Chambrays Blog June 14 to Jan 15

"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."

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.

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.

January 29th

Kind Acts That Come Back And Bite You In The End

“How does a person know if their dogs are show quality or not? I would like to get involved in breeding and also showing, especially those puppies and dogs that I will be breeding. Where can I get information if my dogs will be competitive showing?” Lindsey Shaels

Do a search for dog clubs in your area. Most clubs offer training classes that you can attend with your dogs and more than likely someone there will be active at the dog shows and can offer you more information as to who may assist you with your questions. Some club members are show dog handlers and there are even judges that are club members and they would be the best people to speak to.

There may also be show Labrador breeders in your area that you can visit and consult with. As a contribution to the breed, I offer breed standard evaluations, free of charge to anyone that has a Labrador and is intent on breeding and or showing.

Usually the best bet is to speak to the person that sold you the dogs in the first place. They may have much more experience with the breed and may be able to offer you more in-depth information on their lines of dogs.

The dog show world can be fun and rewarding for the entire family to get involved with. However it is very competitive, especially the Labrador ring. Having the right equipment is very essential in any sport you play in and breeding/showing dogs is no different.

Starting out with the best level of conformation dogs will make the experience a lot easier than going out there with less than average dogs and not be successful. Since showing dogs is a competition where dogs either win or lose……………….winning has a way of making things brighter while consistent losing will turn off the most rabid individual.

If you didn’t obtain your initial dogs from a successful show breeder, than your chances of being successful breeding those dogs to any quality that will be competitive is as distantly removed as your chances of winning a big lotto! In fact, your chances of being struck by lightning are greater than you breeding that pet stock and being successful against those at the dog shows with top conformation stock.

In my 45 years of involvement with Labradors, I have witnessed hundreds of people that began with pet stock and insisted on breeding those with the intent of showing.

All…………….no exceptions spun their wheels for years with absolute no success producing litter after litter of the same level of pet dogs. None rose to any more than what they started with. Almost all quit breeding for show by the 5th year, some still breed for the pet market. A few realized what I told them in the first place and eventually saw the light and invested in show stock and did away with the pet dogs from their breeding programs.

Realistically, I would say that out of 100 folk that approached me with the above scenario, that only 2 got the message and took my advice and waited to get into breeding after they obtained better quality dogs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That means that 98% went ahead and used those dogs that in one way or another did not conform to the breed standard………………….most had faults and structural defects…………………and they bred and perpetuated those same faults and defects to the next generation produced……………selling those puppies produced to yet another set of owners that may have wanted to get into breeding and/or showing!

Just recently I experienced a 3rd generation faux pas of the preceding!

A lady, let’s call her Sally Knows calls me to ask if I would be interested in using her ‘top show quality male’ for stud service……………..especially since the dog had Chambray in its pedigree!

I ask the usual questions as to where she obtained the dog from and she informs me the name of the person she bought the dog when it was a puppy. Sally tells me that it came from Hilda Q.

I recognize that name, Hilda Q. as someone that had been here at Chambray Acres to inquire about breeding her female 7 years earlier. Hilda Q. had purchased that female from a mass pet puppy producer that was down in Homestead using the name Del Mont Labradors (not the real name so as to not embarrass the guilty party).

At the time Hilda Q. was here with her female for breeding, I went over the poor quality her dog was and did not make our stud dogs available to her for breeding. I counseled her to look into investing in better conformational correct show quality stock. Needless to say that Hilda left here in a huff and I never heard from her again until Sally just came over with one of Hilda’s produce.

Coincidentally, the person that Hilda had obtained her dog from, Del Mont Labradors was another person that also came to Chambray Labradors years before for stud service and to inquire about obtaining breeding stock from. I took a big chance with this person and placed several top notch show prospects with her under the condition that she eliminate the pet producers from her breeding program.

Although that Del Mont breeder now deals in the show lines, it took years and years for her to eliminate the pet producers from her operation which meant that for all those years, countless numbers of people bought puppies that came from pet stock but bred to show lines (my lines).

So now it had come full circle around with Sally’s so-called ‘top show quality male’ having a Chambray dog as a grandsire. This dog and its sire and dam were the only show dogs on the 3 generation pedigree she was so proud of. The grand dam that was bred to the Chambray champion was a run of the mill dog and so were the grand sire and grand dam on the other side of the pedigree chart.

So, from mass pet producer Del Mont to Hilda Q to Sally Knows……………12 years have elapsed………………three different people/so called breeders……………….three generations of spinning wheels and going backwards for the breed and each were given the benefit of the doubt from yours truly about what they had and what they could continue to have on the path that they were headed on.

So, what did Sally Knows say when I tell her that her so-called show quality stud dog is riddled with:

breed inconsistencies (yellow eyes, slab sided, too long tail and curled over back),
faults (missing teeth, very high in the rear),
defects (severely cow-hocked)
and even 2 DQs (disqualifications, red nose and well over 26 inches tall)

“Well, he’s already produced 3 litters as a stud dog so we will see how well he produces!” Ms. Knows says with lots of pride and authority…………………………little does she really know!

Did I say 3 generations of spinning wheels, let’s now add a 4th with all the puppies that Knows Labradors is producing now!

January 28th

Of Resurrections & Exorcisms

"My grandfather was a Labrador breeder who owned and bred by the name Redlands Labradors in South Florida back in the 80/90’s and he had dozens of Best In Show winners and several dogs that won Best In Show at Westminister, so your claim of being the top breeder from Florida is wrong. I don’t live in Florida however I am resurrecting the good name Redlands Labradors in honor of my late grandfather and want him to receive his due credit of being the top Florida Labrador breeder."

Yes, I remember a backyard breeder back in the late 80’s and into the 90’s that bred Labradors down in Homestead using Redlands Labradors as a kennel name. He even visited Chambray Acres a couple of times wanting to buy “good” stock to breed to his dogs. Since I knew that he was supplying the area pet shops with puppies, I chose not to place any of our dogs with him.

For a period of time, there were dozens of those dogs and their owners that enrolled and attended our training facility and none of them had the conformation for show or even for breeding. I remember well turning away several female dogs owned by those and others that contacted me for stud service.

I can assure you that there were no Best In Show Labradors from anyone breeding Labradors from South Florida in the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, with the first Best In Show Labrador born in Florida taking a Best In Show in 2008 and that was BIS BBE Ch Chambrays Out Of The Ruff! I have the catalogs from as far back as 30 years, with some dating back to 1971 as proof positive about any cockamamie claims made by anyone.

In addition there has never in the 125+ years of Westminster where a Labrador won a Best In Show, let alone a Group 1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The national average for a Labrador to win a Best In Show is once on 3000+ shows, which translates to about 1 a year for the WHOLE COUNTRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Dozens from South Florida malarkey!

Anyone can make claims galore………………..however the proof is in the records and records don’t lie or fabricate nonsense. I hear claims, brags and boasts on a monthly basis from the countless emails and phone calls I receive…………..more than likely the vast majority are baseless to ridiculous.

I take claims like these very personal as it has taken me a lifetime (45 years) of hard work with Labrador Retrievers to reach the levels that I am now comfortable basking in.

Bring to life any name that makes sense to you and then commence on working hard to establish a breeding program that will serve the Betterment of the Breed and maybe you will be lucky if you get somewhere in the next 20 years with that mission in mind.

January 28th

How Rare Do You Order Your Meat?

With all the hoopla and hullabaloo that our newest grand champion, Gr Ch Chambrays Tucker Everlasting has generated with his back-to-back Best Of Breeds and then back-to-back Group 1 wins at the last weekend of shows of the Florida Winter Circuit in Ocala……………many are asking how difficult it is for a Labrador to take that coveted first place from the Sporting Group competition………….a Group 1 if you will.

Rare comes to mind……………..in fact in all our years of showing and winning at a higher clip than all the other state Labrador breeders, there have only been 13 Group 1’s won by Chambray dogs. That’s thousands of shows where Chambray dogs won 281 Best Of Breeds, which led to those 13 Group 1’s, if my math still serves me well, that’s a little more than 4 ½ % of the time when one of our dogs wins a Best Of Breed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now, in all reality, that 4 ½ % is way more than other area breeders that won a Best Of Breed with their Labs, because I don’t recall too many Group 1’s being won by anyone else…………….maybe one in a rare, blue moon being eclipse by the sun’s shadow……………..or once when a class dog needed to go Best Of Breed, PLUS a Group 1 over all the Lab champions AND all the sporting dogs in order to win the needed major to finish its championship........................which incidentally doesn’t happen much, never mind the moon, stars and heavenly planets!!!!!!!!!!

Now magnify winning back-to-back Group 1’s by the same dog……………..something that has only happened twice with Chambray, first time in 2008 with BIS BBE Ch Chambrays Out Of The Ruff “Hogan”, Tucker’s grandfather…………well you do that math and you get that picture!!!!!!!!!!

By the way those Group 1 wins were amassed by the following dogs:

BIS BBE Ch Chambrays Out Of The Ruff “Hogan” with 3
BIS BBE Silver Ch Chambrays Celestial N Counter “Kika” with 2……….Hogan granddaughter.
BBE Gr Ch Chambrays Ruff Jewel Walter with 2………..Hogan grandson, Bailey* son
Gr Ch Chambrays Tucker Everlasting with 2………..Hogan grandson.
Ch Chambrays Mad About Madeline with 2
Ch Chambrays Miracle Of The Meadow w/1…………Hogan grandson, Bailey* son
Ch Chambrays Franco w/1

*Bailey is BBE Ch Chambrays Bailey On The Rocks…….Chambray's top Group 1 get producer w 2 get.

Also Hogan, Bailey and Walter are 3 successive generations of grandfather, father to son of Bred-By Exhibitor champions.........dogs bred-by and handled from the Bred-By Exhibitor class to all their wins for their AKC championship!

January 28th

Winning, The Good Old Fashion Way.................Hard Work!

“Somehow it doesn’t seem fair that your group has so many great dogs that you all can bring to the dog shows and there are some breeders and owners that may only have one dog that is good enough to compete against your so-called lineup!”

Yep, heard that before, not once………..hundreds of times is more like it!

Here is my suggestion………..for the next Olympics let’s make the USA bring out only 1 of their elite swimmers or runners…………only 1 so that Mali, Fiji, and all the other countries with less than stellar stars will have a chance of winning something………..yeah, that’s the ticket!

Competition to determine the best doesn’t work that way! If limiting the number of the best, then mediocrity becomes the rest……………………..that’s not going to be conducive for selecting which dogs are the best to perpetuate the breed to the next generation. Only the best should be on the front lines, so that the best of the best are the ones that will win at a higher percentage and earn their titles against the best lineup of dogs.

Then and only then will you have dogs that are truly worthy of carrying the champion’s titles in front of their names. The opposite of that scenario is having a bunch of lesser quality dogs winning against other lesser quality dogs and then every dog can have a champion’s title……………………..what good is that? That will breed mediocrity at best, less than that at worse!

Less is not best when deciding which really the best is! The more the better with the likelihood that the better dogs will win the points and go on to win their titles the good old fashion way……………..earning it with hard work and the best product/service!!!

So, to all those that want it the easy way, there is always the highway………….like in loading up the van, SUV, truck or whatever mode of transport and hightailing it to parts north & west of Florida where the sun and the competition may not be as bright. The only problem with that is that we too will be loading up and heading for parts unknown to divvy up those available points for the big lineup of great dogs we sport.

January 28th

Happy Days Are Here Again

Ok now, Sandy is a happy camper!

Just finished the entries for the Lakeland dog shows and we are back with our ‘More Is Better’ way of doing things!

No more skimpy, limited roster of our dogs……………leaving behind a cadre of dogs that could, would and should win at the same rate as those making the trek…………………no siree Bob, Bill or Ted……. let’s bring on our best and put the wimpy ideas to rest!

In the dog eat dog world that we all delve in, the guys/gals with the biggest guns get their way and so too is the law of the land at the dog shows…………………..you have the goods on hand, no reason to be shy, having the best is no sin……………….so Lakeland here we come with a bevy of our best boys and girls and also 3 of our top champions to boot…………….and may the best dogs win!

We are also building up an even bigger lineup of dogs for the West Palm Beach and the Ft Lauderdale dog shows where the majority of our owners live and can come out in force with their dogs to show.

There’s nothing like having the luxury of dozens of the top show dogs in the country to work with and to bring them on to the world of showing dogs.

So, these last 3 weekends of shows in January, working with a reduced roster really got to me. Knowing that there were some of our best dogs back at home raised my competitive hackles a bit………………………..actually more than just a bit!

So, Sandy is a happy boy with a big grin…….knowing that we are fully loaded and hunting for bear, bees or in this case Winner’s Points and Breed/Group wins!

January 27th

Random Thoughts & Questions

“I noticed that many of your dogs have ‘N Counter’ as part of their name, why is that?” LM

“Where can I find more information on WinQuest Labradors since there are quite a few dogs that share that name with your Chambray dogs.” CC Wilson

“How many different breeders and kennels do you co-breed with?” Dave

“Why are there some dogs that are not bred by you that are part of your programs?” TQ

The preceding questions come in weekly from all over the globe. I never imagined that something we do with our dogs way over here in South Florida could have so much interest throughout the Labrador world community. The following synopsis will more or less cover some of those questions.

In 1990 Chambray Labradors opened its doors to any and all that had the best interest of Labradors in mind. This was the beginning of the Owner’s Programs that now are the driving force behind Chambray Labradors.

The idea was to bring together a community of dog owners, Labrador owners in particular that could pool in their collective resources to benefit the breed……………..all of this centered around us as the breeders.

Along this most successful venture, awesome associations have been formed, some leading to the establishment of secondary kennel names such as WinQuest, N Counter, Guardian, Scuba and several others with less impact.

Not all owner/breeder associations necessitated forging new kennel names as the vast majority of those that joined our various programs worked under the guidance and mentorship using the name of Chambray Labradors.

WinQuest Labradors was formed with Geraldo Desouza in 1999 and together we have bred a couple of litters a year since then. The main lines of these breedings were established using outside lines independent of our main Chambray lines. Geraldo is more like a silent partner who works better away from the limelight and thus not much is seen or is heard from him, I state that because there are many inquiries about him and his involvement with our programs.

N Counter is a kennel name that my daughter, Jessie and I founded back in 2001 with one of our females, Chambrays Chance N Counter bearing the first N Counter surname. Since then there have been 4 generations from that original dog that also bear the N Counter last name. Four years ago, one of our owners and close ally, Juan Marrero was incorporated into the N Counter Labrador name as a co-breeder. Many of his dogs now carry both Chambray & N Counter.

We will form associations, co-breedings and whatever is in the best interest of the breed……………the Betterment of the Breed, first and foremost is our working mantra.

“Did you all make it to #1 Labrador Breeder for 2014?” JT

Of course we are chaffing at the bit to know ourselves! As far as I know, there was only one other breeder in November with 5 new AKC champions for 2014. We finished #6 that month and ended up the year with the same number that made Chambray #1 for 2012! So, all our fingers and toes are crossed, all our ‘i’s’ are dotted and we anxiously await the year end totals to be made public by the record keepers, the AKC. Now truth be told, a little birdie from that esteemed club made mention with a wink of an eye that ‘good news’ was on the way! So, hold on and sit a spell and I will make it major front page news if the good news is indeed what we are hoping for.

“How do you keep up with all your winnings, records and accomplishments?” Neil

I do that with a great tremendous amount of pride! Each and every dog we have raised, trained, conditioned and then presented at the dog shows is the end product of what a show breeder is all about. It is the defining criteria that determines if a breeder is successful or just spinning their wheels.

There are a vast number that are spinning their wheels…………………..there are a small number that find themselves on a consistent basis standing in the mythical ‘Winners Circle’! I cherish each and every trip made to that prized location…………………it spells

‘s-u-c-c-e-s-s’!

So, keeping up and documenting all that success keeps it all real and in perspective……………..that being the setting of benchmarks, records and accomplishments for all those others to strive for and of course for Chambray to do even better the following year.

“How do you determine which of your owner’s dogs will be the ones that actually make it to the shows?” SM

The number one criteria is that they must be top-notch show conformation otherwise they won’t make the show handing roster in our Show Management Program. Then and only then do we begin to consider the owner’s individual situation for inclusion into our roster.

At times, there several dogs of the same age, same type and same color and a decision is made to alternate shows between them. So in this case, one or two may be taken to a particular weekend of shows and the others will remain back at home.

There may be instances where finances will hold back a dog for a period of time and other times a dog’s conditioning may not be the best and it may be held back until it comes back into the desired shape.

The great luxury that we have at Chambray Labradors is that there are always several dogs waiting their turns to strut their stuff in the show ring.

“How many dogs do you all have currently in your show management program?” DF

This figures varies from week to week as owners come and go according to their lifestyles and other commitments. I would say there are 30 active show owners that are fully committed to their dogs. Most of these owners take advantage of the private training afforded each Chambray Show Quality dog, most attend the 3 nights a week sessions for training and conditioning, some leave their dogs for periods of time to receive In-Kennel Training provided by the trainers of Team Chambray.

Besides those 30, there are probably another 15 owners that are on and off and not as committed, but can be summoned up to the task at hand if needed.

On top of those numbers there are another 50 to 60 owners that participate in our Stud Dog Program and in our Puppy Placement Program for producing the 8 to 10 annual litters.

January 27th

The ‘Pin The Tail On The Donkey’ Breeding Program

Ah, the games we played when we were kids………………...the old time favorite was Pin The Tail On The Donkey. A willing participant was blindfolded, spun around several times and then stood in front of the illustrated donkey poster that was hung on a wall. What were the chances that anyone could actually pin the tail in the exact right location without peeking from underneath the blindfolds?

Slim to never would be an appropriate answer, because in the 100’s of times that I played the game as a child and then later supervised my own kids playing the game………………never, ever did anyone really hit the sweet spot of where the tail actually went!

That’s why right now, right here I am coining a brand new, but very appropriate phrase to label the type of breeding that people do with blind folds on!

I am bestowing the name ‘Pin The Tail On The Donkey Breeding Program’ on what I am about to describe further down.

Now here is the clincher…………………..their eyes are wide open and they can actually see. But in essence they, like the kids of yesteryear playing the blindfolded donkey game are more or less groping in the dark because the method they are using to breed their dogs involves as much skill/luck as pinning the donkey’s tail with blinders on!!!!!!!!!!

“Whoa Nelly” you say. What in tarnation are you diatribing* about?

*made up word.

An interested party approaches me for information about breeding their bitch. So far so good, nothing out of the norm about that. Then more information is provided as follows:

“It’s a stud dog that is being used a lot from up north! I don’t know his name, but it is one of the more current stud dogs out there.”

