Welcome to Wortleylab Gundogs Five Star Licenced Breeder
Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council
Licence Number: 166843
Our Aims
‘To achieve and maintain high standards of breeding quality puppies from carefully matched and fully health-tested parents.’
‘To produce puppies that are healthy and confident and display a willingness to learn.’
‘To ensure that clients are at the forefront of our vision when breeding dogs.’
‘To endeavour to build and maintain open and honest relationships with new owners.’
‘To provide ‘lifetime’ advice, help and support to clients.’
About Us
Wortleylab Gundogs is jointly owned and carefully run by Husband-and-Wife Team Peter and Stephanie Colbridge.
We are a small ‘five star rated’ kennel located in beautiful countryside in South Yorkshire. We are not a puppy farm. We are responsible breeders. ‘Quality’ not ‘quantity’ is our philosophy.
Labradors are our chosen breed. We specialise in breeding quality fox red (yellow)working line Labradors. We have focused on this breed because of their solid, warm, and friendly temperaments. We are proud of our dogs as they are smart, obedient and easy to train. With the right amount of training, they have the potential to make excellent working gundogs that demonstrate a strong desire to please. As well as being excellent working gundogs our dogs also make wonderfully loyal family pets.
Peter has enjoyed being a dog owner of several breeds for almost fifty years and has owned Labradors for a circa of forty years. He is passionate and knowledgable about the training of our working Labrador gundogs, and he readily shares his working knowledge with others. He has an excellent relationship with our working gundog team and of course with our retired gundogs both of whom are, very well-loved pets.
Our Beginning
We started to breed Labrador puppies after Peter’s retirement in 2016. Initially it started off as a hobby, but most importantly we wanted to preserve the bloodline of our very obedient and capable gundog ‘Lowforge Jet'. We enjoyed bringing her first litter of puppies into the world so much that we decided to continue to breed puppies for our enjoyment.
Lowforge Jet is the matriarch of all of our dogs. She is the mother of three of our adult dogs and the grandmother of our three younger adult dogs. Jet is a very well-balanced dog. She has an excellent temperament and is a fine working gundog. Most importantly she is a well-loved family pet.
For the past four years we have proudly been recognised as reputable Licenced Breeders within Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council. We were awarded a ‘five-star’ rating by the visiting inspector during our recent inspection 31st December 2023. We continually strive for excellence to ensure that we maintain these high standards.
In 2020 we were awarded the Kennel Club’s Assured Breeders Status, following a rigorous inspection by one of the Kennel Club’s Regional Assessors. We were proud to hold this status until December 2024 and were deeply saddened to receive a notification from the Kennel Club that their Assured Breeders Scheme was to end on 31st December 2024. At all times we will continue to uphold the high standards and values of the Kennel Club’s Assured Breeders Scheme.
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TESTIMONIALS
"We would wholeheartedly recommend Wortleylab puppies. Sires are carefully chosen with health, good character and ability in mind. Record keeping of all aspects of the care and development of a litter are meticulously kept. Pups are raised in the home in warm, clean and safe conditions. They are handled gently and well socialised. Prospective owners complete a thorough screening process. As the buyer, this is very reassuring: questions about the quality of home I can promise a pup and evidence that here is a responsible breeder who cares a great deal about the future homes for their litters. As soon as the pups were born we received daily news and pictures of how they were progressing. Our pup, a daughter of Ruby, was strong and well when we brought her home has been robust and thriving since. She has had no tummy issues during the change of homes, she has grown well, settled in and is a confident little character! She is, first, a family dog and is well-behaved around our small grandchildren. She is also very clever and keen; to keep her fulfilled and happy we train in Gundog skills to allow her to use her inherent talents but which are also excellent for ensuring you have a well behaved obedient dog. We would certainly look to Wortleylab for any future pups for our pack!"
