Mandigo Retrievers review: No Papers, dogs not registered 19

We purchased our gorgeous Hanna Banana in March 2009. She is the best companion ever! We never received our papers and it was never an issue for us, mainly because it was having a pet we could love! We frequently visited the Hand family while Hanna Nanna was growing and becoming the most friendly and loving pet. All I ever receive are compliments on Miss Hanna Banana and our vet too makes it a point to come in and say hello to us even on regular little clinic visits ( year shots

I am saddened to know Mrs Hand has passed away. I hope and pray all is well for the family. Hanna Banana is now 8 years old and we lover her dearly.

Thank you for the sweetest dog I have ever owned!

The mother of this puppy is a grandson of Mandigo breeding. Very nice litter. Very healthy mother and grandmother who both had OFA excellent hips. I think it goes without saying that if you breed any breed of dog long enough you will have those puppies that grow up with one health problem or another. All we can do as buyers and breeders is to do our homework and check to make sure that the parents grandparents etc. or healthy dogs with no known genetic defects. Kudos Michael for your positive attitude. Good luck with your dog training. It won't be hard because Mandigo dogs are very very smart. The Labrador retriever in general is exceptionally easy to train and to live with.

I would like to inform everyone that Mandigo Retrievers is no longer in business because Laurel Hand passed away a couple years ago. There is not a business of such at the old residence of hers either. Kari Jenny is not and never has been breeding/selling dogs. Kari Jenny is now taking care of one white male lab and I make sure that he is being fed each day. I take care of the black male lab and the female white lab, who are the only registered dogs left. Even though I am still a full time student in High School, I plan to train both dogs, take both to vets to have them checked for eyes/hips etc. and to inquire with the AKC about the legitimacy of their lineage. I do have pedigrees of both dogs and I am certain they aren't imbred; but in any case, the issues mentioned above about the conditions of the home, transport of puppies, and evidence of paper work no longer matters because this business is no longer open. I am sorry if you were injusticed, but there is no way Laurel or I could reimburse you. I hope your Mandigo Retriever dogs grew up to be all you wanted.

With Finality,
Michael Hand
Grandson of Gene and Laurel Hand

The only thing that sucks is Laurel's daughter is now breeding . Kari Jenny, she lives in the same house. This winter most of her lab puppies died due to being out in the cold. Someone told me she buried them on her property. She doesn't care for the dogs. I have called animal control on several occasions. Her dogs run loose. She has one male black lab and 2 yellow female labs. She yells at the dogs, leaves them out in the cold, and when she feeds them they go crazy. That is because she forgets to feed them. They get out of her fence all the time killing chickens and cats.

I agree, I love this breed but we bought one from Laurel in 2008. He was born with bad hips, diabetic, hypothyroid and now horners syndrome. I wouldn't trade him for the world but this poor baby has to many problems because of bad breeding. So glad she is no longer breeding dogs...

I have a black lab named Bailey. She has what a hip & elbow specialized classified as "the worst elbow and hip displasia he has ever seen throughout 20 years of practice". There is no doubt that this lady breeds great looking dogs with unbelievable temperment...however, what she is doing is unethical and should be reported and stopped. Its unfair to the dogs (inbreeding) & unfair to the owners who have to put there dog down after just a few years. Feel free to reach out to me if you want any further details. I had no idea there were others who have had similiar issues with this breeder. stephenblakematthews@gmail.com

Wish I had seen this website years ago as I could add so much. While looking for a Lab, I found Laurel Hand's website wherein she had listed a 1 yr. old female Lab that she would give to someone if they were willing to have the dog spayed. I could only communicate by email as she did not answer her calls. I drove to her home -- it was a complete pigsty. She met me outside and did not invite me in. She brought the dog out and and again did not invite me in. The dog turned out to be 3 yrs. old instead of 1. She was a beautiful dog and I told Laurel that I was interested. She immediately signed over registration to me. After getting the dog home, she was extremely frightened of my husband and all men. I asked Laurel about this and she finally admitted that he son had abused the dog. It took a long while for her to accept my husband, but she was always afraid of brooms, fly swatters, etc. She turned out to be pregnant and Laurel said she thought one of her black labs had gotten to her. She had 9 puppies -- mixed breed. Laurel at first wanted pick of the breed until she found they were not purebred Labs. I received numerous emails from her over the next year or so asking for money. I did not reply to any of her emails. Our dog was an absolute jewel -- wonderful temperament, sweet and pleasant for all to be around. Unfortunately she died suddenly in January at the age of 9. I am now ready for another Lab and have found an upcoming litter that has the Mandigo bloodline. I understand (and know) that this bloodline is well known for good temperaments. If you can find a Mandigo, you can't go wrong. I am sorry to hear of Laurel's death, but at least now, no other dogs will be mistreated by the surroundings or her son.