My question to them was “Have you seen anything it is producing?”

Answer, “No”.

My next query is “Have you taken stock of your dog and identified her strong points, her neutrals and her weaknesses (negatives)?”

Answer, “No”.

My next suggestion “Have you listed the stud dog’s strengths, neutrals and negatives?”

Answer, “No”.

So this then would be a ‘Pin The Tail On The Donkey Breeding Program’!

January 26th

Taking Off Where We Left Off

Nothing like starting the 2015 New Year exactly where we left off the year before………………..on a winning note, right on top!!!!!!!!!!!!

The consecutive dog show weekend winning streak is now at the big 100 mark! That’s winning at every weekend that Chambray competed at since January 2012!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Totally unheard of and probably not to be bested anytime soon! By the way, for Bob and anyone else seeking the “proof”, a little leg work can be done by going over every weekend of dogs shows that are listed and available at the www.chambraylabradors.net

On top of all that hoopla, we finish off the first month of dog shows by crowning a brand new AKC Grand Champion……………the 13th Grand Champion for Chambray Labradors………………winning 2 Sporting Group 1’s……………..making them the 12th & 13th Group 1’s for Chambray………………both of those BOB’s & Gr 1’s make him the Top Labrador in Florida in both the Labrador breed and also in the all-breed rankings. Major kudos to new Gr Ch Chambrays Tucker Everlasting.Those 2 BOBs now give Chambray a total of 281 lifetime BOBs.

Tuckers 2 BOBs and another Chambray dog, Chambrays Cover Girl “Willow” taking a Best Of Breed, gave Chambray top BOB honors with 3 out 12 shows that we competed at the 2015 Florida Winter Circuit.

Besides Willow taking a 4pt Major win, Best Of Winners and Best Of Breed, Chambrays Cajun N Counter also was in the Winners Bitch conga line with her own WB for 2 points, missing a Major by 1 absent female!

Congratulations to our awesome dogs and their even awesomer owners!

January 21st

One More Weekend For The Road

The van is almost loaded back up for the 4 days of shows in Ocala FL starting tomorrow Thursday, January 22nd. I state that because we breakdown the entire van, from front to back, emptying out every crate, bin, box and whatnot after every weekend of shows!

Of course everything that can be washed in bleach/water is done and the rest is Lysoled, from floors to walls and anywhere else where germs and bacteria can set up house!

Then, right before heading north on the Florida turnpike or west over via I-75……………..it all must be loaded…………………configured to how many dogs are making the trip and also how many of Team Chambray’s handlers are riding in the Silver Bullet van.

There are times that the van is solely used for dog transport and a second vehicle is used for the rest of the ‘people’ cargo!

Since I came up with the limited show dog roster idea (maybe not so good one at that), all of the doggies and crew fit amply in the large Mercedes van.

I will have to take stock after this weekend’s four shows and figure out whether bringing a limited number of dogs to the January shows was such a good idea or not! It is very difficult going into competition with only half of your best dogs! That means that sitting back at home were dogs that could/would/should have won points where some of those that made the trip fell a little short of the winners circle.

Oh well, live and learn……………..so the thinking cap will be firmly in place during the 5 hour ride north up to Ocala and of course on the way down for another 5 hours south on Sunday with all the results of the 2 past weekends (8 shows) in Brooksville and these 4 shows as well!

So far we have kept the consecutive weekend winning streak alive where it is now sitting on 99 straight dog show weekends of winning……………..but with less of our top dogs at the shows, we have just scraped out a couple of wins at the 2 Brooksville weekends.

So, now we go to work on getting ready for the local Florida competition, as the northern professional handlers head back to the freezing temperatures of their Siberian-like state locations.

First up is the Lakeland shows on Friday Feb 13th and Saturday the 14th. On Fen 28th and March 1st will be a local South Florida show in West Palm Beach and 2 weeks later we will be even closer to home at the Ft Lauderdale Dog Club shows in Davie.

Most of our local owners are chomping at the bit for these 2 venues of shows, so we should have a real good turn of the Chambray Owner’s Program.

After this long trip and 4 day weekend of shows, I am looking forward to taking the next 2 weekends off from the long driving and cold weather we have been working through up in central Florida.

January 21st

It's Back To Work Time At Chambray
After This Weekend's Shows In Ocala

Great News!

Training & Show News that is!

Just what the doctor ordered! We will finally be home most of the month of February for you all to come over for training with your dogs.

In fact, we will be offering the AKC’s Canine Good Citizen (CGC) Training & Testing for everyone that owns a Chambray dog with no charge for by us for providing the class time! You only pay the AKC for the testing material and certificate.

This is Chambray’s 4 Weeks of Wednesday Night Training and then on the 5th week we administer the CGC Test and those that pass the 10-Item Evaluation Test will be awarded the title CGC by the AKC to be added to the dog’s name!

Sounds great, right? Plus, it is all free for you to bring your dog, work with your dog and learn how to train it in order for it to be a better member of society. Only Chambray Labradors provides this valuable training tool to its owners, so take advantage of this great opportunity. Since 1997, we have worked with the AKC and their CGC Program at matches, shows, seminars, workshops and most of all through our training classes and have trained well over 1500 dogs for the CGC and have passed well over 99% of those dogs trained!

The 1st night we will meet will be Wednesday, February 4th at 7 PM. Then every Wednesday night in February (weather permitting) with the test being administered on Wednesday March 4th.

We will also be available on the weekends as follows:

Feb 7/8
Feb 15
Feb 21/22

Dog Show News:

For those dogs/owners that are in our Show Management Program, as soon as this weekend of shows in Ocala is over, we will begin to concentrate on the following:

The Lakeland Dog Shows on February 13/14 (yes, that’s a Friday and Saturday show).
The WPB Shows on Feb 28-March 1st
The Davie Shows on March 14/15

We would like to have a great turn out for the WPB and Davie shows which are local and most of our South Florida owners can attend and bring their own dogs (saving $$$ in traveling expenses), plus the whole family can come out and root your own dog on.

Now that Jessica Herzon is working at Chambray Acres full time, we have more time and energy to take dogs on for conditioning and advanced training. So we want you all to take advantage of the added offerings to make your dogs that very best there is in the Labrador world.

For those dogs outside of Chambrays Owner's Programs, there is a nominal fee of $25 for the 4-weeks of training and $10 for the test and testing materials, plus of course the AKC's fee for their certificate.

Ok, now the ball is on your side of the court, we are waiting to hear from you.

JANUARY 15TH 2015

Before I Leave For Brooksville Dog Shows

It is very difficult to explain to dog show newcomers and new dog owners how dog shows work, especially “winning points”…………………………winning points that will lead to their dog being a show champion!

First of all very few fathom how extremely difficult it is to produce top show quality in the first place.

That it doesn’t matter that a dog has “AKC Papers” that would make it a show dog………………….however for it to show, it must have those AKC papers, but just merely having those papers does not make it show quality!

That last paragraph probably should be re-read a couple of times for it to make sense to some.

Taking that premise a bit deeper, you would find a needle in a haystack way before you could find a champion prospect puppy from the couple/three hundred thousand bred each year!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes, you read right……………………….over 300,000 Labrador puppies are born each year!! Although the AKC doesn’t release the actual numbers registered each year with them, that number is way over 175,000 per year.

To that gargantuan number, there are another 150,000 that are not registered with the AKC or some of those may not even be registered at all…………..so over 300,000 cute as pig’s ear Lab puppies waiting to be taken to their new homes EACH YEAR!

Remember the needle in the haystack? Well someone that sets out to purchase a puppy from that huge haystack of puppies and wants to show it and have it win enough to become and AKC champion will have better odds of getting struck by lightning even in the lightning capital of the US, Central Florida!

Yep, take cover because there are less than 100 new Labrador champions per year out of the 300,000+ that are born yearly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not good odds at all.

Heck, just finding a top show breeder that will sell a top show prospect will take angst, helicons and high water, all the cows coming home, hell freezing over and a double rainbow at 12 o’clock midnight before any of them part with their best shot………………plus a very shiny, pretty penny will have to be forked over, with a litany of paybacks due…………………..that’s if any of them will sell one of those prized beauties!

So, let’s say that a top show breeder will place a top show prospect……………….keep in mind that not all puppies produced by the top show breeder will have what it takes to go all the way to the AKC promise land of being a champion.

But, let’s just ‘assume’ that a miracle does happen and a top prospect show puppy does materialize out of that Lab puppy haystack. What are the realistic chances of it making it to the mythical ‘winners circle’ reserved for the very few?

Listen up as here comes reality!

There is tons of training and conditioning way, way before even entering in a dog show.

Then at 6 months of age, the puppy must begin to go and compete at the dog shows!

That’s compete against dogs of all ages, from puppies the same age to well-worn adults of say 1 to 7 years of age!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, you read right……………….that 'one in who knows how many' puppy actually competes against real big, mature fully developed dogs AND it has to BEAT them all to win any POINTS!

Just winning 1st Place from the Puppy Class is not enough! It then has to go head to head with dogs that have been around the block countless times and they too need those ‘winning points’ to become champions!

To become champion, a dog or puppy needs to win 15 POINTS!

Points are assigned according to how many dogs of the same sex are competing.

For instance in Florida to win 1 point, there has to be 2 dogs competing.

To win 2 points, there has to be a minimum 9 dogs competing.

To win 3 points which is considered a 3-Point Major, 15 dogs have to be defeated.

A 4-Point Major is 22 dogs

A 5-Point Major is the maximum amount of points at any show regardless of how many dogs are competing as long as at least 34 dogs are competing.

So, let’s add intrigue to the original 15 points needed to be a champion…………….2 of the show won have to be Majors under 2 different judges!

So, 15 points and 2 majors are needed to become one of those rare AKC champions!

Now theoretically (it has happened) a dog can win 3 back-to-back shows worth 5-Point Majors each and finish their AKC champion’s title in those 3 outings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Remember hell freezing over? Well, I wouldn't hold my breath no matter how awesome a dog or puppy may be…………………………in 25+ years of showing Labs……………….with Chambray setting all kinds of state and even national records………………….it hasn’t happened yet to us!

I hope the preceding answers a few questions and that it doesn’t frightened too many away from showing their dogs…………………but it does take much more than finding that proverbial needle in a haystack.

Of course aligning oneself with the more successful show breeders will dramatically improve one’s chances of reaching the top of the hay mound!

January 15th 2015

“We thoroughly enjoyed the dog show that you invited us to attend at Brooksville last week. There were so many wonderful Labradors competing that I really don’t know how anyone can pick out just one winner.

You dogs and your owners are all first class and we also met a few other breeders and owners that were a pleasure to speak to. All of them had good things to say about you and your programs.

I guess the great qualities of the breed passes on to those that own and breed them.”

Riley James and family

It was my pleasure to have spent some time with you and your family at the show. I hope that you all continue your interest in owning and maybe getting involved with our Owner’s Programs. Yes, there are excellent sources of well-bred Labradors both here in Florida and also by many of those breeders that sent their best dogs down here with professional handlers to compete in the Florida Winter Circuit.

I have always maintained that the quality of the dogs bred is a direct result of the quality of the people breeding them. If you deal with shady characters, then the product can only rise to their level…………likewise dealing with those that have the betterment of the breed in mind will produce much better results.

Taking that last premise a level higher…………….dealing with those that have established themselves as the upper echelon of quality produced, with proven success year after year will ensure that your chances of obtaining the best is well at hand.

January 14th

I have been receiving lots of emails asking why there haven’t been daily blogs lately, well there is only one of me and my hands have really been full…………………..plus I have been mostly one-handed for the last 3 weeks with an infection to one of my fingers that took over the whole hand.

Of course getting ready for the first weekend of shows in January, actually 5 consecutive days of shows up in no man’s land of Brooksville FL really takes a lot of doing……………………not to mention that I have a litter of puppies underfoot here at Chambray!

Not just any litter of puppies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! These are from our top show producer stud dog extraordinaire Bronze Grand Ch Summithills Joshua’s Battle At Jericho…………….recent recipient of the Labrador Retriever Clubs Inc. 2013 Top 25 Tribute Award.

Jericho was bred to one of the top Chambray show champion females of all times, BBE Gr Ch Chambrays First N Counter “Gavi”…………………..she being the newest champion producer with her offspring Ch Chambrays Razor’s Edge Thunderstruck “Bob”. Gavi also has the awesome distinction of having won the 2012 Eukanuba National Championships Select Grand Champion Award 5-Pt Major.

In her first litter she was bred to Ch Blackthorn Rock U Too “Bono”, producing an outstanding litter with Bob finishing his championship before he was 18 months old and another of the dogs in the litter being champion-pointed. This new litter to Jericho promises even greater things to come as the evaluations place the whole litter in the top 5 of all times at Chambray.

So, with one good hand working, getting dogs and owners ready for 12 shows in January and a new litter to tend to…………………….blogs will be doled out as time and energy permit, so for most of my faithful followers thank you for your patience and as always there will be good stuff to come!

January 13th

Show Report From Brooksville FL Week 1

Inclement and brutal was the weather the first couple of days!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Even the northern handlers were suffering big time with the below freezing temps and gale force squalls that were raking the show grounds all day the first day. It did ease up on the 4th day and then on Monday the 12th, it was downright sweaty Florida weather!

I predicted a low turnout by the northern handlers and I could not have been more wrong!!!!!!!!!! In fact, very few of the local Florida Lab fanciers showed up, 4 or 5 at the most and the rest were snowbirds swooping down from the below zero weather they have been dealing with up in states due north of the Florida border.

The biggest breeder winner was BiGi Labradors (NY) taking 2 Best Of Breeds and 2 Winners Dog. The Chambray dogs managed 1 Best Of Breed, 1 Winners Bitch, 1 Best Of Opposite Sex and 3 Select Grand Champion awards.

All in all, the level of competition was at an all-time high from the vast majority of the dogs entered.

January 7th

Let's Play Ball! (Tomorrow)

It’s now 7 days into the New Year, so far so good! Today we leave for the first dog show weekend of the year………….actually 5 days of shows in Brooksville, starting on Thursday January 8th through Monday the 12th.

We have done the behind the scenes activities with our dogs, with training and conditioning and now we look forward to putting it all together with performance! Of course way before the training and conditioning there was the breeding to produce the best possible conformation quality Labradors to begin with.

If any of the above ingredients are missing then success is a long shot proposition at best and certain failure the vast majority of the time. That is the state of affairs in the Florida Labrador ring! There are no two ways about it……………….preparations way before show time and then presentation in the ring is the win/win combination.

There are many that resist that thesis, instead many still believe in all types of conspiracy theories. Although there has been vast improvements in the Labrador ring atmosphere in the last couple of years, there are still those that play the blame game on everything else but what really ails.

“He knows the judges” and all that infers is still one that I hear humming after the awards have been doled out.

Well, truth be told………………there is some truth to that saber-toothed tiger……………… ‘Knowing the judges’ goes a long way in planning what dogs to present to each of them! That information is available to all that show dogs. All you need to do is keep a running record of what certain judges put up over a period of time and there will be tendencies that can be detected and acted upon.

For whatever reason, some judges prefer one color over another, some like the moderate sized dogs over the large, heftier versions, some like a dog presented ‘au natural’ while others prefer that the handler do his/her job and actually do some handling of the dog while in the ring……………………and then there is always the vice versa! So knowing these peculiarities goes a long way in creating an edge in winning with certain dogs.

“He brings a lot of dogs”……………ah, the lament of all that can’t! Of course if they could…………..they would……….but they can’t so they lament!

I hear this chronic chime endlessly and I know that no matter how it is detailed, explained, simplified or demonstrated…………………bottom line is that no other Labrador breeder anywhere near here or even real far away can assemble the number of dogs that can and will win at any given show under randomly selected judge…………………..none! That includes local shows, out of state shows, the ‘real’ big shows, breeder/judged specialties, the Winter Circuit and the biggest of the all, Eukanuba!

What wins is QUALITY over QUANTITY. I will put up my very best male and best female class dog and challenge any other breeder in Florida to bring out what they consider their best 10 females and best 10 males and I will guarantee that the 2 dogs I bring will win 80% of the time over those 20 brought by a competitor!

So, following that bouncing ball, if I were to bring on my best roster of males and females against all comers at the dog shows who logically are bringing their best dogs and we win at that same 80% of the time………………IRON FACT, proven by wins at 97 straight dog show weekends.

So as assuredly as the sun will rise in the east and set in the west, there will always be a chorus of those that fall short and then come up with whatever excuse the next bloke will agree with.

Well, we don’t have time for that nonsense, because no sooner have we wrapped up another day’s performance that we are already into our preparations for the next day’s agenda.

I just finished loading the dogs that are traveling with us and the rest of the van is packed and ready to go. Of course we will meet some more of our dogs up min Brooksville for each show.

For 2015, we have decided on a ‘limited’ roster of our dogs. Last year we had a difficult time creating the starting team roster and cutting it down to the usual numbers, so we opted to take a ‘loaded’ roster of our 10 best class males and 10 best class females.

The results were phenomenal. Most of the dogs ended up winning points, the only thing was that they ended up dividing more than 80% of the available points for the year between themselves…………….that’s a great thing, however individually each could have done so much better without our own dogs being the competition.

So, this year we opted to have only 5 class males and 5 class females for our working roster per set of shows. The roster will change from month to month as we alternate dogs, giving each a much better chance at winning without the rest of the Chambray dogs showing.

The OCD competitor in me cringes at the thought of leaving what could be some of our top dogs behind at any given weekend……………………however the team player in me sees and acknowledges that this will concentrate the wins among a few number of our dogs and benefit each of those with the possibility of finishing their championship much sooner with less expense.

Let’s see how homey’s strategy works.

January 4th 2015

The Emails Keep On Coming In.

Each morning when I first open up my email program, they come in droves………………each seeking that pearl of wisdom, that one word that will give them the enlightenment they are searching for “Do you have puppies for sale?”

More of them now come with an inkling of a ‘difference’, in fact lots more than say a short 5 years ago, however the overwhelming majority know only that ‘breeders’ produce puppies for sale and that there are countless numbers of those little bundles of fur romping at will somewhere, ready to be seen and given a new home as human impulse beckons, “Yep, that’s the one I want to take home with me right now!”

Driving to a farm out in the country is the old American dream of adding a new canine member to the family………………those searching families now have been educated by the media and other noble outlets that there are ‘wrong’ places to obtain a man’s best friend and that dealing with the source is the best to ensure good health and longevity. Of course the worst place for obtaining a new member of the family would be from one of those mass-producing puppy mills that are full of ill and little goodwill.

