I am a conformation show breeder and exhibitor of Labrador Retrievers. Show Den Labradors is not a kennel and my Labradors are part of the family and they all live indoors. For this reason I decided on the name Show Den, because we live and show together. My dogs are my pets first and they are show dogs second. I love to have my dogs close by me and I love to spend my time with them.
For as long as I can remember I have always had a passion for dogs. I remember when I was about seven years old my grandmother had a litter of Norwegian Elkhounds. I could not wait to go visit my grandparents place to see and play with the puppies. My grandmother and most of my family were born in Norway and she lived in upstate New York. Warwick to be exact and I could only get to visit her from time to time when my parents would take me and my brother up to her house. I was never one of those children who had to be taught how to handle the puppies or how to hold them the right way, it seemed to be natural to me. When I visited and my grandmother had a litter of puppies on the ground, I would spend most of my time in the whelping box with the puppies. Forget about going outside and playing games with my friends, the puppy box was where I wanted to be. I was not raised in a family that was involved with the dog shows. Many of the handlers today have grown up in the sport of showing dogs and their parents were breeders. I was a late bloomer to the dog show world, self motivated and mostly self taught.
Even after all of this time passed my interest and my desire to show and breed never went away. I have always had a multiple dog household. Some people can't image having more than just one dog and I can't image not having a pack of dogs around me. It has been a journey and I have tried several other breeds with little success. For example, I have been involved with Alaskan Malamute's, Chow Chow's, Samoyed's and Golden Retrievers. Although, some of these dogs I purchased did not work out for breeding for one reason or another. I had all of these different breeds living with me at the same time and due to raising and owning these dogs, I learned how train them and get a better understanding of a dog’s social behavior.
It was not until after I lost my long time companion of 13 years a Labrador mix, Astro, that I got serious and I did my homework. I did extensive reseach on so many different breeds of dogs. I was looking for a companion just like Astro and since he was a heinz 57, I could not find another one just like him. After checking into several breeds of dogs that I just did not feel would suit me, I decided to go back to the drawing board and look into one of the breeds that I knew was in Astro, the Labrador Retriever. Only this time I wanted to make sure to get a pure bred Labrador.
I knew I wanted a breed that was going to be easy for grooming and from my experience with the other breeds I had owned, I knew I wanted a more easy going temperament and the Labrador Retriever seemed to be the perfect fit for me. What started out as a search for my next companion turned out to be the turning point of my entire life. As I did my research looking for a companion, I could finally see the reality that I could become a breeder and after so much time of going in different directions, I decided this time I was going to follow through.
With the Labradors kind temperament and their eagerness to please, I started to see my boy Astro all over again. I love a retrieving water dog and I fell in love with that otter tail right off the back. My first labrador puppy was bought as a companion dog and I did not have any intensions of showing him. We worked together in obedience and I trained him for therapy work.
I always loved male dogs, just the heavy bone and more substantial head was very attractive to me. However, in order to be a breeder I would need a female to start with. I first got onto the list with a this show breeder for a yellow male puppy and after a short time and before I even got my male, I asked for a yellow female as well. Of course in my mind my intention was to breed them to each other when they would be old enough and all of their health clearances were passed. Unaware at the time I did not realize it was just not going to be that easy. In addition, I soon learned the breeder I started with was more of all smoke and mirrors than what was presented to me at that time. That being the case, the first yellow female placed with me, did not work out for showing or breeding and I had to eventually place her in a companion home. I even went back to the same breeder and was given a replacement female and she didn’t work out either. After the third time with this same breeder, I could not pursue breeding with any of those three females which left me without a female to start a breeding program with and that breeder and I parted our ways.
Note: Click on link next to dogs name to go to dogs referenced below.
