Hopbrook Labrador Retrievers

The Fall 2008 LQ featured my kennel. You might enjoy reading about the history of Hopbrook Labradors.

Hopbrook Labrador Retrievers

Beth Schweitzer

I should be the poster child for the “How Not to Start a Breeding Kennel” club. I woke up one morning in 1991 and decided to add another dog to our family. We had a wonderful, half-Lab, half-English Setter, Cookie,   who had been our family dog for ten years. Not only did I want a companion for her (although she did not realize that she needed one) but I also wanted a bitch to breed because that seemed like it would be fun. So, I decided that the breed   to start with would be one that looked as much like my beloved, mixed-breed Cookie as possible. . . a Labrador Retriever.

My then 13 year old daughter, Jenny, and I spent a Saturday networking on the phone to find a bitch that I could breed. Looking back, I appreciate the breeders who gave me five minutes of their time. I can’t blame them but there were plenty who did not. One breeder tried desperately to dissuade me by telling me how black fur would leave indelible marks on my walls.  I was put in touch with a woman who did not show, who had a litter, had used a very fine stud dog and “did things the right way.”  So by the end of the day, I had made an appointment to visit the breeder and the one available bitch puppy. I loved the dam. She was leggy, light-boned and DID look a lot like my mixed-breed dog. So, I had my Maisy, Schweitzer’s Apple Cider, CDX, WC, TDI.

With Maisy in tow, I entered the “Dog World.”  I started obedience training her right away.  Maisy was bathed and perfumed before every class. In the early 90’s, trainers in my area advocated very heavy-handed training methods…..strong leash corrections, no positive reinforcement and definitely no food. My very responsive baby was used as “demo dog,” by the trainer and by the end of one long, agonizing class on how you leash correct for the heel,   my baby was not too keen on the class or the trainer. Training became a painful  experience for me and for my dog. Being a novice trainer and dog owner, I did not have the strength of character to chastise someone who I knew was hurting my dog. This is such a pitfall for newcomers to the dog world. We tend to almost worship those who have more experience than we do; so we accept without questioning their often destructive advice.   It is so hard to just say, “NO.”  Thankfully, obedience training has changed dramatically and trainers use positive, reward-based methods. So instead of seeing cringing dogs in the obedience ring, you now see upbeat, happy workers.

Although  my lovely girl became more and more apprehensive in class, I loved going to those classes and being involved with other “obedience people.”  Despite her atrocious   training and my complete incompetence, Maisy earned her CD in three straight trials at 13 months. We started Open work but her heart just was not in it. So, we took a break and went to an agility class. What a refreshing experience that was for both of us! She learned to love going to a class and started to trust working with me. We went back to obedience after she had a litter and Maisy earned her CDX, again in three straight trials.

I learned that Maisy was not a candidate for the show ring; she was too light-boned. But, she had wonderful front and rear angulation, was short-coupled and had a great coat. . . a great improvement on her mother. She was bred to Can CH Rocky Creek’s Beacon   and produced my first champion, CH Hopbrook’s Buffalo Bill Cody. Cody was shown to his championship by Kathy Mines. My niece, Brooke Lewis,  owned him. With Cody and her magnificent Golden Retriever, Mason, she made her entrée into the dog world as great junior handler. She is now a veterinarian. I never got a bitch puppy that I cared to run on. So Maisy, who died in 2006, has no offspring  here.

I wish I could relate that I had learned something about how to start a decent breeding program before I got my second bitch, Can CH  Slate Hollow Hopbrook IdaMae, CD, WC.  I did not have a mentor and was given conflicting advice from “Labrador” people who I now know were not very knowledgeable. At my  first Potomac,  I saw beautiful Ch. Dickendall Arnold get in one class after another. This was the hay day of the PRA scare. One thing that was drilled into my head was that at all costs avoid Eng.Sh.Ch. Am. Ch. Receiver of Cranspire in a pedigree. What a mistake that was!  So instead of getting an available bitch from a well known show breeder in our area, I decided to get my Ida Mae from another breeder, “who did everything right.”   In retrospect, I was lucky. The puppies from the show litter had some problems that I avoided. Ida Mae was a happy go lucky bitch, who loved just about anything that moved. She competed in obedience her way and consistently scored in the low 170’s to just qualify for a leg,  but she did get her CD in four trials. It was quite amusing to watch the two of us do the “Heel Off  Leash.”  For most of the exercise, I would   walk by myself around the ring.  Ida Mae would stop to sniff and look around, and before the end of the exercise,   she would saunter over to my side to do her automatic sit on the last halt.

