As a breeder for many years I have had many Labs come and go. Some did not clear eyes. Some elbows, and hips. I have found great homes but sometimes it hurts more than others to let them go. What keeps us going? Why do we keep on plugging on and trying to breed, in our eye,the perfect Labrador? Why can't we keep just one more? My girl at 24 months did not pass. Some say wait 6 months and try again. But I know in 6 months I will still have to let her go to move that door to let another possible future star in. So I let her go...

I guess my question is how do you get over the hurt of having to give up yet another Labrador? You cannot say you raise, train and live with them for two years and not get attached. They are afterall, a Labrador.

Broken hearted and missing my girl.

Take a dog that passed and have it cleared as the one that can't pass...it's done every day of the week...you would be shocked to know the truth.

I have friends do it all the time.

Somehow I don't think that is the response this brokenhearted breeder was looking for.

I can only sympathize with you brokenhearted. I still look at pictures of girls I've had and placed due to different problems. I know they have awesome homes, but they are not forgotten. Two in particular that I had for only a short time are stuck in my heart forever. I look back at their picture together and have a heavy heart. They were a very special duo and so very lovely in every way. I had a future mapped out for us...

I don't know what keeps us going, but on we go. Maybe that dream and vision drives us enough to let go when we have to.

Hang in there, it is tough, isn't it?

I must know you (or your friend) since this was done to me several years ago with a bitch I bought!!!

To OP, don't listen to that...that is a perfect example why there are still so many health problems in the breed, people without any intregity are still breeding. Don't lower yourself to "no name's" level. You are doing the right thing. It's hard, I know. We've all been there. And it doesn't get any easier with time. We just try to look at it like the dog will be a special part of someone else's life where she will be the center of attention. Just make sure you spay first, and find the RIGHT family for her. Ideally, one that is close by so you can visit.

Good Luck...Hugs to you.

"Take a dog that passed and have it cleared as the one that can't pass...it's done every day of the week...you would be shocked to know the truth."

and how does this help anyone in our breed? its dishonest and down right unethical. I say you were a troll but unfortunately I bet there are people out there that are money hungry and do this. Why would you put your bitch through carrying a litter with bad hips anyway

Broken Heart I am very very sorry for your disappointment. I am far from an expert but I am sure it will be even harder to place her 6 months from now. I can only say the thing that brings me peace is seeing the pictures of my labs in wonderful homes, getting more one on one love and attention then I can provide with 6 kids here. I hope your heart can heal and realize the joy you are bringing to a family by placing your fur kid

Hope someone got your IP!! Would LUUUUV to know whose this dishonest!
Thats where the microchip rule needs to be enforced!
How sickening of a thought...

Excuse me! I don't know about you, but I do clearances for MY breeding program....not just to say that my dog has clearances. I could really come unglued at the total lack of ethics expressed here, but I think that I'll just hold it in.....hope I don't explode. I'm so sorry broken hearted. It is one of the hardest things that we do as "reputable breeders", and it will be painful every time we have to let one go. I give you a big thumbs up for doing the right thing even if it hurts.

It's the hardest thing we have to do if we are trying for that perfect dog and trying to improve the breed. I can't even fathom ever switching dogs just to get a clearance...it only hurts your breeding program and will come back to bite you in the ass--not to go into how low you can go just for your own ego. But besides all that, you say you keep having to place dogs over and over....just a thought...are you sure your vet is taking good xrays??? Unfortunately OFA will read xrays even if they are bad ones. You can't make bad hips look good, but you sure can make good hips look bad! As far as other subjective clearances, always get a second opinion. I just had a case of a friend who had a heart clearance done by one vet who said the dog was borderline and probably would not pass in the future, so she took the dog to Angell Memorial caridiology dept. and they passed her with flying colors even after exercise! Good luck--and never stop feeling for the dogs you place--it shows you have your heart in the right place. I've been there too.!

I feel for you. It never gets easier. I still
miss the dogs I have had to place because they
did not pass one clearence or the other. They
have great homes now:)

In an effort to try and elimate the heartache,
I do pre-lims and eyes at 9mo and then again
at around 14mo. That seems to really help.
That way and JMO I don't get too attached.

Just want to clarify for those who might have misunderstood my earlier post. Several years ago, we purchased a bitch from a show breeder who was already of age. We were told that she had her clearances. We didn't bother to check the OFA website because we trusted the breeder. When we got there to pick her up, we were told that the OFA paper was lost and the breeder would send for a duplicate. Still trusted her. After several weeks, we called the OFA and asked why it was taking so long. Dr. Keller told us, it wasn't long, the x-rays had just come in and the request wasn't for a duplicate, but a first submission. To make a long story short, we had already had the bitch with us for several weeks BEFORE the x-rays were even taken according to the date on them. So, obviously, the breeder took another bitch to the vet for x-rays and submitted them using our purchased bitch's reg number. Dr. Keller said that they had been watching this breeder for awhile and because they now had proof of the substitution, the breeder would be banned from using OFA in the future. Dr. Keller also notified the AKC, but nothing was ever done by them as far as I know.