Like everything in life, things seem simpler from afar and the scenario of adding a puppy to a household takes a fork in that country road when it involves Chambray Labradors. This is where it becomes a little bit of a task to explain to most puppy searchers that there are a limited number of puppies at Chambray, but a very limited number of them, about 75 a year with about 1000 or more request for the same. So, definitely way, way more seekers than supply…….hence the need for further education on our part to those inquiring minds.

Chambray, unlike the vast number of Labrador breeders………………..we only breed for the top levels of quality of conformation………..conformation being dog show grade quality. This calls for the perfect temperament and the perfect breed type.

This then becomes one of the discernable differences between Chambray and those supplying the puppy pet market……………this becomes ‘quality breeding’ over ‘quantity breeding’ by that vast majority.

In other words, it must act like the breed and it must look like the breed as well. Not a ‘reasonable facsimile’…………..not ‘close enough’ as that’s not good enough………..it must be a perfect representative of the breed standard…………that breed standard is the written blue print that every certified breed of dog has in place as a reference for every breeder to follow that breeds them. Quality breeding ensures that the dog will look and act as the breed is supposed to……………whereas quantity breeding ensures that there will be tons of cute puppies to choose from any day of the week.

We can and do ensure the best for each of our puppies produced, not likely when numbers are the goal.

In order to prove that those dogs produced do conform to that written breed standard and are of the highest conformational quality, there are dog shows where licensed connoisseurs of those breeds act as judges to select the absolute best specimens which then should be the eventual perpetuators of future generations. In other words, the best of the breed to produce the next best generation and so on.

This then is the guiding light at Chambray Labradors. So, what is difficult about that you may be asking?

If you were asking, that’s a good thing! Because there are many that do not want to know any further, for them a puppy is a puppy and it may not matter how it got to be a puppy. For those people I have no answers that will suffice, well at least no reasonable answer that would make any sense to a closed mind. I know, because I have tried for 45 years to make sense to some and nowadays I prefer to deal with those that are open to enlightenment.

So, for the open minded, here comes that fork in the road that I mentioned previously.

Chambray puppies are not born in kennels way out in the country! They actually are born in good old American homes, maybe right next to those seeking the information in the first place.

So, there goes the good old American dream about breeder/kennels way out somewhere……..but wait, that’s the real good news! We have a better way, a real down-home way……………….in fact a real home where they are all born at! They are born where each of our top show quality mothers live…………….in someone’s home!

That’s it!!!!!!!!!! That’s the pearl of wisdom………………..that’s the difference………….vive la difference!

That’s how it’s done………..no smoke and mirrors……………………no ‘now you see them breeder, now you don’t’, or here today, long gone tomorrow breeders……………..in fact Chambray celebrates its 45th year with Labradors, 42 of those years at the same place, Chambray Acres……………….25 of those years featuring Chambrays Owner’s Programs For The Betterment Of The Breed and that’s where the big difference occurs!

That difference is that our puppies are born inside of loving homes with the whole family involved in the delivery and the rearing of the litter with the mother right in her own home! That makes a huge……….no, make that humongous difference………..let’s even take that to the next level, the top most level where few if any can dare to dwell…………..real rarefied-air difference because it doesn’t get any better than this.

That is the Chambray difference, the best generation after generation of Labradors produced in loving homes making even ‘better’….a better way, maybe even the making of a new American dream where puppies are born and raised just like they will be lovingly living in a new home at 8-weeks of age in their new family’s home…………………………….and it all starts over again…………….our very best dogs living in loving homes where eventually they will pay it forward one day by producing the next superb generation of Chambray puppies.

Did I mention that it doesn’t get any better than this?

January 2nd 2015

Introduction To Showing Your Dog

The majority of Chambray owners have not had much experience in the art and fancy of showing dogs.

Of course they all know that Chambray Labradors is one of the top show breeders in the country, but few have an inking on how it all works……………how we all get to be that ‘top breeder’.

Notice that I state ‘we’……………….that’s because each and every Chambray owner is included in that top honor claim.

So, bear with me as I do my very best to ‘show’ each the way.

Of course it starts with breeding the best to produce the best…………….that’s where each new owner comes in…………….you each start out with the best show quality Labrador in the country.

Now, we (we again) will work together to prove to all that we do have the best! That’s where the showing part comes in…………………we must show our dogs at dog shows where approved judges……..act as judges to judge just which dogs are indeed the best!

Sound simple so far?

Well……………………..it gets a little complicated, but that’s where I come in to guide each and every new, existing, and old Chambray owner along.

I am the guiding light for the whole kit and caboodle………….it starts with me and ends with me………………like the master of ceremonies, or maestro or MC or whatever tickles your fancy, I oversee the whole operation…………………and operation it is!

But fret not, because I have the best interest for all involved, starting with the Best Interest for the Breed and extending to each and every chickadee that owns one of our precious Labradors.

So, only the best of the best will breed and only the best of the best will show……………..which in turn will be the ones that will breed to produce the best of the best that will show. Around and around we go and only the merry-go-round operator (the Little Old Wine Maker, me) knows where we stop and where we go……………but I promise each and all a great ride!

So, once we have bred those great puppies and I have chosen those great new owners for those awesome puppies…………….we then provide all of our great programs for the advancement of the breed.

We start out training puppies even before they leave for their new homes and we continue that training as the need sees fit with the owners participating in private sessions and also night training classes, whatever it takes to achieve the results we know are the best.

All of that so that we have the best behaved Labradors possible, plus we start the encouraging of taking those really great puppy/dogs even further…………………further being to the shows where those accredited judges will do their jobs and select the best dogs and those dogs then win enough to become champions.

Ah, there’s the catch…………show enough to become champions! Not merely showing up, but winning against other dogs that their owners and breeders thought were good enough to win and also become champions.

At Chambray Labradors, we take the very best of our dogs (your dogs) and we train, condition and handled to the very best in order to achieve the highest success at the dog shows. That’s why we are by far and wide #1 Labrador breeder in Florida and in the Top 5 USA……………#1 in 2012 USA and maybe, just maybe #1 again in 2014!

Each of our owners has the best team in the country working for them and their dog (us)…………..Team Chambray…….with me as the coach and sometimes player.

That means that we have to work to get the success that we are known for.

So, besides the great breeding program, it takes time, energy, and expertise to get the results needed for success.

We guide each and every new owner through that process as we are guiding their dogs to become successful in the competitive venues known as dog shows.

The dogs have to perform their best in order to show off their virtues, their high show quality traits and that takes time to achieve. Time behind the scenes with our Secret 11 Herbs and Spices, garnered with my 45 years of involvement with just one breed of dog, the Labrador Retriever………your/our Labrador Retriever!

Through Rain, Shine, Sleet and Hail…………….we deliver your mail, male and female too…………………….come snow (1977), come weather beyond recognition (1992 Hurricane Andrew), come high water and hell……………………in sickness and in health here it is 45 years later and we persist and excel.

So, let’s get working to show those best Labradors that were produced by those best Labradors before them…….let’s keep that winning tradition alive and kicking into yet another great year.

The Betterment of the Breed, that’s what I keep talking about!

January 1st 2015
It's A Brand New Year

End of Year report 2014

2014 was a great year for Chambray Labradors………………maybe the greatest show year ever and that comes after 2013 was the greatest year ever and 2012 was the greatest year ever, 2011, 2010 before that………………that’s 5 years straight of raising the bar so high that the new year starting seemingly had no chance for improvement………yet improvement came!

We completed 97 straight winning dog show weekends……………winning each and every weekend at dog shows since the first weekend in January 2012………….three whole years in a row.

We achieved 13 new titles in 2014, consisting of AKC champions, FCI champions, AKC Grand champions and AKC Bronze Grand champions! 6 of those being brand new AKC champions…………….possibly making Chambray the #1 Labrador breeder in the USA for 2014! Keep in mind that 6 new AKC champions in 2012 made Chambray #1 Labrador breeder in the USA!

Those 6 new champions plus the 2 FCI champions now gives Chambray a state-record 44 lifetime champions produced.

Chambray dogs combined for Best Of Breed, Winners Dog and Winners Bitch a mind boggling 8 times in 2014………….that’s 8 Trifectas in 1 year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This past year our dogs also combined to win 4 Judges Awards of Merits at Specialty Shows (JAMSS) with 1 Judges Award of Excellence (JAMS). One of those 4 JAMSS was won at the Labrador Nationals and the JAMS was awarded at the 2014 Eukanuba National Championships and it carried a #1 next to it as being the first dog awarded a JAMS at that event.

One of our dogs was ranked in the USA Top 10 All-Breeds, winning 14 Best Of Breeds with 9 Group Placements in 9 months of showing, including winning 2 Group 1’s. Another of our dogs showed at only a 4-day weekend of shows as a champion and won the 4 back-to-back Best Of Breeds, with a Group 1 and a Group 2 to boot.

We just wrapped up the 2014 year with the biggest dog show there is, the AKC/Eukanuba Week with 3 Orlando shows, the LRC Specialty and the grand finale the 2014 Eukanuba National Championships. The tally for the 5 days of showing…………………………………1st day, a 4-Pt Major Winners Dog………..2nd day, a 4-Pt Major Winners Bitch/BOW………………..the LRC Specialty a 5-Pt Major Winners Dog and Judges Award Of Merit to 2 different dogs, a Best Bred Labrador Retriever to another dog………………………..the Eukanuba a Judges Award Of Excellence #1 JAMS.

So, now we start the 2015 New Year with great momentum with several dogs on the verge of their championships, a whole cast of youngsters chomping at the bit to be included into the show roster…………will 2015 surpass the past year’s achievements…………….at this point in the journey, the years just seem to merge with the successes that quality breeds or is it that breeding quality brings on the successes?

Time is on our side as our records so vividly shows……………..a time-honored tradition of superb quality year after year and 2015 is a continuation of that tradition.

Happy New Year To All

December 31st

Happy New Year To All

The Proverbial Pandora’s Box Swings Open

Just like clockwork……………………..maybe even the orange kind…………….out of the woodwork comes those harpers, lamenters and lambasters that insist that dog shows should be 100% about the dogs and not about conditioning, handling, training, preparations and/or the rest of the litany list that rivals the old laundry list or even Craig’s List!

Well, here’s a suggestion to all those that prescribe to this cockamamie notion………………why don’t we play pin the tail on the donkey (dogs being shown) and have Joe Blowsky or Nancy Drawn or just grab one of the concession staffers……………………blindfold any of them and have them grope around and pin the Winners Dog or Winner Bitch ribbon on one of a bevy of dogs tied to the stanchions holding up the rings.

This way, it is fair for all that may not be fair or even fare! Yeah, that’s the ticket!

Better yet, let’s save tons of money in entries, traveling, handler fees, lodging and food and let’s just email photos of our dogs to some spiffy-looking website and have blokes on tokes anoint the Best Of Breed rosette from all the photos submitted.

Hey, I say as long as we are using the system in play by the AKC, UKC, IABCA, ICE and other well-thought out abbreviated, hyphenated, truncated organizations taking our dough, mula, dinero and other hard to come by tokens of hard work, they who come and put on these venues where we can congregate with our dogs…………….then homey…………….that’s me will do everything within my reach to create the winning edge for my exhibits!

Feeding the best foods………….ya betcha!

Exercise and conditioning………………yep all that too!

Train and train some more, well choo choo to that as well!

Handle with the best of them…………well, little ole competitive me will go one up one anyone that enters my ring………..yep you heard it right…………….the Lab ring is ‘mi casa’, you come into my house, you better clean your feet or they could get stepped on!

Those that whine and complain, hey bro and sis, the more power to you…………..it’s a free country and self-expression is still the operative ‘word’ here………..so knock yourselves out while I do my thing and keep right on truckin in the Lab ring……………….nothing like success to keep a parade, a conga line, a good thing going!

So, now 12 hours before the strike of midnight and we enter into yet another New Year................time for me to go work with my dogs!

December 30th

I have had quite a bit of feedback on the blog about dogs being able/not being to finish their championship or not.

Here’s the thing……………..each dog has its own predicaments and each is as individual as there are people on the planet. There is no catch all reason or fault that adequately describes or details why some dogs are able to finish and others just run out of time/gas. It could very well be an amalgamation of circumstances that deride even the best dogs from the intended goal.

My contention to all that will listen/read is that if a dog is worthy to show……………….then show it! There is no way to know if it will garner the needed points/majors/wins under 3 different judges to achieve its title. If the dog is not shown, if it is sitting back home lounging around and not at the competitive venues, then for sure it isn’t going anywhere real fast.

The flip side of the above are some dogs that don’t have what it takes to be competitive in the conformation ring and their chances of titling become even slimmer. Of course we have all seen dogs from this category being traipsed to several hundred shows (or more) and after a lengthy, grinding campaign…………….finally the merciful ‘eureka’ moment and they are finished and hopefully put up.

There have even been some dogs that after being forced-fed through more shows than fit on 5 AKC Points/Wins Report pages, were even specialed to national ranking after finally finishing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Dogs that were questionable to be shown in the first place……………………so anything is possible.

You do this show stuff enough and you will see everything under the sun.

December 29th

Drum Roll Maestro.........Let The Good Times Roll

2015 1st Week Brooksville Numbers Are In

Yippee Ki Yay!

The good news is that we have majors every day for the males. Each and every day of the first 5 days……………………..that’s Thursday the 8th through Monday the 12th. Of course the required 15 dogs must show up for competition for those majors to stand and then we can boogie all night long!

99% probability that the quorum will be met each day and the male dog anointed Winners Dog will take that major-pointed win as the breakdown looks like this for each day of showing.

Thursday 20-21………..3-2

Friday 20-19……………3-2

Saturday 23-19……….5-3

Sunday 24-19………….5-3

Monday 19-18…………4-2

For those not as versed in conformational numerical computation deciphering {entry breakdown}, the first number indicates how many class males have been entered. The 2nd numeral is the number of class females with the 3rd, the number of male champions followed by the number of female champions.

Since May of 2014* it takes 15 class males in our region to add up to a 3-pt major with 23 class females needed for a 3-pt major. There are some interesting and intricate permutations that can augment those numbers from the champions’ side of the postulate, but for this Pre-K rendering we will leave lying dogs lie………for now.

*I notated that date because the powers that be, the AKC can and will raise or lower that number at some secretly arrived whim or will……………..or scientific formula……much like Colonel Sander’s Secret Recipe Of 11 Herbs & Spices! So watch for the new and improved/not improved 2015 AKC Point’s Schedule to be released at a theater near you in May of this year!

Ok, ok you say…………so what’s the bad news…………………in case you forgot the opening line right after Yippee Ki Yay.

There is no bad news!

BUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!There is always a butt!

Me being me and me being able to read in between where there are no lines……………….smell smoke in outer space……………………see where there’s no visibility, where even bats couldn’t ‘see’ what they don’t see to begin with………………………..I sense from those puny numbers that the northern professional handlers with truckloads of the well-known Labrador breeder’s dogs of the frozen tundra states north of the Florida border………………..somehow detoured to points other than deepest south, shortened their route much closer to colder climates or maybe just went on a much deserved hiatus from the hustle and bustle of driving so far for so little!

Ooooppssss did I just slip in an editorial in that last line?

My proof to my hypothesis is of course:

The rather small, paltry entry of 43 to 51 total dogs depending on the day. From the last 5 years, these numbers are the lowest tallied.

3 male champions and 2 female champions the 1st and 2nd days. I can more or less predict who the 3 males are………………..2 of them are Chambray dogs and the 3rd is from one of the Florida professionals that work the Labrador ring. Most of the northern pros pad ($$$$$) their roster with a few champion specials, so that speaks volumes to me as to who is there and who did not make the sojourn to the warmer climate.

The numbers flip up for the weekend and flop down for the weekday shows which smoke signals to me that these fluctuating numbers are Florida locals/locos as well.

So, my prediction is that instead of the usual 7 to 10 hardy soul pros that have been keeping the old tradition alive of flocking down to sunny Florida to divvy up those points as was customary through recent recorded history of the 1990’s, 2000’s and the beginning of fading away circa 2005…………………there may only be 3 of them with limited numbers of those nice looking northern brethren Labradors.

Keep in mind that in the real heyday of northern handlers/dogs frolicking in the sun, there were upwards of 100 Labradors each day at the Winter Circuit with 20 or more of the best known named professionals plying their trade and nary a local Florida dog to be seen within miles of the winter wonderland locales set up for the conquering hordes with their burly dogs in tow.

So, here we go, armed with our best dogs............well a trimmed down version of our best dogs since we came up with a different strategy for 2015. I would honestly say that we are traveling light this year to the Florida Winter Circuit with half of our awesome lineup as our starting day roster. The rest of our top troopers will come out swinging in weeks and months down the road. Let’s see if we can't finish 3 or 4 of our top pointed dogs which will make it easier for our other worthy dogs to come out and play!

The only thing that is needed is the starting bell for the first day’s excitement!

Needless to say, I will keep you all posted.

December 28th
Success Or Failure. You Choose.

Case In Point for those asking

Long letter detailing the ‘failure’ of a Chambray dog not being of enough ‘show quality’ to win at dog shows. No need for dog’s name nor owner as that could be any dog or any owner.

Here are the facts as detailed in the note: ‘Dog is now 18 months old’ and according to the owner had been ‘showing since it was 6 months old’…………………… ‘a whole year of showing and not one point to show for all that bother’…………………..listed some of the judge’s comments as ‘Too immature’ and ‘Not developed out’……………. ‘Needs conditioning’.

Before answering back, a little research yields the following:

Dog was entered in a total of 12 shows in that “whole year of showing”. It was marked absent 5 times out of the 12 shows that it was entered. At 2 of those ‘absent’ shows that I was present at, the dog was on the grounds, however the handler did not make it to the ring to cover the dog.

About the judge’s comments: All dogs showing under the age of 12 months are immature and not developed and in this particular case the dog was not in great physical condition………………nothing to do with the dog itself and more of a trainer/handler misgiving.

Further observations, more of an opinion………………the handler is not well versed with the breed, rather better suited for the little breeds that are walked around the ring and need no setting up or hand’s on presentations as a young Labrador will need.

So, bottom line is that this dog has had very poor show management, including moving the dog to the open class after it turned a year old!!!!!!!!!!!!! No wonder some of the judge’s comments!

Poor decision making processes, poor training and poor conditioning and even worse show preparations and presentations if and when the dog actually made it to the ring………………….not a winning combination at all and the results clearly speak for themselves.

This is the total opposite of those Chambray dogs in our Show Management Program and so are the results!

December 28th

Let's Get This Party Started

Reality Vs. Rah-Rah

"What percentage of dogs that show end up as champions?"

