Penny Lane Labradors
Welcome To Penny Lane Labradors
MEET OUR FAMILY
Hey! Thanks for stopping by and welcome to Penny Lane Labradors. We’re a Coast Guard family raising Labradors on a small farm in the heart of Florida’s horse country, just a short drive from Disney World. This is where our children grow up alongside our dogs, and where we have the joy of welcoming each new litter into the world. My love for Labradors began with Gracie, my family’s beloved Lab, when I was seven years old. My parents raised Labradors, so I grew up learning about the breed and experiencing everything that comes with raising puppies: the excitement of a new litter, the long days of caring for them, and the lasting responsibility we have to the dogs and families who count on us. Those early years shaped the way I approach breeding today. When my husband and I married, he quickly caught the crazy Lab bug too, and In 2016, we founded Penny Lane Labradors. The name pays homage to The Beatles, one of the best bands of all time, and is also a little play on our family name, Dollar. (Pennies and dollars :))Since then, our knowledge, our breeding program, and our family have grown. Our three children are now part of life with the Labs, helping care for them and giving our puppies the chance to grow up around the sounds and rhythms of a busy family home. We raise bench bred Labradors, often called “English” Labradors, which really just means Labradors that are bred to breed standard. We love their beautiful structure, gentle expressions, and the steady, affectionate temperament that makes a Labrador such a wonderful companion. In our own little corner of the world, we’re trying to do our part to better the breed. We strive to breed to the Labrador standard and uphold the integrity of this amazing breed we know and love, with thoughtful attention to health, temperament, and conformation in every generation. That purpose is especially close to my heart with fox red Labradors. I believe there is room to improve health, temperament, and conformation among the reds, and I’m passionate about contributing to that work while preserving everything that makes them Labradors first. We’re proud to be an American Kennel Club (AKC) Bred with H.E.A.R.T. breeder. Our puppies are AKC registered, and our kennel is regularly inspected. The well-being of our dogs guides our decisions, from the care they receive each day to the pairings we plan. Our health testing includes evaluations of hips, elbows, patellas, eyes, and hearts, including advanced cardiac echocardiograms, as well as comprehensive genetic screening. Testing cannot promise that a dog will never face a health concern, but it helps us make informed choices for the generations to come. Life here takes a holistic approach. We believe in lesser vaccines schedules, wholistic premium foods, supplements to help support their bodies to function the way God intended, and lots of outside time and water play. Our Labs have room to run and explore in the country, plenty of time with our family, and care that considers their physical well-being and happiness. We begin socializing puppies early and enjoy watching their individual personalities emerge. As they grow, we pay attention to each puppy’s confidence, energy, curiosity, and response to new experiences. Getting to know them as individuals helps us guide families toward a match that feels right for both the puppy and the people waiting to love them.
Some of our greatest joys have been seeing Penny Lane dogs go on to serve people as service and therapy dogs in Florida and across the country. Others have done well in the show ring. Many are simply treasured family members: the dogs who grow up with children, join in everyday adventures, and settle in beside their people at the end of the day. Each of those lives matters to us.
Thank you for spending a little time getting to know our family and our Labradors. We’re grateful to share the dogs we love with the families who welcome them home.
The Mitchell Dollars
Some of our greatest joys have been seeing Penny Lane dogs go on to serve people as service and therapy dogs in Florida and across the country. Others have done well in the show ring. Many are simply treasured family members: the dogs who grow up with children, join in everyday adventures, and settle in beside their people at the end of the day. Each of those lives matters to us.
Thank you for spending a little time getting to know our family and our Labradors. We’re grateful to share the dogs we love with the families who welcome them home.
The Mitchell Dollars
WE BRING LOVE INTO THE WORLD
Puppy Love
Health Testing at Penny Lane Labradors
At Penny Lane Labradors, responsible breeding starts with health. We put a great deal of time, care, and research into our dogs and the generations behind them. That includes health testing, thoughtful pairings, good veterinary care, and preserving the Labrador temperament and structure we love. But one of the most important things we do is Health Test. No single test tells us everything. That’s why we use orthopedic evaluations, cardiac screenings, eye examinations, patella evaluations, and comprehensive DNA testing together.
-CHIC Numbers-
Most of our dogs already have CHIC numbers, and we are actively working toward having every eligible breeding dog complete the requirements. CHIC stands for Canine Health Information Center, an OFA program developed in partnership with breed parent clubs. A CHIC number confirms that a dog has completed the required breed-specific screenings, is permanently identified by microchip or tattoo, and has publicly available results.
For Labradors, breed health screening includes hips, elbows, a professional eye examination, and DNA testing for conditions such as exercise-induced collapse (EIC) and centronuclear myopathy (CNM), along with dilute testing. Our testing also extends beyond these requirements.
-Hips & Elbows-
Our breeding dogs have hip and elbow X-rays submitted to OFA. We usually test around 1- 1 1/2 and again with permanent hip certification at 24 months or older. This is where three board-certified veterinary radiologists independently evaluate the images and rate them. We only breed dogs with Fair, Good, or Excellent hips. All three are normal, passing OFA ratings.
- Cardiac Screening-
Our breeding dogs receive cardiac screening through our veterinarian. We have always included basic cardiac evaluations and, over the past year, have expanded our screening to include more echocardiograms.An echocardiogram is an ultrasound of the heart that provides information beyond what can be heard with a stethoscope. We are continuing to incorporate this additional screening into our program.
-Eye Examinations-
Our breeding dogs receive eye examinations by a board-certified veterinary ophthalmologist. DNA testing can identify certain inherited risks, but it cannot detect every eye condition. These examinations allow a specialist to evaluate the eyes directly and identify abnormalities a DNA panel may miss.
