Breeding Choc. Lab

Question
Hello, my husband and I have a choc. lab that is almost 2 years old.  We would like to breed her, but have never had to opportunity before. She has papers.  When we purchased her, we knew what we wanted, but didn't know much about them (like what to look for).  Now I am doing a little research and learning, but I am unable to find some anwers to our questions.  Hopefully you can help!
We know someone who has a male choc. lab and would like to offer stud services.  How does that work?  Do we take our dog to them?  Do they bring there dog to us?  How long do we need to have the together?  What do we do for cost?  Do we pay them something for the service?  Do we just give them a puppy?  How is this usually done?  If the male has not had all the special exams does the female need too?  Any suggestions and advice that you have would be greatly appriciated!  
Thank you in advance,
Mrs. Hunt

Answer
Responsible breeding is very difficult.  I couldn't cover everything here even if I had extensive experience.  A good place to start is www.akc.org.  They have a fine discussion on the subject.  For the stud services, you can negotiate an arraignment that works for both.  The owner may set a fixed fee, or take a puppy from the litter.  Have all the details worked out ahead of time.  Where the breeding takes place may depend on who has the most suitable place.  Females may be more cooperative in their own home.  The dogs usually  will be cooperative and finish fairly quickly.

Just having papers does not make a dog suitable for breeding.  Knowledgeable buyers will not touch a puppy without assurances of the quality of both parents.  I am pasting in a paragraph from my advise on selecting a puppy:

> Maybe ask to visit the breeders home.  Field and show champions can be bred
> in kennels.  Dogs where the mother lives in the house have the best
> personalities.  Some kids to fondle the puppies from birth are better yet.  If
> the breeder doesn't want the parents in their house, do you want the offspring
> in yours?  Spend as much time with the parents as you can.  Nice parents don't
> guarantee nice puppies, but don't chance bad parents.  Of course ask about hip
> and eye certification  or other genetic problems common to your breed too.

Chocolate Labs are more prone being hyper and joint problems than the black and yellow.  Many people want to see 5 generations of OFA and eye certification before buying a Lab.  This is not just for show, field or other competition dogs. It is very difficult to live with a pet you love that can't walk without hurting after a few years.  At 2 years, your dog could be covering up bad hips with youth and muscle tone.  In another 2 years, her joints could start to wear out leading to pain with every step.  X-rays are expensive, and stud fees for males with documented good joints etc. are higher than for others.  Current condition of a younger dog is no indication that it will not pass on problems.  Only the worse cases show up while the dog is young.  

This is part of the reason for waiting until a dog is a little older before breeding.  It gives the dog time to prove that it not only is free from defects, but that it is a quality dog that will not degrade the breed when bred.  

Plan to do some reading on whelping too.  Maybe even volunteer to help somebody else with their litter.   Yes dogs have managed for years without help, but we lose many puppies and even mothers that way.  Skillful intervention can make a big difference.