I also got a puppy from Laurel. He was born with bad hips and now at age 4 he is a diabetic. Too much inbreeding. He is beautiful and wouldn't trade him for the world but he is the one that suffers from a bad breeder. He is to young to have so many problems. Thank goodness someone didn't buy him and then end up taking him to the shelter. The meds he is on are very expensive but he is worth every penny. We love him so much.

That's because it's only one man that lived at this address! He is now in jail! I know because I live on the same street!

I I agree 100% she should have NEVER shipped a puppy so young. By law they should be 8 wks. old to ship. I have never had a problem or heard of anyone having a problem getting the AKC papers until now.
I will say this up front; I have known Laurell Hand for a long time. Back in the day, she was considered to be one of the best hobby breeders and won a lot of dog shows. Her bloodline is one of if not the best show bloodline around. However, in the past few years her health has went downhill which resulted in her letting things go around her home and dogs. She started letting the dogs run her instead of her running the dogs, which resulted in what some think looks like a puppy mill. Many other hobby breeders including myself took a few dogs off her hands to help her get her numbers more manageable for her control. I am sad to say but Laurell Died in her sleep a few months ago.
I am a Hobby breeder myself, and have several Mandigo’s as well as several other amazing bloodlines, My dogs do not see the inside of a crate unless they are going somewhere in my truck, They have 1 ac of land to run, play, swim, play with my kids and do what labs do best retrieve. Look me up- Diamond M Labradors

And mine don't cost 800---and up! And any puppy that is shipped at 3 weeks is very dangerous---they can't even have their first puppy shot yet! And if she did give it a shot---it was too young and the shot would be no good. My pups now are nearly 3 weeks old and see the size difference!

I was at Laurells home---And inside is where there is more crated. Lab's are wonderful dogs. I have a litter currently myself. We live in the country and they aren't crated, have a huge back yard, and a pasture for walks. Along with being inside with our family. There is a HUGE difference with being Family raised and Puppy Mill---And thats the only way I can describe Laurells home. And I was given papers on one dog and turns out they belonged to a litter mate who had died?... I can only speak from what I know. Ask to go to Laurell's home, Go inside see her office where she "keeps up with papers" Notice the crates stacked upon each other, Oh there is dogs outside to. Notice the smell of the house. As I said go see for yourself--It disgusted me and I did call authorities, on two seperate occassions. I wasn't the first to do this, they let her slide cause of who she is---Poor excuse to me--I would love to cram her butt into a crate and leave her in filth until her legs were deformed! And if you do your research ---you will see alot of what they call "line breeding" ---upon further checking you will see Inbreeding. I do not agree with this. My brother may have alot of good traits---but I'm not going to sleep with him ...But if all the titles really mean that much to you---you won't find more anywhere else! The dogs I breed are not longer from this line---and I would put one of mine up against hers for beauty and temperment anyday.

You shouldnt assume or accuse others of things. I am not a friend, have in fact been, and did not see what you are describing. My pup is four months now and our vet raves about her. 1. I didnt say it was heaven. Its out on podunk town no where and is certainly not how Iwould chose to live. But it was great for animals. 2. No crares were seen, I did see pups in 8x8 areas together. 3. Possibly they have more than one location? We were at their daughter's house where she had a litter of 4 wk old pups (2/19/11). Were one of those your little guy? They werent crated.

Still excited about our girl. She has trained really well and still hasnt chewed anything up. Vet confirmed that she is teething. Just trained well. Its unfortunate that the reviews are so split and i agree that seems shady. Back to what i originally said though, owners- check it out yourself and if there is any question, walk away. Plain and simple. We didnt see any problems and feel like we've got a super good dog that is well praised by our other lab owning friends.

I to know this woman---have been to their Nasty house ---with dogs crammed in crates too small ---crates stacked upon crates. I was given a dog by her---for the price of getting her fixed---which I did, I had my vet look at her ankles and elbows because they had like enlarged bones there---he said it was from being kept in a crate tooo small. This lady keeps horrible paperwork. There was even a question from AKC concerning the parentage of some of her litters, this I know as I was keeping the dog in question---after the fact. She is running a puppy Mill in all sense of the word. Yes her dogs are nice, beautiful dogs---but they should not be kept in this manner---I have even heard of her pups being shot out in their yard--for not being up to her standards. Whoever this Anderson above is must be a friend---because if you go there yourself and look around you WILL see for yourself---and if you think this is Heaven for any dog---then you must be trailor trash to!

