM

The second part of our socialization program is done each Monday, Wednesday and Friday starting at five weeks of age. Personality Tendency Testing involves bringing two puppies at a time into our puppy training building. This is where we conduct six different tests, all designed to help us determine the introvert and extroverts within the litter. We document each puppy’s unique personality scores each of the nine times they are in our training building to determine their Activity Score before being chosen. In addition, we start to teaching basic manners, including no biting, barking or jumping.

The day before you are scheduled to pick out your puppy and take it home we email the Personality Tendency Information test scores to you. Using the scores as a basis to select a puppy whose personality will best fit your lifestyle has proven to be a great tool in the selection process.

We invest a lot of time testing and recording each puppy's individual Personality Tendency Scores. This has proven to be well worth our investment, as we find it is a highly successful part of our program.

HEALTH GUARANTEE

All our pups will have had their dew claws removed at a few days of age, been de-wormed, microchipped, and had two puppy immunizations. They come with a Health Guarantee This guarantee includes hips, eyes, heart, PRA, and EIC along with a complete set of health records. All our puppies are AKC Registered.

DEPOSIT

We ask for a $200.00 deposit, if we do not have a puppy whose personality fits your needs, we will refund your deposit or you can move to the next available litter, whichever you prefer.

Please let us know if you are sending a deposit. We will let you know when we receive your deposit and send you a receipt along with some information to help you prepare for your puppy. Please indicate the color & gender list you would like to be on and complete our Personality Match Questionnaire if you haven't already done so.

(If you are wanting a puppy more than a year out, please send your deposit a year prior to that projected date.)

Deposits can be made with:

1. A personal check to Whispering Pines and sent to 14694 - 200th St., Milaca, MN 56353.

2. Paypal (3% fee charged) using our email address: whisperingpineslabs@outlook.com.

3. Cash

SELECTING A PUPPY

We encourage you to read the information beside the pictures of our adults to decide which dog’s puppy will best fit your lifestyle. Ideally you will find both the personality and color you prefer. If not, we strongly encourage you to give personality a much higher rank than color. It is very helpful if you complete our Personality Match Questionnaire (click here).

QUESTIONS AND VISITS

We probably left you with more questions now than when you first started reading this. If it is at all feasible, we would like for you to visit us, tour our facilities, and meet and interact with our dogs. You and your family will see their personalities and the home our dogs and puppies live in. Feel free to give us a call, and we will be happy to answer questions you may have. We are available most week days and Saturdays.

Call or email with a couple times you'd like to visit, and we'll set up an appointment. We feel we have quality Labrador Retriever puppies for sale.

For more information:

Message us with any questions.