Page 9 - 4TH QUARTER 2017

s sidekicks of my father, we showed various breeds, but it was mainly
with German Shepherds where we spent most of the years. I remember
how we always had a team of staff who would set up our tables and
benches, then prepare our food while we watched the GSD shows.
I would run outside the ring together with my father and siblings while my mom
watched from the benches, it was a family aff air indeed. This would happen every
time there was a GSD show. Otherwise, we were at the races on Sundays watching
my father’s and grandfather’s Thoroughbred horses run at stakes races. Dogs and
horses were the highlights of our lives.

The fi rst dog I can really call my own was a Labrador Retriever that my father
brought me from New Zealand in 1988. I have always been fascinated with the
breed and I was fi nally able to convince my father to get me one. After which, we
would frequent the shows in the United States and watch the Labrador Retrievers
and visit the benches. Again, I was very lucky that my father enjoyed our hobbies
as well and he would often come with me to the shows to look at the dogs and
discuss the types.

The person who infl uenced me the most is my father. Growing up, he would talk
to me about his dogs and racehorses and we would often study the pedigrees,
whether it was dogs or horses. We would also go to horse sales overseas where
we would purchase Thoroughbred yearlings and broodmares. He would teach me
about conformation and structure in a racehorse, which is very similar, if not more
diffi cult, to that of dogs. This is where I learned that any animal has to be fi t for
function. Just like a Thoroughbred racehorse, a dog must be structurally sound for
it to be able to accomplish a day’s work. Of course, it is imperative that one needs
an “eye” in order to become a good breeder. Even with all the knowledge, it is only
when one has an “eye” that one can transfer this knowledge into a perfect picture.
Unfortunately, not everyone has the “eye”.

I had been involved with Labrador Retrievers from 1988-2007 where I showed,
bred, and/or owned over 150 champions, most of which were from 1990-2003.
It was not easy to breed champions at that time since we only had a few shows
per year unlike today, where we have an average of four shows per weekend. I
also owned the country’s “Dog of the Year” in 1996; this dog was also #5 in 1995
and #3 in 1997. To this date, I own the top sire of champions in the country who
sired 56 titled dogs, a record still to be surpassed. I began breeding Welsh Corgi
Pembrokes’ in 2013 and I have been fortunate to be quite successful thus far with
very limited breeding. I do consider myself a true-to-form dog lover. I can’t sleep
without just one beside me on the bed.

As a breeder, of which I am fi rst and foremost, I always study the breed standard
and try to see the best specimens possible. I always have a picture in my mind of my
type of dog and I try to produce that specifi c type. I am a fi rm believer that the depth
of a breeding program is only as good as the quality of the bitches in one’s kennel.
Thus, keeping the best bitches possible is the key to success. It is sad that I see
many local breeders of both Labrador Retrievers and Welsh Corgi Pembrokes who
have no idea of what they are breeding. They simply just breed and breed without
taking type and balance into consideration. These kinds of practices will only be
detrimental to the breeds today. I believe that experience and open-mindedness
are the keys to success. Unfortunately, with the infl ux of social media, we fi nd many
one-day experts who seem to believe they know everything. Sad to say, I do fi nd

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