We have continued our efforts to help as many Labrador Retrievers in need as possible. Though we have a small farm, and must unfortunately turn many away, we do all we can to help dogs in need. Many of you know Zack, the yellow male we picked up late one night nine years ago from an extremely abusive situation. He’s one of the Labpups.com  greeters, and is getting up in age. His vision is suffering a bit, so please use caution when driving to our farm, as he is walking into parked cars. We love him dearly. He is a great snuggler, and during your visits he would appreciate some attention. If you speak to him, he can walk to you. We are looking at options to help his vision.

Thanks to all of you that have donated to Labpups Rescue. We will continue to donate money from puppy sales to helping Labrador Retrievers, regardless of where they come from. This money will also be put to use in the continued development of our new site, LabradorAdoptions.com, an outgrowth of Labpups.com. Link to Labrador Adoptions

While our economy has taken a hit with rising fuel prices, nearly every other sector of the market has also seen steep increases in pricing. The government funding of the production of  ethanol from corn has proven to be one of the largest boondoggles in history, causing food and fuel prices to increase dramatically. Farmers that used to grow wheat, milo and soy beans have jumped on the gold rush of corn, leading to shortages of other commodities. The reduction of soy beans has lead to a shortage of chickens, as this is their primary food source. This leads dog food companies with two choices – reduce the quality of the product, or raise prices. (I was surprised recently on a walk-through of Wal-Mart to find even Purina at $1.05 a pound for a small bag).

When we created JaxMax, it was done without regard to price. It was created with the dog in mind and never destined to be a bargain food. JaxMax was formulated to protect the dogs it served by promoting vitamin c production within the body.

JaxMax has remained at current pricing levels for quite some time. Pricing must increase in order to keep producing. We will never compromise ingredients, regardless of costs, as “bargain food” definitely leads to increased vet bills and shortened life.

For the next couple of days we will be offering the ten bag special at the current price of $46.00 per bag. (You don’t have to take all ten bags at once). This special comes with four bags of JaxMax Treats or an extra bag of food. Just let us know which you prefer. We have a limited number of these specials we can offer, as our very next production run will carry additional manufacturing, ingredient and transportation costs. Your cost for the ten bag special is $460.00 through this weekend. Starting sometime on Monday, JaxMax Original (the gold bag) will increase from $46.00 per bag to $54.00 per bag. This will make the cost of a meal (at 1 ½ cups per feeding) approximately fifty five cents, or $1.10 per day for two feedings. Not bad, considering the average human’s meal is around $8.00. (You need to add transportation, but that fee is on every brand, even in the store).  JaxMax Weight Control will cost $56.00 per bag. JaxMax Treats will increase to $15.00 for the two pound bag. This still makes feeding your Labrador the right food cheaper than cable TV or a cup of Starbucks coffee. Link to JaxMax 10 bag special

We have installed bat houses in order to combat mosquitoes, instead of relying on dangerous pesticides. I’m happy to say that I have

We have also installed our first honey bee hive at the farm, to help with pollination. (And to help the toast taste better!) I’m learning about how to care for these amazing insects. They are much more complex than I thought. (We have Italian bees – not very aggressive. They are not in the puppy areas, but on the opposite end of the farm).

Breeders have traditionally had a huge problem with flies. They transmit diseases by landing on infected material and then on the dog’s eyes, lips, or food. This is our second year of distributing predator flies to kill the common fly. Predator flies are tiny insects that have one mission in life – to find the pupae of the house fly and eat it. They do not land on food or dogs, and do not transmit disease. So far, we are pesticide free! Link to green farm