-Patella Evaluations-
Our dogs also receive veterinary patella examinations to check the stability of their kneecaps. Patellar luxation occurs when the kneecap slips out of its normal position. This evaluation adds another piece to our assessment of each dog’s orthopedic health.
-Comprehensive Genetic Testing-
All of our breeding dogs are DNA tested through Embark. Its comprehensive panel screens for more than 270 genetic health conditions, including conditions associated with Labradors and variants found in other breeds. It also provides information about ancestry, genetic diversity, and physical traits. Testing broadly gives us useful information, although not every variant has the same significance in every breed. (embarkvet.com, embarkvetofficial.com)Some of the Labrador conditions we screen for include EIC, CNM, prcd-PRA, HNPK, macular corneal dystrophy, Stargardt disease, skeletal dysplasia, and copper-associated genetic risks. The panel also covers conditions affecting the heart, nervous system, muscles, blood, kidneys, liver, skin, and other body systems.What do the results mean?
We consider the specific condition and its inheritance when planning each pairing.
-Our Commitment-
We look at each dog’s health results alongside temperament, structure, pedigree, and family history. Testing helps us make informed decisions, and we continue adding useful screenings as our program grows.We cannot promise that a puppy will never have a health issue. No breeder honestly can. What we can promise is that we take these decisions seriously, and have done everything we can to prevent many of them and guarantee our pups will be free of the 270 conditions that Embark tests for.
At Penny Lane Labradors, responsible breeding starts with health. We put a great deal of time, care, and research into our dogs and the generations behind them. That includes health testing, thoughtful pairings, good veterinary care, and preserving the Labrador temperament and structure we love. But one of the most important things we do is Health Test. No single test tells us everything. That’s why we use orthopedic evaluations, cardiac screenings, eye examinations, patella evaluations, and comprehensive DNA testing together.
-CHIC Numbers-
Most of our dogs already have CHIC numbers, and we are actively working toward having every eligible breeding dog complete the requirements. CHIC stands for Canine Health Information Center, an OFA program developed in partnership with breed parent clubs. A CHIC number confirms that a dog has completed the required breed-specific screenings, is permanently identified by microchip or tattoo, and has publicly available results.
For Labradors, breed health screening includes hips, elbows, a professional eye examination, and DNA testing for conditions such as exercise-induced collapse (EIC) and centronuclear myopathy (CNM), along with dilute testing. Our testing also extends beyond these requirements.
-Hips & Elbows-
Our breeding dogs have hip and elbow X-rays submitted to OFA. We usually test around 1- 1 1/2 and again with permanent hip certification at 24 months or older. This is where three board-certified veterinary radiologists independently evaluate the images and rate them. We only breed dogs with Fair, Good, or Excellent hips. All three are normal, passing OFA ratings.
- Excellent: A tight-fitting joint with a deep socket and excellent coverage.
- Good: A well-formed joint with good fit and coverage.
- Fair: Minor irregularities but no dysplasia and still within normal limits.
- Borderline: The findings are not clear enough to classify the hips as normal or dysplastic; reevaluation is recommended.
- Mild, Moderate, or Severe: Dysplastic ratings describing increasing joint abnormalities.
- Cardiac Screening-
Our breeding dogs receive cardiac screening through our veterinarian. We have always included basic cardiac evaluations and, over the past year, have expanded our screening to include more echocardiograms.An echocardiogram is an ultrasound of the heart that provides information beyond what can be heard with a stethoscope. We are continuing to incorporate this additional screening into our program.
-Eye Examinations-
Our breeding dogs receive eye examinations by a board-certified veterinary ophthalmologist. DNA testing can identify certain inherited risks, but it cannot detect every eye condition. These examinations allow a specialist to evaluate the eyes directly and identify abnormalities a DNA panel may miss.
-Patella Evaluations-
Our dogs also receive veterinary patella examinations to check the stability of their kneecaps. Patellar luxation occurs when the kneecap slips out of its normal position. This evaluation adds another piece to our assessment of each dog’s orthopedic health.
-Comprehensive Genetic Testing-
All of our breeding dogs are DNA tested through Embark. Its comprehensive panel screens for more than 270 genetic health conditions, including conditions associated with Labradors and variants found in other breeds. It also provides information about ancestry, genetic diversity, and physical traits. Testing broadly gives us useful information, although not every variant has the same significance in every breed. (embarkvet.com, embarkvetofficial.com)Some of the Labrador conditions we screen for include EIC, CNM, prcd-PRA, HNPK, macular corneal dystrophy, Stargardt disease, skeletal dysplasia, and copper-associated genetic risks. The panel also covers conditions affecting the heart, nervous system, muscles, blood, kidneys, liver, skin, and other body systems.What do the results mean?
- Clear: The tested disease-associated variant was not detected. This does not rule out every possible cause of that disease.
- Carrier: This means one copy of a recessive disease variant was detected. For recessive conditions, carriers are unaffected but can pass the variant to their puppies so need to be bred to a mate that is clear.
- At Risk: This means both parents carried the gene and produced a puppy with a condition. It is not always a diagnosis or a guarantee that symptoms will develop, but why parents should always be tested to make sure an affected puppy is never produced.
We consider the specific condition and its inheritance when planning each pairing.
-Our Commitment-
We look at each dog’s health results alongside temperament, structure, pedigree, and family history. Testing helps us make informed decisions, and we continue adding useful screenings as our program grows.We cannot promise that a puppy will never have a health issue. No breeder honestly can. What we can promise is that we take these decisions seriously, and have done everything we can to prevent many of them and guarantee our pups will be free of the 270 conditions that Embark tests for.
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Contact Us
- Dunnellon, FL, USA