November 2015
I am
what I appear to be
The love and passion that I have for Labrador Retrievers is what fuels my drive for my total involvement with the breed. The never-ending quest for the Betterment of the Breed is the legacy that I would
like to leave behind after it is all said and done.
This Blogging Off section reflects the "tell it like it is" persona that comprises one of the many hats that I wear in my daily activities with Labrador Retrievers and the people that own them.
"Questions are the keys to understanding,
answers are the open doors that will follow,
choosing the right door to proceed through will
determine if the correct path was taken."
V. Sandy Herzon
The Blogging Off Experience
These blogs will cover every Labrador-related topic under the sun and then sum/some! There will be puns intended, off the cuff remarks will rule, attempts at acerbic, acidic and arsed-like humor will be on the menu. Since I have lived outside of the box for most of my life, parameters need not apply.
Good Bye November 30th
It Doesn't Get Any Better Than This
Chambray Labradors
It doesn’t get any better than this! That has been our theme phrase for as long as there have been Chambray Get Togethers.
There was the very first rendezvous at the 1990 Miami dog show where the first 3 Chambray co-breeding owners sat with the Herzons under the trees at the Youth Fairgrounds to share our associations and our love for Labradors.
PS: There were only 3 Herzons then………………………….. a year old Jessie and Ma and Pa Kettle {that’s Johanna and me}
Since then we have had a reunion of our love for Labradors every year since. From 11 people the very 1st one to over 75 at the annual picnics and softball games that we held for over 10 years.
Most were held at the Youth Fairgrounds in Miami, some were held at Tropical Park for the picnics, several were held in restaurants, 2 were held at Chambray Acres and then last 3 years at the Davie Rodeo arena parking lot.
What all those meetings had in common was that those owners shared my views and passion for the betterment of the breed. Come heck and high water (Hurricane Andrew), a few disgruntled naysayers and all the great times otherwise, we have persevered and today we are riding the highest wave of all Labrador groups in the country. Without a doubt, we have the absolute best Labradors from sea to shining sea and that’s not just me whistling Dixie!
There are thousands of Labrador Retriever breeders across the country that breed and show their dogs. There are high powered operations producing some of the best Labradors, there are well-known, established top breeders and then there is little old us down here as the southernmost location for all Labrador breeders in the USA and collectively we have taken our love and passion for the breed to the pinnacle as Top Labrador Retriever Breeder twice in 3 years and we await now to see if we can claim a 3rd top ranking for 2015. I said I wasn’t whistling Dixie!
So to all those of you that have become my friends, my co-breeders, my co-owners, my partners, my clients……………………………..all for the betterment of the breed………………………this Buds for you!
Below the 25th Annual Chambray Get Together.
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November 30th
We Breed The Best To Produce The Best
Others Breed The 'Rest' To Produce The Lest
Chambray Labradors 'placing the best with the best' from litters that were 'bred best to best to produce best' was in full showcase mode around the hemisphere this past weekend.
This past weekend in 3 different locations thousands of miles apart, the theory that breeding the best to the best produces even better spoke volumes without a single word being uttered!
Right here in the midst of our own Labrador domain which now encompasses all of Florida, not just down the road to the neighboring counties, the ‘best to best to produce best all over again’ rose to overwhelming dominance and was on display for all to see and feel.
Best In Show BBE Silver/Bronze Grand Ch Chambrays Celestial N Counter “Kika”, is legendary for her achievements, awards and accolades, Florida’s most decorated Labrador ever! That would be an awesome legacy on an individual basis; however the betterment of the breed would not be served if she were not able to perpetuate those superior qualities to the next generation of Labradors.
Her littermate, BBE Gr Ch Chambrays First N Counter “Gavi” was stellar in her own right, with all the same conformational qualities that Kika possesses and probably would have garnered similar titles and decorations had she been showing instead of Kika, however since both were owned by the same person, one of them had to sit it out and not go head to head with the other for the same prizes.
So, there you have 2 of the top females ever from Florida and the next step for them is to produce at that same heightened level, same or even better stellar conformation.
In the ever search for the best to produce the best, Bronze Gr Ch Summithill Joshua’s Battle Of Jericho was incorporated into the Chambray Labradors breeding program. He exemplifies those great traits that are relished for perpetuation for the next generation.
The results of the steadfast mission of breeding the best to the best was evident for all, even to those with limited vision as follows:
Davie Fl Nov 29th BEST OF BREED ~ Gr Ch Chambrays Eventful N Counter {Kika X Nicolas}
Davie Fl Nov 29th Winners Bitch/Best Of Winners ~ Chambrays Galactic N Counter {Kika X Nicolas}
Davie Fl Nov 29th RWD ~ Chambrays Tank’d On The Boulevard {Kika X Jericho}
Davie Fl Nov 29th RWB ~ Chambrays Celestial Star Girl Lily {Kika X Jericho}
Guatemala Nov 28/29 2 Best Of Breeds and 2 Group 1’s Chambrays St Johns Maximus {Kika X Jericho}
Savannah GA. Nov 29th Winners Dog ~ Chambrays A Handerin For Trouble {Gavi X Jericho}
Davie Fl Nov 28th Winners Dog ~ Chambrays Black Diamond Out Of The Ruff {Jericho X Little Bella}
Davie Fl Nov 28th Best Of Opposite Sex ~ BBE Gr Ch Chambrays Eventful N Counter {Kika X Nicolas}
Davie Fl Nov 28th RWD ~ Chambrays Tank’d On The Boulevard {Kika X Jericho}
Davie Fl Nov 28th BEST Labrador Puppy Group 1 ~ Chambrays Rose On Center Stage {Kika X Jericho}
Davie Fl Nov 28th Select Gr Ch ~ Bronze Gr Ch Chambrays Tucker Everlasting {Jericho X Viper}
Kika and Gavi have already produced 1 champion each and Jericho has 2 champion get to his credit.
The other Chambray dogs that swept the awards for the weekend were:
Davie Fl Nov 29th Best Of Opposite Sex ~ Gr Ch WinQuest Chambray Famous Amos
Davie Fl Nov 29th Select Gr Ch ~ BBE Bronze Gr Ch Chambrays Ruff Jewel Walter
Davie Fl Nov 28th Best Of Breed ~ Gr Ch Winquest Chambray Famous Amos
Each of these great dogs were also part of 'breeding the best to the best to produce the best' and they both are now producing their own legacy with stellar produce themselves.
Of course the opposite of our breeding protocol are those folk that obtain their dogs from breeders that 'keep the best and sell the rest' which leads to those owners breeding those 'rest to produce lest'.
November 28th
Show A Dog If Best Of Breed Can Give It A Major
Now hear this! Better yet, now read this!
For all those of you out there that have faithfully followed the flute playing professional handlers malarkey about not handling a class dog if the only way to win that major is by going Best Of Breed………………….there’s a professional-handled class dog out there right now with 16 points and only 1 major!
The last 3 Winners Dog were only 2 pointers and each needed to go Best Of Breed to cross over!
So, what yours truly, Sandy Herzon has been chiming about for a couple of decades and the pros have been berating me about………………………now is okay for them to do!
So, next time I tell you to show your dog and your pro tells you otherwise, fire their sorry derrieres and show the dog yourself and get that BOB and crossover. If they give you a hard time, tell them to come talk to me!
Meanwhile those of us at Chambray will keep churning out those Best Of Breeds from the classes and notching up those major pointed wins………………………….we even crossed over on a Group 1 for a 5-point major with an 8-month old puppy that did the improbable……………………..Breed and then Group 1!!!!!!!!
November 25th
We Are The Guardians Of The Breed
We need to get the word out! We need to become the guardians for the better health of our dogs. We need to speak up for them since they can’t!
Please, please take the time to peruse through the UC Davis findings about spaying and neutering. It will only take less than 30 seconds to understand and feel what I do now!
The following is the summary from UC Davis:
Neutering, and the age at which a dog is neutered, may affect the animal’s risk for developing certain cancers and joint diseases, according to a new study of golden retrievers by a team of researchers at the University of California, Davis.
The study, which examined the health records of 759 golden retrievers, found a surprising doubling of hip dysplasia among male dogs neutered before one year of age. This and other results were published Feb. 13 in the online scientific journal PLOS ONE.
“The study results indicate that dog owners and service-dog trainers should carefully consider when to have their male or female dogs neutered,” said lead investigator Benjamin Hart, a distinguished professor emeritus in the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine.
