Q - Did you buy your first Lab as a pet or as a breeder?

A - Michael and I bought our first Labrador from a backyard breeder. She chewed on my shoe laces, so she was the one for us; a yellow female. As an adult, her tail curled over her back, she was about 4 inches wide between her elbows and had long legs, straight stifles and very little coat. We loved her. She produced our first champion.


Q - Which kennels most attracted your attention when you decided to start out? Why?

A - After 10 years of trying to produce the type of Labrador I wanted, I went to England. In those ten years I had learned a lot. One thing I learned was that I am not a good enough breeder to take mediocre bitches and breed up from them. I needed a quality bitch with quality dogs behind her. In England I visited many kennels. When I went to the Ballyduff kennel, I found what I was looking for. I did everything I could to convince Mrs. Docking that she could count on me to protect her lines and breed them well. I got third pick from the breeding of Spark of Ballyduff bred to Timspring Sirius. Her name was Ballyduff Lark. In time I placed all my other dogs and started off fresh with Lark. What an incredible bitch she was. Why Ballyduff? For me the type was what I was looking for. Lucky for me the Ballyduff line was also a healthy line.


Q - Have you asked for someone's advice when you started your kennel? Who was your mentor?

A - In the 10 years before I got Lark, I learned a great deal from many sources. I didn’t have one mentor, I had numerous ones. I listened and learned. I watched the dogs in the ring and saw what combinations worked and what didn’t; how other breeders made their decision on who to breed to whom. I always looked at the winners and would compare them to my dog. What did they have that my dog didn’t? The Labrador world was my mentor.


Q - Win in Potomac, the most important show of the breed is the dream of any breeder. You got it and also Westminster. Can you say something about this?

A - Winning Best of Breed at the Labrador Retriever Club of the Potomac is a hallmark win for a breeder. It was for me; it is truly a dream come true. It is confirmation that you are doing a good job as a breeder; confirmed by fellow breeders. Winning at the Garden is very different. You are taking on the dogs that have been campaigned and are nationally rated. Getting Best of Breed two years in a row was incredible. Getting a Group 4^th two years was, I don’t know how to describe it. A Labrador has only gotten a group placement 5 times in 122 years of the Westminster show. To take Group 4^th two years was an honor to the breed. The breed was finally placed in Group. I was so proud that a dog I bred represented the breed so well.


Q - What is your opinion about to show under all rounder judges in all breed shows?

A - There are very few all rounder judges that know what a good Labrador is.  Add to that the number of all rounder  judges who judge the handlers and not the dogs.  All of this makes it very hard to compete in the all breed ring.  It is depressing at these shows that most breeders who breed the English style dog don’t enter this type of show unless a breeder judge is judging.   I was at one of these shows with a chocolate bitch.  I looked at the other bitches in my class and thought  “Yes, I can win this class”.  I was the only chocolate.  I was placed last.  I asked the judge why, and he told me my dog was an unallowable color!


Q - Can you name two fundamental books that you have read? What are you reading now?

A - The two books that I learned the most from are Advanced Labrador Breeding by Mary Roslin Williams and Dog Locomotion and Gait Analysis by Curtis M. Brown.  Another book and video that I learned a great deal from is Rachael Paige Elliot’s Dog Steps.  I have watched the video over and over and learn something more each time. The book I am reading right now is Retrievers and hHow to break them for sport and field trials by Stewart Smith.  A very old book given to me by another Labrador breeder.


Q - How old or what time you make your decisions in choosing your puppies? There are some reasons in terms of structure for choosing this moment for making your evaluation?

A - The first time I grade my puppies is when they are right around 8 to 9 weeks old.  This is a very good time to make a decision on who is show quality and who isn not. Then I look at them again at 4 months.  When they are 4 months old you can see better what their shoulders are going to be. The next time I look is at 1 year old.  I look again for balance.  Of course each time I watch them play, I am looking at them.  I am always looking at temperament.  When I line breed on my own lines, I find it much easier to grade the puppies.  When I bring in another line, I don’t know how they mature; very scary.  I can and do make more mistakes when evaluating these puppies.


Q - What are the most difficult aspects to forecast when you are selecting a puppy? Which are the points that you can be sure that they will come how you foresee?

