Thanks to everyone for all their help finding the right breeder for a chocolate lab puppy. Most of the places I contacted didn’t have litters now or coming soon or all dogs were spoken for and I was really getting the itch to add a potential hunting buddy. The vast majority of the breeders suggested here seemed to be running high quality operations. I just wasn’t able to find the right fit or they just didn’t have dogs available at this time. I was also surprised to find that many of the “breeders” you find in newspapers will claim to have “X,Y,Z certification” on their dogs but when you press them for a physical copy to back their claims… the tune changes. So as a first time hunting dog buyer to anyone in the same situation I’d suggest a couple things.
1) – look at a lot of dogs. Make a bunch of calls and ask a lot of questions.
2) – when a breeder makes a claim about the parents, physical condition or bloodline, ask them to back it up with documentation.
Its amazing how much you can learn about a breeder when you say “Send that to my fax # or email account… I’ll hold and let you know when it arrives. 
)
Anyway… I found the right dog for me this weekend. I was able to find a small breeder in Faribault, MN that had all the documentation to back up all his claims and he had a male with the “right” build I was looking for.
So… I’d like to introduce Oliver. Or as everyone has taken to calling him, Ollie-bear.
He’s 13 lbs at 8 weeks already so he’s likely going to hit that 70 – 80 lb range. His pop weighs 75 +/- but since I’m not likely to work him anywhere near as hard as the breeder pushes his dogs, he should have a few pounds on his papa.
I hope he turns out to be a good pheasant dog. Right now about all he’s good for is keeping my toes warm when he sleeps on my feet under my desk. 
Thanks again for the help everyone! I’ll be one proud guy when I get to post the first pic of Ollie with his first rooster.
I hope the wife doesn’t read this though. She’s been pestering me for a Choc. Lab. lately. I’m not ready for that yet. My 2 kids are giving me all I can handle. 