“It is important to remember, however, that because different dog breeds have different vulnerabilities to various diseases, the effects of early and late neutering also may vary from breed to breed,” he said.
While results of the new study are revealing, Hart said the relationship between neutering and disease-risk remains a complex issue. For example, the increased incidence of joint diseases among early-neutered dogs is likely a combination of the effect of neutering on the young dog’s growth plates as well as the increase in weight on the joints that is commonly seen in neutered dogs.
Dog owners in the United States are overwhelmingly choosing to neuter their dogs, in large part to prevent pet overpopulation or avoid unwanted behaviors. In the U.S., surgical neutering — known as spaying in females — is usually done when the dog is less than one year old.
In Europe, however, neutering is generally avoided by owners and trainers and not promoted by animal health authorities, Hart said.
During the past decade, some studies have indicated that neutering can have several adverse health effects for certain dog breeds. Those studies examined individual diseases using data drawn from one breed or pooled from several breeds.
Against that backdrop, Hart and colleagues launched their study, using a single hospital database. The study was designed to examine the effects of neutering on the risks of several diseases in the same breed, distinguishing between males and females and between early or late neutering and non-neutering.
The researchers chose to focus on the golden retriever because it is one of the most popular breeds in the U.S. and Europe and is vulnerable to various cancers and joint disorders. The breed also is favored for work as a service dog.
The research team reviewed the records of female and male golden retrievers, ranging in age from 1 to 8 years, that had been examined at UC Davis’ William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital for two joint disorders and three cancers: hip dysplasia, cranial cruciate ligament tear, lymphosarcoma, hemangiosarcoma and mast cell tumor. The dogs were classified as intact (not neutered), neutered early (before 12 months age), or neutered late (at or after 12 months age).
Joint disorders and cancers are of particular interest because neutering removes the male dog’s testes and the female’s ovaries, interrupting production of certain hormones that play key roles in important body processes such as closure of bone growth plates, and regulation of the estrous cycle in female dogs.
The study revealed that, for all five diseases analyzed, the disease rates were significantly higher in both males and females that were neutered either early or late compared with intact (non-neutered) dogs.
Specifically, early neutering was associated with an increase in the occurrence of hip dysplasia, cranial cruciate ligament tear and lymphosarcoma in males and of cranial cruciate ligament tear in females. Late neutering was associated with the subsequent occurrence of mast cell tumors and hemangiosarcoma in females.
In most areas, the findings of this study were consistent with earlier studies, suggesting similar increases in disease risks. The new study, however, was the first to specifically report an increased risk of late neutering for mast cell tumors and hemangiosarcoma.
Furthermore, the new study showed a surprising 100 percent increase, or doubling, of the incidence of hip dysplasia among early-neutered males. Earlier studies had reported a 17 percent increase among all neutered dogs compared to all non-neutered dogs, indicating the importance of the new study in making gender and age-of-neutering comparisons.
Other researchers on this UC Davis study were: Gretel Torres de la Riva, Thomas Farver and Lynette Hart, School of Veterinary Medicine; Anita Oberbauer, Department of Animal Science; Locksley Messam, Department of Public Health Sciences; and Neil Willits, Department of Statistics.
The following is the actual published report found at
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0055937
Please take a few more minutes to read in-depth the seriousness of the findings. The dataset was over 700 Golden Retrievers, however the results can be applied to all breeds, especially our Labradors that are very close in genetic makeup as Goldens are.
Keep in mind that spaying and neutering in the US is being pushed on the whole population by several organizations that do not have the best interest of dogs in mind, regardless of how noble their propaganda and brain washing of the populace has been. For them, it’s all about how much money you contribute to their cause for them to use to brain wash even more and certainly not to apply to the rescuing or general welfare of animals…………………….look into that as well if you have doubts about that too!
November 24th
The Going Is Getting Better & Better As The Word Spreads
As words spreads………………………positive word of mouth from those that have taken the time to look into and ‘see’ for themselves what Chambray Labradors Owner’s Program has been, is and will continue to be, more and more folk come to us to inquire about how they too can participate in the betterment of the breed movement that we have been promoting and facilitating to any and all that have the breed in mind first and foremost.
For this blog, rather than tout up all of the awards, accomplishments, achievements and major kudos that come ones way with rollicking success, I will summarize what it is that we offer from our 45 years of involvement with Labrador Retrievers.
I will start with the offering that affects the most people, affect in incalculable ways! The Puppy Placement Program is that gem of the glistening jewels offered. Although all Labrador breeder sell their puppies and in essence so do we……………………………we do it totally different than the old tried and true traditional method that has been in use for as long as someone had a supply of something and there was a demand for that produce and eventually the two meet up and a sale is made.
The Chambray way does not follow the ‘business as usual’ supply and demand enterprise system. If it did, we could market well over 1000 puppies a year! Yep, that’s how many puppy searchers reach out to Chambray Labradors yearly. Yep again, we are very adamant about what gets bred……………………………………only the best to the best to produce the best next generation of superb conformational quality Labradors. So from over 1000 demands we work with about 60 puppies to supply! That is totally the reverse of the old way of the supply and demand market……………………………we have the luxury of choosing from hundreds and hundreds of prospective puppy buyers where our few puppies will be ‘placed’!
Now here is where the Chambray Puppy Placement Program is a huge contribution to the betterment of the breed………………………………we place the best puppies in each litter with people that we feel we can mentor to take those puppies to the next level. This is another one of those totally opposite ‘ways of doing things’! Of course the old way that is still the prevalent way that other breeders use, is to breed to ‘keep the best and sell the rest’!
So, the Chambray way perpetuates the great qualities of the breed and then shares those with people that are brand new to the breed, that are intermediates or are established breeders looking to improve on what they have going on. This is our ‘open door’ policy to spread out top conformational quality to as many interested folk that have the betterment of the breed as a priority. Those then will have the luxury of starting way at the top in their venture with Labradors.
The next high value offering to the breed is Chambray Labradors Training & Conditioning Program. Here we take the very best of those dogs produce and we supply each and every one of those Labradors and their owners our 40+ years of training dogs…………………………that’s more than 30,000 dogs that have been through our many training programs!
For those owners that are not able to spend the time with their dogs to get them in top shape and condition, we also offer variable conditioning programs to go along with all the training that takes place here at Chambray Acres.
The Breeding and Raising Program is probably the most elite and mentally intense program offered to our owners. Elite because there are very few people that have the vast knowledge about everything needed to be successful with a breeding program. Those that know what I am referring to fully appreciate this offering…………………………those that have no clue how much it takes to really have an expertise in this field think that being a knowledgeable breeder is being able to tell the difference between a male and a females and letting the two of them romp around, tie up and then after 60 days of gestation out from the oven pops out a loaf of bread!
At Chambray, we take the novice, the intermediate, the established and we walk them through the entire process of animal husbandry, genetics, pedigree analysis, conformational evaluations and breed types to be able to perpetuate the breed with superb quality produce. The opposite of this are those that employ either the ‘pin the tail on the donkey’ way or the old ‘wishing and a hoping’ way that most people that dabble in breeding dogs use. Either way, the donkey’s way or the hoping way produces the exact same results……………………hit or miss as good as it gets!
For this blog we will wrap it off with the Stud Dog Program. Those males that are produced from those top breedings are encouraged to remain available to the breeding program with their participation as stud dogs to the more than 70 females that are currently active in our breeding/raising program. These males are also represented through our Stud Dog dedicated website www.chambraylabs.com and are made available to approved females from other breeders, kennels, exhibitors and owners.
The preceding information was just a capsulized synopsis of the vast offerings by Chambray Labradors to any and all that have the betterment of the breed in mind.
November 23rd
This last weekend was supposed to be an ‘off’ weekend…………………………..NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We were off from the grind of traveling to the dog shows, weekend in and weekend out, however we were not off from working with owners and their dogs!
Getting ready for the Davie Fl dog shows on November 28th and 29th now takes center stage for us as we have a huge roster of dogs for those 2 shows. In addition, it is also the venue where we host of our annual Labrador Retriever get together.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of our very first yearly reunion. Somewhere around a thousand Chambray owners have joined us at these ends of year get togethers in celebrating our love for the breed.
There’s nothing that bodes better for an endeavor or a business than to have satisfied clients that are a living testament with their presence and continued participation.