I did however, get that special yellow male puppy as first decided and with him I had my first show puppy, Rocky "AM CH/ BIS U GRCH/ BIS/ BISV CACH CH CHAMBRAY HOGANS HERO ROCKY"http://www.showdenlabradors.com/10073.html I took him to his first puppy match where he won a sporting group 1st place at just three months old and that was it, I was hooked!! To see my puppy strutting around the ring and winning each class was all I needed to keep me motivated to continue on in the sport of showing dogs. I began taking my puppy to training classes and learning how to train him for conformation on the week nights and took him to dog shows on the weekends. I attended two to three training different classes a week with my puppy and at least two dog shows a month on the weekends depending on where they were located in the area. Many of the trainers told me I did a good job handling my dog and that they could see me as a dog handler. Again it seemed to come natural to me, I had always been good in sports and played sports in high school and what could be more fitting for me than playing a sport with my dog. The bond I developed with my puppy and the relationship we built working together as a team was without comparison to any other sport I had participated in. The Labrador retriever truly was the right breed for me. I loved the focus my puppy had and his desire to please. I enjoyed his silly personality and how he remained my constant companion. I truly fell in love with my puppy and the breed.
Showing my dog became an obsession for me and competing with my dog was truly an adrenaline rush. It became all I wanted to do and all I could think about. I began researching all I could about learning to show dogs and reading up on how to improve my handling skills. A friend of mine introduced me to the UKC shows where there are no professional handlers and owners and breeders show their own dogs. It is a more relaxed atmosphere and I used it as a tool to learn and improve my handling. I began to dominate the wins in many of those shows and even won a “Best In Show” in one of the first weekends I attended with my yellow boy.
Now that I had been showing on a regular basis, I felt I would take my time to learn what I could before breeding my first litter. Soon I realized after getting into the show world that showing and breeding worked hand and hand with each other. Still I needed to get my female to start with and that was not an easy task. Breeders are not willing to give over their best quality breeding stock and many won’t sell a female to a new person for breeding. I must have contacted over fifty Labrador breeders all over the United States and even some in Canada. Finally, I came across one that was willing to take a chance on me and I had my yellow girl puppy shipped to me from Canada, Ruby, "AKC CH POINTED U GRCH/ INT CH CHABLAIS SHOWDENS NORTH STAR" http://www.showdenlabradors.com/10115.html I was so excited that I could get such a quality girl and I began to train and show her also in conformation. With showing my new girl and what I had already done with my yellow boy, this helped me to begin to establish myself. I traveled all over to really big Labrador specialty shows and one being the LRC Potomac to meet Labrador breeders and learn all I could. Actually bringing home another yellow girl from that very show from a breeder I had contacted prior and met up with at the show, Hailey , "AKC CH POINTED U CH BELQUEST HAILEY'S COMET AT SHOW DEN" http://www.showdenlabradors.com/10157.html
Now I had two females to work with but they were both still young and not old enough for breeding. I kept searching and with having a little more time involved in the dog world, I searched for a young adult female. Once again not an easy task in fact even harder than acquiring a puppy since most breeders have already kept these young adults for themselves to breed and are not planning to give them up. Long story short and with some loop holes I was able to acquire a two year old yellow girl, Georgia, "AKC CH PTD DEVONSHIRES GEORGIA PEACH" http://www.showdenlabradors.com/138801.html I had no idea at that timethat she was to become one of my foundation bitches. With this two year old and the one girl I picked up from the breeder at the Potomac Specialty, I had my two girls to start with that turned out to be the foundation of my kennel Show Den Labradors. I was so excited to breed my first litter to hopefully have something out of this litter to show in the ring from my own breeding. I bred my first yellow boy who had earned his AKC championship to the two year old yellow girl and that was my first show bred litter of all yellow Labrador puppies.