To Broken Hearted, I'm sorry that I had to tell this story and take up space on your thread. Really, I'm very sorry you are having to go through this and didn't want to take the focus away from your situation. Please know that I feel for you. This can be really heartbreaking sometimes.

It's never easy, but that's why most of us run on several dogs at once (I've got 3 puppies at the moment, and will most likely have one or two more from my and friends' litters) - hopefully something will turn out after 2 years - look good, pass clearances, etc...

If you're hanging all your hopes on one dog at a time, it might be a very long time before you get one that fulfills all the requirements, health-wise, and looks like you want it to look. Don't put all your eggs in one basket!

I always feel the need here to premise my responses with the fact that I have not been breeding for but a couple years,as I dont want to get jumped on as being a newbie giving advice, but being a newbie, your situation is one I have given a great deal of thought to in trying to figure out who I wanted to be as a breeder, and here is my personal take on it.

You are who you are. You cant change how your heart works or what makes you feel good or bad. You should be doing this because it makes you feel good. I love doing this, but very early I have realized that certain aspects of breeding will not work for me as they may for others. This isnt to say I think anything is wrong with how others do things, as it is the right thing for a "breeding program" to pass these dogs on to pet homes and move on, but the question you should ask should be is it right for you? maybe you are just not meant to breed as often as others, but to really excel with the few breedings you do.
I hope to achieve some modicum of success in Labradors someday, but I am realistic and know my personal emotional limitations and that i will most likely never be a huge success in anyones eyes but my families.
I don't have it in me to cut loose a dog I have fallen in love with so instead I will have less room for breeding dogs,and more pets than most breeders who really win the ribbons and in turn less litters and less opportunity to show and compete, but i hope I will be happy.
I feel like the nature of breeding itself is fraught with so many heartaches and losses from whelping and health issues, and I don't think I can personally deal with intentionally adding more.

The important thing is for people like myself to come to terms with these things early on and to resolve not to breed dogs of lessor quality as the one poster apparently was recommending just because we don't wish to let them go.

Annie

Annie I completely respect your point of view. I am a softie too, but I have been able to overcome that by concentrating on the joy one of my dogs can bring to a new family, and also the joy a new family can bring to one of my dogs.
Thats not to say I don't cry when they pull out of the drive. I do, most of the time, still.
I have learned to move on because what I want is to be successful in my breeding/showing program. In order to do that, I must come to grips with placing *most* of the dogs I cannot not obtain that goal with.
Although it's hard, I know I have picked the very best families for these dogs and the joy of getting emails and photos of them, happy and well loved, is enough for me to be at peace with my decision.
Realistically, I think it would be selfish of me to keep these dogs as pets for myself. It would not be in their best interest, or the best interests of the dogs that do work out for me. I will still be showing, training and working with my "keeper prospects/show dogs", so where does that leave these ones that aren't gonna cut it?
Left out is where, in my opinion.
I only have so much time to give, and those that didn't work out deserve the benefit of having someones full attention who is able to be dedicated to them, and far fewer dogs than I have. And I am happy for them when they get that!



Just my 2 cents.

"Realistically, I think it would be selfish of me to keep these dogs as pets for myself. It would not be in their best interest, or the best interests of the dogs that do work out for me. I will still be showing, training and working with my "keeper prospects/show dogs", so where does that leave these ones that aren't gonna cut it?"

Jen, very true...maybe I should clarify and say that I do not fall in love with every pup either. I have rescued enough dogs to know that sometimes I am not the forever home, but merely a facilitator. And certainly, if it came down to the situation you are talking about where I didn't have the time for another dog then of course, what is best for the dog is much more critical than my mushy feelings.

What I am referring to is the one that you keep till she/he is two and YOU HAVE fallen in love with them. The one that sleeps at your feet as you type, always makes you smile and is just a light in your life. To me, at this point, I personally would not be able to place them.

I am sure however that there will be some in my breeding career that I will come across that were very promising that don't work out that for whatever reason I will be ok with placing....I just don't plan on being masochistic about it Every dog deserves to be that light in someones life, and I also have to be fair if they are not that to me.

Its hard to express but we all know that we don't bond the same to all dogs, even though they may be wonderful, sometimes they ARE meant to be with someone else.
If it is really breaking my heart to let someone go, then its not worth it to free up that spot.
I am also not deluded and know that at some point this way of thinking may not always fly, but being the mush that I am, i will try to make it work for me as best I can.
I want to shed more tears of joy than sadness....not always easy in this hobby, but we can try right?
Annie

To no name for this. How so very right you are, happens all the time, and by some well known breeders I might add. As to the question asked, I don't have a answer for you but when you find one let me know as I have a 15 month old boy here who is VERY attached to me, very sound very nice all round, he just HATES the show ring so I will place him in a pet home, but boy it sure is a hard thing to do.