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery rings so true with the successes Chambray Labradors has had in the Labrador world. There are several of our competitors that do as we do in order to try and keep up with our winning ways.
It is so apparent when looking at another breeder’s choices for studs to breed to their brood bitches and to see that they are using the same stud dogs that we used a year or so back and that we have huge success with the produce of those breedings.
The difference of course with the product of those breedings is that the females used in their breeding programs are not up to the high conformational show levels that the Chambray females are at, so their efforts are more in the ‘wishing and a hoping’ mode than in ‘true blue’ results brought about by ‘knowhow’!
But, just the same each of those that follow along with the Chambray way is validating our successes as breeders, trainers and handlers even if they don’t have the full complement to attain the same levels of success that we are enjoying.
All puppies from any ‘show breeder’ are not the same! Had an evaluation here for an 18-month old dog from a ‘semi-estabished’ (less than 10 years) Florida Labrador breeder, according to the owner it came from a breeding that has produced champions!
Yep, that’s as true as giddy up! The only difference is that the best puppies from that litter were kept by the breeder using the old reliable, traditional, but maybe passé method of ‘keeping the best and pawning off the rest’ and the dog that came for the evaluation was nowhere in the same conformational category as the ones that the breeder has been showcasing for herself.
Now here’s the deal…………………………with the semi-established, relatively new startups, their ratio of ‘show quality’ to ‘none show quality’ in any given litter maybe less than 1 in 5 if they are lucky, more like 1 in 10 for most!
So, a buyer would be hit by lightning in Central Florida (lightning capital of the USA), than luck out and end up with a real show contender.
At Chambray, those wanting to join with the ranks of the most successful Labrador owners in the country have it ‘made in the shade’ as the best show potential puppies ARE ALL PLACED with those that want the best…………………..so their chances of getting a top show contender is GUARANTEED!
PLUS, with our breeding the best to the best and with our 45 years of breeding expertise, our ratio of show quality to none show quality is 80% or higher vs. the less than 10% of those others that dabble at the dog shows.
Sounds like the winning combination without giving it a lot of thought!
Same owner that received the ‘not so good news’ about her intended show dog…………………….the evaluation from above turned into one of the 9 out of 10 that comes up way short…………………..like in “You have a very nice looking pet dog, but not up to the lower end of those showing, never mind the high end dogs in the winner’s circle!”
Of course with that verdict comes ‘unhappy campers’ and disgruntled owners that had visions of show stardom only to have those dreams dashed by hard fact reality.
“We paid top dollar for this dog and we want to use it for studding out!” The highly agitated owner stated.
“Well, you still can use it for stud if a female owner insists on using him, however for the betterment of the breed make sure that you have all the available clearances done on him." Was my standard fare reply to such a subject.
“Would your owners be interested in using him?” she came back with.
Since I manage all the breedings for the Chambray show females my answer was “No, I would not consider breeding down to any dog as all our breedings are done for the betterment of the breed. Any dog that I consider for one of my top females has to offer us the highest quality as far as conformation is concerned.”
So ended another evaluation that went in the opposite direction like the other 90% that favor the more traveled road of dogs that do not measure up.
November 18
Getting From Point A to Point Z
There are many ways to get from the mythical Point A to the terminus Point Z.
You can be as traditional as the turkey meal on Thanksgiving and recite the alphabet in precise order and accomplish the task.
There are those that will skirt around the lineal order and get to Z by some ingenious or illogical mechanism only decipherable to them.
Of course for those that think outside the box and are quick to wit, A to Z ‘able to leap tall buildings in a single bound’ can arrive at the destination in one note, simply stating A then Z!
Now that you have been mired in that labyrinth long enough, let me get to “where’s the beef” to this blog!
The different ways of Labrador breeders.
“Oh boy, here comes a Pandora’s Box of epic proportion”, you may be saying or envisioning, depending on which hemispherical brain part you use to come to conclusions, good ones or bad ones, again depending on how rational/irrational you are.
But worry and fret no longer because this will just be a simple glossing and not a shellacking of the breeder’s scheme of things.
To make matters much more menial (that’s 4 m’s in a row), I will discard from our consideration process about 99% of all Labrador breeders!
“Whoa” you may say or envision all over again.
If we are to corral 99% and not consider those at all, that only leaves 1% to direct our attention to!
Ah, but that is the percentage of folk that are breeding at the highest levels for show quality! Yes, out of all the blokes dabbling around putting Tyrannosaurus Rex to breed to Molybdenum and produce a bunch of reasonable facsimiles of the purported breed (Labradors)…………………………………….only 1 % actually are doing so to ‘hopefully’ produce specimens that are worthy of being called Labradors!
Ok, beating around the bush to create an interest, no more, now to real meat and potatoes!
Just how do show breeders do what they do and become successful at what they do?
There are those with sheer numbers! They may have some great specimens of the breed males (or breed out to those that may also have them) and breed those to top show males to their entire ‘brood bitch’ gallery. Now, there may be some real top drawer ladies in that cadre of a harem and those may produce some stellar show prospects, but by and large the successes seen from these breeders come because of the numbers put out. From large numbers come results and since the larger sector of their produce will not be heard of at the show results pages, only the fewer ones that do make it are seen and the larger sector that don’t size up are out of sight and out of mind.
At the very other end of the spectrum from the sheer numbers breeders are those that produce 3 or 4 litters……….mostly for their own consumption! Not like in eating them, but like in keeping them for themselves……………………ah, the old ‘keep the best and sell the rest’ at its best system!
Some of these breeder types become hoarders………………….yes, just as those disoriented people that clutter their houses with anything, everything, and God only knows what else…………………..there are some breeders that keep 2, 3 and even 4 from each litter they produce and then end up with a ‘what were you thinking’ pack of canines that they have no real time to spend with each!
Ok, I said I wasn’t going to make this blog a shellacking, so here comes the glossing.
You have the ends of the spectrum, so let’s cut to the chase and go to where this is leading you.
Ah, the Chambray way of doing things! Whoop, there it is! Led the horse to water, let’s see if it will ingurgitate.
In one corner you have the heavy weights with numbers to play with and in the other corner you have the lightweights that keep (hoard) for themselves and then outside the ring (box) you have it our/your way where we produce small numbers of the very best, using the very best and then we go all out to find owners (sponsors) for those best produce to participate in our Betterment of the Breed experience.
Wow, some of our Chambray owners may be thinking or conjuring right about now……………….. “Wow, I didn’t know I was part of such an avant garde program!”
Well, yes you are!
The most successful Labrador breeding program is neither A, the large producer and neither Z, the “Have it only their way, keep the best and pawn off the rest”………………………….it is the ‘Have the best and be part of producing the best”!
Gee, the only thing missing for the motif of this blog is which letter does the Chambray way of doing things falls on………………..or maybe we are so different that settling for a letter from A to Z just doesn’t adequately paint us sufficiently!
November 16th
Top Of The Morning To You
Why Speak Up?
Talk is cheap…………….we all know that!
Anyone can talk up a storm and say absolutely nothing of any consequence…………….some talk way too much verbiage garbage that fills cans to the brim.
Listen to the chatter around ringside and you will hear people talking about this and that. Most use hushed tones and hands held covering their mouths lest someone…………………probably the talked about person, won’t hear…………………or maybe they want to be ‘overheard’ and will say it loud enough where a fly on the wall is not needed!
“Don’t tell So and So that I told you so” is standard fare, grape vine nuisance used behind the scenes………………again, cheap talk that the author doesn’t care to own up to. It’s kind of, let me tell you this, but you are on your own with that information.
There are many ways that people choose to express themselves and yet not want to be held accountable. Not owning up is as common place as flies congregating around open mouths.
Now hear this! That’s not the way that I do and say things! What I say to Peter, I will sure as heck say to Paul! Bet on it and if you don’t want someone else to know what you are saying to me, you better not be telling me! Come to me with verifiable matter………………….facts ma’am, just the facts as fiction has no place for the betterment of the breed.
I believe in owning up or I won’t say a thing! So, to the Mother Teresa that came to me to do some of that ‘do gooder’ stuff that those inclined with the befitting moniker do………………………………….I will keep ‘speaking’ my mind using the Blogging Off mechanism or for those that want to hear it from the horse’s mouth………………….just ask me.
Her advice to me was ‘Maybe more people would be more accepting of me if I wouldn’t be so critical with my writings at the blog’!