I did not have one mentor I learned a little from different breeders I had visited or spoke with. I was all ears like a sponge always listening to everything they told me. I was always asking questions and watching others to learn as much as I could. This brings me to the point that I didn’t have anyone help me evaluate my first litter of puppies or really any of my litters since then. I used the information I read from reading the breed standard, what I observed from using my own eye, watched videos on how to evaluate puppy structure and remembered some of the different breeder’s input I had listened to through my travels to make my decision of what to pick from my litter. Using those tools I kept a male and female from this first litter to run on for show. The yellow male became one of my home bred champion who I showed out of the bred by exhibitor class, Turbo, "BBE AM CH / INT BIS CH SHOW DENS ROCKS U LIKE A HURRICANE" http://www.showdenlabradors.com/196501.html His litter mate sister, Sugar 'SHOW DENS SWEET SUCCESS" http://www.showdenlabradors.com/45001.html who did not do any winning in the dog show ring, I bred to the best of my ability researching pedigrees to match her up with the best stud dog to improve on her. She never won in the dog shows but she was a producer of four champions of her own with three litters. With Georgia producing a total of three champions overall from the litters she produced.
As for the other yellow girl I mentioned, Hailey, that I picked up from the Potomac specialty. She was bred to a stud I choose for my second show bred litter. From that litter I kept three puppies two males and one female. The two males I showed and both finished their AKC championships and one of the males from this litter is my first home bred AKC champion, Brody"AKC CH SHOW DENS BULLETPROOF"http://www.showdenlabradors.com/263412.html and his litter mate Shooter, "AKC CH/INT CH SHOW DENS SHARPSHOOTER" http://www.showdenlabradors.com/323512.html is also a finished champion. Today, these two boys are both two of my very successful stud dogs and have produced champions of their own. Their litter mate sister, Jade, "SHOW DENS ROYAL GEM" http://www.showdenlabradors.com/268712.html who did not win anything in the shows, has produced three AKC champions with one being a grand champion out of her two litters. With Jade also producing one male that I kept from her first litter who turned out to be one of my most significant wins of my showing and breeding career thus far, Rush, "BBE CH / INT BBE/BIS CH UKC BISR SHOW DENS LIVING IN THE LIMELIGHT"http://showdenlabradors.com/435580.html WINNER OF WINNERS DOG AT THE EUKANUBA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP OUT OF THE BRED BY EXHIBITOR CLASS 2015. Going back to Hailey producing a total of two champions from her litter. Starting from these first two females that I acquired from other breeders that I bred and their offspring, I have continued working within these same pedigrees and combining breeding pairs to develop my own breeding program.
This brings me to where I am today and what I have accomplished, this is where the good outweighs those trying times. I now have a fully operational breeding program and kennel. I am in my third generation of my breeding program with a substantial amount of show champion Labrador retrievers. I have several of my own quality females and males to contribute and improve my future generations. I have produced seventeen home bred champions, four of them were finished from the bred by exhibitor class, plus three champions I finished of dogs I bought from other breeders (making it a total of twenty champions), nine home bred grand champions, a few of them have obtained their bronze grand championship titles, with still more to come, and I have had two home bred grand champion Labradors who have finished in the top 20. I won winners dog out of the bred by class at the Eukanuba National Championship .I have won BEST IN SHOW & BEST IN PURINA BREEDER SHOW CASE which is one of the highest honors a breeder can win to be rewarded for their hard work as a breeder of quality labradors. Also winning a BEST IN SHOW BRED BY EXHIBITOR which is more prestigious than a best in show out of the regular breed ring.
I have placed a few of my puppies with owners who now have champions and obedience titled dogs of their own. I have other breeders using my boys as stud dogs in their breeding programs and I have placed many wonderful puppies in homes with loving families. Since I have not been breeding 15 plus years and I really am still a newbie myself, most of these Labradors I have mentioned are still living with me other than some that have been retired and placed in loving homes. Nevertheless even more essential and above all of this, I get to spend my days enjoying my Labradors.
Now if I am not traveling and out at the shows with my labs we stay very busy here at Show Den. If you check out our "Dog Days" page you will see that I am usually playing with, conditioning and training my Labradors and I do not just have them sitting around in kennels. I might be taking them out to the shows, training classes, therapy visits or attending a local dog event, working with them in their conditioning routines or just throwing the ball around. Everyday all the dogs run on our 5 acre property located in Ocala, FL.