Christine Tonkins
Derbyshire
"From the outset, Twig's exceptional qualities were apparent. I would describe him as being strong, possessing an excellent temperament, and being remarkably obedient – a clear testament to the careful breeding practices at Wortleylab Gundogs. It's not just me, his owner, who has noticed; compliments pour in from everyone he meets, remarking on how good-natured and friendly this handsome hound truly is. Steph and Pete have been great with anything I’ve ever asked them, and I’d have no hesitation recommending them as breeders. They are nice people to buy a cracking dog from. Twig is not just a great worker he also has an off- switch. He loves a cuddle on the couch or a trip to the pub. What more could you ask for?"
Chris Speckman
North Yorkshire
"Having researched many potential pups from working backgrounds we chose Wortleylab Gundogs because of their excellent breeding. We were kept informed regularly throughout regarding the progress and development of all the puppies. We were encouraged to view the pups and mother together and to ask any questions. When we visited Wortleylab Gundogs all the dogs were beautifully cared for to the highest standard. A puppy pack was given to us when we collected our pup and all paperwork was taken care of and explained. Our pup settled really well in his new home and shows all the attributes to be a well rounded gundog. Wortleylab Gundogs continue to show an interest in how our pup/dog is progressing. We would not hesitate recommending Wortleylab Gundogs to potential new owners."
Richard and Vanessa East
Linconshire
"I have known Peter & Stephanie Colbridge for many years now & in my opinion they are the best breeders out there. Their dogs are family to them. The care they provide to the mothers & puppies is second to none. Their 5* rating from the council is testament to this. All their dogs are fully health tested & they raise their puppies in the home in the best environment possible & they get brilliantly socialised. I bought my Bella off Peter & Stephanie 5 years ago & I couldn’t have wished for a better dog. She is beautiful inside & out. Her temperament is exceptional, she’s stunning looking, has a deep red coat, she’s so intelligent & her drive & work ethic is exceptional. When she had her own litter she was also the best mother. She has been a complete blessing to our family & I can’t thank Peter & Stephanie enough for breeding us such an amazing Labrador. If you want to see more of Bella she has her own instagram page: @bella_the_foxredlabrador"
Hayley Frost
South Yorkshire
“We could not recommend Peter and Steph enough. From the very start of our communication with them they were able to set our minds at ease that we were getting our puppy from a reputable breeder. They genuinely care for all their dogs, and this really shows as they wanted to know what sort of home our pup was going back to. We had regular updates for the pups as they grew. They were able to offer advice as and when we asked for it.
Even now when our pup is almost 4, we are still in communication. Our pup is really athletic and is the adventure dog we so needed to fit into our family dynamic. If ever we wanted to grow our family, we would not hesitate to contact Peter and Steph for another beautiful pup.”
Jessica and Jason Morris
Devon
“As first-time dog owners, Pete and Steph made the whole process of bringing two wonderful dogs home totally stress free. We were invited to their home on both occasions where we were welcomed and saw the litter with both their mother Ruby. Barney’s is from Ruby's first litter and Scooby is from Ruby's second litter.
Barney & Scooby are fantastic dogs, and it is clear they come from great parents and a loving home.
Pete and Steph have kept in touch, and they are always happy to answer any questions or concerns. They have taken a genuine interest in us, and our two wonderful dogs, Barney & Scooby. They have been a pleasure to deal with.”
Karl and Ben
South Yorkshire
"We couldn't recommend Wortleylab Gundogs enough! Peter and Steph care so much about the welfare of their dogs and subsequent puppies and their future homes.
We got our gorgeous boy Clarkson from Peter and Steph the whole process was just lovely and simple. We completed a form and then we met Peter and Steph, once we were accepted for one of the puppies, we received regular updates regarding the two boys they had and then went up to choose when they were a little bit older.
When we collected Clarkson, we were given puppy food and some bedding that had the scent of his mum which meant he settled a lot easier with us and the relevant paperwork including Kennel Club paperwork.
