Labrador Retriever

[blackdog]

All that is so true but please dont just restrict those comments to rural champions. I have seen some dreadful dogs come out of the city that have more titles than the English monarchy and they dont fit the bill either.

And while I agree that some dogs get thier titles and never meet opposition so are not really as good as the title suggest. There are some very good dogs in rural towns that never have opposition - surely you are not suggesting that just because we live in a rural area our dogs are automatically rubbish. I'm sure thier very very respectable breeder would like the think otherwise.

Ah yes Mercedes - the great Geographic debate.

In theory our "system" of awarding show titles in this Country was designed to be equitable.

In remote/rural areas where often times there are less dogs entered fewer challenge points are on offer

The math : beat fewer dogs = take longer to attain title.

The flip side is (again in theory) big city breed entries.

The math : beat more dogs = attain title quicker (but more difficult to achieve).

Irrespective of where we live there will always be the weekly ups and downs of All Breeds dog shows.

But where it really counts is Specialty Shows and Breed Nationals.

How many times have we seen Lab exhibitors NOT supporting their State Breed Club Specialty Champ Show.

Instead they creep off to the bush or some small show over the border to plunder some extra points.

Same goes with Nationals - I've lost count of the number of times I've heard the comment - "Oh I'm not entering because I won't win".

These people have missed the point completely - it's not about winning (although to do so is a great thrill).

What it should be about is everybody taking the opportunity of seeing first hand all of the dogs many of us only ever read about on DOL.

And while I'm on the subject of DOL - I heard recently a very disturbing report that catalogue numbers may be being "stacked".

Now for the unitiated the DOL Best of Breed pointscore system is based on the number of Labs actually entered in the show catalogue.

If 20 labs are entered (irrespective of absentees) then the Best of Breed winner achieves and can claim 20 points.

But rumour has it that big numbers of Labs are being entered and that same exhibitor only turns up with one (maybe two) Labs on the day.

There may be only 3 labs in total actually exhibitted but the full catalogue entry still counts.

Now I repeat - this is only hearsay but if true the whole system of the DOL Best of Breed pointscore is flawed.

[Labs]

Unfortunately we don't have enough shows to stay competitive with a National Competition. I gave up putting in my scores when we had no shows for 5 weeks

[aussielover]

When i was living in the Uk, i saw lots of gorgeous labs! Most them seemed to have longer legs than the ones you see in Australia and generally be a bit less stocky. I was wondering if it is possible to get Labs in Aus that have longer legs are are slimmer? Would working/Hunting dogs fit this description better?

Thanks

[mikelli]

When i was living in the Uk, i saw lots of gorgeous labs! Most them seemed to have longer legs than the ones you see in Australia and generally be a bit less stocky. I was wondering if it is possible to get Labs in Aus that have longer legs are are slimmer? Would working/Hunting dogs fit this description better?

Thanks

Look around on some of the breeders websites, I am sure you will find labs that suit you. Are you wanting to show your dog or do some obedience or retrieving with it?

[blackdog]

When i was living in the Uk, i saw lots of gorgeous labs! Most them seemed to have longer legs than the ones you see in Australia and generally be a bit less stocky. I was wondering if it is possible to get Labs in Aus that have longer legs are are slimmer? Would working/Hunting dogs fit this description better?

Thanks

Look around on some of the breeders websites, I am sure you will find labs that suit you. Are you wanting to show your dog or do some obedience or retrieving with it?

Dear Aussielover - the simple answer to your question is : "The breed standard is the breed standard".

The very same breeed standard is used in the UK as it is here - what you are describing is a difference in "breed type".

Every breeder/exhibitor interprets that breed standard differently - they place particular emphasis on different things.

The result can be a certain "type" which may become synonymous with an individual kennel or group of like minded breeders.

If your preference is for a Lab that is more "rangey" then thats what you should go looking for.

But that doesn't mean that the same dog will fall within the Internationally accepted breed standard.

And just because you may have seen these types in the UK doesn't mean that they are actually correct.

Australia is currently regarded as having some of the very best Labradors Retrievers anywhere in the World.

Good luck with your search.

[blacklabrador]

And while I'm on the subject of DOL - I heard recently a very disturbing report that catalogue numbers may be being "stacked".

