I got my issue of Lab Quarterly earlier this week and was impressed by the quality of the magazine itself and liked the articles. That said, the stud issue was always my favorite, and this one is thin compared to days of old. Is everyone going to advertise primarily on the Internet now? I hope that's not the case. There's something to be said for pulling an old LQ off the bookshelf and flipping through the pages. For one thing, it's a permanent record whereas anything on the Internet can be altered at any time.

What do the rest of you think of the latest issue of LQ and its future?

I really liked it and totally agree with you! There have been many times that I pull old LabQ off the shelf and re-read articles and look at the old dogs/pedigrees. Guess I'm just not a computer person - I like to read actual books too!!

I think the editor's quality was better than the previous version, but there was less dogs advertised. I'm not sure if it is because it is all going to the internet or if breeders were hesitant to put their money in a new administration.
I think that they nailed it and hope more people bring in their dogs in the next stud issue. It is a treat that comes only once a year.

I think that so many people have websites now, that this is where you find the info on a dog. I don't think that FB is a very good way to advertise. Lots of people don't even label the pictures they put up.

I like the idea of advertising occasionally, but I like to use new photos when I make an investment in advertising. I actually have a hard time getting new photos and that keeps me from advertising (at times).

I do like the new LQ but not sure if it will ever by what the old one was.

I finally gave up on LQ after subscribing for well over 10 years. There was a time when I wouldn't dream of letting it go but the quality went down and the price went up. I received issues with blank pages, missing pages and fewer pages. Their customer service was aweful. I understand they're under new management now ?, and perhaps new management should reach out to prior and existing customers and come up with a new and modern marketing plan. Just when you think the market is cornered, there's a youngster coming up from behind that's faster and smarter or maybe it's simply the internet. I prefer paper copies and would love to see LQ robustly come back. Please get busy, LQ!

Have taken the LQ for years. Loved it. Looked forward to it. The quality is better, cost more to adv. it was okay. I will not pay $58.00 for the stud issue. Saying the issue before that was very small. If the next one is that small, no I will not renew for the first time in 20 years. Yes, I have adv. in the past several times. Notice alot of the known breeders were not in there this time.

I have LQ's going back to the mid- 80's and have the mags that preceded it. Back then, the mag was much thinner than it is now. But I still find them interesting to go back and re-read. What really makes the magazine thicker is the number of ads, and people are probably using different venues for that these days as the internet becomes more widely used and the price is relative inexpensive. While the number of ads is smaller than it was last year, I found the quality of the ads and the dogs (and their accomplishments) higher than many past years when the issue was bigger. The one difference seems to be the stud dog is advertised but not as many (if any) get, which used to make up a lot of the issue.

Did the new LQ offer a reduced rate for Get? I don't recall. I am sure the magazine is expensive to product and I do pay for the annual subscription. But I think that a low enough price for ads would bring in more revenue.

As a general rule, I can't travel long distances to go to shows. The LQ plays an important role for me because it helps give me ideas. I see dogs that aren't shown in my area. I see their pedigrees. If I like a dog or bitch, I will research him/her as well as sire and dam. I do spend more time on the internet but I get a lot of good leads from LQ. Ultimately I try to find someone who has seen the dog at a show somewhere or who knows the owners personally. But modern research for many of us who can not travel all over the country involves a combination of LQ, internet, and phone calls.

Just as a point of information, I had to call LQ because I had a question about renewing my subscription. I happened to get the publisher on the phone coincidentally. She said, and I believe her, that the period of transition from when Hoflin released the publication to her, to when she had to get the first issue out, was extremely short. Unlike the old publisher, this one seems to try to make an effort to stick to publishing deadlines, and the first issue under the new publisher was gotten out at high speed and with very little lead time. She said she felt bad, because it did result in a smaller issue than she would have liked. As far as the stud issue, some people are probably taking a wait and see attitude toward the new publisher, some probably don't have the money they once did to advertise because of the economy, and some probably are using their websites or Facebook.

Frankly I found the first two issues to be of higher quality both as to page layouts and to the presentation of the photography, than the old LQ publisher. The new publisher told me that she is responsible for three other dog publications, and I think her experience with those other publications is what is showing through in the improvements in new LQ.

As far as the article content and the writing, I really did not see any difference between the old LQ and the new LQ.

Just my two cents.

I am not a fan of the new way of doing adds. I like the old way better. Clear concise photos, side shot, face shot. Too many words in the ads, to many fancy photo shop done. I did not like this issue much. I do like the paper, dont like the glued binding. I can see that falling apart. I found the new owner hard to deal with and ended up pulling the add because they couldnt correct the spelling mistakes they made. I submitted a finished ad and they changed it all. I love the articals as always. I just renewed my subscription and will give them a year to find their way......If they dont then i will just drop it.

I found the new LQ people wonderful to work with when I placed my ad. A friend helped me put it together and it needed to be rejiggered by the LQ staff. . . something about the size not being right. We did a number of edits before we got it right; the staff never had an attitude about continuing to work on it.

I also liked the content of the articles. So I say, "Kudos," to the new LQ and I wish them success.