Other than the price of the dog, you need to consider several factors when you are looking for a Labrador for sale. You need to know the impact that the lab will have on you and your family and how well you will keep it. The following are some of the factors that you need to look into and evaluate if you will proceed and buy your lab dog.
The first factor is the costs involved in purchasing the dog. You need to consider the price of buying the dog, the emotional cost, and opportunity cost due to the time and effort you invest. Nowadays, it is also important to have veterinary insurance because treatment costs may be high done to how advanced they have become.
Second, you need to consider the availability of space to keep a Labrador. All dogs need space on the outside and inside. This means that you may need a well-sized backyard to accommodate it happily. Labs also need more space in the house because they can be playful and their thick and long tails may easily knock off fragile things in the house. However, a dog crate can be used when you need to keep them contained. You may first keep it outside when finding the necessary equipment but it is also not good to keep labs out permanently seeing that they need security and shelter.
Third, you have to consider if you really have the time for a dog. It would be unjust to a small puppy if you purchased it and left it in the house all day. Such small dogs need extra care and may need you to visit in the middle of the day. Even for an adult dog, you will need to spare time for exercising and training so that it may interact well with humans without behaving like other animals.
Fourth, you need to consider the health of the dog and hence get health clearance from the owner. When the puppy breed is more popular, like labs are, and in high demand, the dog can be easily sold to a family that does not have the required health clearances. For example, chocolate labs have many health problems in their life. When the gene pool is narrowed, it gets hard to improve the health of the dog since there is no diversity of genes. Although some issues come due to genetic problems, others are due to less training due to early days, bad feeding habits and failure to subject the dog to ongoing tests. This means that despite the genetic conditions of the Labrador, the owner has the responsibility of maintaining the health of the dog. The dog should, therefore, get health clearance tests before you buy it.
Lastly, you need to evaluate whether bringing a dog will suit your family. If you have a toddler in the house, perhaps it would not be the right time to bring a small puppy. A toddler may harm the dog by stepping on it hence increasing your costs. On the other hand, if the kids are big enough, they can blend well with the puppies.