Well, thank you ma’am for including me in your orations and well-wishes…………………………..however I vastly prefer to speak my mind out loud for all to hear (read), then to talk up a storm behind people’s backs as is the customary conveyor way of doing things and of expressing opinions and thoughts.
You can quote me anytime and any day…………………..what I say, I hold myself 100% responsible so neither rain, nor sleet, nor gloom of night frays me from my swift acceptance of my chosen tirades, rants, dissertations or opinions as expressed either at the blog or at ringside or anywhere that anyone wishes to exchange in useful banter with me!
You will get none of this “so and so said such and such’ malarkey from me………………………what you will get is “I know this to be truth and I own up to it”………………………………..if per chance I find that what I have said may have been in some error, then I will make amends to whom I said it to and who it was said about.
That’s guaranteed in writing for anyone that wants a hard copy of that last statement.
So that’s way the ball bounces with me……………………..if some prefer to deal with back talk, innuendos, gossip, and all the other forms of communications that amount to zilch, then don’t bother taking up my valuable time that I can spend with someone that wants to hear the real way it is!
Those that ‘KNOW’ me, know without an iota of a doubt know that’s the way it is. Those don’t “KNOW’ me are missing out on the real deal!
It’s crystal clear to me……………………..I would 1000% rather deal with someone like me than to listen to the usual worthless cacophony of chatter that emanates from those that don’t own up to the words that spew from agape mouths.
November 11th
One For The Road
Lamenters Lament
Yep, those that suffer from Lamentia will giddy up and trot to the beat of any lamentable cause………….real or imagined!
It seems to be a national pastime to go around pouting and spouting off on anything that rhymes or doesn’t reason!
Just this past weekend at the Brooksville shows a couple of Labrador enthusiasts came lamenting to me that Dipsy Doodle (not real name of course) was off showing their dogs in Paduncus (not real name of city of course) instead of being here where the big boys and big girls are knocking heads with their best vying for those elusive points…………especially those major pointed shows that have once again become difficult to build.
So, what’s my take on scurrying out of state and out of mind to places where the pickins are as slim as Slim once was?
Bravo!
Yes, I say “good for them”!
Whooping up on those out of state dogs bodes super well for us down here in scorching November Florida.
Bodes well because those same happy grinning dogs that are hightailing it to places that are difficult to pronounce or even find on the map and are chumping up the wins one, two, three over there just don’t seem to shine as bright down here with the dogs that are glaringly better contenders for the wins this side of the state line.
So, if reason is still in season (sometimes I wonder about that), then it would stand to that reason that the dogs that do stand toe to toe here in the heat where the heat of competition is markedly more intense than in Paduncus……………………..that these stay at home dogs that win where the temperature is much more caloric could also skedaddle to those lesser attended locales and beat those locals and also the wayfarers that hike on up looking for those easy wins!
For those that have no clue what I just opined and implied………………..not to worry, it’s not worth the ink and paper that wasn’t used!
Well, that’s all I have to say on the subject.
November 11th
Up The Pike We Go
Here we go again traveling up the pike to Ocala for yet another weekend of dog shows………………actually an extended weekend of 4 days of shows starting tomorrow Thursday and running through Sunday.
The maestro is rolling the drums as the excitement is running high for the next Chambray dog to be crowned a ‘champion’. With this past weekend’s extraordinary bolt from the Puppy Class to Winners Dog then to Best Of Breed by Chambrays Tank’d On The Boulevard, which ensured him a 3-point major win, it now leaves him just 1 win and 1 point shy of the promised land. This is the 2nd time that this amazing puppy runs the gamut from the back of the pack and overtakes the champion specials showing to win a BOB. The first time he accomplished the feat; he continued right along and galloped past all the sporting dogs to win an unheard of Group 1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
With 4 shows in Ocala and the head of steam Tank’d has going for him, he becomes the odds on favorite to cross the finish line and become Chambray’s 50th home-bred champion. Tank’d would also become Bronze Gr Ch Summithills Joshua’s Battle Of Jericho’s 3rd get champion……………………and he would be Chambray’s youngest and first puppy to champion out before being a year old!
Since there are 16 class males entered for all 4 days of Ocala and there are 2 male specials, a class dog can achieve a 3-point major by going Best Of Opposite Sex………………………so our other front runner for the race to the AKC championship, Chambrays Triple Play ‘Sonic’ has an outside chance of lurching forward and snatching that Golden Fleece before Tank’d does! Sonic has 12 points and 1 major to his resume…………………….taking a Best Of Breed would seal the deal if there are any class dogs absent, a Best Of Opposite Sex for those 3-points is only possible if all 16 class males show up!
The rest of our Ocala roster is full of youngsters vying for their spot in the Chambray horse race for points. Chambrays Shinning Diamond Dazzle runs the 4 shows this weekend and then heads up north until the New Year when he journeys back down to sunny Florida and will compete at the Winter Circuit of shows in Brooksville.
Debuting at the AKC shows, is a new puppy sired by Gr Ch Chambrays Ruff Jewel Walter, Chambrays Ruff Walter Jackson……….named after his sire and also his great grandsire (BIS BBE Ch Chambrays Out Of The Ruff).
From the girl’s side, 2 out of the 3 dogs are puppies. Chambrays Jewels comes out to her 2nd set of shows and Chambrays Lily moved up to the 9 to 12 class and continues to impress with her development.
Our top girl, Chambrays Gayla showing from the Bred By Exhibitor class finally has her show game on and we expect the wins to accumulate beyond the 6 points she has garnered so far.
In the Best Of Breed competition, two of our young champion specials will spar for those elusive Best Of Breeds.
JAMSS BISS Bronze Gr Ch Chambrays Tucker now gunning for several top honors with a very possible USA Top 5 rankling for the year and the special invitation that goes with that achievement, the 2016 Westminster Top 5 Invitation. Tucker just wrapped up a whirlwind tour down in Puerto Rico and came back home with 2 new titles, the BISS which is Best In Specialty Show (BOB) and also a JAMSS, a judge’s declaration of Judge’s Award of Merit at Specialty Show. He also can take the Chambray record for most Best Of Breeds ever, by sweeping all 4 BOBs this weekend in Ocala. That would give him 34 BOBs, which would surpass the all-time high mark etched by the one-and-only BIS BBE Silver Grand Ch Chambrays Celestial N Counter ‘Kika’.
Tucker is also on the cusp for another humongous title and honor, the AKC’s Silver Grand Champion’s title. With 4 BOB’s this weekend, he will more than likely accumulate the needed 200 Grand Champion points to reach that summit.
Gr Ch Chambrays Razor’s Edge Thunderstruck ‘Bob’ also joins the ranks of the special’s dogs vying for those BOBs. He is now in serious training mode for his run at the Eukanuba week of shows, LRC Specialty and of course the grandest canine show of the year, the mammoth 2015 Eukanuba National Championships!
So, the van’s packed and as Jackie Gleason would shout out “And away we go!”
November 10th
Toto Went West
Things That Go ‘Bump” In The Night
The sailing is smooth and the waters calm and then all of a sudden a gust of wind rips up seemingly from nowhere and its helter skelter for a bit!
Yep, that’s the gist of what just happened………………..no, I wasn’t sailing and there was no vortex of any degree, but the day was seamless until I get an unannounced, uninvited eavesdropper at my front gate.
Had I been inside my office looking out the window in that direction, I wouldn’t have wasted the little bit of energy left in my bones to get up and walk to what now feels like an endless mile to the front gate, it’s actually less than 100 feet!
But way out there was someone inside a car honking their horn and another person holding on for dear life to a big yellow Labrador that was barking up a windless storm, making my own dogs retaliate in same fashion……………………….I look down at my appointment calendar and it is a blank slate for today, so who in tarnation could have sauntered over here without an appointment………………….most Chambray-related folk know full well that homey doesn’t tend to the wayward bunch that drives around without a care in the world and show up unannounced when everything we do here at Chambray is timed to the minute!
Well, since I wasn’t inside and happen to be feeding my puppies, I had no alternative but to acknowledge their imposing presence and wave to them that I would be there as soon as the puppies were fed. That took me all of 3 minutes and by the time I made my way to the gate I could sense that the lady in waiting was also a lady in perturbed mode for having to wait the few minutes that I took up feeding my puppies!
Now, if you really now me…………………..you must know that my puppies come first and foremost and all other agendas take a back seat to that precious time I spend with them.
