[RoseArbour]

It's easy to be pickier about the stud dogs. There are more stud dogs out there to choose from and they are bred more frequently than our bitches.

As a bitch owner, you have to be very picky about where you will breed your bitch. Unless you are willing to have several breeding females at any one time, your energy is devoted to trying to make the very best possible choice for a breeding partner. We have to research much deeper into the pedigree. We usually only have one or two chances to produce a great litter and the success of a breeding isn't known for years go come.

Living on the west coast, I am not familiar with "east coast" dogs unless they have offspring, or are specialled, out here. There are some older dogs out here that I really like. Unfortunately about everything I like is already related to my dogs. <smile> We'll need absolute outcrosses for any future breedings. And really, the thought tires me.

If we do as JoJo suggested (just playing along right here) then you want to find a line that has similar breedings already in play that have strong hip/elbow ratings, no history of cruciate ruptures, cancer or arthritis, has clear thinking and trainability, and oh yeah - is beautiful and structurally strong! You're better off to buy a youth dog than a puppy since it and littermates will already have preliminary health testing done including cardiac and cerf - and then be expected to spend a lot of money trying to buy a sure thing.

Or we keep working with what we already have and try to improve on every generation of dog we produce. There are very few breeders we can say truly have their own "line". These breeders have produced what they are looking for repeatedly by having bred back into established lines and locking in a distinct look or type.

I'm rambling. :-)
Carlie