We had our papers before asking as well. We loved Gene and Laurell. Our dog is gorgeous and well praised by our vet. Well behaved and very social. Happy and healthy! We picked her up at 8.5 weeks, played with her parents, saw the other puppies and animals as well as the property. This is a dogs dream world, ya'll! Land, animals, good people!

I question an owner that would opt to have their puppy shipped in the first place. Find local breeders or make the trip - walk the land, meet the parents, and play with the puppy to determine if the breeder is trustworthy and more importantly to determine if the puppy is a fit for you. Though I dont agree with shipping at 3 weeks, and can't even say that Mandigo does in fact do so, in my opinion, responsible owners make a site visit.

I purchased a puppy from Mandigo Retrievers just a few weeks ago. I picked up my puppy. He was not shipped. I picked him up at six weeks of age. I saw their facility and it was clean and very dog friendly. They had 4 or 5 beautiful dogs roaming freely around their property. They all appeared to be very happy and well cared for. I didn't see anything about their home that resembled a puppy mill.

I was given full registration papers before I even asked for them. The litter had already been registered with the AKC and I had a packet of papers with my puppy's pedigree and the paperwork necessary to register him with full breeding rights.

I paid $800 for my puppy and I felt very happy until we got him home and looked him over a little closer. He is a yellow lab with black pigment (nose, eye rims and paw pads). He is adorable and perfect in every way, but he has a black spot on the back of his right hind leg. At first I thought maybe it was a black dot from a black permanent marker to perhaps identify him as "sold" when he was with his littermates. I contacted the breeder, Laurell Hand, a few days later and she said that mismarkings like this can happen from time to time. I've never seen a yellow lab with a black spot before. She apologized for not noticing the spot and not bringing it to our attention. She said that we can bring the puppy back and exchange him for another pupppy from an upcoming litter .

There is no way that I would exchange my puppy. We are already so in love with him. However, my husband and I are disappointed because we did all of our due diligence before selecting our breeder and puppy. We researched many breeders and looked at their pedigrees. We thought paying a higher price for "show quality" would result in an adorable puppy that would be just as adorable when he's grown. He is beautiful, but he is not show quality and I would not ever breed a dog with a mismark such as this.

I am a bit skeptical that the black spot was unnoticed by the breeder but, what can ya do at this point? Exchange a puppy, no way. Can't do it.

I ABSOLUTY AGREE WITH YOU! THEY SHOULD NOT HAVE SHIPPED OUT A PUPPY AT THREE WEEKS OLD. WHAT I WAS SAYING IS...SOME OF THESE PEOPLE SEEMED MORE CONCERNED ABOUT THE PAPERS THAN THE DOG! I HAVE 4 DOGS ALL RESCUED. THE MANDIGO IS THE FIRST DOG I EVER BOUGHT. IF I WAS GOING TO BUY ANOTHER DOG IT WOULD BE A MANDIGO. I EVEN RESCUED A DOG FROM GEORGIA BEFORE IT WAS GASSED TO DEATH. YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW I FEEL ABOUT DOGS! I CARRY FOOD AND WATER IN MY CAR, SO IF I SEE A STRAY DOG I CAN FEED AND WATER IT. WE WENT AND PICKED OUT OUR DOG, SO I SAW HOW THE DOGS AND PUPPIES WERE BEING TREATED. THEY WERE HEALTHY AND SPOILED. BUT I DO THINK SOMEONE NEEDS TO CHECK ON SHIPPING A PUPPY TO YOUNG, IT COULD HAVE DIED. MY BABY, BENTLEY AT 8 WKS AND NOW

I also bought a Mandigo from this breeder April of 2008. It took me a few months to get the papers, but I got them. The dogs are registered with akc, I have the papers to prove it! If I had room I would get another Mandigo now! It wasn't the papers I wanted, it was the dog. This is the most loving, sweet, caring dog you will ever know. He is the happiest dog Ive ever had. He never meets a stranger. He loves everyone, including all cats. If its just the papers that are important go somewhere else. If you want the best dog you could ever have, buy a Mandigo. But they are registered with AKC!

I, too, purchased a puppy from here based on recommendations from other breeders. The dog is beautiful and in good health. I'm very pleased with her, and our vet who competes labs is also very impressed by her, BUT I never did receive my papers despite several attempts. I did not have a price increase after the deposit (but I had a contract). Still, I wouldn't recommend this breeder.