Depending on what you desire in a dog, you can use ProLitter to find litters with retriever puppies that should excel in certain areas such as search and rescue, hunting, or agility. Do your research and learn about what traits you desire. One way to do this is filter litters by type, like hunting, then among those litters look at the titles from the parents to see their achievements. You can also look in the Pedigree SnapShot to see titles etc., from any listed decedents as well. This information will give you a good indication of the puppies capabilities. Once you know the type, and the specific breed of retriever you are looking for you can use ProLitter to find litters and breeders that match your criteria.

While we encourage only responsible breeders to use ProLitter, what constitutes responsible may vary from breeder to breeder. At a minimum, we recommend you look for litters where the parents have all their health clearances. When viewing a litter of retrievers you can view the data of both the sire and dam for facts like Kennel Club registration, titles, age, and health clearances.

For each breed of retriever, Prolitter will display either no health clearances completed or a list of all health clearances for said breed along with what the breeder states said dogs have completed. It’s advisable to ask for verification of these credentials as well. We’ve provided breeders with tools to link to the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals and where their genetic testing was done for example, if the breeder does not provide this info, you should ask for it, and if they can not provide proof, we would not recommend choosing said breeder.

If you find a litter of retriever puppies on Prolitter with untested parents this goes against our standards, we ask you to report it and let us know.

Purchasing a puppy from a litter where either of the parents are missing health clearances is a risk, and not recommended without thoroughly understanding the situation and risks.