Three great Labradors

Left to right: Sh. Ch. Balrion King Frost, Ch. Charway Ballywillwill and Ch. Fabracken Comedy Star.

These three dogs excelled in all the attributes of the true Labrador.

 

 

DEVELOPING A DISTINCTIVE LINE OF LABRADOR RETRIEVERS

 

The goal of most breeders is to enhance desired traits so that a recognizable type of Labrador is produced. One only has to look at the variety in type that exists within the breed today to recognize that how and what we select as desirable traits will have a definite effect on the breed. In writing this article, I am attempting to describe a breeding program that could consistently produce the type of Labradors that you, personally, love. Needless to say, you need an extensive plan prior to plunging into developing your type of Lab and this plan must be approached with your own philosophy. The steps that we followed at Hennings Mill, and which I describe below, provide a means by which Labrador breeders could consistently produce a type of their liking in their kennel.

You will have to be patient, persistent and have the ability for perseverance as your approach to achieving this goal could be a long and lonely road although you will be met with many happy experiences along the way. You must be dedicated to achieving your breeding goal no matter how simple or lofty it may be. Progress and improvement of a line does not occur overnight.

You must think about what type and temperament you want to live with, not necessarily win with, and be a person dedicated to the breed and a motivated person by nature. You must be able to picture, in your mind, your own idea of a Lab regardless of what the current style is and what the other breeders and judges are saying. This perception will take you far.

Many years ago I was very fortunate to have been able to visit the English kennels on a yearly basis to determine exactly what type and temperament Labs that we wanted to cultivate as the basis of our future lines. Luckily, I was able to spend time with many of the Labs that were to influence how we have continued over the years.

Among those influential Labs that I spent time with were Ballyduff Labs - Eng. Ch. Ballyduff Marketeer, Squire and even Spruce (who had been retired to a farm). This line of Labs had so much presence, personifying every Lab characteristic that was appealing to me. Structurally they were close to perfection, their temperaments were pleasing and with an inner confidence that was most impressive to any person coming in contact with them.

These same traits were obvious when spending time with Eng. Ch. Charway Ballywillwill (Spruce ex Charway Simona). Once again, he absolutely filled your eye, and his ability in the field was also impressive. The time I spent with Ballywillwill, Simona and Little Sian will never be forgotten. It became obvious that these traits were certainly worth pursuing in a breeding program, and were ones that we wanted to concentrate in developing a line of Labs for ourselves.

 

I cannot leave the subject of Ballywillwill without mentioning Am., Can., Eng. Sh. Ch. Lindall Mastercraft (his son) who has contributed a great deal to the breed in the UK and the USA. Mastercraft’s littermate, Lindall Miss Holly, added a great deal to this kennel. Miss Holly, who was the Lejie kennel’s foundation bitch, came over to us in whelp to Kupros Major at Lindall (Kupros Master Mariner’s littermate) which could have been considered an in-breeding. This litter was an influence on this kennel; and, consequently, a few more in this country.

 

I was fortunate to have had quality time with Eng. Ch. Balrion King Frost; and, incidentally, with all from his living litter by also visiting the Rodabal kennel in the UK and the Ajoco kennel here in the States. The only word for King Frost is “majestic”; yet, once again, he had all the endearing traits that we love in the Lab. He was impressive in the true sense of the word.

 

Once again, I was able to spend time with major Poolstead dogs and bitches that were behind the Fabracken line which has heavily influenced our ninth generation of breeding - precisely Eng. Ch. Fabracken Comedy Star. Behind Comedy Star was also the influence of the Mardas kennel which was also impressive with strong lines and characteristics.

 

In mentioning Comedy Star, it leads me into mentioning Bradking Beverly (his daughter) who, when bred to the Bradking lines, gave us the strength of our lines today which have now passed the ninth generation. The Labs in back of these lines are ones that I was able to examine firsthand and extend back to Bradking Bonny My Girl, an Eng. Ch. Sandylands Mark daughter, and quite possibly the major influence of the famous Bradking kennel.