I get this question so often from so many people.

Somewhere along the line we all must face reality in everything we do and showing dogs is no different.

Some dogs will not finish their AKC champion’s title!

Whoa, now that’s stark reality! No pussyfooting, window-dressing, no rah-rah to make things sound sweeter than honey……………….no sir, that’s as direct as a line can get!

Now, let’s soften the blow a bit by saying that many that don’t reach the promise land of being a champion……………should have!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That may sound ambiguous, but a little bit of scrutiny and delving a little bit more may bring about some light to the matter.

Let’s back up a bit and let me make another controversial statement……………not every dog showing, should be showing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yep, that statement will heat up the waters a little. That statement will make some of my readers say “He’s back!’

Lately, I have been receiving comments to the effect that I have lost my edge…………………..that I am not digging up interesting fodder to feed on……………………that I have become mainstream, establishment-like if you will!

Maybe old age has overcome me…………………or maybe……………..just maybe things have evolved around me, around the Labrador ring where positives far outweigh the negatives that we had been navigating through.

Let’s put these last 2 paragraphs on the backburner for the time being and I will address that subject in future blogs.

As President Nixon & President Clinton both said to assure us, “Let’s make things perfectly clear”.

I too will make clear………………….that each and every dog that is managed and shown by Chambray is worthy of being shown!

So that statement I made above about ‘not every dog showing, should be showing’ does not apply to the dogs we are showing!

Now, I will add some more verbiage and say that just the same, not every dog that we show will finish!!!!!

Ok, so how many have fallen off the fast moving train with my suppositions? What am I saying here? Who can follow my logic as it twist and turns, spins and churns?

Hey, stay with me if you dare and lucidity will be your reward!

So, here we go, follow along with Mitch Miller’s Bouncing Ball.

For show purposes, I will only work with dogs that are worthy of winning their championships. No two ways about it, no compromising, no male cow feces…………………… ‘Just the facts Ma’am’ is all you get from me once we enter into the Twilight Zone of showing dogs!

Chambray dogs and/or outside dogs……….if they are worthy, then bring them on! The proof is in eating the pudding and those that don’t subscribe to this last statement better check our resume of dogs finished…………….let’s remind folk of our record setting 44 Chambray-bred champions and then let’s add the following names:

Ch Chelons Emma Ducka O’Chardon (1992)
Am/Can Ch Granquest Chambray Slapshot (1995)
Ch Kai Dens Chambray Conquest (1998)
Ch Surry’s Obscured By Clouds (2003)
Ch Carmays Ruff Around The Edges (2004)
Ch Dan Jacs Duchess (2005)
Bronze Gr Ch Summithills Joshua’s Battle At Jericho (2012)

All of the above titled dogs were dogs we committed to regardless of who the breeder was and we saw them through to their just championship.

Now, let’s add to the mix that there were just as many dogs that WE committed to that did not finish their championships!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ah, back to the smoke and mirrors of confusion…………but bear with me as I will bring clarity to what may seem murky.

There are infinite amount of variables as to why some dogs do not finish the champion’s race that may not have anything to do with their show worthiness.

Yes, that’s it! A dog may have what it takes to be a show champion and then a meteorite falls on it!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, that’s being as dramatic as all get out………………..but I think you get the point……………..in other words the road from Point A to Point B may be riddled with so many pot holes, detours, way layers, bushwhackers and other obstacles that have absolutely nothing to do with show worthiness that many of those dogs will be lost along the way.

Here is the Top 10 list of such eventualities and calamities that sidetracked or worse yet, stopped some worthy dogs from getting there.

Finances
Divorces
Poor Decision Making on owners part
Loss Of Interest
Dogs Not Shown Enough
Relocations
Crippling Accidents both dogs and owners
Bad Luck, Bad Timing/Running Out Of Time
Illnesses & Deaths………….dog/owner
Lost/Stolen

Some of the above are tragic or unavoidable and we can rule those out {1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10). Well, some like #7, #8, #9 and #10 where it involved the dog only (not the owner) have left me with ‘I should have known better with the people involved’. Some people are just Calamity Janes and Joes and should never have dogs to begin with.

The one item/reason dogs fail to make it across the finish line that irks me to no end is #3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hate #3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Want to see me see red? Want to see me seething?

Bring up any case that involved a Chambray dog where #3 was the reason that the dog did not finish!

Way, way too many of these nincompoop owners that were perpetrators of #3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Some really great dogs went the wrong way with incompetent owners with their dastardly decision making processes. All falling short of the potential that was handed them.

Here is an eye opening fact:

Dogs that are part of the Chambray Show Management Program succeed at an 80% rate.

Dogs that go independent with their owners making the Show decisions succeed at a 10% rate.

Of those dogs that are part of the Chambray Show Management Program we still must content with some of the reasons the 20% will not succeed such as:

Finances
Divorces
Poor Decision Making on owners part
Loss Of Interest
Dogs Not Shown Enough
Relocations
Crippling Accidents both dogs and owners
Bad Luck, Bad Timing/Running Out Of Time
Illnesses & Deaths………….dog/owner
Lost/Stolen

Around and around we go and where we stop, only those that are already there know.

December 27th 2014
The 2015 Starting Roster In Bold

Our Class dogs.

Chambrays Maxed N Counter 'Max' (Von Rietzenstein): After spending 4 months in the mountains outside of Bogota Col. what an awesome home-coming from South America, first show out winning a 3-pt major at Davie, 2 weeks later a 4-pt Major the 1st day of Eukanuba week and 3 days later a 5-pt major at the LRC Specialty under a breeder/judge, plus a Judges Award of Merit at Specialty Show. He will finish his championship at the first 2 weeks of the Brooksville shows! Max just needs mental maturity that will come as he nears his 2nd birthday in March……………….hard to believe that he is not even 2 years old yet! We will continue the physical workout regimen here at Chambray Acres that he had been put through from August to November in Colombia. At the end of 2014 he has 12 points and 3 majors. Max embodies 7 generations of maternal Chambray lines, with Hogan as his grandsire on one side of the pedigree and with Gateways Nothing But Trouble as his grandsire through his sire Bronze Gr Ch Summithill Joshua’s Battle At Jericho.

Watch for Max at the Brooksville shows

WinQuest Chambrays Famous Amos (Eslinger): “Famous Amos he is”. He will also finish his AKC championship at one of the 3 weeks of shows in January, either the 2 Brooksville weeks or the last week of shows in January in Ocala. We have seen steady improvement from show to show in his ring performance with increased focus and attention, which was lacking at the beginning of the year. His movement has now become an asset, along with his great looks. At the Eukanuba week of shows, he showed steady improvement show after show and I expect this to continue in the New Year. We just got word that Amos made the ICE Dog Shows Top 10 All-Breeds rankings. At the end of 2014 he has 12 points and 3 majors. Amos brings to the Chambray Breeding Program the most consistent breeding lines in the country, the Tabatha lines through his sire, Zindfndel Brigham. Through the dam lines comes the Hyspire and Windfall lines with Hyspires Adrenaline Rush and Windfalls Pipe Major as grandsires and great grand sires.

Watch for Amos at the Brooksville shows

Chambrays Stellar Thunder 'Rico' (Marrero): What an awesome boy this is. His mental maturity has kept him back from winning that last major-pointed show, however, now at 2 ½ years old there has been glimpses of his full adult character. We feel that he will be finished in the first couple of months of the New Year, needing just a major win. With all his clearance passed, he has been busy in the stud dog department both for Chambrays Puppy Placement Program and for several outside Labrador breeders as well. Several of his offspring are now in our Show Management Program with 1 champion-pointed get to his credit already. At the end of 2014 he has 14 points and 1 major. Rico is also 7 generations of maternal Chambray lines, with Hogan as his grandsire on one side of the pedigree. His sire is Gingerbred Celestial Thunder bringing long some of the best established producing lines in the country.

Watch for Rico at the Brooksville shows

Chambrays Recurring Dream N Countner 'Dreamer' (Gardner): Dreamer will be showing from the Am Bred class now that he has aged out of 12 to 18. His last couple of shows, he came on strong with RWDs and we hope that with his improved performance in the ring and also some physical developing that he gets on the race for is champion’s title. Dreamer is an 8th generation Chambray line with Hogan as his grandsire. There is also Ghoststones Louie Downtown coming from the maternal side and his sire is Blackthorn Hailstorm.

Watch for Dreamer at the Brooksville shows

Chambrays Black Diamond In The Ruff 'Bandit' (Rodriguez): Is our super star class black dog! If I was a betting man, I would put all my marbles on him going stellar somewhere along 2015! He just needs a bit of physical conditioning where he can move out a little more. Besides that, he has it all. When he starts to win points, there is no stopping him. Bandit won a 1st Place at the Eukanuba from the 12 to 18 class. Watch for this super typey boy to become a very instrumental producer from Chambray’s Stud Dog Program. With Jericho/Trouble on the paternal side plus Hogan and Lobuffs Bobwhite at Chucklebrook from the maternal side………..an awesome combination of type and substance.

Bandit will join our show roster in February

Chambrays Thor God Of Thunder (Solis): This is another youngster that will have a bust out streak once he starts to win, there will be no stopping him. Although very developed physically, his mental maturity still lags somewhat behind. When physical and mental catch up to each other, watch out! Another super typey boy to become a very instrumental producer from Chambray’s Stud Dog Program. With Jericho/Trouble on the paternal side plus Hogan and Lobuffs Bobwhite at Chucklebrook from the maternal side………..an awesome combination of type and substance.

Thor will join our show roster in March

Chambrays Where Eagles DareTank (Knapp): This perfect gentleman needs to become a bit of a ‘bad boy’ to strut around the ring. This youngster has it all, just needs to show it when it counts in the ring. I have seen moments when the head lights shine and then it’s “Wow!” Another super star stud dog in waiting. Jericho/Trouble on the paternal side plus Hogan and Ghoststones Louie Downtown from the maternal side………..a super awesome combination of type and substance.

Tank will join our show roster in March

Several of our puppies are also in the mix for 2015 with Chambray 4X4 Big Dog Diesel (McCubbins) already AKC ch-pointed. Chocolate Duke (Moreno) will also made a run at the points. We expect to see Chaos (Padgett) in the male’s roster as well. With great anticipation we await the debut of Kika X Jericho boys, with Chambrays Magnum N Counter (Dillon) and Harley (Faria) developing into stunners!

Watch for Magnum to debut at the 1st week of Brooksville shows and for Diesel to join us at the 2nd weekend of shows there.

Our girls:

Chambrays Sweet Honey Samantha (Merin) was red hot from the summer to the beginning of the fall show season, winning 8 points 2 majors and 2 Best Of Breeds and a Group IV to boot. She came close towards the end of 2014 with several RWB awards, however we expect her to finish her title chase early on in 2015.

Watch for Max at the Brooksville shows

Gracie (Baker) came on like gangbusters at the last 2 weeks of shows, including a phenomenal 4-pt Major win at the Eukanuba week of shows. She also won the Best Bred By Exhibitor Labrador at the LRC Specialty. She shows from the Bred By Exhibitor Class and we expect her to add to Chambray’s champion BBE count early in 2015. We would like to see some added conditioning with her, but at 14 months old, we really couldn’t ask for more.

Gracie will be joining us in February and March shows

Chambrays Little Miss Magic Stella also clocked in a couple of wins at the end of the 2014 show season including a 3-pt major win at the Davie shows. We would like to see some physical development with her as she now nears being a year old. So she may be on the sidelines until March.

Chambrays Cajun N Counter 'Jolie' (Scearce) and Chambrays Bella From Ipanema (Faria) both won points this past year and we expect both to come on strong in the coming months garnering points from the Am Bred and Open Black Classes. Chambrays Isis (Padgett) will also make a big comeback into the starting lineup in the Open Yellow Class.

Watch for Jolie and Isis at the Brooksville shows

Several of our other up & coming girls, such as Chambrays Camila, Chambrays Maylee, Chambrays Miranda, Chambrays Honey and a couple other youngsters will be attending shows off and on through the rest of the winter and into the springs shows as well.

Of great interest is the debut of the girls from the Kika X Jericho litter. Chambrays Galactic N Counter 'Gayla' (Jackson) and Chambrays Eventful N Counter 'Evie' (McGraw) strutting their stuff early on from the puppy classes.

Watch for Evie and Gayla to debut at the Brooksville shows

Our Champions:

Gr Ch Chambrays Ruff Jewel Walter (Baker): WOW! What a year for our golden boy! 14 Best Of Breeds with 9 Groups Placements since March!!!!!!!!!!!!….that’s the highest ratio of BOB to Groups ever for one of our champions! Then we takes a Judges Award Of Merit at Specialty Show (JAMSS) at the Labrador Retriever Club Specialty with Labrador breeder/judge Carl Liepman and then the very next day at the 2014 AKC/Eukanuba he is awarded the #1 Judges Award Of Excellence! Whoa Nelly! Watch for Walter’s offspring get in the coming year as he will figure prominently on Chambray’s Breeding Program. He brings with him 7 generations of Chambray, then add Hogan as his grandsire and Ghoststones Louie Downtown from his mother’s side, whoa Nelly is right!

Walter will join us at selected shows in the future.

Ch Chambrays Tucker Everlasting (Etzig): Our top black champion of all times, exceeding all expectations way before he is 2 years old. I received just as much accolades from those around ringside while showing him at several of the Eukanuba week of shows as I did from Max and Walter’s super wins and awards! I can’t wait to see how he matures out in the coming months as he nears his 2nd birthday. Jericho/Trouble on the paternal side plus Hogan and Ghoststones Louie Downtown from the maternal side………..a super awesome combination of type and substance.

Watch for Tucker at the Brooksville shows

CH Chambrays Razor's Edge Thunderstruck 'Bob' (McGraw)……….Bad Boy Bob turns into Mr. Bob in the Best Of Breed ring at the Eukanuba week of shows! Once he matures mentally a bit more and fills out physically to his full potential, watch out for Bob! He is an 8th generation Chambray line, with Hogan as his great grand sire and the introduction of the Blackthorn lines through his sire Blackthorn Rock U Too……….who goes back to one of the top dams of the breed, Blackthorn Blondie.

Watch for Bob at the Brooksville shows

December 27th

The Countdown Is On

The New Year beckons with each passing second left of 2014. Closer and closer we get to the one day, one hour that we can ring in the new by casting out the old……………………giving ‘starting anew’ an added meaning!

Fresh starts are the perfect remedy for stale, brackish waters………………new life glistens with sparking running waters………………the celebration that ensues on New Year’s Eve gives all a chance to clear the mind and have hope that there is better times ahead…………..at least thinking those positive thoughts is better than dwelling on all the negatives that can drag one backwards.

Each year, those of us from Chambray celebrate a great passing year and anxiously await the chance to excel at the New Year’s offerings…………………..a new year to extend our mission and goals for the Betterment of the Breed……………….a new year where we can Pay It Forward to the next generation of great puppies produced, giving new owners the chance to partake in the one-of-a-kind Chambray Owner’s Program so that they too will one New Year’s Eve celebrate alongside of all those past Chambray Owners and they too can be part of the Pay It Forward movement that defines Chambray Labradors.

If this coming year we produce as good or better as we did in 2014……………….then we will declare on December 31st 2015, a whole year from now……….as having been a great and successful year for us and for the Labrador Retriever breed.

If we only win half as much……………if we only title 1/3 as many dogs……………………if no records are set nor broken, if the winning streaks stops the very first week of the New Year………………………………none of the preceding matters that much if we produce as good or better……………then collectively we are a success……………….you, me, the whole program is a success.

Winning points, winning Best Of Breeds, titling a brand new champion to add to the record setting numbers already posted, the awards, certificates, trophies, medallions are all icing on an ever growing cake!

Sure as heck that I will take it all and bask in the afterglow glory………..yes sir, that’s what I will do, but make no mistake, my exuberance, my braggadocio broadcastings…………………the real measuring stick to the Betterment of the Breed is producing the next generation of as good or better dogs!

Trophies and medals sit on a shelf away from what matters……………………….those better built dogs, they are someone’s family member, contributing on a daily basis, a thousand times better than the awards and ribbons in the drawers or closets.

My real trophies are the testimonials of the Chambray owners telling me how great their dogs are.

Happy 2015 New Year to all.

December 27th

The Great One That Didn't Get Away (1967)

For years now, I have told ‘fish stories’ galore!

Tall tales from my youth as a prodigy of my namesake, Santiago from the Old Man and the Sea (Hemmingway).

Speckled Trout, Pompano, Permit, Red Fish, Drums, Mackerel, Bonefish and my numero uno fish de jour the greatest of them all, the Snook! All where there just waiting for me to come and play, 'let's fish'...................and fish I did!

Ah, the elusive, temperamental, spooky, ghostlike, streak liner, with the red devilish glowing eyes (at night) of the bays and inlets.

The grapevine at the area bait shops would hum about a ‘run’ of the ‘Robalo’………………old timer’s lingo both Anglo and Latin for the Snook…………………and I would hop unto the old 48 Desoto and chug along A1A (US 1) wherever that locale appeared on our “shore and inland waterway charts’ (vintage 1938 bible-like fishing charts)……of course I knew where each nook and cranny, fork, inlet, runoff……………..you name it and I had been there since first coming to this great country of ours in 1955 at the age of 5.

Of course by the time I was 18 years old in 1967, I no longer had to rely on my parents to make the treks to some of these totally out of the way places…………………mosquitos, land crabs, no-see-ums, barnacles, shallow water stingrays, jelly fish and billions of mangroves ready to wrap up an ankle and break it every which way but loose.

Now 50 years later, names such as Boca Raton, Jupiter Inlet, Bakers Haulover, Hillsborough Inlet, Government Cut, Blackpoint and several others are so-prime real estate that even getting a glimpse of the water from a fast moving car would be a treat for me, let alone make one last cast into glistening waters.

So, for all those patient Chambray owners that have had to endure for years and years of all my ‘greatest fish stories’, I present to you one that did not get away.

By the way, that was a 28 inch waist on me and the fish was 32 inches around the belly

December 26th

A Legend Is Born

Folk Lore Legend

In my 45 years of involvement with Labrador Retrievers and more importantly the last 25 of those years with breeding show dogs, there have been dogs that contributed more or less, with some more than others.

With 2015 looming less than a week away, officially making this my 25th year in conformation with the breed, we have crowned 44 different dogs as breed champions that were bred by us. Some of those dogs sired by top producers of the breed from elsewhere, a few sires revered as ‘legends’ of the breed!