Now for the unitiated the DOL Best of Breed pointscore system is based on the number of Labs actually entered in the show catalogue.

If 20 labs are entered (irrespective of absentees) then the Best of Breed winner achieves and can claim 20 points.

But rumour has it that big numbers of Labs are being entered and that same exhibitor only turns up with one (maybe two) Labs on the day.

There may be only 3 labs in total actually exhibitted but the full catalogue entry still counts.

Now I repeat - this is only hearsay but if true the whole system of the DOL Best of Breed pointscore is flawed.

Probably the most ethical thing to do here Blackdog is to email Troy and talk to him about it. It may perpetuate an false rumour to discuss it on here without first checking it out with the person who runs it.

[poodlefan]

I have removed a number of the more 'political' posts that do not contribute to educating people about the Labrador Retriever.

May I suggest that people keep those for the thread in the General forum.

PF

[Labs]

I have removed a number of the more 'political' posts that do not contribute to educating people about the Labrador Retriever.

May I suggest that people keep those for the thread in the General forum.

PF

Such a shame, it was the first time I had found something interesting enough to write about on DOL in many many months maybe a year!!!!

IMO you shouldn't have removed them at least people were writing, maybe it wasn't the correct place but I don't agree with you removing everything and it was just flow on from other threads.

But your choice, just a shame that you have lost so many people who use to regularly contribute.

[Tapua]

I have removed a number of the more 'political' posts that do not contribute to educating people about the Labrador Retriever.

May I suggest that people keep those for the thread in the General forum.

PF

Such a shame, it was the first time I had found something interesting enough to write about on DOL in many many months maybe a year!!!!

IMO you shouldn't have removed them at least people were writing, maybe it wasn't the correct place but I don't agree with you removing everything and it was just flow on from other threads.

But your choice, just a shame that you have lost so many people who use to regularly contribute.

I wonder why a Poodlefan who says she isnt a 'Lab person' feels she has a right to edit the Lab breed site - I find this mildly annoying - I would have thought it was the perogative of the DOL team and Troy alone to do that. Its a pity - I will probably not use this section again.

[poodlefan]

I have removed a number of the more 'political' posts that do not contribute to educating people about the Labrador Retriever.

May I suggest that people keep those for the thread in the General forum.

PF

Such a shame, it was the first time I had found something interesting enough to write about on DOL in many many months maybe a year!!!!

IMO you shouldn't have removed them at least people were writing, maybe it wasn't the correct place but I don't agree with you removing everything and it was just flow on from other threads.

But your choice, just a shame that you have lost so many people who use to regularly contribute.

I wonder why a Poodlefan who says she isnt a 'Lab person' feels she has a right to edit the Lab breed site - I find this mildly annoying - I would have thought it was the perogative of the DOL team and Troy alone to do that. Its a pity - I will probably not use this section again.

I'm the moderater of all threads in this section and have the capacity to edit or delete posts because Troy enabled me to do it . The posts were reported to me as a potential breach of forum rules and I removed them because:

1. They breached Forum Rule 7:

No denigration of dog shows or exhibitors (and no show ring 'politics')

Our site actively promotes the exhibition of pure bred dogs. We prefer to concentrate on the 'positives' of this activity. If you have a gripe about what happened at a particular show or the conduct of an exhibitor, please take your soapbox elsewhere.

2. They also did not serve to educate people about the breed (which is the purpose of this section of the forum).

If you are unhappy with my moderation I recommend you PM Troy. You could start a thread about the relative merits of those Labrador Retrievers who title and those that do or do not attend specialties in the show forum or post about these issues in the breed sub-forum in General. Troy and his full time mods do all the moderating there.

Experienced breeders like you have a lot to offer those who wish to educate themselves about this breed Labs. I hope you will continue of offer your experience n here to those with questions about your breed of choice. There are more appropriate places on DOL for discussion of other breed issues within forum rules.

Edited December 17, 2009 by poodlefan

[Tapua]

I have removed a number of the more 'political' posts that do not contribute to educating people about the Labrador Retriever.

May I suggest that people keep those for the thread in the General forum.

