Well, the time has come again to breed a litter of Labradors. It will be Jewel’s third and last litter. She is now six and has had two years off and is in great shape. Her skin and coat are beautiful, she is fit, not fat, is incredibly focused while working and has always produced better then herself. So who to breed her to? The myth that conformation breeders are breeding just for conformation or type or or a better front or ear or tail set is not what a true fancier thinks at all.

I looked at about 50 combinations, stud dogs, long gone dogs (frozen semen) and had to take a really good look at what I wanted to improve in my dogs before deciding on a French dog- Ole’ for Jewel’s last litter. I could go on in another blog about why I chose this pedigree- it is not an outcross and linebred on Ch. &Eng Ch. Receiver of Cranspire who had a wonderful temperament and is what I am most thrilled about.

Some folks look at Ole, knowing he carries chocolate- so they write him off. Some look at him as the newest fad dog but if you look at what he has been bred to and what his get look like then you may agree with me that he is a safe and good choice for my bitch. The fact that he finished so quickly in England is really not politics, he finished because he is what the breed needs- he has what so many of our Labradors today lack- a great front and overall quality.

Jewel has a decent front but a shorter upper arm then I like. Ole’ has and produces a beautiful front, nice keel and long upper arm. A good decent shoulder won’t break down under WORKING conditions. I am not breeding just a good front, I am putting genes together that will help a dog function as a WORKING RETRIEVER which is what a Labrador is. That is why I can go on and on about fronts I need better ones so my working dogs don’t develop problems in the field or in search and rescue. Ole’ has field ability, he has a working title from France- no not a field champion but who has the money for that these days? I don’t need a dog with an FC title in my lines, that has no value unless you know the dogs behind it personally.

An FC like a CH can be a bought title. I could put at least a MH on my young Lab if I had the time and money. She has enough talent and it would take that money, the world is a busy place and unless you are training full time or have someone training your dog they just don’t get those advanced field titles. That does not mean they don’t have the talent.

Ole’ has a great temperament and a hallmark of the breed is an ability to get along with any dog regardless of status. Ole’ is great with all dogs-is it his sociailzation or genetic? There is no way to tell but I won’t take a chance on a nasty dog. I want NO dog energy in the stud dog that I pick out. This dog walked into Carry Eberhardt’s house and got up on the couch with the two intact males she has! No squabbles, even initially, now that is a male Lab even I can live with and I don’t keep males!

I want a nice head, Labs are not greyhounds and the long nose on a ewe neck is also not structurally correct. I am not breeding greyhounds and it is out of respect for those that have gone before me that I do watch type, I try so hard to breed type in my dogs with good minds and sound bodies. Labs are not hounds and those big floppy ears that some of the Labs and Goldens in the field have are not correct, functionally or aesthetically. They are not what I want to look at every day. I want to smile at the Labs in my house with the cute faces and expressions that look just like their grandmother Poppy. I could almost tell what she was thinking by looking in those dark eyes. I want to preserve that. For my breeder associates that have put so much into their lines I want them to know that I am trying hard to maintain and improve with every breeding that I do.

There is no perfect dog but I also need less drive and more common sense in my dogs a funny thing for a person to write that has donated drivey dogs to search and rescue. I am proud of my search dog pups, three now that are FEMA certified but they are a bit edgy and reactive at times. Maybe due to genetics so I need to be aware that if I get more and more drive I may be developing a dog that has the inability to settle down. I don’t want a dog that can’t relax in any situation like some of the search dogs I have seen. Is that an endocrine problem? Hard to say but I can’t breed for search dog folks and improve on what I have at this point. They can go after those Labs with the field titles, hey they are everywhere! I am breeding for the long term, not the short term and really for myself not for anyone else.

Now, a lot of field folks are likely just as passionate about their chosen breed but working ability is only one factor in a dog and if you are breeding for one factor you are also breeding IN genetic weaknesses. By selecting for only one trait you get genetic weakness along with it- it is a given. Until you know what baggage you have you should not be breeding for a single trait- ever. That is not the way to breed a good dog.

So I will bid my search dog friends good bye and wish them luck finding and keeping dogs that have drive. I hope they can deal with all the other issues that come up, the surface sensitivities, the eye problems, the bad elbows, there really is no telling what genes are linked to retrieve instinct. Dog aggression could be linked as arousal level goes up (which is the ultimate drivy dog, that dog that gets terribly aroused around toys to a frenzied state) so does aggression. Arousal is almost always an antecedent to aggression and dog aggression is quite common these days- I would prefer a working dog without that trait!

So forgive me if I am so ignorant to breed CONFORMATION dogs- my love of dogs is as a generalist, I breed a whole dog not just a retrieving fool. Maybe you can tell I have been critisized for my conformation goals, what I don’t understand is how you can have a good field dog with our paying attention to conformation?

Good thing I do get good retrievers, just bonkers really over their birds and bumpers  and have positive reinforcement to maintain and direct it- ahhhh a topic for the next blog.