Debby Kay is a long-time breeder (more than 3 decades), was a founder of the Potomac Specialty, keeps only a few dogs for breeding, shows in conformation, and trains for hunting and retrieving competition. Here are a few of the mentoring pearls from her article.

"Many clever business-minded people are cashing in on all the hard work honest breeders have done."

"Breeders are the custodians of the Labrador gene pool, a treasure that should be guarded carefully lest we lose it. How many of the litters whelped can honestly say this is the case? Is it necessary to produce three, five, or fifteen litters a year to keep your bloodline going?"

She goes on to say that many of the greats in Labrador breeding "only had three or four dogs in their program at the most. Most of these great breeders maybe only whelped five or six litters in their entire breeding history yet they produced some of the most influential dogs behind Labrador pedigrees today."

She advises against a goal of supplying the pet market with ample puppies to meet the demand and encourages breeders to carefully consider every breeding to assure that the purpose is more than having "puppy sales money to fund your next specialty trip."

She does recommend spending time with a mentor but believes that the vast majority of potential breeders would be better off "just buying a really top dog and pursuing the fun and sense of accomplishment that winning titles and setting new breed or personal records can bring."

I've been in this hobby since 1994 and have produced three litters to date. I live by every word mentioned above. I've made mistakes, learned and moved on which is what I will continue to do. The breeders mentioned in her article "clever business-minded people cashing in" are not going unnoticed. We are "custodians" of the Labrador gene pool which should not be taken lightly. I hope in the future we can all get on board and do what is right for our breed. They deserve only the best.

Except that there was no OFA. Breeders didn't x-ray hips, much less elbows, eyes, hearts, EIC, CNM, PRA.....and they certainly didn't worry about dentition. When the epilepsy and TVD genes are found, there will be even more litters bred to find good quality individuals who are also genetically healthy.

Some of the small quantity Breeders that are not EIC testing are not doing so because for the first time in years they have a stud who has cleared all of the other hurdles. Their dogs don't collapse (read 'sound') and they're sick of testing. I don't agree with their thinking but it illustrates what today's Breeders are up against that yesterday's greats were not.

Those early dogs are influential because they bred from beautiful and visually sound dogs. One of the best champions I ever bred moves like a dream and is 'sound'. He has everything I want in a dog. Before OFA he would have been an influential sire. Because of it, he is in a pet home.

I have averaged less than two litters a year and live with 5-9 dogs including my retired guys. I'm now on my 7th generation from my foundation bitch. I have never bred a litter with the intention of selling all of the pups in it. But as the list of clearances has grown, so has the amount of litters I've bred to clear hurdles. I also now keep a couple of pups from each breeding and sort them out after pre-limbs and testing. The expectation of keeping one pup from a litter and expecting that one pup to replace the dam or the sire they came from isn't realistic these days.

B J's mom is so right! I don't like to keep more than four or five adult dogs at a time even though I have the room and the time for them. I just don't feel I can give each dog everything it needs when the volume is high. Consequently I am always happy when I have an opportunity to mentor someone new to the breed.

Yes, sometimes a lovely show quality puppy gets a great pet home and sometimes both of us get our hearts broken by a fabulous prospect that doesn't work out but sometimes I find that I have been instrumental in introducing someone new to this wonderful breed of dog I show, know and love. And the added bonus is that these dogs don't get excluded from the gene pool.

Some breeders keep everything that is remotely a show prospect and place everything else with strict limitations. This is as bad for the breed as breeding indifferently with out clearances and placing everything with unlimited registration.

Breeding fewer dogs is not the answer to this whirlpool of undesirable traits in the breed- breeding better is. Availing ourselves to the myriad testing options and sharing this information is the first step. The perfect dog cannot be bred in one lifetime-it will take many lifetimes, many breeders and many litters.

I have had Labs for about 30 years, had two excellent long-time breeder mentors, but only decided that I knew enough and had a good enough bitch to breed about 12 years ago. Following the examples of my mentors, who promoted the health screening that I use, I have produced only a few very carefully planned litters. I have been able to produce enough healthy bitches and dogs to continue my breeding program. But it has taken a lot of planning and self control and seeking advice. I completely support what Debby has said.

I completely support your view point.
I do also want to add that in this breed, especially in this breed, as compared to some others, there are many, many different interpretations of what the "ideal" Labrador is.
With that said, my better may not not your better and vice versa.
There is a ton of room for speculation here.