I did make my way to gate and before I could impart any information about the visitation protocols at Chambray, the heavily freckled, ruddy-faced woman proceeded to deliver a non-stop dissertation……..one flawed with one after another absurdity, and then with much attitude she opened up with “My name is Such & Such and I am offering this champion sired dog for stud service, but only to the better Labrador breeders!”
I was about to inform her that I was not interested, when she seized the moment to continue on with her sales pitch, “He comes from the all-time champion Labrador breeder from Florida and I want to continue to promote her lines even though she is no longer with us, may she rest in peace! Plus he will be benefitting the other Labrador breeders in Florida with his superb and wonderful pedigree!”
Whoa Nelly and every other nag out there that ever raced………………………….hold them horses back.
I was finally able to get a word in edgewise and ask her where she had gotten that ‘wonderful’ pedigreed dog from. Of course I could sense the answer from the craziness coming from the person on the other side of the fence…………………………..yep, you got it right, I wasn’t about to open up the fence and let the loonies in!
Yep, again, I knew where all this was going because I guessed where the dog had come from as well.
“You must recognize quality when you see it, he comes from ‘Hardrock Labradors’ (not the real name)! She was a wonderful breeder and bred the top Labradors in Florida!” the I Love Lucy look-alike professed.
I cut in like a steamroller having its way over watermelons, “Not even close………not even in the top 25! It would be insulting to all those that truly were the top Labrador breeders from Florida, those that I have personally known to have had the top Labradors in Florida in the last 45 years!”
My usual diplomatic persona was nowhere to be found.
Before she could even take a breath, I continue on, “The 5 or 6 champions that she bred, where mostly force-fed champions………………………………….professional handlers taking them on an odyssey ride of epic proportions……………………………one dog having been shown by every handler known to the area at more than 400 shows!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now that’s what I call ‘force fed!”
The self-propelled idealist yet clueless as a herd of gnu, red faced woman had heard enough and bounded with the rather long-legged canine from in front of my gate to the open passenger door in less than 2 steps and was last seen headed west with much determination, but as I know for sure that the sun will rise in the east, so too will she and the driver of the vehicle be heading in that direction sooner or later, because to the west, only a several blocks away is a dead-end at the mercy of the Everglades!
I went back to my puppies and was lost in the moment with them to notice if the errant duo with Toto along for the ride ever u-turned back toward civilization.
More November 9th
You don’t know what you don’t know.
Those that don’t have the capacity to fully comprehend the complexity of our involvement with Labrador Retrievers will forever question what they don’t know……………………………..what people don’t know becomes an object of fear and fear of the unknown then takes a life of its own.
Ill Winds Blow In Other Breeds Too!
The same atmospheric disturbances that at times surround the Labrador ring also engulfs other breed rings. You’ve heard me bellow over and over again about blokes puffing out hot air about showing dogs for fun………………….well this past weekend standing outside the Golden ring before the competition started a real big bloke, like in twice my size was boasting and bragging about how much fun he was having showing his dogs.
Lo and behold, exactly an hour later when the competition was all said and done and neither of the dogs that he was showing did anything with the judge, the same bloke was framming his crates around and cussing up a storm about what an idiot the judge was.
Boy, that sure as heck was not a lot of fun to me!
Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due
Way, way too often it seems that I berate other Labrador area breeders……………………………..so homey takes a step back from center stage and gives credit where it most certainly is due!
In Florida the obvious front runner now and for many years has been our very own Chambray Labradors. However, quietly and surely another breeder has made huge inroads in a relatively short period of time. In less than 10 years with the breed Linda Hess has made a national presence with her kennel name Tampa Bay and with her breeding program.
I take great pride in seeing a dedicated Florida Labrador breeder have dogs that she bred or co-bred having the success many of her dogs are having outside of the Florida area. In a way, I am glad that those dogs are competing in other states because they would be the Chambray dogs direct competition here in Florida!
So, kudos to her for a job well done with her Labradors…………………….for the betterment of the breed!
Great Winning Brooksville Weekend!
Yep, I drove home very satiated! Lots and lots of winning………………………………………winning for the betterment of the breed!
Now before you think this is one of those chest thumping, braggadocio, Sandy proclaiming his dog’s
greatness………………………………………………………..I speak of other things!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I speak of many different people at Brooksville taking the opportunity to converse with me about how to better their position with their Labradors for the betterment of the breed!
Eureka!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is what I have been talking about, this is what I have been professing for years and years………………………this is what it will take for the breed to move forward!
The exchanging of ideas for the betterment of the breed……………………………..that’s major winning in my book!
I sat in on mentorship to more than half a dozen people wanting to know more, wanting to know what they could do with what they had to make it better!
Yes sir, that’s moving in the right direction.
Not only was it about Labradors, we (Jessie and I) mentored a Weimaraner breeder and a Chesapeake Bay Retriever breeder with evaluations of their litters and puppies, a GSPointer exhibitor about breeding her dogs and what attributes she needed to look for. Plus with Labradors, 3 different owners that are contemplating breeding their females and looking for the right stud dog that would complement their dams.
I offered each and every one of those fine folk my time and expertise for them to produce better.
Anyone can talk up a storm, let’s see who actually steps up to the plate……………………………………..when you are ready, I will be waiting for you with bat in hand to show you how to swing for the fences!
That’s my pledge to the breed!
November 9th
Toppling Humpty Dumpty
For more years that I care to remember I have been that one drummer pounding away at a lonely beat.
Now, I take great satisfaction in proving how the ‘established ways of doing things’ certainly has not been to the advantage of those marching blindly along to the beat of the professional handler’s hypocritical drum beatings.
This past weekend yet another class dog rose up and took a Best Of Breed and collected enough numbers from the champions in the ring to bolt over the hurdle and garner the Major Pointed win!
That makes a class dog winning a Best Of Breed in the last 3 months a 50% proposition! Those are odds that even a dumb bunny could not pass up, so those that have been following Humpty Dumpty’s doctrine of not showing a class dog if the only way to get that major was by winning a Best Of Breed, need to go put that fat egg back together again!
If this class dog were the only one that had done that recently, then I certainly would not be penning this blog, but rubbing salt in the eyes of those blind followers certainly makes a world of sense and seizing the opportunity to do so gives me euphorically and intense pleasurable delight.
So, I say for the thousand and one time, if a major win can be had at all within the breed ring……………..then show your dog!
I would not take any dog on for handling if I didn’t think it was good enough win a Best Of Breed, so that dog will show come all the kings men and kings horse’s and I will be proven right time and time again!
November 6th
The Fast & The Furious
That’s what these last 3 months of the year have turned into for us with the dog show scenario!
It’s non-stop, long trip weekends of action for Team Chambray. We bounce from the Plant City dogs shows on October 24/25, then head up to Ocala for the 4 shows in 2 days of IABCA on Oct 31st/Nov 1st, then turn back around and do the Brooksville shows this weekend, only to return up the interstate past Brooksville to the Ocala 4 days of shows on Nov 12 to 15.
We have a respite on Nov 21/22, but Whoa Nelly, it’s back-to-back weekends down here in South Florida with the Davie shows on Nov 28/29, followed by the Miami shows on Dec 5/6………………..but hold on to your hat, because we are off to the grand finale………………the real big canine enchilada, the Eukanuba week up in Orlando………………………………that’s 3 all-breed dog shows starting Tuesday Dec 8th to Thursday Dec 10th…………………………..followed by the LRC Labrador Retriever Specialty on Friday Dec 11th and then we cap the year off with the biggest bang that dogdom has ever seen in the USA……………………the mammoth Eukanuba National Championship extravaganza!
Whoa Nelly indeed!
So, we are putting the finishing touches on loading the van for the Brooksville shows as I type this blog. It’s a bit discouraging that the entries didn’t make it to majors from the classes, however taking a Best Of Breed will hurdle over the bump and that’s happened more than 50% of the time in the last couple of months!!!!!!!!!!!
Yep, class dogs leap-frogging of the champions to garner those elusive major-pointed wins! We currently have 2 of our dogs on the cusp for those majors, each needing just one major to claim ‘halleluiah’ and earn the title AKC champion………………………..crossing the mythical #50 benchmark for Chambray, that’s 50 homebred champions!
Chambrays Triple Play can do it with just 1 BOB, needing only a 3-point major to ascend to the coveted spot of champion. Chambrays Tank’d On The Boulevard a 10-month old puppy needs 1 BOB and an extra point for the same designation as he now has 11 points, 1 major, 1 BOB and 1 Group 1 to his incredible resume!