PF

Such a shame, it was the first time I had found something interesting enough to write about on DOL in many many months maybe a year!!!!

IMO you shouldn't have removed them at least people were writing, maybe it wasn't the correct place but I don't agree with you removing everything and it was just flow on from other threads.

But your choice, just a shame that you have lost so many people who use to regularly contribute.

I wonder why a Poodlefan who says she isnt a 'Lab person' feels she has a right to edit the Lab breed site - I find this mildly annoying - I would have thought it was the perogative of the DOL team and Troy alone to do that. Its a pity - I will probably not use this section again.

I'm the moderater of all threads in this section and have the capacity to edit or delete posts because Troy enabled me to do it . The posts were reported to me as a potential breach of forum rules and I removed them because:

1. They breached Forum Rule 7:

No denigration of dog shows or exhibitors (and no show ring 'politics')

Our site actively promotes the exhibition of pure bred dogs. We prefer to concentrate on the 'positives' of this activity. If you have a gripe about what happened at a particular show or the conduct of an exhibitor, please take your soapbox elsewhere.

2. They also did not serve to educate people about the breed (which is the purpose of this section of the forum).

If you are unhappy with my moderation I recommend you PM Troy. You could start a thread about the relative merits of those Labrador Retrievers who title and those that do or do not attend specialties in the show forum or post about these issues in the breed sub-forum in General. Troy and his full time mods do all the moderating there.

Experienced breeders like you have a lot to offer those who wish to educate themselves about this breed Labs. I hope you will continue of offer your experience n here to those with questions about your breed of choice. There are more appropriate places on DOL for discussion of other breed issues within forum rules.

With respect Poodlefan - given you have permission from Troy to be a moderator that is fine however may I suggest you identify yourself as a forum moderator - because as a relatively new user of the forum, from my perspective it seem odd to have a person from another breed dictating what can and cannot be said, I see it as crossing a boundary.

Since however you have a specific role I would think it would be curteous to others to identify yourself as a moderator.

Other forums I have been on identify themselves as moderators in their profile as forum moderator and there is no problem.

Edited December 18, 2009 by Tapua

[poodlefan]

With respect Poodlefan - given you have permission from Troy to be a moderator that is fine however may I suggest you identify yourself as a forum moderator - because as a relatively new user of the forum, from my perspective it seem odd to have a person from another breed dictating what can and cannot be said, I see it as crossing a boundary.

Since however you have a specific role I would think it would be curtious to others to identify yourself as a moderator.

Other forums I have been on identify themselves as moderators in their profile as forum moderator and there is no problem.

My role as moderator is identified in the forum index. However I take your point and have amended my profile accordingly. My role as to what is said is to ensure that it remains within forum rules. My actions were prompted by a report from another member. Stick to the forum rules and I won't be editing or removing anything.

Edited December 17, 2009 by poodlefan

[Labs]

With respect Poodlefan - given you have permission from Troy to be a moderator that is fine however may I suggest you identify yourself as a forum moderator - because as a relatively new user of the forum, from my perspective it seem odd to have a person from another breed dictating what can and cannot be said, I see it as crossing a boundary.

Since however you have a specific role I would think it would be curtious to others to identify yourself as a moderator.

Other forums I have been on identify themselves as moderators in their profile as forum moderator and there is no problem.

My role as moderator is identified in the forum index. However I take your point and have amended my profile accordingly. My role as to what is said is to ensure that it remains within forum rules. My actions were prompted by a report from another member. Stick to the forum rules and I won't be editing or removing anything.

I have looked thru quite a few of the Dog Breeds 101 and plenty of the posts are not "educating people about the particular breed".

No I don't think I will be bothering adding anything to "Controlled Threads" and in my years on here I don't remember Troy removing such threads, but you can choose what you do.

[mikelli]

If I were entering a new breed I think I would want to know what it is like in the "real" world as far as shows, and interpretation of breed standards go, however it seems that apart from "how their toes smell", little else can be said. The comments that were removed were not directed at any one person or any one show, only general comments, mostly about interpretation of breed standards and in my humble opinion were not intended to be "political"...

[Troy]

I have removed a number of the more 'political' posts that do not contribute to educating people about the Labrador Retriever.