Briefly, I got involved with field training Maisy and Ida Mae. At that time, Enid Bloome was getting her Labrador Retriever Club of Westchester off the ground. Enid had a strong interest in AKC hunt tests. Training sessions were held frequently and I very much enjoyed those and the people in the club. At the beginning, the only way I could pick up a dead bird was with a gloved hand. I eventually got over my nausea. Both girls easily got their WC’s. Their training was amusing. Maisy was always so excited that she would bark from the time she entered the blind until it was her time for her retrieves. If we were doing water work, Ida Mae   learned that she could do a pick up, plant the dummy or the bird and take a leisurely swim. When she had enough, she remembered where her retrieve was, picked it up and delivered it beautifully. No one was amused but me. How could you not love the intelligence of that kind of dog! They adored their hunt training so much but unfortunately for them,   I hated killing birds for a title. So, I continued their training by throwing Frisbees to them in a nearby lake. I am certain that all of my dogs would make great hunting companions.  I think maintaining retrieving ability is important. But, I feel strongly, that one should eat what he kills, if he enjoys that sort of thing.  What end does it serve to grab a helpless pigeon out of a crate, throw it up in the air and shoot it?  Half the time, the gunners miss the mark and maim the poor creature instead of getting a clean kill.

When the Westchester club folded, I got involved with the Labrador Retriever Club of Central Connecticut and was president for a year. The club had lost its momentum through sheer exhaustion. We put on a fabulous specialty and it was just too much work for the small number of people who could help. No one wanted to commit to that amount of work for the following year and the club disbanded. I wish that I had been connected to the club during its more active years. There were a group of very important breeders who were members; I could have learned a lot from them.

As naughty as Ida Mae was in the field and as stubborn as she  was in the obedience ring, Ida Mae loved to show in conformation. She had that tail that never stopped wagging. Shown by Kathy Mines, she easily earned her Canadian Championship in one visit up to Canada and she was AKC pointed. She was a big bitch with a fabulous front assembly. She did have some faults that the wagging tail could not hide; she was lacking in rear angulation. It is interesting that the problem continues to haunt my breeding program despite repeated use of stud dogs that have great rears. But, she did pass along  a wonderful front and a wonderful coat. She was very prepotent bitch and has stamped my kennel with a definite “Ida Mae” look.

I bred Ida Mae four times. Her first litter, sired by Ch. Millmar’s Mighty Morton, produced my Hopbrook’s Honest Abraham. Getting 11 points and a major in his first two months of showing, Abe needed one major to finish his championship. He had six  reserves to majors when I finally gave up. He was quite the showman, moved like a dream and was really put together,  but he was bigger than most of the boys in the ring. Ida Mae’s second litter was sired by Cody, but I did not get a bitch that I wanted to keep. For awhile, I did run on a beautiful dog, Hopbrook’s On the Way Up, who was AKC pointed. But, he did not like to show. Her third litter was sired by Tweedledum Brookland Savoy. This litter produced CH Hopbrook’s Jake Deezel, CD owned by Diane Loebell of Philadelphia. I also kept a bitch from this litter, Hopbrook’s Two Thumbs Up, who when bred to INT CH Raintrees Slippery When Wet, JH   produced my beautiful Isabelle, Hopbrook’s Hot To Trot. Ida Mae’s last litter was sired by CH Wiscoys Noah. This litter produced my Hopbrook’s Wings of Time, who produced a BOS sweepstakes winner, Hopbrook’s Carry Me Back,   and Hopbrook’s Arnie, who went Winner’s Dog at the Jersey Skylands Specialty show in 2000.

Isabelle, who is AKC pointed and a specialty sweepstakes winner, has produced three beautiful litters. I have three of her get here. “Claire”,   Hopbrook’s Naughty by Nature, (CH Beachbrook’s Night Hawk X Isabelle) is from Isabelle’s   first litter and  has a number of specialty class wins. When Isabelle’s third litter was four weeks old, my Ida Mae had to be put to sleep. I promised her that I would name a little girl after her. So I now have Hopbrook’s Ida Mae Too and Hopbrook’s Home Run, both sired by CH Windfall’s Pipe Major. “Homer”, who is 11 months,  is AKC pointed. “Ida Mae Too” won the 6-9 month Black bitch class on both days of the Mid-Jersey specialty shows. Recently, she placed in sweeps and in the 9-12 regular class at the Northeast Sporting Dog Association shows in Fitchburg, MA . It seems, from Isabelle, I am getting a consistent type that I love. I am also getting smart dogs that have terrific senses of humor.  Claire just whelped her first litter sired by Rebecca Cook’s, BISS CH Windfall Banner’s Major Attraction, a Major son. These puppies will be Ida Mae’s (the first) great-great grandchildren.

My kennel is in Newtown, Connecticut,   about 1 ½ hours from New York City. The dogs have eight acres of property on which to run.  Two large paddocks are attached to the kennel building and the rest of the property is protected by invisible fencing. The property is adjacent to bridle paths that lead to a stream. Depending on the amount of rainfall, the stream is either a good place to swim or a nice place to cool down. The interior of my kennel building is heated and air conditioned. Although I have the ability to separate all   the dogs into individual indoor/outdoor runs, they all run together and have access to a large paddock. One side of my kennel has a triple indoor/outdoor puppy run. Puppies are whelped in my house and moved outside to the kennel when they are five weeks old. A door is left open for them and within one week, they all are eliminating outside.

