As an independent breeder who is not constrained by the opinions and expectations of show judges or field trial judges I am free to create a strain of Labradors who meet my own requirements.  The original AKC field trial bloodlines that I began with went back to two influential dogs of the late 1960’s and the early 1970’s.  Blaze’s father was line bred on ’67-’68 NAFC & ’68 NFC Super Chief, while Blaze’s mother was line bred to ’72-’75 NAFC & CNFC River Oaks Corky.  Physically, Blaze was very stocky and handsome with a nice head, great otter tail, and a super double coat.  Temperamentally, he was self-confident, friendly with everyone, and a driven retriever.  I continued to breed within these lines for a several litters as I was generally well pleased with the results. 

          Over time I began to realize that the dogs that I was producing had too much GO and not enough WHOA for the average amateur trainer, especially those of us who would prefer not to use an electronic training collar.  I decided that I should try to outcross to another strain of Lab to moderate the drive and to strengthen some of the physical traits, such as a good dense coat and an otter tail, which I was having trouble maintaining in my line.  I was tempted to use show lines, but I had concerns over losing hunting desire and scenting ability which is not a priority for most show breeders.  Instead I elected to go to the British field bred Lab which has a reputation for being a calmer more biddable dog than his American counterpart.  British Labs also tend to more closely conform to the breed standard than do many American field Labs.

          The outcross with the British Lab genepool did result in a biddable dog and there were some improvements in coat and tail along with some nice heads.  But along with these improvements I found that we lost some ground in other areas.  My Labs had always been superb marking dogs and I found that I lost a fair degree of excellence in that area.  However, what was of greater concern to me was the loss of some degree of self-confidence which resulted in a tendency for the dogs to be shy or skittish around new people or new situations.  My role as a forester takes me into many new and different situations so I value a dog that can take everything in stride, whether it is livestock, farm machinery, barn cats, or my clients and their children or grandchildren. 

          My breeding selection process continues as I exclude bitches that fail to demonstrate the traits that I value and as I seek stud dogs who exemplify my vision of an Orion Labrador retriever.  I have not excluded the British genepool from consideration, but I understand that I must be careful to insure that they demonstrate and produce the bold self-confident dog that I believe the Lab should be.  Most recently I am investigating the genepool of honest hard working hunting Labs who are unheralded, but are arguably the backbone of the breed.  These working Labs may never have been entered in a test or trial and may have no titles.  There may be little red ink on their pedigrees, but one thing I have learned as a breeder is that we aren’t breeding paper, we are breeding DOGS!  As long as the dog can pass his health clearances and demonstrate that he possesses and produces the traits that I value there is no reason to exclude him from a breeding program simply because his name isn’t surrounded by titles.  Excellence isn’t demonstrated on paper, it is demonstrated in the dog and his ability to produce!