Clarkson is a great boy, has a really lovely temperament, we've not even had him done because his temperament is so good. He is also great with our cat. He is a testament to the quality of red fox labradors that Peter and Steph breed. We still keep in touch and send pictures of Clarkson as we know they love to see how he is getting on."
Terri and Brian
Leicestershire
"My wife and I have been wanting a dog to join our family for a few years now but have been waiting for the right time. Are we glad we did because now we have the sweetest, beautiful most even-tempered dog we could ask for. The reason for this is Pete and Steph Colbridge, what fantastic knowledgeable people who had clearly put a lot of time and effort into picking the correct sire to match their beautiful dam.
From the moment i spoke on the phone with Pete it was clear he adored his dogs and had their best interests at heart. We were given the go ahead to meet Pete, Steph and our potential puppy after we had filled in and returned our questionnaire, which furthermore reassured us about the ethics of them as breeders.
We were greeted with a warm welcome to an immaculate home bred setup. After a good hour chat and light questioning (which was very appropriate to say we could be one day the owner of one of their precious pups) we left and immediately asked if we could purchase one, which was accepted.... Wahoo. After then on what can I say apart from professionally fantastic breeders. We were updated daily with pictures, videos, information and answering any questions we had.
Upon collecting our puppy all relevant paperwork, treatments etc had been done and it was a lovely smooth transfer. Since purchasing we stay in touch, and they offer ongoing support and guidance if needed.
Pete and Steph are an absolute credit to dog breeders and set the bar very high for how it should be done. We could not ask for better people to have purchased our stunning well-bred dog from.
My family and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts and we can't wait to plan some dog walks together."
Adam and Amy Beanland
West Yorkshire
"We cannot recommend Wortleylab Gundogs highly enough. They were recommended to us by a friend and from the first phone call to the present day they have been fully supportive.
From health and diet to training we have sought their advice for nearly two years since we got our beautiful Labrador girl Mabel. When we are ready for another pup, we will definitely be contacting Pete and Steph. Their dogs are a stunning example of the breed whether for working or as pets."
Gary and Lisa owners of Wortleylab Rhed Mabelina
South Yorkshire
"We consider ourselves so lucky having found Peter and Steph and ending up with our amazing dog Pickles!
We were initially reluctant getting a puppy, having had a rescue dog before, and it was really important to us to find a breeder who genuinely loved dogs and wanted to breed strong and healthy pups. Peter and Steph are more than we could have ever asked for. We met them, their amazing dogs and the litter a few times and the conditions the pups were raised in could not have been better. Everything is set up to keep the pups comfortable, clean, healthy and well socialised during those important first weeks. We were also kept updated throughout on progress with photos and videos and received a great puppy pack at the end.
Pickles is an amazing dog, full of personality, super smart, athletic and very, very, loving. We do gun dog training with her, which has been a great experience for us and something Pickles unsurprisingly has taken to like a duck to water! For anyone looking for a wonderful working lab, we 100% recommend Wortleylab Gundogs!"
Maartje & Felicity
Hampton
'When I decided I wanted a gun dog I asked some of the guys I shoot with, and others and I was given the name Peter Colbridge on more than one occasion. I got Peter's number and gave him a call. Peter was very helpful and said he had some pups ready now but I wasn't in a position to take one so I asked Peter if he could call me when he had another litter of pups available. Peter did call me the following year and after Peter vetting me, he decided I was suitable, and I put my name down on a little female pup. From that day Peter and Steph made sure I was updated almost daily on the progress of my little girl with photos and a written progress. This was great and made it all the more exciting for the day when we could collect her. After 4 weeks I went to Peter and Steph's house to meet my new dog for the first time. I could see from this visit I had made the best choice of breeder. When the day came to collect her Steph and Peter had everything ready for me the paperwork and documents were all ready and perfect they spent plenty of time advising me on how to care for my new dog. I can only say one thing about Peter and Steph they are truly fantastic at what they do, and they have a passion to breed the very best dogs.'
Tom Osbourne
West Yorkshire