May I suggest that people keep those for the thread in the General forum.

PF

Such a shame, it was the first time I had found something interesting enough to write about on DOL in many many months maybe a year!!!!

IMO you shouldn't have removed them at least people were writing, maybe it wasn't the correct place but I don't agree with you removing everything and it was just flow on from other threads.

But your choice, just a shame that you have lost so many people who use to regularly contribute.

I have removed a number of the more 'political' posts that do not contribute to educating people about the Labrador Retriever.

May I suggest that people keep those for the thread in the General forum.

PF

Such a shame, it was the first time I had found something interesting enough to write about on DOL in many many months maybe a year!!!!

IMO you shouldn't have removed them at least people were writing, maybe it wasn't the correct place but I don't agree with you removing everything and it was just flow on from other threads.

But your choice, just a shame that you have lost so many people who use to regularly contribute.

I wonder why a Poodlefan who says she isnt a 'Lab person' feels she has a right to edit the Lab breed site - I find this mildly annoying - I would have thought it was the perogative of the DOL team and Troy alone to do that. Its a pity - I will probably not use this section again.

I think it is a bit of a shame to hear the tone of these posts. My apologies to Poodlefan for me not being here sooner to answer them.

The whole idea of the Breed 101 threads are a central breed topic where people knowledgable in the breed are able to educate others and for people who want to learn about the breed to ask questions. I specifically requested Poodlefan remove any post that goes off this discussion track as I want these topics to remain breed focussed where possible so PM me and complain if you want. (From reading this thread, I think she has given you ample leeway up to now to go slightly off topic).

The last thing we want is for it to turn into a general discussion thread about general breeding, mentoring, DOL pointscore compaints etc. That is what this topic is for (alternatively you can start a new topic in another appropriate forum).

For a person wanting to learn about the Labrador Retreiver, it is much better to have a topic that is 10 short pages full of LR questions and answers than to have 200+ pages of breed politics, DOL pointscore complaints etc to wade through and have the reader give up after page 5 or so. They won't learn about your breed that way.

If you choose to now spit the dummy because we are trying to give you a place to promote and focus on your breed, that is your choice. I guess that re-inforces a lot of the perceived problems in the dog world. The 101 forum is here to help you to make people knowledgable in your breed.

Cheers

[Troy]

If I were entering a new breed I think I would want to know what it is like in the "real" world as far as shows, and interpretation of breed standards go, however it seems that apart from "how their toes smell", little else can be said. The comments that were removed were not directed at any one person or any one show, only general comments, mostly about interpretation of breed standards and in my humble opinion were not intended to be "political"...

Most of the comments are not breed specific. The problems are universal in the dog show/breeding world regardless of breed. There is no real use for the 101 forum if it becomes just another generalised 'dog' discussion.

[LoveMyLab]

wow !

Just joined dogzonline... and im out of here

no other dog / lab forum online is as political as this

[mikelli]

wow !

Just joined dogzonline... and im out of here

no other dog / lab forum online is as political as this

Come and visit in "Those Crazy Labradors" in the Breed Sub Forums, no politics there.....

[sandgrubber]

I don't read this thread often. I am a Lab breeder. I think there's a need for discussion about where the breed is going and should go . . . because retrieving game is a dying profession for dogs, lab's #1 role deals with their extraordinary 'people skills'; also our breed standard calls for a broad head (which may ultimately result in problems with whelping and a head that looks like a Gr Ch Rottweiler) and dual coat (which means they suffer greatly under high temperatures). Great, also if breed-relevant questions like the pros and cons of EIC genetic testing, or the need to do both PRA testing AND annual eye examinations were to show up. But they don't seem to land here.

I don't see that the thread is moving to discuss what I see as significant breed issues.

Is Dog Breeds 101 a success? Or just fluff that moves the Training threads off the bottom of the list you see . . .making it necessary to scroll down to get to that forum.

[Joan of Arc]

I posted in general discussions concerning an add in our local paper for a black and gold lab. Several DOLers responded with the option to look at a certain link which I am sure we have all seen before.

SO I thought I would ask the other Lab breeders - have they ever bred, or seen someone else breed a mismarked Lab like the add or the link refers to?