Sugar Creek Red Labradors
About Us
From the Beginning
Hello, my name is Dan Travous and I am the owner/operator of Sugar Creek Red Labradors. A very small Labrador breeding facility in Southern Illinois.
Two years ago I was given a fantastic Red Labrador with a wonderful pedigree from a friend who could no longer take care of him. I agreed to keep the 10 month old ball of energy who was already affectionately known as Dirty Dan (I didn't name him). No matter where we went or whomever would visit my house I would always here the same things. "That is a beautiful dog", "What breed is he" and "Where can I get one". None of them had never seen a Lab with Dan's color and large muscular body. Dan was my first Lab and I can honestly say I knew very little about the breed. Since then I have learned as much as possible about Labradors, especially those with red coats.
I learned most Labs come in two varieties. First, "Show" Labs are English in origin and typically have the same body type. They often have large block heads, shorter and very stout. Second, the American style Lab which are typically bred as hunting or field trial dogs. They tend to be long and lanky with a smaller head and longer nose. Both dogs are incredibly intelligent but bred for different things. I searched online for other dogs similar to Dirty Dan but I found dogs like Dirty Dan were few and far between. It seemed if you wanted Dan's color you had to settle for an English version or an American version. But I wanted another version of Dan, a cross of the best the English and American lines had to offer. Dirty Dan has the monster block head and broad chest of an English Lab along with being tall and muscular like an American Lab.
So what do you do when you can't find what you want? You start a small breeding business to produce similar pups to Dirty Dan. I located two sister pups from a respected breeder with wonderful lines and disease free genetics. I named them Ruby and Rosie and have spoiled them since bringing them home at eight weeks. My girls are sweet and lazy and love nothing more than to sit around all day just waiting at a chance to lay on the couch with dad. I know they will be wonderful mothers and sure to produce puppies with beautiful red coats and big block heads.