I think what helps me ease the pain is that I have been very fortunate in finding incredibley wonderful homes for these dogs and the people are faithful in keeping me updated with pictures and reports. God Bless the internet! That's not to say that I don't cry for a long time after they leave.

Try again. There are lots of x-rays that don't get past OFA these days and lots of people who do them again (immediately), re-submit and pass. If you like your bitch enough to want a litter from her, try again. Decide how important a particular clearance is to your line and to the public and make your decision based on that. If you're not careful at the other end of the clearance spectrum, you'll be breeding on nothing but clearances and won't have a Lab but just a dog. We can have both to an extent if we are sensible. There are absolutely no clean lines.

Otherwise, nothing you've said hasn't been experienced by most of us over the years. We all have "great ones" that fail clearances. We cry a bit and go on.

Oh Annie, I totally agree. As a person with more than one rescue here, and staying here, I know exactly what you mean about those "certain ones".
I do try not to get "too attached" to my young prospects and have often felt sad that I have to put up a wall, but thats how I deal with it and it works for me. Some just manage to slip through anyway

I sure do know how you feel as do most of us who visit this forum. It's no fun letting our favorite ones go and in most cases, all our dogs are my favorite ones. Not only do we have to deal with our own heart strings pulling at us but our other family members who have gotten so attached to the dogs we are raising. Our grown daughters still put a guilt trip on me when they find out one of their favorites need to leave our family to make room for the next hopeful. It doesn't feel very " HOPEFUL " around our house when making the dreadful decision of placing yet another beloved 4 legged family member.

I do think breeders need to somehow NOT let themselves get so attached to their breeding stock that they put themselves through misery each and every time they have to let a dog go to a new family.I'm still learing to follow little pep talk of mine.
It really is a self less act to see it for what it is, " you are really allowing that dog that washed out or retired from your breeding program to enjoy a very enriched life with a new family. "

If we call ourselves breeders and expect to stay in this hobby long term, we somehow need to stay objective enough to look at our 4 legged family members as breeding stock without taking on a cold or calous attitude toward them.

Can you imagine how over run with dogs we would become if we were too guilt ridden to let them go to new families ? Where is the fairness to the dogs that have to live in a " Fish Bowl " environment ?

Since I don't feel comfortable making my dogs be kennel dogs, I have to keep my numbers down. I feel less guilty and less stressed out. Every breeder has to make their own decison on how many dogs to keep and when it is time to rehome them.
I am pretty sure it is alot harder on us than it is on the dogs to let them go to their new families. Labradors are so resilent and as long as we do our part as their care takers, screening people with diligence, making sure we always take our puppies and adult dogs back....

That is why I am such a big fan of PenHIP. If I have a pup that is in the 10th or 20th percentile at 4 months, it is sold. The ones in the 30th percentile are tough as they usually (but not always) pass OFA. I figure even if a 10-20th percentile dog passes OFA, it is not a good choice for a breeding program. That has saved me a lot of heartache.

I agree with many of the comments that have already been made. If there is any doubt about the failed clearance, do it again. Can you justify keeping on extra dog as a pet, perhaps make her your rally or obedience dog? You can't keep them all, but maybe you can keep one. To avoid this happening in the future, cull rigorously (and I don't mean put to sleep). I had lots of elbow problems when I first started. I eliminated any dog with even one bad elbow and I've avoided lines that I know have elbows that didn't pass, and it's been about 10 years since I've had a dog fail elbows. (Imagine here the sound of someone knocking on wood.) Here is a note of hope- one of the girls I culled for bad elbows was placed with a woman who "just wanted a pet". She went on to earn her CD and JH, and the woman is now a close friend. Sometimes good things come from bad.

Hi Broken Hearted,

I haven't been breeding as long as alot of the breeders on here, but it's one of the hardest things we have to do is let our dogs go.
I have a 14 mo girl that I am going to have to place.
She's so sweet. She was never the pick bitch. I haven't found the right home for her. She'll stay with me if the right home doesn't come along.
I had her spayed and tomorrow is the day for the
e-collar to come off. Then, we'll see. Until the right home comes along, she'll be doing obedience with me. They all need to be doing something.
Will I be attached by the time she leaves. OH MY GOD,
yes. I wasn't supposed to, but when you have them this long you can't help it.
This was the last litter for my bitch and they were all hard to let go of. A couple of them got in my heart real bad.
So, as the saying goes, breeding is'nt for the faint at heart.
Sorry this is so long. Don't feel alone. We've all had our hearts broken.

Donna