You must allow yourself time to learn the ins and outs of your breed. Make sure, for example, that you are able to recognize different styles in your breed and can intelligently discuss the merits and drawbacks of each. There are many tools to help you do this and it is incumbent upon you, not your mentor, to seek them out. Read back issues of breed magazines and newsletters, look for new and old books or articles on your breed, borrow old videos of national specialties, and correspond with long-time breeders (even if you don't agree with them, their opinions will add to your knowledge). Ask your mentor for photos of some of the dogs in your pedigrees. Study, even though there is no "test!"
Breeders Don't Have "Buy-One-Get-One" Sales
There is no question that breeding dogs is an expensive hobbyand breeding dogs right is even more costly. All of the reasons you first chose your mentor breeder (achievements, attention to health and temperament, diversified breeding program, experience, etc.) equate, in the end, to the high costs of show dogs and breeding stock.
With that in mind, many established breeders are surprised by the feelings of entitlement they encounter in new breeders. While most new fanciers have no problem paying for thei r first or even second dog, many soon come to expect preferential treatment. Regardless of whether it finds its roots in "favors" done for the breeder or merely a conviction that they are the perfect home, students often look to their mentors to provide them with an unending stream of good-quality, free dogs.
The logic associated with this is flawed for many reasons, not the least of which is a failure to recognize that the reason you chose your breeder as a mentor is exactly why their dogs and puppies are likely in high demand. Show-quality puppies, contrary to popular belief, do not grow on trees, even for the most successful breeders. Your breeder is likely inundated with requests for puppies from established fanciers and new breeders just like you. Add to that the demands of continuing a successful breeding program and you have a classic supply and demand curveskewed heavily toward scarcity.
How to deal with this? Be patient and have realistic expectations. While your mentor will not likely provide you with an entire breeding program free for the taking, you will probably have the opportunity to buy one or two promising dogs. Use these dogs wisely and you will have acquired what you are looking for. Regardless, be conscious of the fact that establishing a breeding program, like any other venture, often requires a significant investment. If your breeder is willing or able to give you a break in that department be grateful, because even if the price tag is smaller the value is not.
One Is The Loneliest Number
The next lesson for new breeders also takes its cue from the business worlddiversify. Loyalty, while a necessary and admirable trait in the dog world, does not require exclusivity. Just as it is impossible to maintain a successful breeding program without "going out" of one's own lines, it would be self-defeating for a new breeder to rely solely on their mentor's program.Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5