 

To this day, there are very few pedigrees in this kennel that do not go back to these lines in one way or another. Our UK and Swedish imports reflect these lines if you were to take the time to study them. Once again, when introducing a new dog or bitch into our kennel I have most likely had contact with the majority of Labs in back of the lines even at a personal level via the many times I was with them in England. As far as genetic problems behind any or all of these Labs I can only trust what was confided in me by the owners and breeders of these high quality Labs up to, and including, when we started breeding in these lines ourselves. By knowing these great Labs firsthand, we were able to develop a feel for the traits that we wanted at Hennings Mill.

 

Once you have established exactly what type and temperament you want to develop to become your own distinctive line, you will most likely have to line-breed consistently to develop the Labs that will meet your ideals. There may be a time in your breeding program where you may possibly use gentle in-breeding in order to know your strengths and weaknesses. With all the problems we are facing genetically in the breed today, most of us dealing in line-breeding take on the philosophy ‘better the devil you know’ and have more confidence in the known versus the unknown, thereby building more security by using stock you are familiar with.

 

We are now in our ninth generation of line-breeding in our basic lines and know the traits of most Labs behind these lines personally. Incidentally, we are great believers in the strength of the bitch tail line (the bottom line of the pedigree). We truly believe in maintaining this to the best of our ability. If we do leave this security we will always know the strength of line-breeding is somewhere else in the pedigree.

 

The bitch actually contributes a substantial amount to the genetic makeup. The bitch has two X chromosomes, one that she received from her dam and one that her sire received from his dam. For this reason, it is possible to develop a very strong bitch line by only using sires that had outstanding dams. The great producing bitches in the breed are actually those in possession of two strong X chromosomes, enabling them to be prepotent. This double copy would cause such a bitch to produce superb quality when bred to various sires. Selection of a good brood bitch from a strong tail female line is essential for your breeding program.

 

Next, then, would be choosing the appropriate stud to compliment your bitch tail line. Dominance with the stud would be important here. In great sire lines, generally the grandsire and sometimes the great-grandsire were also outstanding producers. By virtue of the fact that the sire passes his Y chromosome to his sons, then genetic material will be concentrated in the tail male line. The choice of a stud can also enhance line-breeding. If the strong males of the family are on the top side and come from a strong female line, and there are strong females on the bottom, the line-breeding is enhanced and allows genetic information associated with the X and Y chromosomes to make entry into the next generation.

 

Outcrossing appears to only work when the outcross animal is the result of hybrid vigor created by merging two strong lines that are unrelated, and if both are similar in type. It also appears to work best when dealing with a relatively small gene pool in which you select consistently for the same traits. Certainly knowledge of the pedigree and the characteristic traits represented by the names in the pedigree are very important. It appears that by making a careful selection of which dog to mate to your bitch, and a knowledge of the traits behind both lines, one could then move to breed true to the type desired.

 

I will not go into depth describing the type of Lab that we prefer as anyone knowing this kennel would have little difficulty in describing those characteristics. But I will say that you cannot look at other Labs as you do your own lines. There are other lines possibly superior to your own type and you must appreciate them regardless of how devoted you are to your own type.

 

Learn to study their Labs and pedigrees in an attempt to understand what traits are being passed down through generations. Such knowledge of traits, both good and bad, will give you direction in concentrating genes through the sire and dam and selecting for those traits that will result in progeny of a type that you desire.

 

I have always had a great deal of respect for breeders who have an established line of Labs regardless of the fact that it may not be the type that I would prefer to have in my own kennel. I truly appreciate what they have accomplished in their breeding programs over the years by producing consistency in type.

 

In closing, I would like to state that you cannot allow yourself to fall into the pitfalls of prevailing trends and you must line-breed to your own lines to produce the type of Labs that fulfill your ideals in the breed regardless of the influence of other breeders, judges and impressive show wins of others. Judges can reward showiness without regard to type, or can be influenced by advertising and have personal favorites, but these have little to do with the genetic potential of the Lab. It is important to distinguish between breeding because of the genetic contribution that a Lab makes rather than breeding because of a show record. You must depend on yourself and be true to the line you are developing. This long-range vision and perseverance is necessary for developing a distinctive line and a successful breeding program.