Names like Receiver of Cranspire………….Ebonylanes Aslan…………….Langshott Gale Force From Kimvalley………………….Ghoststones Louie Downtown………………..Monarch’s Black Arrogance……………Davoegs Irish Gold…………………Dickendall Arnold……………..names that appear prominently in the who’s who of Labradors today. Prepotent dogs that stamped the best of their genes on their progeny and to succeeding generations thereafter. Dogs who’s names people, exhibitors and breeders toss around as if though they knew them personally.

I often wondered what it would be like to be the breeder of one of those ‘legends’. How it would sound to toss around a name that others knew and appreciated it for the contributions it had made to the breed.

How there would be some newer type owners into the breed that had never seen that dog in person, however the ‘legend’ effect had somehow reached them and they spoke of that dog with the highest regards……………………….almost godly, if there is such a thing for a dog.

Well, that moment has arrived for me as a breeder. I guess better late than never. But no complaints from me because the vast majority of breeders never ever have a ‘legend’ dog to call their own. Up to now, in Florida there really had not been any one dog that had risen to that lofty status reserved for the infinitesimal few.

The breakthrough, eureka moment came at the recent Eukanuba shows in Orlando. Following the LRC Specialty on Friday December 12th, after judging of Labradors a breeder/exhibitor a gathering took place at a designated location. A rather large turnout of some of the top breeders in the country that had come down for the specialty and for the Eukanuba show that would follow the next day.

No sooner than I had joined the celebratory function, the conversation towards me from different ‘top breeders’ revolved around ‘the Chambray lines going back to Hogan’…………………..not one, but four different one of these breeders mentioned up about the same thing!

So, needless to say, without me being around, this must have been the topic of conversation. Folks within the breed speaking of a dog as a producing legend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I had arrived as a breeder with my own bred-by legend.

To those that know him and love him, he is known as Hogan, his official AKC name BIS BBE Ch Chambrays Out Of The Ruff CGC THD TDI NFP NJP

Hogan is owned by Rosie and Bill Feely of Boynton Beach Fl and is now in his golden age of 10 ½ years old.

It is not necessarily his titles that make him great, although being the first-ever Labrador born in Florida to win a Best In Show in Florida would certainly give him major kudos………nor leading Chambray’s record books for males with Best Of Breeds, with Sporting Group Placements and other stellar achievements………………………no none of those makes a folk lore breed legend!

What does and what is doing it for him are his kids, grandkid, great grandkids and whatever comes next!

The big winner breeder at the 2014 Eukanuba/LRC/Orlando shows was Chambray………………………..with each and every one of those dogs that contributed to the winning spree………….were descendants of Hogan. Out of the 19 Chambray dogs showing at this year’s Eukanuba week, 17 were descendants from Hogan!!!! Four out of the five Chambray champions showing were attributed to Hogan.

Chambrays Maxed N Counter a grandson………….won a 4-pt major at the 1st day Orlando show……………a 5-pt major at the LRC Specialty PLUS an LRC Judges Award Of Merit at Specialty Show.

Chambrays Grace Of The Field a Hogan granddaughter…………………4-pt major at the 2nd day of Orlando shows……………………….LRC Best Bred-By Exhibitor Labrador.

BBE Gr Ch Chambrays Ruff Jewel Walter (the USA Top 10 Labradors for 2014) another grandson……………….LRC Judges Award Of Merit at Specialty Show………………………..The 2014 Eukanuba 1st Judges Award of Excellence.

Chambrays Black Diamond In The Ruff a Hogan grandson…………………LRC Specialty 1st place 12 to 18.

Merely having a troop of offspring does not make a legend……………………..having people, exhibitors and breeders speak of that dog in that light makes it so! Having so many there referring to his contributions to my lines and in general to the breed makes it official.

A legend is born and his name is Hogan.

December 23

Reflections

In a little more than a week, come the New Year……………2015 will mark the 45th year that I have been blessed with Labrador Retrievers in my life.

The last 25 years of that 4 ½ decade journey has been dedicated to producing the best show conformation possible with the innovative and most successful Chambray Owners Programs.

So, I and we…………….all of those that have been part of this odyssey actually are celebrating 2 anniversaries……………the 45th year and the 25th year with Labradors.

How fortunate I have been all these years to be involved in my life’s work, raising, training and showing Labrador Retrievers and mentoring 100’s if not 10 times more…………interested and loving owners that have associated themselves with our many programs for the betterment of the breed.

I know that I have benefitted tremendously……………………seeing the level that our dogs have reached on par with the best of the best Labrador breeders in the country, I know that the breed has benefitted and feeling the gratitude from the multitude of present and past owners, I know that all of those owners have benefitted as well. So, a win, win, win situation if there ever was one.

Without a single doubt, I know that I can pull over to the side of the curb and let the caravan move on without me and know that there will be many generations coming up with the lasting influence of the betterment of the breed that has been our rallying call all these years.

Jackie Gleason said it best “How sweet it is!”

December 21

The Ultimate Pay It Forward

"Describe your involvement/contributions to Labrador Retrievers"

“Producing the True Blue Labrador Retriever according to the Breed Standard.”

That is the simplest answer to the 100’s of not 1000’s of queries that come in yearly about our:

Our involvement with the breed
Our owner’s programs
Our vast offerings

Since our existence as ‘breeders’ in the Labrador world is quite different than 999% of those breeding dogs………………….999% because I am leaving that smidgeon of 001% just in case there is someone else that I have never heard of that may come close to our modus of operandi………………..a further, much more detailed explanation is warranted in order to hopefully satisfied those with inquiring minds.

For those that know me……….know of me……………….you know that a dissertation will follow. The only thing that beats words is actions and our overwhelming success with our dogs is the actions, so now I offer the words that follow the action………………….a narrative if you will of the action apparent to all who wish to see.

We are totally an owner/breeder organization. All of our puppies are born in our owner’s homes. All of our puppies are raised inside of our owner’s home through the entire raising and then weaning process when they are away from the mother.

Each of those owners follows a special puppy rearing protocol especially designed by our 45 years of involvement with just one breed of dog, the world renowned Labrador Retriever.

Before a breeding takes place, we assess each and every female that is part of our Owner’s Program. There are now well over 100 privately owned females that may take part in the Chambray Owner’s Selective Breeding Program. We have the immense luxury of only breeding the absolute best females each year.

Less than 10% of our large group of females will be given the chance to perpetuate the next generation of Chambray dogs. So, we choose from over 100 females………………only 10 that will be considered to have a litter. That’s where QUALITY over QUANTITY takes charge and defines our entire involvement. We have the means and ways to produce as many puppies as are requested………………..I receive well over 1500 puppy emails a year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! However, there are only 50 to 75 puppies born to our very selective breeder/owner’s program! That spells QUALITY over QUANTITY.

So, once the puppies are born another novel, unique process begins…………………choosing who will be the recipient of one of those prized puppies! This is the Puppy Placement Program and it values the educated consumer………………..the client that knows the most about the breed and what it takes to produce the quality level that Chambray offers.

Then it goes one level above being a discerning buyer, it goes to which truly of those knowledgeable client understands our Betterment of the Breed mission…….our goal to produce the best with each succeeding generation produced where they as owners together with Chambray as breeder…………pay it forward to the breed and to the next generation of educated consumers, discerning buyers and knowledgeable clients. Pay it forward by going in together in the producing of the next generation of Chambray puppies.

Oh, I know that some heads are spinning with the preceding ‘out of the box’ information. Those that are bound and restricted by the 4 walls of that same proverbial box, seem not to be able to fathom the intricacies and inner working of the Chambray Breeder to Owners Programs.

For 25 years, I have laid bare and public how and what we do and there are those that still resist the facts that have gathered and become apparent like a Mt. Everest in this past quarter century of Chambrays Labradors and the Owners Program.

I have to admit that there were major winds of change coming from all directions at the recent Eukanuba week congregation of who’s who of Labrador Retriever personas. How refreshing to feel that fresh air coming from some that may have been on the other side of the fence through lack of knowledge or apathy towards something new and foreign to them.

No fence has deterred our path to where we stand today, fences are temporary barriers that present challenges in getting around or at besting. Admittedly, in the past there have been some setbacks because of malicious oriented types, but patience and determination has outlived those obstacle-layers and we breathe and move much more freely.

The overall acceptance by the vast majority that now permeates the air is indeed welcomed and much appreciated. It validates the work and the volume of success from all those that contributed along the way. 25 years is a long time and there have been many that have come and gone since 1990……………each and every one of those owners past and present are responsible for what is obvious today!

For that, I thank you all.

December21st

OUR TIME

OUR TIME! The Most Critical Time For Chambray

There are 24 hours to a day and there are dozens and dozens of tasks performed by those of Chambray on a daily basis! However, there is one task that takes priority over every other activity, function and duty.

Those looking in from the outside would assume that actually showing of dogs is our most critical time with our dogs!.....................................Not!

There may be others that see us winning at such a higher percentage than most others involved with the breed as we are, that may jump to a premature conclusion that winning and the making of champions is our #1 concern………………………………..Not!

Since there are still many out there that haven’t yet figured out our quality first/foremost principal, they may think that sales are our numero uno endeavor …………….they erroneously figuring out wrong that we produce quantities……….a mere 6 litters this past year from an awesome quality pool of over 100 females that are part of Chambrays Owner’s Programs lays that assumpton futile………..that mere 6 vs. 40+ litters from our main rival producing top show puppies in the country………………..they erroneously assume that taking the time to sell puppies must rank at the very top…………………wrong again!

Nope, none of the above would ever supersede the most important task each and every day of the year.

That being, the time each day at the beginning of every day that we spend with our dogs comes first through 100!

Those first 3 hours of each day set aside for our dogs, being with them, cleaning up after them, watering them, feeding them, letting them out for exercise………………….showing them that they come first and foremost…………………….that’s what I am talking about!

No bloke blasting on his/her horn out in front of my gate trying to get in to see puppies, no wicked storm……………..no matter how down I am feeling…………………..no matter what, my dogs come first.

That time each day is our time together. It is promised them each and every day! It is when they let me know that they are ok, that they are happy, that they are healthy, that they are content and fit and is the time that they can show me how much they love me and it is the time that I can show them how much I love them. This is our time!

Everything else, everyone else has to wait. It doesn’t matter how long someone had to drive to come to Chambray Acres……………………if they are 2 hours too early and are infringing on OUR TIME……………….then they have to wait! Plain and simple, no two ways about it……………..no exceptions…………NADA!

Once I am 100% satisfied that those dogs in my charge, be it here at Chambray Acres or at the dog shows………………..are satisfied themselves………………once I have spent each minute allocated for OUR TIME, then I open up myself, my gates to others to share the greatness of our programs.

My dogs come first……………that time we spend comes first…………..our time comes first.

Thank you to the vast majority that know this.

December 20th 2014

Time Stops For No One

The dust has settled on the 2014 dog show season with the last week/weekend of shows………..3 Orlando dog shows, The LRC Specialty and the finale, the 2014 Eukanuba now history………………..and what a year it was!

Labeling the year “a whirlwind of a year” would be stating it mildly for our Chambrays Owners Program. Collectively with our ‘team effort’ which includes all the participating owners and their dogs……….the Herzon family steering the ship………….the ‘hired help’ assisting in the training, conditioning and dog show preparations and presentation……………we all once again rose beyond a stellar show year extending winning streaks, breaking old records and setting new ones that all add up to the most successful Labrador Retriever breeder/owners group in the good old USA.

Although most of the dogs right now are in hiatus mode for a few weeks, the 2015 dog show season looms ever closer with the Brooksville FL dog shows kicking off the year on January 8th through the 12th……………..yep, 5 shows that traditionally present us with the most trying weather conditions of the entire year. At last year’s show, I collapsed with a serious hypothermia episode that needed emergency intervention. Needless to say that I now travel totally prepared for that type of eventuality!

So, as soon as we all wade through the festive holiday season now upon us, we hit the ground running with training and conditioning as soon as the firework’s smoke dwindles to none the day after New Year’s Day.

Even before then, we are now fine tuning the show roster as entry deadlines are 4 days away on Christmas Eve, the 24th. So, although we are in holiday spirits and awaiting a new year to come and brighten our way, we also are aware that time stops for nothing or no one and we are making the needed preparations for our dogs for 2015.

December 17th

From A Chambray Owner

Sandy

The past week has been one of the highlights of our life and we have been blessed to have had some good ones in the past.

We Thank God for that.

As always I cant say enough what a pleasure it is to be part of Chambray.

You are all AMAZING(Johanna, Ryan, Jesse, Danny, Jackie) the hard work, dedication and love you put into these dogs is beyond special.

They say that if you love your job you will never work a day in your life.

I believe that is the difference between all of you and the other breeders.

To set up crates, stay with the dogs until 1 or 2 and get up 4 or 5 hours later and still smile and enjoy the moments

can only be done out of pure love for these loving wonderful creatures.

I had lots of time to think on the way back and realized that your business is not about dogs as you make think.

Its really about providing constant unconditional love with moments of pure bliss emotion and happiness.

People have told me; (You paid what for your dog) ,but I didnt pay for a dog.

I paid for unconditional love.(Bandit) I paid for the looks they give you, for the happiness they exhibit when you arrive home as if they haven't seen you in a year. For the joy of sharing happy moments with owners and a group of people who understand what it is to see these incredible creatures who love us so much, win and perform just to please us.

I paid for seeing my Chambray friends win and for the edge of your seat anticipation of the judges before they choose.

I paid to share these exciting moments, the strategies and camaraderie among us.

You can't get these emotions from cars, fishing, jewelry, clothes or any material things you could buy.

You can get excitement from winning sports but without the love.

You will never see any athlete perform just to make the fans happy.

But from Bandit,Tucker, Amos, Thor, Walter, Stella, Bella, Max, Bob, Gracie and all of these wonderful loving creatures you get happiness, love, affection and a willingness to please ,to make us happy any way they can.

That is their reward that is their motivation ,to see us happy.

How unselfish is that.

I haven't met any human who 24 /7 /365 will give you that.

Family members come close but not 24/7/365.

So you see winning is awesome and its a great feeling its almost a form of a high.

But unselfish love is the greatest feeling in the world and only they provide that to that extent.

So my friend you are in the unconditional unselfish love business.

We thank God for all of you and its our pleasure and privilege to be part of the Chambray group.

And we thank you and congratulate all of you for the hard work and dedication you all provided in your effort to give us that special moment this past week.

As you always say for the betterment of the breed.

Or is it for the betterment of our breed?

Hugs to all.

Bandit ,JC and family.

December 17th

Amazed At The Eukanuba

"Thank you so much for inviting us to this past weekend’s Eukanuba shows. What an amazing experience seeing so many great looking dogs of all breeds and especially all those beautiful Labradors. By chance we ended up seated next to a couple of your dog owners and they provided a play by play commentary of the proceedings. In doing so, each of them gave us so much insight about the breed, answering all of our questions. What a wonderful group of people you have and they are so loyal to you and to your cause for bettering the breed. You and your family and your handlers put on such a great show when presenting the dogs in the ring. Both of our children now want to learn from you and your kids all about training and even showing dogs. What a great organization you have for Labrador owners. We can’t wait for our visit to your Chambray Acres in the New Year and see which puppy you have chosen for us."

EM & family

It was my pleasure meeting you and your family. As you well could see, we are so busy showing the dogs that I end up with very little time to socialize. However, I could see that the Chambray owners did a great job taking the time to speak to you and all the other visitors that I invited to come see the 'greatest dog show on earth' (well, the USA anyways).

I am looking forward to your visit and that of the other fine folk that came and supported Team Chambray at the Eukanuba week of dog shows.

December 17th

Which Year Is It?

"I’m confused. In your last blog you state that you will be celebrating 25 years with Labradors and yet you claim to have been involved with Labradors for the last 44 years, so which is it?"

2015 will be 25 years that the Owner’s Programs were put into effect. That part of our involvement with Labradors started in 1990 with the very first owner Joe Gonzalez and family joining us in training, conditioning, showing and eventually co-breeding his first Chambray female.

That was the model that would be used over and over again with hundreds and hundreds of owners since then……………..a quarter of a century later………….25 years’ worth of co-ownerships, co-breedings, stud dog partnership, you name it we have done it all in the name of the betterment of the breed.

The vast majority of those associations worked like a charm, with mutual cooperation, immense satisfaction and unequaled success by the parties involved. Of course in every endeavor where human nature is involved there will be those situations where personality differences will deter the smooth workings needed to achieve the desired goals and somewhere around 3% of our partnerships did not work. However, 97% satisfaction rate is way beyond any world-recognized business model, so mission more than accomplished.

My first dabbling with Labradors was 44 years ago in 1970 when I acquired a black male puppy, so coming into the New Year, I will also celebrate 45 years with Labrador Retrievers. I followed that puppy with a female a year later.

I have had Labradors every single year since then.

My first litter produced was in 1973 and I began training dogs in 1975.

From 1985 to 1990 we were ery involved in obedience competition. We moved to the conformation ring in 1990.

In 1988 I purchased our first ‘show’ puppy, a female from Sunnybrook Acres Labradors and followed that with female puppies from Snowden Hills, Kelleygreen and Beavercreek (Drs’ Carol and Francis Rabalais) Labradors. Later additions would come from Chelons, Chardon, Kai Den and several other notable breeders of the times.

Our very first show litter was produced in 1990 and our first homebred champion came in 1993. Since then there are have been 44 Chambray champions.

So, 2015 will make 45 years with Labradors, 25 years of Chambrays Owners Programs in existence.

December 16th

Numbers Do Tell A Story

We have been following your amazing year at the dog shows and are wondering how it all turned out.

J.C.

Having just wrapped up our final weekend of shows at the Orlando AKC/Eukanuba shows, the final tally is in for our 2014 numbers and they are really something to brag about!

97-We made it to 97 straight show dog weekends with wins in each and every one of those weekends starting at the first weekend of shows in January of 2012. So, that was the whole year of 2012, 2013 and now 2014! Not only did we make it through every single weekend of regular Florida shows………also in that tally were the weekend shows we traveled to in Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana and Georgia.

Included in that amazing number were the weekends of shows at the tough 2012, 2013 and this year’s 2014 Florida Winter Circuit. For those not privy to the significance of winning at these shows………….these shows are where dogs from every point north of the Florida border, descend by the truckload with the northern professional handlers and the knock was that the Chambray dogs couldn’t win against the ‘higher’ caliber dogs from those breeders……………well, that squashes that old wife’s tale to smithereens, three straight years running with wins at every weekend of shows and there are 2 weekends each year in the Winter Circuit!

