Nancy Meyer of DreamMeyer Labradors and I co-own a 4 year-old female, DreamMeyer Elwood's Blue Echo MH who is a "sibling" to her Gracie but 1 ½ years younger. Echo is due to deliver a litter of chocolate and black pups on December 15th, they will be ready to go to their new homes in early February. I am in Austin, Texas, and Nancy will be traveling here to pick up her pup from this litter, so she could bring any puppies going to MN homes too if the new owners want to share expenses. I can also ship pups by air.

Echo is the sweetest, friendliest dog I have ever met, and still very full of the drive to retrieve. She is bred to a black Field Champion, so the puppies should have excellent temperaments and tremendous retrieving drive and trainability. I also have an 8 yr-old male ½ sibling to Echo (same dam), and both my dogs are wonderful house pets as well as being very successful in the field They are wonderful with children and other dogs, and they need a lot of exercise, even if it's just jogging with you or retrieving tennis balls. Below is a summary of the early conditioning the pups will undergo, and also my write-up about the breeding, so you can see the pedigree. This is my first litter, but the references on Nancy's website apply to my dogs also. Nancy & my local breeder & trainer friends will guide me as well.

Early Imprinting:

I will do the puppy stimulation ("Super Dog") with the puppies: http://www.breedingbetterdogs.com/achiever.html The puppies will be whelped in the house, and moved outside (weather permitting) to a sheltered kennel at 3-4 weeks. My husband, daughter and I will play with them daily and I will do the early neurological stimulation.

By 5 weeks they will be introduced to crate training, birds, and duck calls, and be taken for "hikes" through brush and over logs and puddles. They will have retrieving drills in the yard. After their first shots they will be introduced to wading and swimming water, gunshots, decoys, and retrieving in more rugged terrain. They should be imprinted with everything they need in order to be successful retrievers.

I have the benefit of guidance from very experienced breeders including my sister, Nancy Meyer, of DreamMeyer Labradors in North Branch, Minnesota www.dreammeyer.com, and Laura Morris of Stellar Retrievers in Giddings, Texas www.stellarretrievers.com.

The Litter:

I have bred "Echo" to "Gates" by surgical AI on October 16th. The pregnancy has been confirmed by ultrasound. Both are OFA Excellent. Both are CNM Clear. This litter of blacks and chocolates is due on December 15th, and will be ready to go to their new homes in the beginning of February. Blacks are $1000 / deposit $200, and Chocolates are $1500 / deposit $300. Pups will have dew claws removed & first shots, and come with a written guarantee. Please contact me, Leslie Vieau at 512-636-9277 or leslie@vieau.net.

Echo earned her JH, SH, and MH titles, and qualified for the 2007 Master National at age 3. She had ~ 9 months of professional training, and was otherwise trained and exclusively handled by an amateur (me). She is 55 lbs of shiny chocolate, with wonderful drive, speed, and trainability.

She is very friendly, and calm & quiet in the house and kennel.

Gates qualified for the '01,'03,'04,'05,'06 National Opens, and was a finalist in '03 and '05. He qualified for the '03 and '04 National Amateurs.

He has 85.5 Open Points and 42 Amateur Points. Five of his littermates are titled (FC). You can see him here: http://www.hightech-ceo.com/.

Please let me know if you need more information. I am glad to call if you prefer, or you are welcome to call me at 512-636-9277.

Sincerely,
Leslie Vieau
3815 Cherrywood Road
Austin, Texas 78722

Frequently Asked Questions:

Have you run field trials with Echo?
I have not run field trials with Echo, although I may try after this litter. She is 4 years old. I have her ½ brother also, age 8, who has gone to Master National in '04 and '05. I qualified both of them for '07 but Echo came in heat the week before we were to leave so I bred her instead.

Have you hunted with Echo?
I have not learned to hunt, and she has not gone hunting. Lyndon (my male) got to go hunting a few times with his pro, and he loved it!

Who did the professional training with Echo?
Echo was with Patsy Martin for 3 months @ 6 months of age for force fetch, and then with Bill Corcoran (a great Hunt Test specialist who is no longer training professionally) for 3 months for basics and 3 months for transition. Echo is extremely biddable and yet full of speed and drive. You are welcome to call Bill Corcoran at 214-578-7956 or Patsy Martin at 406-698-1834 to ask them about Echo. To me the force fetch and transition are extremely critical.

Why did you breed Echo?
I bred Echo in part because she is so excellent in health, temperament, and performance, and also to pay my sister back for Echo. She breeds chocolate labs in Minnesota and I got my dogs from her.

Why did you choose to breed Echo to Gates?
I wanted to breed to a black FC that carries chocolate because I think it is important to bring black back into the line so that the chocolates don't get faded in color, and also because I was unsure of the demand for chocolates in the TX area. I chose Gates because he is the best one (chocolate factored black FC AFC) and his pedigree meshed so well with Echo's. I didn't have Lean Mac at all, and then Gates' dam is related to Echo's dam.

Why are the chocolates priced higher than the blacks?
The chocolates are priced higher because there are far fewer good performance (field trial, hunt test) chocolates available, and many more blacks and yellows. Echo and her half-brother Lyndon have both been excellent in terms of drive, trainability, health, and personality.