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Purpose

Labradors can be used in many ways.  What purpose are you looking for?

ASSISTANCE DOG?

For a very long time, Steve has been helping people train dogs for many roles, and none more important than training dogs to assist people.

Whether the goal was to help people with emotional, psychiatric, mental health, medical needs, anxiety or depression challenges, Steve has been involved in teaching the dogs how to behave in given circumstances.

One challenge has always been to find dogs with suitable temperaments for these particularly important roles. Training a dog to assist their person in any and every environment and around any distraction is challenging enough but if you are working with a dog that is nervous, fearful or unstable in any way, the task may never be achievable.
 

When we started breeding Labradors, it was with these specific goals in mind, so temperament and health were at the top of our list when it came to breeding goals.

Rosie Cheeks was our maiden breeding female and she has produced some incredible pups, thriving as assistance dogs and even dogs that are owned by Psychologists who have their Herzhund Lab as a Therapy dog in session.

Diabetic alert dogs and dogs that indicate on many of the owners behaviours, odours or mannerisms mean you can end up with a 24 hour a day companion to help you.

Unlike many assistance dogs,  lazy or sleepy dogs in the background, Steve aims for an energetic dog to help get you off that couch and be active.

Sure, our dogs love a sleep in and love to laze on the couch too, but they are also bred to work and love fetching, running, swimming, hiking, playing, and walking!

Our lines are very trainable as they are bred from working lines. They genetically love people and are raised from day one by our whole family and staff at our dog training company, K9 Pro – The K9 Professionals in our unequalled imprinting program.

PET / FAMILY DOG/ BEst friend

Our Labs have awesome pack drive, they love people – it is in their DNA!

Today, people want a dog that can be social, smart, obedient, easy to motivate and train and resistant to developing behaviour problems.

This doesn’t sound like much to ask for, but as a behaviourist who specialises in severe cases of aggression, Steve can tell you that simply buying a pure bred dog of a certain breed is NOT the guarantee of success you might think your buying.

A “good dog” is a rare thing these days and this is because people are often not selective enough when choosing a puppy and who they are buying from.

A “good dog” is a precise balance of genetics, imprinting, environment, exposure, and education.

 

We choose our genetics from only select animals that are of sound mind and health and have demonstrated temperament traits and abilities that we want to reproduce.

We spend every day working with the puppies from day 0 to day 56 (8 weeks of age) to give them the best possible exposure and experiences as possible.

We offer puppy buyers access to the Herzhund Labrador Owners club, a private group where training programs are loaded so that puppy owners have programs to go on with and we offer lifetime support to all puppies.

We want our puppy owners to have the absolute best opportunities available.

A pet dog or best mate is such a wide category to fill, but we know that in my every day job, where we are booked solidly for months all year round, working with troubled dogs that only need to be well behaved pets.

We place many of our pups in working homes as assistance dogs and support dogs but also many are pets and best mates that provide fun and happiness for many years of family life.

If you’re looking for a best mate, then email us because we breed the best “best mates” around!

PSYCHOLOGIST? Counsellor? therapist?

Having a dog in your workplace can improve mood and support your patients and clients. Even just a friendly dog that is well mannered can be a huge asset. Going further may mean teaching a dog technique such pressure therapy, where the dog will lean on or lay on someone’s feet, or legs perhaps when they are feeling stressed or anxious. We have worked with people and supplied dogs for their practice with amazing stories of success. If you are thinking about this option, speak to us as we can help with the right dog and the right training!
 
Dogs helping people in therapy situations is far from new and even some large hotel chains are now looking at having a dog in the lobby near the check out area to interact with those waiting to pay their accounts!
 
Herzhund Labradors are amazing at interacting with people due to a number of factors.
The Labrador breed is known as a very friendly and loyal breed, with pendant shaped ears and rounded features they provide a very appeasing picture for those who may be a little nervous around some dogs.

Herzhund Labradors are bred from only select lines and then throughout their imprinting period (0 – 8 weeks) we work with them every day to provide education, challenges and lessons that help them deal with any situation confidently.

Generally we supply puppies at 8 weeks of age but we can also choose a puppy for you and put the puppy through our raise and train program, delivering you a puppy that is ready to walk into your practice.

SCENT DETECTION

All of our Labradors have the essential “Hunt Drive” which is the crucial ingredient for successful scent detection. This coupled with high food and prey drive makes our dogs very capable of Scent Detection at the highest level.
 
We also have a very intense imprinting program which runs from the day the pups are born until they are 8 weeks of age. This ensures that our pups are bold, outgoing and have no environmental sensitivities.
 
Our pups are finding target odours at 6 weeks, ignoring distraction, and discriminating between odours. This can be further developed to specialize in Narcotics Detection, Explosive Detection, Truffle Detection and the detection and indication on any odour you specify.
 
We do supply pups to Government and Private departments at 8 weeks of age or we can retain the puppy at K9Pro and deliver the puppy at 6 – 10 months, already trained to specified levels.