Having just won big at the 2014 Eukanuba week of shows, gives Chambray 2 years in a row with wins at this most prestigious dog show event, so that also throws a damper on that boohoo that the Chambray dogs can’t win at the real big one! This year’s wins were beyond all expectations with 3 major-pointed wins, including a 5-point major at the LRC specialty, plus 3 Judges Awards of Merits to boot and 2 of those were at the LRC specialty and the 3rd was the Eukanuba 1st Judges Award of Excellence (JAM#1)

44-The lifetime home-bred champion’s number started at beginning of the year with 36 champions and that number grew to 44 with 6 new AKC champions and 2 FCI champions for the year.

6-The 6 new AKC champions for 2014 puts Chambray………….maybe at #1 for the year in the country. As soon as the numbers are totaled and released by the AKC at the end of January, we will be holding our collective breath as we did back in 2012 when we were indeed #1 with the same number.

52-Lifetime Trifectas, winning Best Of Breed, Winners Dog and Winners Bitch at the same show by dogs from the same breeder.

8-Trifectas in 2014, besting our own record of 6 in one year.

13-That’s the number of total new titles earned/won by Chambray dogs in 2014……………………8 new champions (AKC & FCI), 4 new grand champions and 1 bronze grand champion.

4-Grand Champions in 1 year

3-Sporting Group 1’s in 1 year. Walter winning 2 of those and Miracle taking the other one.

So, if numbers do tell a story, this year’s bounty would rate as a real Paul Bunyan tale of epic proportions.

Each year for the last 7 years, we come to this junction in the road where the bar has been set so high by the current concluding year and wonder if the coming year’s harvest will be as bountiful and each year so far we have celebrated bigger and better awards and accolades that following year.

This most apparent success, year after year is possible through our Chambray Owner’s Programs where each dog owner participates in the one-of-a-kind endeavor where the betterment of the breed is first and foremost the guiding light for the mission with Labrador Retrievers.

Those of us at Chambray and our loyal and faithful owners all welcome the New Year, 2015 with opens arms, looking forward to the celebration of a quarter century, 25 years of Chambray Labradors with the Owner’s Programs for the Betterment of the Breed!

December 16th

Special Request From Some Of Our Owners

I recently emailed out a 'cover' email thanking all the Chambray owners for their great contributions to Chambray and to the Betterment of the Breed. I received a lot of feedback from them and many asked for me to share that email at the Blogging Off section. So here it is.

Wow, what a ride this whole week of the 2014 Eukanuba National Championships has been for Chambray Labradors and each and every one receiving this email shares the credit and can take extreme pride in its manifestation!

Thank you to each one of you who has been an integral part in our beyond stellar accomplishments. Without each of your contributions…………..be it just owning a great home companion….to being on the front lines with one of our super star show dogs…………without all of you, this would not be possible!

Since I am the front man for our collective efforts as the breeder/trainer/handler of the owner’s programs, I get to hear it firsthand…………….the “congratulations”, the “job well done”, the “you have the best dogs”………..the pats on the back…………………….the standing in the winner’s circle, over and over again……………..the whole kit and caboodle comes to me and I promise each and every one of you that my reply of gratitude to each of the well-wishers is “I owe it all to my owners”!

Of course not many outside of our circle of Chambray owners really understands how Chambrays Owner's Programs works………………….how all of our phenomenal show dogs are your loving pets…………….how none of those dogs live with me……………….how we all pool in our resources, expertise, energies, time and finances to make all this happen……………………………it’s not just about the breeder taking the acclaims, the accolades, the awards………………..it’s about the owners too, each doing their part………………each following the program set up for their individual dog and together we all make it happen.

Yes, I get looks of confusion from those not in the know, but I smile and just say to them “You’ve heard of the University of Miami being about the U, well with Chambray it’s about the US!”

It takes this whole village of Chambray owner’s to make it work………..you, each and every one of you!

This past week at the Eukanuba, some dogs won big! I mean really big, while others may not have taken points, might not have been presented with awards or even ribbons………………….but trust me, each dog there belonged there and each dog contributed to the wholeness of our unique and exclusive Labrador Retriever experience.

I can't begin to tell you all how many people, breeders, judges, show organizers……………you name it, I heard from them about our dogs……………………………….and our people/owners!

Those owners present at the show………………….you all were in the spotlight just as were the dogs in the ring. I heard from so many ‘outsiders’ about their experiences speaking with our owners and how great it was getting to know more about Chambray through your eyes, ears and of course your word of mouth.

Thank you to all receiving this email for being the greatest Labrador Retriever owners in the country……………….make that the world!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Even though I am exhausted beyond belief from the past 3 months of training/traveling and shows, especially these last 6 days in Orlando for the 2014 Eukanuba…………………I cannot wait to start back up again in the weeks to come to get ready for the 2015 dog show season.

December 14th

We're Back!!!!

The 2014 Eukanuba Extravaganza Experience

Amazing! This was the best in the 14 years of existence for this canine congregation! Well, at least for Labrador Retrievers!

The lineup of top Labrador Retrievers was beyond superb for the 3 days of Orlando all-breed shows, for the LRC Labrador Retriever Specialty and toppled off with the 2014 Eukanuba!

From the 5 days of shows, 3 different dogs each won a Best Of Breed and 1 dog won it twice and each dog deserved the award! In fact, the specials ring was circled with awesome champions, the majority deserved top billing just as well as those that were anointed with the Golden Fleece.

The class competition was just as stacked with some of the best dogs in the country from top, well-known breeders and kennels.

Chambray brought on our absolute best roster ever with mostly young dogs under the age of 2 years. It would be 21-month old Chambrays Maxed N Counter breaking the ice with a 4-point major Winners Dog the very first day of competition at 1st Orlando all-breed show on Tuesday December 9th. This win would add to Max’s 3-pt major win, 2 weekends before at the Davie dog show.

The very next day at the 2nd Orlando all-breed show 13-month old Chambrays Grace Of The Field would score her first major-pointed win with a 4-point Winners Bitch and Best Of Winners to boot. Gracie had won Winners Bitch the weekend before at the Miami shows.

Friday’s show was hosted by the Labrador Retriever Club Inc. as a standalone specialty with renowned breeder/judge Carl Liepman of Triple L Labradors doing the honors as judge.

This special show would be a bonanza for Chambray. Chambrays Maxed N Counter was awarded a 5-Point Major (his 2nd major-pointed win for the week) and on top of that the judge also bestowed on him a Judge’s Award Of Merit at Specialty Show (JAMSS), an award reserved for champions and seldom if ever awarded at a specialty to a class dog!

Our flagship dog and top champion for 2014, BBE Gr Ch Chambrays Ruff Jewel Walter was also awarded a JAMSS. Chambrays Stellar Thunder and Chambray Grace Of The Field each won their Bred By Exhibitor Class and then competed against each other for Best Bred By Exhibitor Labrador, with Gracie coming out on top for that hightly coveted specialty award.

Saturday’s Eukanuba was icing on the cake for a great week of shows for the Chambray dogs. Walter was awarded the top Eukanuba Judges Award Of Excellence (JAM#1), giving him 2 special titles for the 5 days of shows, the Judges Award of Merit @ Specialty Show (JAMSS) and this one the Judges Award of Excellence (notated as a JAM) and designated by the order of placement with a number and in this case as JAM#1.

Throughout the week, we had very strong performances by our other dogs, including top class wins and placements by Chambrays Bandit from the 12 to 18 class. Chambrays Rico, Chambrays Thor and Chambray Tank holding their own from the Bred By Exhibitor class. Chambrays Samantha had several top placements from her class. Chambrays Amos going head to head with Max from the Open Yellow had 1 placement over Max. Ch Chambrays Tucker Everlasting competing from the super tough champion’s Best Of Breed ring made the cut several days and even our newest champion Chambrays Razor's Edge Thunderstruck made a great debut against the top champions in the country. Chambrays Stella, Chambrays Bella and Chambrays Dreamer had good performances too.

What a great way to end a super 2014 dog show season.......maybe our best ever!

December 16th

The Eukanuba Week Afterglow

I am still amazed at the top caliber of dogs that I saw at the recent Eukanuba/LRC/Orlando week of dog shows! What a stellar lineup of dogs all week long.

Gr Ch Gateways Nothing But Trouble at 7+ years old was absolutely breathtaking as he was awarded Best Of Breed at 2 of the 5 shows, including the finale……..the Saturday, 2014 Eukanuba.

Gr Ch Sheabournes Grizzly Adams has to be one of the best chocolate champions I have ever seen and deserved the BOB at the LRC specialty.

Gr Ch Paradocs Obsidian won BOB at the first day of Orlando shows with Gr Ch Tampa Bay & Snobo Gusty Seas Batten Down The Hatch winning BOB on the 3rd day or Orlando shows…………………both dogs beyond outstanding.

Congratulations to the breeders of each of these great dogs………..to the handlers for putting on such a great performance and of course to their owners for doing what it takes to have such great examples of the breed on display for the rest of us to see, admire and hopefully incorporate into our breeding programs to perpetuate the betterment of the breed.

What an honor it was for the Chambray dogs to be among the best dogs in the country and also some top dogs from foreign countries as well. We will hang the awards/rosettes/points our dogs won with immense pride knowing they were standing in such awesome company and came out doing so well.

December 7th

From A Visitors Point Of View

"I attended the Miami dog shows as you had invited us to meet you and also your dogs and their owners. That was quite impressive to see so many wonderful looking dogs and to also have the opportunity to speak to so many of the owners that were there.

As a longtime owner of Labradors, some from well-known show breeders, I was really surprised not to see many dogs from other area breeders. In speaking to a Chambray owner, he related how not many want to compete against your lineup of dogs, thus the low turnout by other breeders. Where do other breeders show their dogs?"

I am sorry I missed talking to you while you were there. Things get quite hectic once the action starts in the ring that all we have time for is to handle the dogs. There were so many of our owners there, plus over a dozen people that had contacted me about a puppy and as I did with you, I also gave them the information about seeing many of the Chambray dogs that we were showing and to then have the chance to speak to the owners that were there.

I have no control over other breeders/exhibitors as far as entering their dogs at the shows. These shows are announced a year in advance and are open to all AKC registered dogs. When I make the entries for the dogs that I manage, I never know how many other breeders/exhibitors will be entering their dogs. We only know the entry breakdown about a week after the entries closed. We only will know which actual dogs will be competing the morning of the first show by seeing the catalog for each breed.

As occurred with the Miami shows, there were a total of 27 Labrador entered and about 19 were Chambray dogs owned by those I placed them with as puppies. Throughout the regular dog show season in Florida, that’s pretty much how it works out, usually about half or more of the entries at any given show will be Chambray dogs.

I would assume that our higher winning percentage has deterred others from entering their dogs, but that’s conjecture on my part. There could be other reasons as well. I really don’t get too caught up in the backroom drama of things. I have a job to do and my entire focus is in getting that job done with the resources that I have.

Of course that job is the ‘Betterment of the Breed’, in all that it entails. From breeding the absolute best, training and conditioning to be in the best condition possible and handling to make the best presentation of each dog that we manage.

In the last 5 years or so, there has been an appreciable move by the area breeders traveling out of state where we don’t travel to. This could be a way of avoiding direct competition with our dogs, which of course I take it as a huge complement.

We too have loaded up the van and headed out of state, however our mission on those jaunts is to build majors where it takes less dogs. Since the numbers of dogs entered in Florida has decreased because of our presence, trekking out of state has become a strategy to finish some of our dogs that have pointed out and need the major-pointed shows for their titles.

There really isn’t a remedy to this low turnout situation in Labradors in our state. At each dog show we attend, I will let the other breeders, exhibitors and handlers know how many dogs I will be entering in future events, hoping that they too will bring on their best exhibits.

My contention is and always will be that the best dog will win, regardless of the number of dogs that a breeder can field. A breeder/exhibitor can enter 10 poor specimens against a breeder with a great dog and the great dog will win 99% of the time, proving that it is not about the quantity as it is about the quality!

The challenge that I lay down for any and all is to bring on your best dogs to compete because that is exactly what I will do with the Chambray dogs. Each and every dog that I manage and enter at a dog show can and will win points because each is at the top of the conformation charts.

December 7th

Of Records And Streaks To Pass The Time Away…………How Did It Go?

So, now we are done with the Miami dog show weekend…………………………done because early tomorrow, not even 24 hours after we wrapped up this next-to-last dog show weekend of the year, we embark upon 5 grueling days of showing in Orlando FL to really end the dog show year.

That’s not just any 5 days of shows we are driving 4 hours north to……………………..no siree, these are the largest attended shows of the year for Chambray…………3 regular all-breed dog shows hosted by the area’s clubs, a Labrador Retriever Specialty hosted by the parent breed club, The LRC Inc. and then “The really big shoo!” as announced by Ed Sullivan of my childhood days…………………..the AKC-Eukanuba National Championships!

Ok, I know I have painted this “Eukanuba” canvas with so much color and texture for months now that most of my readers are bleary-eyed from reading all the hype, so I will just stick to the Miami dog shows of today and yesterday.

Since so many of you bloganistas are into numbers, or at least that’s what those that email me tell me, I will add some combustible fluid to your aching desire fires.

At the top of the list with the highest probability of achieving was adding to the Winning Weekend Streak of 95………………and sure enough, we hit 96! Not just casually or singularly but with aplomb!

At Saturday’s show, we sweep the 3 major winning awards or Best Of Breed, Winners Dog and Winners Bitch to record our 52nd Trifecta, which had a very good probability of happening. This Trifecta also upped the bar record to 8 in one year!!!!!!!!!!!!

Of course winning the Best Of Breed on Saturday covered the odds of making that the 277th lifetime BOB for Chambray dogs! Our top champion show dog, BBE Gr Ch Chambrays Ruff Jewel Walter would take his 14 BOB and followed that up with his 9th Sporting Group placement. This breed win propels Walter to the 5th place in the Chambray Best Of Breeds rankings, now only 1 BOB behind the current 4th place holder Ch Chambrays Twist Of Fate.

Those other records to beat/set such as crowning a 45th Lifetime champion, which would make that dog the 7th in one year did not happen………of course the odds for that to happen were exceedingly long shots. We now have 5 more show left in the year to accomplish that, especially 7 home-bred champions in 1 year.

Keep in mind that in 2012 Chambray posted the state record of 6 new champions and that number also was the most for the year in the country, making Chambray the #1 champion breeder in the USA. We already are #1 in Florida for 2014, however could 6 champions this year be enough for that national ranking? Let’s see what’s in store in Orlando in the coming week.

Last but not least the longest shot of them all………………..winning a Best In Show, did not happen. Those odds are astronomical at well over 2500 shows to 1 at regular local shows.

I wouldn’t hold my breath at that happening at any of the 5 Orlando shows with 10 times the entries of all-breed dogs from every nook and cranny state and even foreign countries. So using my un-savvy statistical expertise (non-existent), that would be like the Earth getting hit my a moon-sized asteroid anytime soon. As Carl Sagan would say “the odds are billions and billions against that happening”…………………well, he really didn’t say all that, like that………………….but he did say the “billions and billions” part of it.

PS: Side Note

We had 3 brand new point winners join the other Chambray dogs that are already AKC Ch-Pointed.

Congratulations to the following young dogs and their Chambray owners.

Chambrays 4 X 4 Big Dog Diesel owned by Mary and Russ McCubbins of Delray Beach FL

Chambrays Camila owned by the Dias family of Coral Gables FL

Chambrays Grace Of The Field owned by Judith and Mickey Baker of Ft Lauderdale FL

Also in the winners circle adding to his resume of points was WinQuest Chambrays Famous Amos now with 12 points and 2 majors!

December 4th

It Either Moves Good Or It Doesn't

“My dog moves just as good as some of the dogs that you say are great movers. What makes those dogs better movers than other dogs, especially my dog?”

I hope that you were able to ‘see’ how a dog is supposed to move like, when the dog’s structure is correct. We used one of our dogs that has what is considered to be the correct movement and then we showed you where your dog is off from that correct way of moving.

Any dog can move up and back from a judge and any dog can go around the ring. What a knowledgeable judge is looking for is the dog that moves the best……………….the one that is built the best so that it can move the best…………..redundant but that’s the way it is.

Like a car’s engine that purrs when perfecting tuned up………………..all cylinders firing in the exact precise order as designed……………………so too must a dog move its 4 legs in perfect synchronicity during the show gait in order for it to be considered a ‘great mover’.

There is a cadence between the 4 legs that must be precise or else something will be off.

In the perfect sequence of the show gait, the front leg is in full extension reaching forward, while the rear leg of the same side is in full extension backwards in the rear drive cycle, both legs and feet will be off the ground at exactly the same distance from the ground, at exactly the same degree (45°) off the ground at exactly the same time………..synchronicity at its best!

On the other side of the dog, both the front leg and the rear leg are in perfect convergence underneath the dog’s end of the ribcage. There is a millisecond where both of these same side feet and the other side’s 2 feet will be off the ground………………..in perfect synchronous movement!

The only way that the preceding 2 sentences can happen is if the dog has perfect structure and moves that perfect structure as true blue as training, conditioning and presentation can facilitate.

The flip side of not having perfect structure will result in an off cadent, non-synchronized mode of locomotion.

For instance, a dog with upright shoulders (not at the desired 45° layback) will inevitably be off that perfect cadence with the front leg still up in the air in reach mode, while the rear leg on the same side is still on the ground stroking forward. Remember, that in the perfect sequence, both of these legs will be off the ground, one at the forward most part of the cycle while the rear leg of the same side will be in the rear most position of rear drive.

This reaching forward and driving back of the same side legs is the most obvious to the eye that something is off. Looking at the opposite side legs, the ones in convergence underneath the dog……………….it is more difficult to pick up the off-cadence, however it is also there.

In perfect cadence, the front feet and rear feet almost touch at that precise moment. In off-cadence, keeping an eye right underneath the rib cage, the rear feet will hit that spot while the front feet are already moving forward away from the convergence point…………………..so there is no convergence of the front leg with the rear leg……the desired sequential mode is non-existent.

The degree that the cadence is off will determine how far off the dog’s movement is from the perfect and most desirable mode.

In the case of the dog that came to me for a movement evaluation at the show, her dog had very straight, upright shoulders. This caused the dog to have a very stilted front gait, which limited the front reach quite a bit, not the full 45° that is considered to be perfect reach. This caused the cadence of the four legs to be totally off where the dog never ‘planed out’ at the topline, rather it had a rocking motion from front to back, with the rear always higher than the withers. The shoulders being so straight, the head could not be held as high as the withers, creating a shoveling action by the head and frontend assembly.

Any dog can move around the ring, the question then becomes if it is moving correctly because of proper structure or if poor structure is causing the dog to move incorrectly.

In the case of the dog in question, the dog’s poor shoulder structure is causing the very observable to the knowledgeable eye as incorrect and poor movement.

