We are professionally breeding English Labrador Retrievers.  We got our name from our love of bears and English Labrador Retrievers. The three colors of Labrador Retrievers remind us of the Kodiak, Black, and Polar Bear. Hence, Three Bears Labradors!

We are located in East Tennessee in the Cherokee Mountains of Madisonville, Tn. We breed Quality English Black Labradors, Yellow Labradors and Chocolate Labradors. We always strive to have the best breed of English Labrador Retrievers dogs you can find. Our dogs come from some of the best bred dogs in the country.

Raised in our home, we strive to breed for temperament, large blocky heads, otter tails, correct conformation, and type. We perform health and genetic testing on all of our dogs and we OFA certify them to ensure the healthiest dogs!

Connie and I eat, sleep, and breathe Labradors, and are always willing to help like-minded Labrador folks. Feel free to contact us, anytime!

WHO WE ARE

Three Bears Labradors is a small hobby farm in East Tennessee. I am Charles Lockwood and my wife is Connie Lockwood. We are English Labrador Retriever enthusiasts. We have been in love with the English Labrador Retriever breed for the last 40 years. Being an avid bird hunter as a young man, I spent much time on the water. It was a cold day in December when I shot my first duck and I had to wade out in the water in my underwear to retrieve the duck! Soon after I returned and dried off, I knew I was in the market for a Labrador Retriever. I wanted a hunting partner, a house dog that would be great with my family and dog that would retrieve my ducks! Bam! I found my first English Labrador Retriever and he was all I needed and more. Fastforward almost four decades and there's not a day that I don't have a English Labrador Retriever (or two, or three...) in my life.

Today, our passion is breeding the finest quality labradors in the world for ourselves and the families that we are so lucky to share our lovely labradors with. Each year, we have made greater strides perfecting our breeding program through experience, commitment, excellence and relationships with fellow breeders across the world.

We selectively breed to some of the greatest labrador lines in the world with champion and grand champion dogs. 

WHAT WE DO

Our breeding program values quality over quantity. We pride ourselves in three major areas: 1) Selecting English Labrador Retriever bitches with correct conformation, type and temperament for our program 2) Health testing for healthy, happy Labradors with longevity, and 3) correct temperament.

Sometimes we hear from people, "Well were not looking for a show dog", but whats important to understand is the show dogs lines are what you should desire for their correct type, health and temperament. The labrador standard is our guidelines for our breeding program. The standard for Labrador Retrievers speaks to correct, size, height, weight and type as well as color (black, chocolate and yellow only). Labrador Retriever Adults should have chisled heads, otter tails, double coats, well-muscled, powerful barrel chests, and possess the strength to carry large birds like a goose. Their eyes should glimmer with kindness and they should be innately eager to learn and please. That said, that is why  Labrador Retrievers are the #1 dog according to AKC for the last 30 years. 

Feel free to explore our pages and if you have any questions please reach out to us via email or call, we always have time to talk labs!

Charles & Connie