Where I started out with my one yellow male puppy who became a champion, I now have over a dozen labradors all together both males and females, adults and puppies included. It has been a journey that I would not have had the opportunity to experience if it wasn’t for this awesome breed of the Labrador retriever. I continue to learn, grow and work to remain true this wonderful breed and I feel a huge responsibility to uphold the breed standard to the best of my ability. I am forever grateful to those breeders who took a chance on me to get started as a breeder. With each generation, I work harder to improve my breeding stock. Still working to be the best I can to obtain top breeder status and produce that top winning dog while staying consistent with healthy breeding lines.
Thanks for visiting us at Show Den Labradors. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions about our dogs or the Labrador breed.
My beloved boy Astro who introduced me to this wonderful breed
Once again I thank you for spending the time to learn more about Show Den Labradors and reading my story. I hope that we can provide you with the total labrador experience whether you are looking for a long time companion dog or a show prospect we have so many options available for you to enjoy the complete package of owning and loving a labrador.
WHAT IS A BREEDER?
A Breeder (with a capital B) is one who thirsts for knowledge and never really knows it all, one who wrestles with decisions of conscience, convenience, and commitment. A Breeder is one who sacrifices personal interests, finances, time, friendships, fancy furniture, and deep pile carpeting! She gives up the dreams of a long, luxurious cruise in favor of turning that all important show into this years "vacation."
A Breeder goes without sleep (but never without coffee!) in hours spent planning a breeding or watching anxiously over the birth process, and afterwards, over every little sneeze, wiggle or cry. A Breeder skips dinner parties because that litter is due or the babies have to be fed at eight. A Breeder's lap is a marvelous place where generations of proud and noble champions once snoozed. A Breeder's hands are strong and firm and often soiled, but ever so gentle and sensitive to the thrusts of a puppy's wet nose. A Breeder's back and knees are usually arthritic from stooping, bending, and sitting in the birthing box, but are strong enough to enable the breeder to show the next choice pup to a Championship. A Breeder's shoulders are stooped and often heaped with abuse from competitors, but they're wide enough to support the weight of a thousand defeats and frustrations. A Breeder's arms are always able to wield a mop, support an armful of puppies, or lend a helping hand to a newcomer. A Breeder's ears are wondrous things, sometimes red (from being talked about) or strangely shaped (from being pressed against a phone receiver), often deaf to criticism, yet always fine-tuned to the whimper of a sick puppy.
A Breeder's eyes are blurred from pedigree research and sometimes blind to her own dog's faults, but they are ever so keen to the competitions faults and are always searching for the perfect specimen. A Breeder's brain is foggy on faces, but it can recall pedigrees faster than an IBM computer. It's so full of knowledge that sometimes it blows a fuse: it catalogues thousands of good bonings, fine ears, and perfect heads... and buries in the soul the failures and the ones that didn't turn out. A Breeder's heart is often broken, but it beats strongly with hope everlasting... and it's always in the right place!
Oh, yes, there are breeders, and then, there are BREEDERS
Author Unknown
"WHY PUT A TITLE ON A DOG"
What is a Title really? Not just a brag, not just a stepping stone to a higher title, not just an adjunct to competitive scores.
A Title is a tribute to the dog that bears it, a way to honor that dog, an ultimate memorial. It will remain in the record and in the memory for about as long as anything in this world can remain. Few humans will do as well or better in that regard. And though the dog himself doesn't know or care that his achievements have been noted, a Title says many things in the world of humans, where such things count.
A Title says your dog was intelligent, and adaptable, and good-natured. It says that your dog loved you enough to do the things that please you, however crazy they may have sometimes seemed.
And a Title says that you love your dog, that you love to spend time with him because he is a good dog, and that you believed in him enough to give him yet another chance when he failed (or you did), and that in the end your faith was justified.
A Title proves that your dog inspired you to have the special relationship enjoyed by so few; that in a world of disposable creatures, this dog with a Title is greatly loved, and loves greatly in return.
And when that dear short life is over, the Title remains as a memorial of the finest kind, the best you can give to a deserving friend, volumes of praise in one small set of initials before of after the name.
A Title is nothing less than love and respect, given and received permanently.
My beloved boy Astro who introduced me to this wonderful breed