December 4th

Records & Streaks To Pass The Time Away

The Davie dog show weekend is now history and the results are in the books………………the AKC’s and also the Chambray record books as well!

The Davie shows added to the Chambray record books and winning streaks.

*95 Straight Winning Weekends of dog shows.

*7th Trifecta in 1 year by Chambray-bred dogs (BOB, WD and WB, all from 1 breeder)

*The 275th Best Of Breed.

So, what’s in store for the record books for the Miami dog shows this coming weekend?

It’s extremely likely that the weekend winning streak will rise to 96!

Odds on for another Best Of Breed to add to the state record now at 276 and maybe even 2 BOBs raising that total to 278.

There is a strong possibility that an 8th and remotely even a 9th Trifecta in 1 year is within reach.

An even more remote chance that a 7th Chambray champion in 1 year could be achieved, making that dog also the 45th Lifetime Chambray champion, so 2 records with one dog titling would really put icing on the 2014 show year.

With one dog it would take more than just a Winners Dog, Chambrays Stellar Thunder ‘Rico’ would need to take WD and BOS or BOB to make it the major-pointed win to propel him over the top for his AKC champion’s title. If Rico finishes this weekend or next week in Orlando, he would raise the bar in 3 different categories for records, he would be the 45th lifetime champion, the 7th in 1 year and also the 8th Bred By Exhibitor………….all state records for 1 breeder.

The other dog with an outside chance to make it the 45th lifetime and 7 in one year is WinQuest Famous Amos needing to win both days Winners Dog for the 4 points he lacks for his title.

Of course any of our dogs taking a Best Of Breed and then a Sporting Group 1 would add to that record of 11 Group 1s……………………………the longest shot of all would be the winning of a Best In Show, something that only happens once in 2500 shows for a Labrador, with only 2 of our Chambray dogs (state record) ever savoring that ellusive pie in the sky……………………..so 3 lifetime BIS’s would really be a coup de grace of historical proportions!

So, now we await the weekend and see what the cards have coming our way. We are ready, our dogs are ready and our owners will be there to root on the home team, Team Chambray.

December 3rd

See You At The AKC Eukanuba Week In Orlando

"For the last year or so, I have occasionally visited your website, your puppy pages, the stud dog section and of course the blogs. What a great organization you all have there in Florida.

That I know of, I haven’t known or heard of any other breeders sponsoring so many programs and activities for their owners.

I have to admit that it did take a while to fully understand how most of it all works, but once I got past the newness, it became very clear.

I agree that sometimes a new thing is not accepted at first. With your setup of breeding at the quality level that you all produce and then providing the services of training and then handling the dogs at the dog shows, that and your successes also contribute to those whose dogs are being bypassed for the wins and points.

By and large those I have spoken to speak highly of your success with Labradors.

I will be at the AKC Eukanuba National Championships next weekend and hope to see and meet you and your family of owners that are listed on your roster lineup. From the looks of it, you all will have the most Labradors competing at these shows. Good luck and congratulations on all your successes this past year."

D Smith SC

We are all set for the really big one, the Eukanuba week in Orlando! We still have 2 shows this weekend right here in Miami. However come Monday we will be heading north 4 hours to Orlando to set up house in the cavernous convention center for 6 days of showing dogs, especially our Labrador Retrievers.

We also have 5 other breeds that we train, condition and handle for their owners, so hectic and nonstop will be the modus operandi come December 9th through December 14th.

I look forward to meeting you and well over 2 dozen more fine folk that have contacted me about meeting up with me in Orlando for the 3 days of Orlando Club shows, the LRC Specialty and wrapping up with the 2 days of Eukanuba.

December 3rd

Greatness Is As Greatness Does

If Forrest Gump had been a Chambray owner, he probably would have said the preceding:

I just wrote a blog about Hogan’s wonderful contributions to the Betterment of the Breed as a whole and specifically to Chambray Labradors. At the beginning, who knew how special he would be to our show and breeding program. It took a few years to realize what was building up, but gradually the contributions started to roll in and now 10 years later it is apparent for all to appreciate with the resume that Hogan holds.

Years back when I was a whippersnapper, still wet behind the ears as a Labrador breeder/exhibitor, the then greats of the breed, the breed’s legends that all of us newbies looked up to would say “Each breeder is entitled to one really great dog in their lifetime as a breeder!”

That was like a biblical passage to all the followers of the time. I lived that mantra, thinking that one day, I too would have that one great dog! 44 years later, I must confess that I have been blessed with not one great dog (Hogan), there have been several. Seeing as how all those great mentors are no longer among us, I guess I don’t sound too blasphemous to them saying that.

Before Hogan, there was JAMSS Ch Chambrays Chisholm Chancey ( a 4th generation Chambray line) born in 1997 (our logo dog), producer of 4 champions, 3 of those females that together went on to produce 7 champions between them. The male offspring champion has 1 get champion to his credit.

The magical thing that occurred for Chancey and Hogan was how great their genes combined to produce the succeeding generations of Chambray dogs.

Right about now, we are seeing glimpses of yet another great contributor to Chambray Labradors breeding program. Time will tell if it blossoms into also contributing to the whole breed, the betterment of the breed.

I am taking about Jericho (Bronze Gr Ch Summithills Joshua’s Battle At Jericho). Jericho made the 2013 LRC Top 25 Tribute……………..but his contributions are the offspring that are now dominating the show ring.

He now has 1 AKC champion get in Ch Chambrays Tucker Everlasting and 1 FCI/Col champion, one of the fastest finishing Labradors ever in Colombia, FCI/Col Ch Chambrays Maxed N Counter “Max”.

Just this past weekend at the Davie shows, 3 of his get were point winners. At Saturday's show we had Max take Winners Dog for a 3-pt major, plus Best Of Winners, then his daughter Chambrays Belle From Ipanema taking Winners Bitch and at Sunday's shows another daughter Chambrays Little Miss Magic Stella taking Winners Bitch, Best Of Winners and Best Of Opposite Sex (over a specials bitch) for a 3 point major.

Besides these champions and pointed dogs and bitches, he also has 2 more of his get that are pointed.

The icing on the cake with Jericho and what he is producing is how well his gene pool and pedigree has combined with the existing Chambray/Hogan lines.

Watch for these awesome Jericho get to continue to make a mark at the dog shows, propelling Jericho into the realm of greatness not only for Chambray, but also to the Betterment of the Breed.

December 2nd

More Chambray Owners

I was totally amazed at all the ‘other’ Chambray owners. It was really great speaking to so many of them and they sharing their experiences with me.

This was the first time we have ever taken you up on your annual ‘round up of Chambray owners’ and are we fortunate that we finally did attend one! We met so many wonderful people from all walks of life and they all had that special ‘thing’ in common, Chambray!

I have been a Chambray owner now for 9 years after getting Mia from my brother-in-law and would like to add another special Chambray puppy to our family.

In my neighborhood there are several other Chambray owners and we also get together on the common areas alongside the golf course and let the dogs romp at will. Some of the owners have been with your programs for over 20 years and that’s how my brother-in-law got Mia from you and we got her from him.

Now that I have more time, with the kids now in high school and college, I would like to be part of your Therapy and Service Dog Programs.

However, seeing firsthand the tremendous interest level that the other Chambray owners have with showing, I would like to get involved in both these shows and also do the Therapy. Please select the best puppy for what we want.

Myra

Myra and her family obtained a Chambray puppy 2nd-hand 9 years ago from her brother-in-law, who had purchased it from me, but shortly thereafter had to relocate and could not take the puppy with him. I recently met Myra and she is now on the waiting list for a 2nd Chambray puppy. This time she wants to take part in all the activities that are part of our Owner’s Programs, including doing Therapy and possibly showing!

December 2nd

More From Chambray Owners

Dear Sandy,

Thank you for including us!!

We had such a wonderful time meeting your Chambray Lab families!! We all agreed once a Chambray owner- it's in your blood ;))

We sat with Tucker's family, maybe Kika's parent?, Bob's parents.... Vipper's mom, Marie..... We felt very comfortable and loved sharing stories of their experiences and special moments with their show dogs/pets ;)) You have truly created a fraternity of lab lovers and followers. Your efforts have brought us All so much joy!!

I have so many thoughts and questions..... Please don't feel like you need to get back to me..
I know you have lots of work to complete and we will be down to visit the babies soon enough ;)))

Our intentions are to own a show quality pup. I want to make the commitment to get obedience training and participate in showing however, I have concerns.... My concerns are...

We met many couples that were older (meaning their children had maybe left home or were older siblings than ours). This is their hobby- their main activity .....When I commit - I commit 100% and I am concerned with the younger ages of my children ?? will I honestly be able to get the obedience training and show ring material dog completed with our schedules of kids sports, etc. At the same time; I want to make a commitment to be involved as a Chambray participant in the program. Are there other families like ours that participate part-time or in the puppy class or is it an "all in" every show program schedule?

I could make appointments weekly for training but, nightly classes would be difficult as we are in Pompano (quite the drive for the evening program)? The whole point of owning the new pup is to love on him in our home, but perhaps there is a way where we could do blocks of training?

I just want you to be honest with me and me; honest with you from commit standards. Can you tell I've read through your blog ;)) I don't want to be the family that commits and drops out. I don't want to be asking for a show quality pup and have you loose on your commitment to following the Betterment of your breed standard - by not showing your stock.... We are talking highest quality pets but, I realize you are running a business operation as well.

We are longing for that large, blocky headed show ring boy - points or not.

Expense of the program is less my worry than time to commit with my responsibilities with the children's ages.

Are any of these valid questions?

Am I jumping the gun on my timing? We definitely want another pup, but perhaps Chambray Show Programing is in our future and not for present participation?

Yes; I know I'm asking many questions.... But, clearly after meeting the Chambray Fraternity ..... I don't feel like a psycho chambray follower anymore..... Because their are a whole lot of us!!! ..... And we will only have 2!! Haha!

We met a few families that have a bunch!! My reply was, "You must have a huge house and yard?" Some do and some don't ;)) ....

They just love Chambray!! It's a viral thing and I have it!!
XoX That's Great Stuff!!!

We love what you do! Thank U!!

I read your blog and I get dog advice, but Life advice - Humor and sometimes - THE straight up truth!! There are a lot of wacky people out there! I'm praying you aren't thinking this of me!! If you ever stop working 24/7 ....... You better take time to take up psychology, counseling, and write a few books!!

We will talk in person when we visit. For now; Go Win Big!! We will be watching ;))

I know whatever you think best is what and how u will place us and guide us for this time in our life. We really just appreciate the opportunity to have another Chambray to raise ;)) thank u thank u!! 😝😝😝

Katherine and her family adopted 'Rivers' (Hogan's full brother from a previous litter) as a young adult and gave him almost a decade of family love. They now have an 18-month old full sister to one of our newest champions, Ch Chambrays Tucker Everlasting. They are also on the waiting list for one of Gavi X Jericho show puppies.

Of course I will spend as much time as they need to answer any and all questions she/they may have for a future placement.

As previous and present Chambray owners, they receive priority placement of one of our dogs because I couldn't think of a better family for a Chambray Lab.

December 2nd

The Hogan Influence Lives On

The Hogan Influence

This past weekend at two dog show venues 750 miles apart, across state lines a very unique happenstance played itself out.

On Saturday, November 29th at the Davie FL dog show, Best Of Breed (Ch Chambrays Hogan’s Hero Rocky), Winners Dog (Chambrays Maxed N Counter 3-Pt Major) and Winners Bitch (Chambrays Bella From Ipanema) (BOB, WD, WB…..equal a Trifecta) were either sired by BIS BBE Ch Chambrays Out Of The Ruff “Hogan” or were his grandkids……………………………………..the same day deja vous moment occurred in Savannah GA where BOB/WD and WB (another Trifecta) were also Hogan’s grandkids too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Trifectas, the winning of Best Of Breed, Winners Dog and Winners Bitch all from the same breeder or same sire/grandsire as in this case doesn’t happen with any predictable frequency. In fact the vast majority of serious breeders/exhibitors may go a lifetime of showing and not parlay the winning combination once!

For posterity sake, at Davie’s Sunday show, another of Hogan’s grandkids (Chambrays Triple Play) took Winners Dog for a 3-Pt Major win and one of his granddaughters (Chambray Little Miss Magic Stella) took Winners Bitch/BOW/BOS for a 3-Pt Major as well.

Besides a son and a grandkid winning BOB, 6 grandkids winning points, there was even a new champion great grandkid (Ch Chambrays Razor’s Edge Thunderstruck) that took Grand Champion points both Saturday and at Sunday’s Davie shows.

What a long lasting effect this great stud dog and champion producer has had……………..3 generations now and what an awesome legacy for one dog to leave behind. Siring 8 AKC show champions, 2 Master Hunters, 1 Senior Hunter, 3 Junior Hunters and 12 more AKC champion pointed dogs and by now who knows how many of his grandkids and great grandkids are out there being successful in the activities they participate in.

Hogan is now 10 years old, on August 4th of this year.

December 1st

Chambray Labradors 25th Annual Owner's Get Together

Davie FL November 29th 2014

Folks, it truly doesn't get any better than this.

Click on center photo to enlarge.

Click on side photos to carousel.

Really Folks, It Doesn’t Get Any Better Than This!

The Chambray Owner’s Program is all very difficult to visualize if someone is standing on the outside looking in…………………………..I know because even though there are multitudes on the inside experiencing the many facets of the unique Labrador Retriever-related activities, most of those don’t fully grasp the whole spectrum of the project.

Each year at a specified dog show, usually one of the last ones for the year, I invite the numerous owners that are actively taking part in the showing aspect of the program. To that list of owners, I will contact past owners whose dogs may have retired from showing, others whose dogs don’t actually show, some that participate in the breeding of the future litters, others that are more involved with obedience, many with our therapy dogs, and there are those whose dogs are actively in service………………while others participate in agility, many in rally and others in all types of active sports with their dogs.

There will be those that just joined in with their very first ‘show prospect’ while others have had several dogs that may span a decade or more of participation. There are single dog owners and there are owners that have several, maybe even 5 Chambray Labradors.

At the most recent ‘get together’……………this past weekend at the Davie Fl dog shows……………every niche, nook and cranny of an owner showed up! We had real old-timers, one past owner that had a Chambray dog back in 1989 and that dog lived 14 years.

There was an owner, Cindy Ceballos from back in 1996 who co-bred a Chambray female producing 2 Chambray-bred champions. Cindy now has an Aussie that Jessie is showing for her.

Two different owners from the same litter in 2004, one being Hogan’s owner Rosie Feely, the other owners were Wanda Simmons and Courtney Keller who entered at the Davie show Hogan’s brother Beach Boy as a Veteran at 10 years old………..looking great in fact!

What an incredible journey this has been for the hundreds upon hundreds that have participated and to those that are now part of the one of a kind Labrador Retriever Owner/Breeder’s Group………..one of a kind in the entire country.

I am beaming with pride at what we have accomplished together in these last 25 years of the Owner’s Program. We have come from obscurity in 1989 to being in the shiniest spotlight on a national level.

The achievements, awards, accolades, records, successes, our national recognition………………..none of those would have been possible without all of our owners……it has been a collective movement where we have kept the Betterment of the Breed as our foremost goal………………………….Mission Accomplished!

Thank you to each and every Chambray owner and Chambray partner that has stepped through the gates at Chambray Acres. Every single one of you has made a contribution that has made all this possible. What we have doesn’t exist anywhere else…………….not even close.

I received more than 2 dozen “congratulations”……….. “Job well done”………….. “Your group is awesome”, from other breeders, from club officers, from several judges, from the ring stewards, from ordinary folk………………….I get to hear it, but I pass it on to each one of our Chambray owners and partners!

Thank you all for allowing me these last 25 years to do my very best for the Betterment of the Breed.

Together we have made a difference.

December 1st

Eukanuba/LRC/Orlando Shows Roster Revised

Revised Roster

Roster At EukanubaDec1st.docx

November 30th

Sandy,

As always what a great job you guys do.

Thank you, your family and the team for the wonderful show experience, looking forward to up coming shows.

I am super happy about being part of all this success and am absolutely in love with my dog.

Thank God I was sent in your direction and met you guys.

I see other handlers and breeders that I contacted before finding Chambray and it doesnt even come close.

Thank you for having the knowledge the intuition,dedication and acquiring the wisdom to breed such wonderful and exquisite Labs.

When you love what you do,what you do loves you back.

JC Rodriguez

Nothing further needed from me when the Chambray owners say it best.

November 26th

Clear As Day

I have followed your dogs for a couple of years through your website and also your blog. I have also seen your dogs at dog shows where you travel outside of Florida to show and I happen to be there with my dogs showing. I applaud your efforts to produce the quality level that I have seen and also your contributions to the breed through your various involvement with the breed.

I don’t understand why there are people that are confused as to how your programs work. You provide a product and then you offer services to those that buy your dogs. What is so difficult about that?

The last person that wrote in has it right, it is all about some people being successful and others not! Those that can’t compete against your dogs are the ones that do the complaining. I wouldn’t be too bothered by them either with their complaining or the level of their dogs. All those confused and complaining would love to have the dogs that you will be showing at the Eukanuba National Championships coming up.

How many of those on the roster already have points?

JD Smith TX

Thank you for the feeedback. Several other emails also asked about whether the class dogs were champion pointed. So I went back and added that column to the Chambray's Show Roster document that I had published in the blog below this one.

November 25th

For those asking about our stellar lineup roster for the 3 days of Orlando shows, the LRC and culminating at the Eukanuba shows. The following link will detail every one of our dogs for those shows, the classes they will be showing from and their owners. Click on hyperlink below or icon to the right below. The document will be downloaded so that you can open it at will and save for future reading. Enjoy.

Chambray's Show Roster

Roster At EukanubaDec1st.docx

November 25th

More Chambray Owners Speak Up

Now regarding the To Get It Or Not To Get It blog. I think people just don’t understand your program, although you spell it out, they don’t want to read it and think about it.

From reading the emails you post and talking to some strangers who heard of Chambray I realized, people think you own all the dogs and show them all knowing one will win.

NO matter how hard I tried to explain that Chambray program is unique they didn’t get it. People don’t seem to understand that dogs live in their own homes, with their own families. The owners, exercise the dogs, feed and groom them, they come to classes to your Chambray Acres, where they work with the dogs. Yes the trainers work with them too when it comes to the show preparation, but I don’t think that people grasp the concept of many unrelated families coming together to be part of the program.