Old Abe is in the house all the time. The rest of the gang  spend the morning in the house with me when I am home and take turns sleeping in the house. Puppies are kept separate but next to the big guys until I feel comfortable that they have learned their pack manners. Usually, they join the big guys when they are about six months old. I only have had problems with one bitch who did not like puppies. She was placed. I want my dogs to enjoy their pack and not be anxious in their environment.

I raise one litter per year. I usually keep two puppies from each litter, knowing that for many reasons one puppy will have to be placed   I have tried keeping more for a brief period of time, but I found that it was unfair to the puppies. My Claire came from a litter of eleven. I loved that litter so much that I ran on four puppies until they were five months old. I enlisted the help of friends and each puppy went to puppy kindergarten. One of the boys seemed shy. Yet, after leaving my kennel and making the adjustment to his new home, he came back for a visit and was just full of himself. It is easy for multiple puppies to become kennel shy.

When my puppies are three days old, I start “Biosensor Exercises” with them. It is a controlled way of handling puppies that provides just enough stress so that they neurologically mature in an optimal way. The puppies are held upright, on their backs, upside down, etc. These exercises continue through their neonatal period, until they are 21 days old. Especially with large litters, I can be sure that each puppy is handled properly every day. The move to the big kennel is also stressful for the puppies. It takes them about one day to feel comfortable, but any controlled stress is a wonderful confidence builder.

99% of my puppies go to pet homes. It is for that reason that I want to breed the healthiest animal I can. I think it is a little easier for   breeders and show people than it is for the puppy buyer to handle the disasters that crop up along the way. From experience, we know that when dealing with multiple animals problems will arise. A puppy buyer only sees an ill,  much-loved child. Modern technology and veterinarian insensitivity have not helped any of us handle difficult issues and decisions for our dogs. For example,  I feel helpless, when a puppy buyer has been given expensive options to treat an incurable condition. Here in the Northeast, veterinarians are not hesitant about recommending   treatments that, in the end, will cost the owner thousands of dollars and that may give the dog a few, extra miserable months, if anything. 

Because my main focus is breeding and my goal is to breed that perfect Labrador,   I look at dog shows as stock shows. I only pay attention to quality dogs and I am not interested in the dog, “who asks for the win.”  For me, a quality dog is a dog that has breed type, is built correctly,   AND can move correctly. In the very large classes of Labradors that we have today, especially in the Northeast, and even at an All Breed show,   I think a judge should be able to find a Labrador with good breed type, who also can move.  

All in all,   I think the quality of Labradors today is outstanding. Seventeen years ago, you could go to an All Breed show  and find a lot of “pet quality” dogs being exhibited ( some of which were mine!). Not so today. To be frank, except for a young dog, who I am having professionally handled,   I do not compete at All Breed shows. For me, the AKC championship title, takes too much effort and too much money. It has become so difficult and time consuming that All Breed shows are just not fun anymore. Today, there are so many quality dogs that are not getting their AKC recognition. This does not mean that the AKC has to make it more fun for me. But, the playing field has to be leveled so that the difficulty is the same for all breeds. There are a lot of ways that can be done. At least, the reserve winner’s dog should get AKC points.

When I compete, it is at one of   the specialty shows. I will not finish too many dogs this way but as a breeder, I think that it is important not to just talk the talk, but to walk the walk. Also, I love the specialties. For me, I can get a placement and come away feeling like “Queen for a Day.”  And, what is more fun than having the giggles with the wonderful people who have been your friends through thick and thin for almost two decades? These are people who have a passion and passionate people are always interesting to be around. These are people who are just a little bit crazy which is why I like them as much as I do. I share their deep love for their dogs;   no one from the “outside” world can understand how profound their devotion is.  If I didn’t have Labradors, I would not have these people in my life.

Many times, I have thought about leaving the Labrador world. Because of certain decisions I have made, it has taken me a long time to breed dogs that I am proud to say are mine. I have stuck it out with what I started and I did not have a mentor to help me understand the nature of animal husbandry. Breeding a good dog is the result of many educated guesses and some good luck. Breeding is not about blacks and whites. It is about understanding the gray zones. That takes many years to learn.  I should have placed some of my old dogs; but emotionally, I could not.  So right now, I have six dogs, only two breeding bitches and one intact dog. The rest are neutered. I wish I wanted to have more dogs and to breed more litters. The more you breed,   the better chance you have of improving quality, but I like the small number that I have. So, as they say, “You make your own bed.” Nevertheless, I am truly blessed to be able to have participated in this wonderful, wacky world. To boot, I have had a very supportive husband who often has a better understanding of what needs to be done with my breeding program than I do; of course, I don’t listen to him.

I want to thank The Labrador Quarterly for giving me this opportunity to talk about the history of  Hopbrook Labrador Retrievers. Writing this, I am amazed at how I can now find so amusing, the many traumatic events of my years in Labradors. I guess, being able to laugh at the past   is my  key to staying power in dogs.