17/09/2025
In high school, I had a very wise teacher that would always tell us, “Don't tell me, Show Me.”
Crystal Creek did this on TikTok a little while ago and I am going to immitate it. She shared the list of all the dogs she kept back but then decided not to breed. My list will be below.
I will preface this with that when I announce new prospect, it doesn't mean it will be bred. Of the dogs I bring in as hopefuls into my breeding program, I breed only 50% of them. Some of these dogs hurt worse than others to release from my program, but no matter how much it hurts, sometimes you still have to make the cuts. So, who are those that constitute the 50% and why did they make the list?
*Maintstream female, bred elsewhere. Pedigree loaded with AKC Champions and even had a littermate earn their AKC Grand. However, she developed a poor topline, long loin, had a straight front. Beautiful rear, sweet temperament, and gorgeous face. Her faults existed where they could be hidden by hair. She was spayed and placed as a pet.
*Mainstream male, bred elsewhere. Pedigree wasn't anything special but his dam was nicely put together with phenomenal temperament. However, he had a straight rear and his temperament was not what I wanted to reproduce. He had many titles and he had passing health testing and probably could have been a wonderful producer in someone else's program but he didn't match my goals. Placed in pet home.
*Diverse male, bred elsewhere. Wonderfully titled, wonderful health testing, and a lot of great attributes but I never found the right female to pair him to. Collected, neutered, and placed in pet home.
*Moderately diverse female, bred elsewhere. She passed health testing and we titled her. She was incredibly sweet with familiar people and we loved her gentleness, however she struggled with interactions with strangers, had a flighty temperament,and ultimately I decided the risks of her reproducing that didn't outweigh the benefits of keeping her in the program.
*Diverse female, bred-by. This girl was actually the highest diversity female I had in my program and I decided not to breed her because I thought she was too long in loin and she wasn't as social as was my goal. She had correct angles, good topline, beautiful face, ... but I just couldn't get past her long loin. She will be spayed by her pet family.
*Moderately diverse, bred-by female. One of my nicest bred-bys, structurally. Her temperament was too soft. I wanted a more social friendly toward strangers pup from that pairing. She will be spayed by her pet family.
*Highly Diverse, bred elsewhere. This girl had intervariety/imported Medium in both sides of her pedigree and she was very long awaited. However, she developed a very long loin and although she had a wonderfully bold, friendly temperament, she struggled with separation anxiety and that is a deal breaker for me as a breeder. Her guardian home was given permission to spay and she was released from my program.
*Diverse, bred-by female. Structurally, very nice, but bigger than my intended goals and temperament wasn't as bold or confident as I expected from that pairing.
*Diverse, bred-by female. Passed health testing, titled, and we love her dearly. I simply could not find a the male stud I thought she needed that would both preserve her diversity and fix her conformation faults, and I was not willing to give up any diversity in this line due to pedigree risk.
*Moderately diverse bred-by female. She is really beautiful, and another one of the females I would say has been one of the nicest structurally I have produced. I didn't have a spot in my home for her and after a year looking for guardian home, I was unsuccessful. Placed into pet home.
The dogs I have bred or know I will breed include Miya (mainstream), Seairsha (Diverse), Sunny (Diverse), Moxie (Diverse), Memrie (Diverse), Meadow (mainstream), Marble (Diverse) Clover (mainstream), Blue (Diverse), and Kiki (mainstream). Diverse and Mainstream being labeled by OI, falling above or below the average.
So, what dogs have I retired from my breeding program? Both mainstream and diverse dogs. What dogs have I decided to breed? Both Diverse and mainstream dogs. I can only speak for my own program, but type and diversity is a careful balancing act, and I keep both diverse and mainstream dogs in my program. One generation I might focus more on type and another more on diversity, and the goal is to continue to slowly build both.
I have never given up on a dog because they lacked diversity, but I have given up on a dog that lacked type. The most likely reason I choose to not breed or retire a dog – temperament and structure.
Our actions speak louder than our words, and I'm glad my actions reflect my priorities.
