At Southern Oak Kennels our mission is to produce British Labradors that will be an improvement to the current breed standard of working Labrador retrievers. We do this by importing, training, and breeding only the best in Labradors from the United Kingdom.
At SOK our dogs are strenuously tested for health, ability, and temperament in order to ensure that we are producing the very best British Labradors. Since 2012 through careful selection and training, we are creating a new standard for gundogs in North America. Our dogs excel in both the field and at home.
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When selecting British Labradors for our breeding program, we carefully examine every aspect of the dog. As a general rule, we do not breed any dog that we wouldn’t want to personally own and hunt over. If a Labrador has an undesirable trait, their offspring likely will, too. There are several non-negotiable evaluations that take place before considering a dog for our program, such as sound hips and elbows, a clear eye test, size within the breed standard, a proven pedigree, etc. Once we have checked all of those boxes, we look at the overall personality of the dog. We want dogs who have great social skills, good drive and style in the field, and a true off-switch when not working. This off-switch extends beyond napping in the kennel. We want to see the dog’s ability to sit behind the line and quietly watch other dogs work without making noise or creeping.
Once we know a British Labrador meets these standards, we evaluate several aspects of field work. We want to breed Labrador retrievers who love the water, have a natural delivery to hand, charge hard going out and coming back for a retrieve, and are able to use their noses to work heavy cover. Labradors who are in our breeding program are team players who love to work together with their handler in the field. Essentially, we only want to breed the type of Labrador that enhances the hunting experience.