A - In my lines the hardest point to evaluate is turn of stifle.  If I don’t have it on an 8 week old puppy, I won’t ever have it. So, that makes it easy.  When they have it at 8 weeks, they may not, however, keep it.  It will take till they are 2-3 years old to know for sure what they will have.  Drives me crazy.


Q - Which methods do you usually use as a breeding program - linebreeding, inbreeding, outcrossing?

A - My first choice is linebreeding, second choice is inbreeding and then outcrossing.   I only outcross when I have no other choice.  Usually, I don’t like what I get but sometimes I get a puppy that I think I can build on.   A stud that is maybe a ¼ of my lines is what I like to use best when I feel I have to go out.


Q - When do you consider a male or a female a true Producer?

A - My definition of a producer is a dog/bitch that can produce healthy, typey puppies with many different lines.   When you see a dog/bitch bitch in pedigree after pedigree you know that this dog or bitch was/is a producer.


Q - About the structure quality, which aspects do you consider to be more difficult to improve and to get fixed in a kennel?

A - Shoulders are something that you work on everytime you do a breeding.  We don’t have any really good shouldered dogs so we have to improve the shoulders by going to the best we can find or at least a dog that is equal to our bitch’s shoulder so at least we don’t go backward.  The turn of stifle has proven to be a problem for me.  I want the turn but I also want correct movement.  I want the stifle to open up and the hock to do the same on the move.  When you get more stifle then the dog can use, he doesn’t open up the hock making him sickle hocked. This is really wrong for a Labrador.


Q - Which was the most coefficient of inbreeding have you done in your breeding program? Did you get what you was looking for?

A - The closest breeding I have done was a brother to a sister. I really didn’t do this breeding, the dogs figured out how to do this all on their own. It was what we call an OOPS litter; I was not happy. A breeding like this does give you some insight on what your lines can produce.  I like to do line breedings. I like to double on breedings that work well for me.   I like to take sisters who were bred to different stud dogs and breed their offspring together.  I find I get just what I like most of the time.  A second and third generation breeding is usually very productive.


Q - Could you mention some countries, besides USA and UK that you consider are making a good job in the breed?

A - I don’t feel I have the knowledge to answer this question. I have not been to that many countries.  Bu,t from looking on the internet  at  breede’rs web sites from around the world, I know there are good breeders all over the world.  I also know that these good breeders in many countries are just getting to be known in the World of Labradors.   Some countries are making so many rules for breeders to follow that they are hampering  the breeding of quality dogs.  I hope in the future that this will be rectified.


Q - What's the most important changes you can see on the breed in the past years?

A - In America the dogs are getting too heavy in bone and substance and many can’t move.  We are also seeing longer coat than what is correct.  We need to be careful with our length of leg; some of our dogs are getting out of balance with too short of leg. Over the years when some point of the dog needs correction and is talked about at ring side, within a short period of time, the breeders have corrected it.  Amazing.  A number of years ago we had a problem with low tail set, today you see very few dogs with this problem.


Q - When you are judging and have to make your final decision, what do you consider to be most important criteria soundness or Type?

A - When judging a dog show, or when judging my own dogs, the dogs must have type, period. To have breed type you must have balance in the body, along with head, coat and tail.  Movement comes next.  I have seen judges judge on movement and that is all.  Well I wish they would not judge the Labrador. If we don’t have breed type we don’t have a Labrador.


Q - What's your opinion about missing teeth and how important is this aspect in your judgment?

A - I think much too much fuss has been made about missing teeth.  We are a sporting dog; a missing tooth here or there, what does it matter?  Of course, as breeders we have to be sensible about this.  Any bitch we have with missing teeth should be bred to a dog with full dentition; common sense . As a judge, I want to see a scissor bite. After that, well, there would have to be a number of teeth missing to have me penalize the dog for it.


Q - Considering that you have been showing and judging in others countries, could you mention the positive and the negative aspects comparing with the USA?

A - I have judged in a number of countries.  Each system has merits and problems.  I like the written reports you have to do in Italy.  If done correctly they can be a great learning tool.  In Sweden, I like that your Best of Breed and your Second to Best of Breed can be the same sex. I like in my country that we must win majors to get our Championship.  This keeps the quality high.  In Finland, you grade the dogs and write a report.  I liked this system also.