Chambrays Where Eagles Dare, with both majors and 12 points could also cross the finish line with a BOB, or by winning both Winners Dog awards this weekend.
With any of those 3 boys completing the requirements for their championship………………..they would add to the existing 5 champions for Chambray for 2015, giving us the lofty number of 6 new champions for the year……………………..a number that has in 2012 and again last year in 2014, given Chambray the country’s Labrador Breeder of the Year acclamation.
So, as the year winds down in months, the excitement builds up to a tremendous crescendo leading to the greatest dog show in the country and the possibility of Chambray achieving the pinnacle of success, back to back Breeder of the Year, 3 times in the last 4 years and an astonishing 22 new champions in those 4 years!!!!!!!
November 4th
The 2015 Eukanuba Cometh
Whoa! I just received the premium list for the Eukanuba shows……………………….and the deadline for entry is next Wednesday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now that is really a ‘whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat’ moment! Like in OMG and Holy Moly all rolled up like a summer sausage!
I am not totally ready for this! Way, way too much on my plate lately and now heaps of more to deal with!
Ok, so here goes………………………….All aboard for the Eukanuba Express and the deadline is 7 days away!
Calling all those that are game enough to make the 4-hour trek up the pike to Magic Town, to the Big O………….that’s Orlando FL for those not in the know…………………..for those not savvy with the current lingo!
So, the city is Orlando Fl.
The dates are December 8th through December 12th
The Venue is the humongous Orlando Convention Center.
Like Uncle Sam shouts out from posters and billboards “We want you!”
Well, we really want your dog! Actually we want our best dogs! The best that Chambray has to offer and go head to head with the other top Labrador breeder’s best!
That’s what the Eukanuba has turned into……………………………….the Ultimate MMA Octagon (more in-the-know lingo) venue for Labrador breeders to go knock heads with. The best of the best will lineup for the top pie in the sky award………………….the ultimate feather in the cap for blokes like me…………………..especially me that has been a bride’s maid twice and would like to add that trophy to the unparalleled collection that adorns my Labrador museum……………………I would love that Best Of Breed At Eukanuba feather to complete my chief’s war bonnet!
Being close means no banana and a banana would be what Chambray’s 25 year show career would close out with!
So, here we go and we are just now creating the roster for the Eukanuba week.
The ‘week’ comprises of 3 All-Breed Dog Shows sponsored by area dog clubs. Those start out on Tuesday December 8th followed by another on Wednesday and the third will be on Thursday.
Then comes the Labrador Retriever Club Inc. Specialty on Friday. This is an all Labrador Retriever show, judged by a well-known Labrador Retriever judge and the winner of the Best Of Breed will be anointed with a Best In Specialty Show title……………BISS. That is a huge title, only bettered by a Best In Show at an all-breed show.
Then the biggest show on earth………………………..well, really the biggest canine dog show in the USA…..yep you read right, bigger than Westminster!
So, we want to know which of our owners is game for this out of this world canine-happening? Who steps up to the plate and heads north with us to strut our stuff with the best dogs in the good old USA?
Now you know what I know and we are caught up in the whirlwind of dog show excitement!
Wait a minute…………….there’s more!
Before those blowout shows in Orlando in December, we have some unfinished business down in this neck of the woods!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There is the Davie Dog Shows on November 28th and 29th. This is our annual Labradorfest Get-Together!
This will be our 25th anniversary gathering! Since 1990 when a few of us brought sandwiches and drinks and met out in the parking lot at the 1990 December Miami Dog Show and then every year after that at that same venue until 2012 when we switched to the Davie Show at the end of November……………..we have toasted our good fortunes, our good dogs and our good associations at these end of year dog shows.
Once again, we will be meeting on Saturday November 28th out in the parking lot of the Davie Rodeo Arena at lunch time for our annual get-together!
Of course, we will also be showing our dogs at both the Saturday and Sunday shows and that deadline for entry is next Wednesday.
So I need to know who to count of for entries for the Davie Dog Shows.
Ok, now everyone get in touch with me and let me know what your pleasure is! Who’s in and who is a party pooper?
November 4th
From Our Owners & Others
Sandy -
Been reading a lot in the last few blog posts regarding outsiders (read: "haters") trying to label Chambray as a Puppy Mill? Not only do I find it annoyingly unfounded but about as hypocritical as it comes. All breeders breed and sell dogs, period. The "typical" Show breeders like you mention "keep the best, sell the rest". But of course Chambray is not typical... ALL of the Chambray puppies get sold and go to loving homes with owners that are extremely excited to have them. Not all Chambray bred dogs qualify for your highly raised bar for show conformation which are then sold as a pet, but most of the litters produced these days do qualify. Even the "Show" quality dogs go to loving homes! What happens with the other breeder/handler's that keep their best? How do those dogs live? They spend their lives in a kennel environment hoping to be a winner and when those dogs show life passes what happens? They continue to live in a kennel environment probably trying to perpetuate the breeders next generations? THAT sounds puppy mill to me! I doubt they keep their dogs in their homes. ALL Chambray dogs have a home with happy owners and become part of a real family. Yes the down side of this for you is to work with dogs that have too much "owner influence" but the upside is that you know all of your dogs live happy healthy lives in loving homes! Enough of this ridiculous puppy mill claim.
- Anonymous Chambray multi-dog owner, program participant and witness!
Makes me real mad when I hear stupid people say stupid things. I want to go tell them a thing or two, but I know you tell us not to bother and waste time with those that are mean, envy and jealosy. In my birth country, bad things happen to people like this! KP
Hi Sandy,
Just wanted to say thanks to you and the whole Chambray Team for a great weekend! Lorena and I really appreciate all of the effort, training and care you have all given to our family. Was a great first show experience for us and Max as well!
Here are some pictures that I took while we were there…
Rob
Click on small photos to enlarge
 Max wins his 3-6 Baby Class |  Max wins Group 1 |  Max wins BIS Puppy |
|---|---|---|
 Max and Jessie |  Max and Noah, future JR handler! |  Max and Lorena, his owner |
I know who you are talking about! How ironic that she would even go there. Her dogs go back to the worst puppy mill of all times in Florida!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The absolute worst place to get a puppy and even breeding those mutt silver dogs! What has she bred other than pet puppies of any quality in the last 20 years? SP
I have been a reputable Labrador breeder going on two decades. I have produced 5 champions in that time. When I consider a dog for show, I think about your dogs and how competitive my dog will be against the lineup of dogs you have at the moment. That thought, makes you my competition. I don’t have the marketing skills you have, I don’t train dogs other than my own, I don’t handle dogs other than the ones I keep. I don’t even want to build an owner’s system like you have; in fact, I really don’t know how you deal with so many people and their dogs! It would really be dumb of me to say that your dogs are inferior or of lesser quality because they are the ones that the judges are putting up with a high consistency. What would that say of my dogs that compete against yours and may not be as successful? I too have heard those that cast dispersion upon you and your dogs and I don’t want anything to do with any of them because of their hypocrisy. Too often I see some of them hub-knobbing and kissing up to you and your owners!
Please keep my identity anonymous because I don’t want to deal with those others.
From the Blogging Off Desk: Last Word On The Subject
Whoa, there will be no public lynching! No need for retribution!
Fortunately the transgressor from the past weekend is no longer breeding Labradors! We no longer have to deal with anti-social dogs cowering at the least bit of activity or slight commotion!
No more dogs that don’t know who their daddy is as happened to another Labrador breeder that bought dogs from the dubious source.
With the baggage that this person totes along, not many that hear the wails give any credence to the laments! So, all those up in arms and whose feathers were deemed ruffled, steady she goes! Keep the goods thoughts and the calmed demeanors as the perpetrator has no validity whatsoever!
Those ‘in the know’ know that anyone that lives in a glass house should never throw stones. Keeping in mind that what you sling could boomerang back in your face!
Now on to bigger and better things!
November 4th
Many have been requesting a comparison sheet or table with the Chambray offerings and what others out there offer. This is a 'cheat sheet', those really interested in adding a puppy to their family need to do an in-depth search, contacting as many sources as possible and coming up with their very own conclusions. Remember that the quality of any dog is 100% related to the quality of the person you are dealing with!
November 3rd
The Puppy Placement Process…………………Explained Again.
At Chambray Labradors we ‘place’ puppies; that is a whole lot different than ‘selling’ puppies!