People will be people. There always will be that person who cannot see past the love of their pets to realize it is not a show dog, or even show potential dog. They will find reasons why the dog didn’t win, and blame everyone except falling short to meet standards of the breed or poor training of the dog or own showmanship. It is in our nature to want to win, and things can get ugly if we don’t. You see plenty of that I am sure of.

My two cents, you can’t change who people are. It is when their ugliness spreads into your life, when people hide behind email thinking it gives them the right to say whatever they want, you feel the impact of it. Shame on them. I applaud your ability to hold back in face of such lack of professionalism and simple human decency.

Your program is one of the kind. It is a well structured order of events that allows the dog and the owner to reach their full potential. Every Chambray owner wants to win, but with your guiding hand they seem to understand that winers are picked by the judges based on personal preference.

All Chambray dogs are sound, well proportioned, perfect representation of the breed. Like you said, every dog has an equal chance to win, and each win is celebrated because it is a victory of not only the dog, but a unique program that has sole thing in mind “THE BETTERMENT OF THE BREED”

I feel privileged to be part of your program, even if Sam is not a show dog, he is a wonderful dog, and we love him with all our hearts. I walk him with pride knowing he is a great representation of his breed. Thank you for allowing us to be part of your owners family.

I hope you will do great on the upcoming Eukanuba show, please write a blog what dog will represent Chambray when you have the roster. I hope Jessie will show, she has such wonderful showmanship it was a pleasure to watch her handle dogs in the ring.

Take care of yourself,

Sincerely,

Eve

Thank you Eve for your wonderful understanding and great way to state it.

Actually, with the vet saying that his bite is perfect now, there is an excellent chance that he indeed can be a show dog. One of the top Chambray champions had an 'awry' mouth at 6 months of age. It had shifted from a perfect scissors bite to it being crooked from left to right with the top teeth.

Well, at 9 months of age it was perfect and he went on to finish, winning 11 BOBs and even 1 Group 1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ch Chambrays Franco, back in 2001.

Eve's puppy Sam had a slight alignment bite problem at the time of placement with Eve, thus was placed as a "pet puppy".

November 25th

Lollapalooza

Lollapalooza and hullabaloo too! That’s what the gargantuan, super-duper, dogdom extravaganza coming up the week of December 9th through December 14th promises to be!

In case you just arrived on Earth on one of the streaking Earth-encounter meteorites and then stumbled unto these blogs for the very first time……………………….I am talking about the Eukanuba week of dog shows up in magic O-town, Orlando FL…………yeah, that’s what I’m talking about!

For Labradors it will be 5 straight shows with over 100 Labradors each day vying for points, for Best Of Breeds, for grand champion points, for Judges Awards of Merits (JAMS), for Best Bred By Exhibitors Best Of Breeds, for national ranking, for major boasting rights……………………………..for just being there among the top dogs of our breed!

Could it possibly get any better?

Well, yeah! One or several of the Chambray dogs could win some of that gravy being piled high for this stellar week of dog shows!

Of course the big pie in the sky would be winning Best Of Breed at Saturday’s official Eukanuba event! That would seal every deal from here to Timbuctoo. Of course we were a dog’s hair away at the 2013 from walking away with all the marbles…………………..but just in the flick of a finger to the other dog being consider for that astronomical award, our flagship Labrador or all times, BIS BBE Silver Grand Champion Chambrays Celestial N Counter was relegated to the 2nd spot of Select Grand Champion and not Best Of Breed!

Well, we are back for the 2014 canine congregation with a vengeance! We have the most outrageous lineup of class dogs and champions chomping at the bit to get into it with the competition……………………….and so is Team Chambray!

Since the 2013 Eukanuba event almost 12 months ago, we have been training, conditioning, grooming, training some more, getting plenty of practice at the state’s dog shows………………..winning quite a bit, finishing a record-tying 6 new champions in that time, grabbing a state-record 6 Trifectas so far in 2014, going an astonishing 94 straight winning dog show weekends that started back in January of 2012 and other bar raising accomplishments…………………….so now we await these next 2 weekends of dogs shows here in South Florida before we load up and head for Mickey Mouse’s playground for the Eukanuba affair…………………….actually the show venue at the Orlando Convention Center is located pretty nears the Disney World enclave.

November 25th

Random Notes About Shows Coming Up

Davie Show News:

Not since Hogan’s (BIS BBE Ch Chambrays Out Of The Ruff) heyday have we seen so many puppies and dogs that have been sired by the same dog at a dog show!

Coming into this weekend’s dog shows in Davie FL, there will be 11 male and female offspring from Bronze Gr Ch Summithills Joshua’s Battle At Jericho (owned by Carol and Chip Wilkening)……………………among those will be one of our newest AKC champion, Ch Chambrays Tucker Everlasting (owned by the Etzigs) and another is our newest FCI champion FCI Col. Ch Chambrays Maxed N Counter (owned by Mark Reitzenstein). Tucker is from Chambrays Queen Of Hearts aka “Viper” and Max is from BBE Gr Ch Chambrays Charmed N Counter aka “Charm” (Viper is owned by Marie Knapp).

There are 3 other Jericho kids that are AKC- pointed. Chambrays Where Eagles Dare “Tank” (owned by Marie Knapp) with a 3-pt major to his credit, Chambrays Little Miss Magic Stella (owned by Tim Kroll and Dawn Sloan) both Tank and Stella are from Viper. Chambrays Thor God Of Thunder (owned by the Solis family) with 2 points also. Thor is from Chambrays Kelly At Cherry Hill (owned by Darrell Venters).

Then there are Chambrays Grace Of The Field (Judith and Mickey Baker) and Chambrays Belle From Ipanema (the Farias family), both from Kelly as well, Chambrays Bandit from WinQuest Little Bella (JC Rodriguez)……………..Chambrays Diesel (the McCubbins) & Chambrays Coco (the Pulido family) both from Chambrays Scuba Divin In Antigua “Fer” (owned by Juan Marrero) and there is another Jericho X Viper puppy, Chambrays Sweet Honey Dew (owned by Ivan Toro).

BBE Ch Chambrays Bailey On The Rocks (owned by Neil and Faith Wasserman) who ranks as being the 2nd top champion producer (3 champion get) for Chambray has a nice lineup of offspring at the Davie shows too, four of them in fact. Topping the list for Bailey is our current top show specials, ranked #5 in the USA, BBE Ch Chambrays Ruff Jewel Walter (the Bakers). There is also Chambrays Triple Play ‘Sonic’ (Javier Lopez) with 4 points. Both Walter and Sonic are from WinQuest Chambray Jewel In The Ruff (the Wassermans).

The other 2 Bailey get are Chambrays Dylan (Sam Knobler) from Chambrays Lilly of the Pond (Rachel Green) and Chambrays Annie Get Your Gun (Gina Buzzetti) from Belquest Hoshie (Marsha Zimburg).

Our top champion producer (8 champion get) of all times, Hogan will be represented by one of his kids, AKC ch-pointed Chambray’s Ruff Rider Harley (the Pinedas).

Chambray's 4 champion specials showing at the Davie show are all brand new 2014 champions! First time ever that we have a starting lineup of ‘specials’ that all finished their AKC champion’s title in the same year.

Those dogs are BBE Ch Chambrays Ruff Jewel Walter finishing in March, Ch Chambrays Tucker Everlasting completing his champion’s quest in September, Ch Shady Banks Chambray Tiberius (owned by the Padgetts) winning the last major for his title in October and just this month we had Ch Chambrays Razor’s Edge Thunderstruck (owned by the McGraws) grabbing his AKC title at the last weekends of shows in Ocala.

Talking about champion titles, there are 3 dogs that can conceivably do just that at the Davie shows. The odds on favorite because he only needs 1 major-pointed Winners Dog is Chambrays Stellar Thunder (Marrero)with 14 points and 1 major. Since both Saturday and Sunday’s Davie shows are majors for the male, just one win for Rico gives him the needed major for his AKC’s title.

WinQuest Chambray Famous Amos (the Eslingers) has 11 points and 3 majors and could wrap it all up by taking a Best Of Breed or a Best Of Opposite Sex which would give him the full 4 points to finish out. Of course winning back-to-back Winners Dog…Saturday and Sunday would also seal the deal for him.

Another dog that could mathematically accumulate enough points both days is Chambrays Sweet Honey Samantha with 8 pts and 2 majors (owned by Neil Merin). Sam would need to win Winners Bitch/Best Of Winners both days, with a Best Of Breed at one of the shows to reach the 15 points she needs to title out. She has already done that twice since July having taken 2 Best Of Breeds over the champions competing.

November the 23rd

To Get It Or Not To Get It!

Mr. Herzon

I totally understand about building majors to benefit all of the dogs owned by many of those that show in an area. I think that what some people object to is that your dogs are beating your own dogs since you all enter so many dogs.

Yeah, I have heard that lament before. However just as the other whining’s hold no water, this too is a porous wailing as well.

Say there are 100 dogs entered and one of those dogs will win the points, hopefully the best dog, what difference does it make who the owner of that dog is……………….who the breeder is……………………….who the handler is? It’s about showing a ‘dog’ and it winning against competition. The dog/bitch that wins Winners Dog or Winners Bitch earns those points towards their AKC champion’s title.

It matters not one iota who the breeder is……………yet! That comes later for bragging rights among breeders to see which one has the most champions bred for the year or for a lifetime.

This is not about me winning or not winning, it’s about the individual dog winning………..of course if I happen to be the breeder of that winning dog, well the merrier I will be and the more I will boast!

Another point of view is that since we bring on the absolute best dogs, more than any other breeder can, then there is a much higher chance……………the odds will be much greater that one of our dogs will win…………………and they do at a higher percentage than other breeder can muster………..so that bodes well for those wise folk that invested in a Chambray-bred dog and that have aligned themselves with the most successful Labrador Owner’s Program in the country.

Those that chose right, they have a much better chance of being successful than does those continuously choose wrong, make mistakes and thus are not successful. This is the law of quantum physics as applied to choosing between right (winner) and wrong (non-winner).

Take for instance the lady that recently came over to Chambray Acres with her dog in tow for a conformation evaluation.

According to her email correspondence with me, she actively ‘search’ all over……………the Internet. Breeder, after breeder and then some…………..all according to her.

She communicated with dozens and dozens and half of those responded back……………or so she says.

According to her, some were very rude, some were very secretive and not informative and others just wrote her off after one email.

A few seemed to be chasing her to make a sale, in fact too needy sounding as they had several litters of puppies available. There were a couple whose prices were beyond the moon…………………all according to her.

So, after more than a year of comparing oranges to apples, she settled on a breeder that promised her the ‘pick of the litter’………………………..the one that the breeder wanted for herself but was ‘willing’ to give to her, for a price of course………………………….rather steep price because after all it was the one that the breeder was going to keep for herself.

So, now she was standing in the front yard of Chambray Acres about to hear yet another pronouncement of what she had on hand. Another one, according to her, because she has been to several conformation training classes and she had approached professional handlers and trainers, plus she had trekked over to some of the dog shows in her area and met with several ‘knowledgeable’ Labrador enthusiast and now she wanted one more analysis of her ‘investment’.

The one year old chocolate female now tearing around my front ¼ acre was nearly 24 inches tall……………which would make her the tallest Labrador at any dog show that I have been to in the last 3 years………………now that’s a tall story!

Her features were very ‘weedy’ or as some dog show elitist would proclaim ‘fieldy’…………kind of casting dispersions on the field trial type dogs, with said pronouncement would elevate the conformation dogs to a higher calling.

Weedy to me means thin, long boned as opposed to being moderated boned and more of a squarish-looking look to the overall profile of the dog. Not a dog to being showing at dog shows!

After delivering my verdict, she tells me that she has one more place to go to for another evaluation!

Like if in the time that she leaves my place and arrives in parts unknown of this other verifier, the dog would magically transform from a worm to a cocoon to a dazzling, flitting butterfly!

The writing is on the wall, in big bold letters and this person keeps choosing wrong! Some people are like that……..make that ‘many’ people are like that, in fact let’s up that to ‘most’ people are like that! That’s why there is a small percentage of successful people and the rest just don’t seem to get it.

How does anyone make sense to someone as this lady? She just doesn’t get it! No amount of educating will make any sense. I have seen it over and over again in the 40+ years of my involvement with Labradors.

At the recent International dog shows in Ocala………………….a venue that I value tremendously to debut our newest crop of puppies and young dogs, not to mention the newest batch of owners that have joined our Owner’s Programs………………..I run into another lady that has been dabbling into Labradors for the past 7 years.

I remember her very first futile excursion at an AKC dog show with a female dog that she had purchased at a pet shop. OMG doesn’t adequately describe the sight of the dog nor the handling or better yet total lack of control with the dog in the ring!!!!!!!

So much so that the judge lost his patience with her lack of breed acumen and also total lack of training and control that he promptly excused the dog for lack of merit.

Those around ringside were totally dismayed at the whole scenario. Some were so concerned that they made an attempt at counseling her about the breed standard and how this exhibit was totally not what the breed standard was referring to.

She persisted for the rest of the 3 shows that weekend and each time was sent packing from the ring as being Judge Excused. Of course she did not concede her erroneous ways as she lambasted the judges and even the good folk that offered her good advice including yours truly.

Fast forward 6 months and at exactly the same venue, guess who came to dinner? Yep, it was the same soul, however this time it was a male dog she had bought at a ‘fire sale’!

Yep, a real fire sale, where the barn burnt down and those engaged in producing puppies for the pet market were in need of rapid fire distribution of all dogs on hand!

Once again there was deja vous in the air! Same ole, same ole just with a different dog. Same results, except that this time she found 2 judges that had the time to indulge her and not send her and the exhibit packing!

Worst thing that could have ever happen…………………………………6 months later there she was with a puppy from the original female and the repeat mistake male dog!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One bad decision begets a dozen more!

So has time been gentle and illuminating to that person……………………….NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seven years later and nothing has changed other than dozens of litters produced compounding one mistake into hundreds and worse yet, there was a disciple now with one of her dogs……………..someone new starting out with baggage so loaded that there can be no possible light at the end of that endless tunnel.

I rest my case!

More November 21st

Yakety Yak

Every instance where there is mention of building majors, the confused, haze-minded, and fog-fazed blokes come out of the woodwork and other crevices that denizens dwell in, emerge just enough to rattle their make-believe sabers about the perceived injustices perpetrated by those loading up the numbers at dog shows.

Unbeknownst to this subset of the homo-sapien genome, it is customary and traditional to attract more exhibits by using a time-honored ritual called ‘supported shows or supported entries’.

All across the country at all breed dog shows in every breed ring, handlers, breeders, exhibitors and owners will plan ahead for a particular weekend of dog shows and bring out extra dogs to create the much needed major-pointed shows. At breed specialties ‘supported entries’ are the rule and not the exception.

Of course when exhibitors and breeders bring on their extra dogs, at times those dogs may or may not be to the conformational level that their better dogs may be at. These dogs could be referred to as ‘ringers’ or ‘fillers’. However there is absolutely nothing wrong or amiss in this practice because after all, the best dogs will win and those extra hands (feet) that came out, helped out (help foot the bill too).

So, that brings us to the Chambray owners rallying around the imaginary flagpole and entering their dogs en masse, in the process building majors that ANY OF THOSE ENTERED DOGS CAN WIN!

Notice that I typed that last passage in capital letters and in bold type……………………..that’s because none of those dogs are ringers, fillers or a lesser class of dog than the other top conformational Chambray dogs! In fact, those extra dogs are as good as or better than the rest of the Labrador breeders in the state can field.

For instance, take the 14 class males entered for the South Dade dog shows in Davie and also the 9 class females………………………….each and every one of those 23 males and females are at the top of the charts in conformation, in training and in conditioning and they will have exactly the same level of handling expertise while in the show ring. Which means that each has the same chance as any of the other Chambray dogs in winning the points…………………..which by all facts and figures available from show to show statistics……………..their winning odds exceeds the chances of winning from any of the competing exhibitor’s dogs.

So, major kudos for the Chambray owners that come out in numbers………….numbers that make majors! You can’t win points unless you show up, so those that whine and wail every time the Chambray dogs come out in numbers………I say “hey put up or shut up”.

Of course if these chronic complainers can’t take the heat, then a trip out of state with their dogs to venues with less competition is the soup de jour. The old ‘if you can’t beat them, then go somewhere else to play’ comes readily to mind.

November 19th

"Let's Give Them Something To Talk About"

In Florida at the Labrador ring it takes 15 males to make a major-pointed show, with females the magic number is 23! Without major-pointed shows and wins by the dogs competing, a dog cannot obtain its AKC champion’s title. No matter how many shows a dog wins, it must win 2 shows that add up to major-pointed wins…………………………………no two ways about it!

Well, guess what? We have majors for males at the Davie FL dog shows come the weekend of November 29th and 30th. That’s because the Chambray owners came together and entered their male dogs……..14 of them in fact! That’s what is called ‘creating a major’!

We……………the Chambray owners……..Team Chambray created a major at a venue where it ‘ain’t’ supposed to happen. Of course we must give credit to whomever (whomevers) entered the other 5 dogs because the entry breakdown announced yesterday shows a total of 19 males in the Lab ring, both days.

We have to adjust downwards by 1*, because one of those 14 Chambray males just crossed the finish line for his AKC champion’s title and will ‘move’ up to the Best Of Breed competition for that show.

*Congratulations to new AKC champion, Ch Chambrays Razor’s Edge Thunderstruck…………..a.k.a. ‘Bad Boy Bob’…………….now ‘Sir Robert’! Truth be told, Bob won’t be where he is now if it were not for his owners the McGraw family for doing what it took to get him there. This is the epitome of team play………….Team Chambray at its finest and best.

Back to the ‘majors’ thing. Now here is the clincher……………….not one of those 13 Chambray dogs is a ringer! No siree…………..no loading the scales with our thumbs here………….each and every one of those 13 males can and will win points at any given show here in Florida and never mind what they will do if we load up the truck and head for parts north and west of our sunny side-up state.

So much so, that with my eyes closed, I will select out any 5 of those 13 males and match them up against any other Labrador breeder’s 5 best class males in the country, not just from the Florida breeders……………………….For those in doubt, bring them on…………………..I will put money where my mouth is.

So, let’s hear it from the peanut gallery, the naysayers, the boo birds and all the others that just don’t get it. Team Chambray almost singlehandedly built a major and not one single Palooka on the roster! Instead of fillers, we have winners as there is a very strong possibility of crowning Chambray’s 7th new champion for 2014…..not just from one dog, as there are 2 of our boys that can conceivably finish out their championship right here in their own backyard with the home crowd cheering them on. Could there be an 8th new champion for the year…………………..talk about suspense building up in the days to come before that weekend arrives.

Speaking of home crowd