Q - What's your routine kennel mating process, natural or artificial?

A - My dogs are only bred via an AI.  I lost my Regal Air and almost lost another stud dog from infections when doing a natural breeding. I will not take the chance again.  It is also much easier to collect a dog who has never bred a bitch naturally.  Our country being so large, we do a lot of chilled semen breeding.   Our boys have to be willing to be collected without a bitch in heat nearby.


Q - How many dogs in average do you have in your kennel?

A - Before I had my kennel help, I would have around 8 to 10 dogs.  Now that I have kennel help, my numbers have gone up to 15-20 dogs.  Maybe some puppies coming up too. I am always working on keeping my numbers down.  I place all my bitches that I am no longer breeding.  I keep only a couple of males, since they will spend their whole lives with me. 


Q - When planning a breeding, which one of this aspects do you admit to forgive some fails: type, soundness, pedigree, progeny? Which one do you give more emphasis?

A - When selecting a stud dog for one of my bitches, I look for similar breed type.  I look for a dog whose failings are different from my bitch’s and are ones I think my bitch will dominate on or it is a failing I think I can live with.  I will not breed to a dog that has faults.  They always show up in the puppies.  When I have to do the dreaded outcross breeding,  I must have breed type and I must have soundness.  Pedigree is important to know about the breed type behind this dog and soundness.  I look at progeny to see what he is strong at producing but will use a dog that I have not seen progeny on.  I have found that some lines mix well with my lines and some don’t.  This can be seen in the whelping box. When it doesn’t work, I always feel so sorry for my bitch. She went through all that effort  and we didn’t get a good puppy out of it.  My fault for not picking the right stud dog for her.


Q - Do you planning some breeding looking for specifically better males or females considering the parents?

A – No.


Q - When planning a breeding do you give a particular emphasis on the sire 's or on the dam's pedigree line? Why

A - What I am looking for is how I think the pedigrees will mix.  Does this dog have a background that will enhance my bitch? Give her what she needs to have improved and not take anything away from her.


Q - Considering the structure, which aspects would prevent you from using either a male or female, no matter how good they were?

A - There are a few things I must have in my dogs.  Pretty face, correct breed type, balance in body and sound movement.  They must carry their tails right off their toplines. They must have short hocks. Then of course, they must be healthy.  If the tail is carried a bit high I am OK with that; not happy but OK. If they don’t open their hock all the way, I can live with that but again not happy.  I won’t use a dog that carries his tail high, doesn’t have nice turn of stifles, doesn’t have the correct temperament. Will not use a dog with a long coat and lastly will not use a dog with faults.


Q - Looking back over five years, could you name three dogs that most impressed you:

A - Most impressed me:  BISS CH. Borador’s by George.  An incredible producer.  He left us with a great number of excellent yellows. My own dog BIS Ch. Beechcroft Study’s Top Secret; an incredible show dog, too early to tell about his production. And, BISS Ch. Sureshot  Hyspire Impressive another excellent producer.  Lobuff Turtle Dove is a beautiful bitch and a good producer.


Q - Which Labradors impacted more out of you’re own line of Labs?

A - I think as a stud dog BISS Ch. Beechcroft’s Study in Black.  He is the first male I have bred that dominated when bred to.  In the show ring it would be BISS Ch. Beechcroft Study’s Top Secret. In the field, it would have to be BISS Ch. Beechcroft’s Edgewood Tomarc.  In bitches it would be Ch. Ballyduff Lark as she gave me the lines. In the ring, Ch. Beechcroft’s Clover of O’Henry and in the field it would also be Clover.


Q - Which one was the Labrador that you remember the most?

A - That would be Ch. Ballyduff Lark.  She gave me everything I wanted and more then I could hope for.  She also loved me as much as I loved her.


Q - You have seen the breed growing for long time in USA, what do you think that was improved and what wasn’t?

A - We have improved our substance, our bone and our Breed type. We have also improved on our dogs health.  We have lost on how our neck flows into our shoulders, that really needs to be fixed.  We have to get rid of these longer coats. And get our dogs carrying their tails down where they belong.


Q - There is anything you would like to add that you consider important to the breeders know or think about?

A - As a breeder it is so important to love what you are doing, to have a passion for it. The future of the breed is in your hands, we can’t let these wonderful dogs down.