“Huh?” is invariably the retort to that statement!
Huh, like in “what’s the difference?”
Dog breeders breed and sell dogs; that is as plain a process as Jane is plain! That’s the process that everyone knows and is accustomed to. Get in a car, drive way out somewhere or worst yet, order a puppy online and you are participating in the old, time-honored American way of doing business…………supply and demand at its best………………………there are tons and tons of people looking for a puppy and there are tons and tons of breeders producing megatons and megatons of puppies to ‘sell’ to those wanting to ‘buy’ them!
Then there is Chambray Labradors! Not what your grandmother was used to, not you mother, in fact the vast majority that contact us have never, ever heard of our exclusive Owners Program for the Betterment of the Breed.
Fact of the matter is, that even after those ‘deer in the headlights’ searchers for a puppy are educated about a better way……………..the Chambray way, they are left slightly in a fog about the difference in quality and service. They are left with their grandmother’s cliché, ‘If it sounds too good to be true, than it is too good to be true!”
Sorry grandma………………………that old cliché dies hard here at Chambray!
We prefer ‘An educated consumer is our only client”…………………… we ONLY want to deal with those that have open minds and can come to their very own conclusion about what is really good and what is made to look good, but really is all hot air!
It starts out with producing the best. There is no comparison……………………….in Florida we have been the top quality show breeders 20 years in a row. There is no discussing that fact, all you have to do is visit the following page By The Numbers….Number 1 is Number 1…………………in fact, we were #1 in the USA in 2012 and then like no other breeders has done, we were #1 in the USA in 2014 and so far so good for repeating again in 2015! That will be an accomplishment of the ages, 3 out of the last 4 years with the highest accomplishment ever! By the way, there has never, ever been another Florida Labrador breeder that ever reached being USA #1!
That’s the product……………………….the best Labrador Retrievers as proven by 1000’s of judges that have awarded our dogs more champion’s titles, twice as many as whomever is in 2nd place!
Then there is the service/amenities…………………………………NO COMPARISON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No other Labrador breeder……………….anywhere comes close, in fact, none even try to equal our Chambray Labradors Owner’s Programs…………………..NONE.
No other offers UNLIMITED FREE TRAINING FOR THE LIFETIME OF THE DOG!
No other offers LIFETIME SUPPORT SYSTEM.
It doesn’t exist anywhere else! Only happens at Chambray Labradors…………………guaranteed in writing to take back to grandma’s house as proof!
Now, this is where it gets interesting and different! We choose where each of our puppies will go live! We Interview each and every candidate for a 'placement', then we determine where each puppy will flourish and hopefully contribute to the breed in a succeeding generation. So, we PLACE puppies accordingly and not SELL puppies indiscriminately to whomever comes first or offers more! It doesn't work that way at Chambray.
November 3rd
99% VS 1%
99% of the time, I am devoted to our various Labrador Retriever programs, which include the mentoring of 100’s………………………………………….which collectively take up gobs and gobs of my awake time.
Stop and think about it for a moment, hundreds of owners needing to ask me that all important life-saving question at that moment………………………….at that moment because there will be another all-important life-saving moment a moment later…………………………….something like “My Rover has hiccups!” or “Poochie ate the cat’s food!” or anything and everything under the sun!
Of course there are those that are doing progesterone testing on their female that will be breeding to another of my owner’s males and I need to be on top of that situation so that I can have both the stud dog owner and the bitch owner over here for me to perform the artificial insemination at the exact required time…………………………….a service I provide each and every one of those that are part of Chambray’s Breeding Program and also the stud dog owners that are part of Chambrays Stud Dog Program.
Not only do I perform that service for those in my various programs, I also do AI’s for several other breeders of Labs and other breeds in the South Florida area , plus for several vets in the area that don’t want to fool around with a procedure that doesn’t generate enough $$$$$ for them.
Then there are those owners that rely on our 45 years of experience and expertise in every aspect of dog ownership, from nutrition, to training, from show handling to the daily ills that don’t require a vet visit………………………….the hiccups and the eating of the cat’s food kind of stuff that happens each and every day.
Then there are those 100's if not 1000's from all over the country and beyond that email asking for whatever help I can provide.
Then there are those Chambray owners that are part of the Puppy Placement Program and are raising our future super stars puppies. Think about how much time these owners require of my time! Think about how many hiccups and eating of everything those puppies can get into………………………the timely vaccinations or wormings, the weaning process with my special gruel given to each litter that ensures the absolute healthiest puppies under the sun and also the moon as well!
Then at 6 weeks of age, when those litters come to me for finishing out to their eventual placement……………….talk about me spending time in one of my various endeavors!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My puppies come first, day and night………………………I’m talking about 24 hours of dedication to them!
Most other breeders use the kennel raising method…………………………..several litters being raised at the same time in a kennel environment. At Chambray, each and every litter is home raised in the dam owner’s home. There is nothing like puppies being raised by a loving family in the home that the mother of the puppies lives at!
Another huge chunk of my time goes to the hundreds that want one of our prized puppies! This is really an OMG investment of time. For every puppy placed, I interview 5 different people which were themselves filtered out from 2 to 3 times as many people that contacted us!
Think about the numbers that I deal with here……………………about 1200 people a year inquire about our puppies, this means that I have to take the time to answer each of those inquiries!
Then I cull out those that don’t fit our criteria, so about half of those are whittled away. Then I scrutinize the remainder and insist that they come out to me for an Interview…………………………..that whittles that number to half again……………………….then the actual Interview process whittles it down some more……………………………and then I am left with the best possible ‘future owner’s list’ of twice as many people as there will be puppies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Then eventually through countless hours of lying awake and thinking and re-thinking, going over each of the emails that have gone back and forth between those that are on the waiting list……………..re-reading the Interview notes that my staff takes while I perform the Interview…………………………..then after all that, I narrow it down to those that will be offered a Chambray puppy to join their family.
Think about how much time I put into that process and OMG makes sense, because hundreds and hundreds of hours devoted to dealing with 1200 people to only end up placing less than 60 puppies a year is truly an OH MY GOD process!
The Chambray Method sure beats the ‘Innie, Meenie, Minie, Moe’ method or the “First Come First Serve’ method used by all the rest of the Lab breeders out there.
Then there is the dog training business……………………………….another OMG process that is constantly on-going……………………..day and night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Day starts early at Chambray with the dogs that are part of the In-Kennel Training, those left here for us to ply our trade with, to make them the best trained dogs there is using my 45 years of experience having trained well over 35,000 dogs in that span of time!
Then there are the At-Kennel Training clients that schedule appointments with their dogs and come for a private training session that usually lasts an hour. Most of those clients are Chambray Show Owners that get that training for free as part of their amenities package with a Show Puppy. There are others with dogs purchased elsewhere that pay $50 an hour for that same amount of personalized time with us to learn how to train their dogs.
Then there are the Night Training Classes, 3 nights a week, weather permitting…………now going into the 26th year of such an offering…………………………..averaging 15 dogs per night…………………………40 per week……………150 per month………………………………………1500 per year……………………….over 25,000 since 1989!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NEED I SAY MORE ABOUT TAKING UP MY TIME?
No other Labrador breeder is a professional dog trainer offering the one-of-a-kind breed specific expertise with Labradors! NONE!
THEN THERE IS THE SHOW MANAGEMENT PROGRAM………………………..OY VEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Talk about time consuming with each of those owners whose dogs are in this program. Talk about HIGH MAINTENANCE people and dogs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No other Labrador breeder even comes close to our offerings as show handlers in the show ring. NONE!
So, by now you get the gist about the 99% of my time devoted to all of the above POSITIVE CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE BREED!
So, right about now you should be asking “What about the other 1%?”
That 1% left is reserved for knocking the stuffing’s out of those habitual whiners, bad mouthers, gossip mongers and negative agenda dipsy doodles that are still out there churning their soured goulash gumbo that they revel in and eventually consume because they can’t soar where eagles dare!
Dispy doodles like this one that has never been able to light a candle to anything we have accomplished with the breed, having the audacity to tell one of our Chambray owners that Chambray is a puppy mill...........................yep, soured goulash gumbo eater because I would rather not say what they really are!
I actually get a kick of their antics……………………it drives me to go further with our involvement and contributions to the breed!
However, I won’t dwell more than 1% because there are far too many positives to be wasting on such backwards and negative people!
Nov 2nd
What's In A Name?
“I read your blogs every day! When you don’t post on some days, I will go back and read blogs from previous months and years. The thing I wish I knew was the people that you mention that always complaining. I know that you take the high road when dealing with those detractors, but I wish there was a way that I could know more of these peoples.” Whitney Stark…………….Labrador Lover.
For years and still today I continue to receive numerous emails and correspondence asking for names. I have always held steadfast in not giving those whiners the time of day so as to not give them any credibility, so no names is the way for me.
I hear of their laments………….. “He brings so many dogs to the shows”, “He doesn’t play fair”, “He operates a puppy mill”………………on and on we hear the litany of ‘woe is me’ dribble! Meanwhile they themselves contribute diddley to the betterment of the breed.
Oh, they breed and breed and sell puppies, so they do contribute to the population of the breed. The overwhelming majority of those puppies are never ever seen at a dog show.
Once in a super tide, full moon they may show up at a dog show with something they kept, like in keep the best and dump the rest…………..but usually those dogs that they keep amount to the diddley that they contribute to the breed!
Just this last weekend at the International shows one of the old guard Labradors breeders, long since been chased out of the Lab ring with below average, poorly socialized dogs that barely could walk through a building without cowering and shivering, was using the usual lip service heard from those others that had to hightail from the Labrador ring because they couldn’t field anything that could stand to the dogs that were winning weekend in and weekend out…………………….the Chambray dogs
So pray tell, how does this person justify labeling the Chambray dogs as puppy mill dogs when the ones they produced couldn’t even make it into the ring, let alone the building?
This from a breeder that earned the label, “Who’s Your Daddy Labradors” from several cases of wrong sires on registered litters and all this information from the actual owners of one of those dogs whose DNA did not match the sire of record! Now, that sounds like the ‘mill’ word to me.
It boggles the mind on how inept and low brow some people are that have a ‘soured at best’ reputation and then they go out casting the devil’s seed about those that they can’t hold a candle to!
So insignificant are those that can’t see the light, that their names are as inconsequential as their contributions have been to the breed, so no need to even know their names, so no names will have to do.
Now, if per chance you are ever at a dog show and you and I are having a private and personal conversation, I will be more than glad to point those nefarious skulkers and maybe you can approach them so that you can experience firsthand what they consider to be their contributions to the betterment of the breed……………………….which will amount to their bad mouthing of the one breeder that has been the most influential and most contributory Labrador breeder in Florida.
Then you will have the dribble that they produce versus the mountain of contributions on the Chambray side…………………………………..then you decide for yourself who is who and what is what and you can then apply whatever name it is that fits!
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November 2nd
Of Exultations & Lambasters
Another Great Debut & Outing For Chambray’s Newest Contribution To The Breed.
The International Show’s format gives Chambray Labradors the greatest opportunity to introduce brand new owners to the show world in an easy-going, family setting where those owners can be in the thick of the activities that their addition to their family is involved in.
Since the very first IABCA show sauntered down to Florida in the year 2000, from all the way as far west and north of the contiguous 48 states (Washington), we have been using these weekends as our developmental grounds for the newest show potential puppies that have been placed mostly with brand new owners.
So dynamic has this Chambray operation been that today the majority of exhibitors and breeders at the AKC Labrador ring were those that we recruited and introduced to the fancy at these venues! At any Florida AKC show, you can look around at ringside and I can identify more than 60% of those attending and competing with Labradors as people that took their first baby steps in the dog world at one of these International canine affairs.
I sometimes wonder how few people would be showing Labradors in Florida today if the whole Chambray influence had not been the main contributor to the Lab show ring for the last 25 years. There has never been another Florida Labrador breeder that has sponsored any type of owner’s program to help bring along new people into the fancy. Those breeders of the ‘breed’, ‘sell’, ‘keep the best to show themselves’ mentality are now starting to realize what it is that I have been doing with the breed for the last ¼ century. Of course there are still a few, like the proverbial Ostrich with its head in the sand that choose to lambast what they don’t know and then do little or nothing to better the breed themselves.
Hey, fools and pig’s ear have lots in common…………………….for one you can’t make a silk purse out of either!
Ok, back to the OK Corral……………………………..the top 15 puppies/owners from the end of 2014 and first half of 2015 litters were invited, 8 of those signed up and we went to work with them and their owners to get them ready for their first foray into the show ring. Actually 3 of those had already tested the waters at recent AKC shows and we used the 4 shows in 2 days up in Ocala as a training environment for those as well.
For those not familiar with the International format, there are 2 shows each day where the puppies and dogs receive a tremendous amount of hands on training…………………something that doesn’t happen at the real fast paced AKC shows! The judges write up a critique of each puppy that ensures that we are in the ring with that puppy 6 to 7 times longer than what happens with the ACK show format.
Not only are the puppies competing against each other in the age class, the judge is also comparing them to the breed standard and awarding each a rating as called for by the written standard. So, one goal is to bring only the top conformation level puppies to compete there. For a puppy or dog to fair well, it must receive the highest rating for the breed which is an SG1 for a puppy or a V1 for an adult.
For puppies, all 4 judges must concur and each award that puppy the SG1 for that puppy to receive the Puppy International Champion’s title. In adults, 3 judges must confer the V1 designation for the dog to be awarded the Adult International Champion’s title.
There is a 2nd level title, the National Champion award for those puppies that received 3 SG1’s and 1 SG2. Adults receiving 2 V1’s and 1 V2 will be awarded the National title.
Once the judge determines the conformational value of each dog, then they compare each dog in the class that is competing and choose 1st through 3rd place. Those puppies winning a 1st place will continue on in the competition and go head to head with the other 1st place winners from the different age group: 3 to 6 months……………..6 to 9 months and 9 to 12 months of each sex, as first boys compete against boys of the same age and then girls compete against girls and then all the first place winners are called back into the ring where the judges chooses the Best Labrador Puppy.
That puppy gets to continue and compete in the Sporting Group where puppies of each breed went through the same process and a Best Puppy of each breed moved into the Group competition.
The puppy that wins a first place in the Groups competition is designated the Winner Of A Group 1. That entitles that puppy to compete in Best In Show Puppy at the end of the day……………………………….against all the fancy, schmanzy, high falutin breeds of dogs of which the International Organization recognizes over 350 different breeds!
Well, the news is awesome for the Chambray doggie representatives, between the 8 of them, 4 Puppy Best In Shows were snapped up!
Leading the pack for Chambray was Dazzle owned by Pat and Russ Blosse of Flagler Beach. He won 2 Best In Shows and is now Int BIS Sr Puppy Ch Chambrays Shinning Diamond Dazzle. Dazzle is from the Jericho X Gavi litter.
Scoring another Best In Show Puppy is newly crowned Int BIS Baby Ch Chambrays Max Ethan Freeborough owned by the Freeborough family of Palm Beach county. Max is from Max X Little Bella litter.
Int BIS Sr Puppy Chambrays Celestial Star Girl Lily owned by Gail and Neil Deeleuw of Lakewood Ranches scooped up the 4th BIS for Chambray’s posse. Lily is from Jericho X Kika litter.
Receving their International champion’s title were:
Int/Nat Sr Int/Nat Baby Ch Chambrays A Handerin For Trouble (this was Hanks 2nd IABCA shows) Hank is owned by the Trainor Family in Citrus Spring. Hank is from Jercho X Gavi litter.
Int Baby Ch Chambrays Ruff Jewel Jackson owned by the Blount Family of South Miami, He is from Walter X Gracie litter.
Int Baby Ch Chambrays Promised Me Jewel Southern Palms owned by Scott Armstrong of Merritt Island, She is from Walter X Jewel.
Int Baby Ch Chambrays Laika Queen Of The Stars is owned by the Braun De Gample family of Sunny Isles, She is from the Walter X Gracie litter.
Nat Sr Puppy Ch Chambrays Dopson Bo Mae owned by the Pozo Family of Cutler Bay. He is from Jericho X Kika litter.
Congratulations to each of these great Chambray owners for participating in the betterment of the breed and for having a Labrador Retriever that is a testament of the breed and then doing something constructive with it that will benefit the breed for future generations. We anxiously await their continued participation at the next level of the fancy, the AKC shows adding new blood and fresh air to the Florida Labrador ring.
That brings me back to the lambasting fools, of which I understand there are still a few relics around using worn-out clichés to justify their meager existence in the breed………………………on second thought, they are not worth the 2nd thought!