I have always felt funny posting here, since my SO and I are dogless! However, we are starting in earnest our househunt, and hope to find something and move in by the winter time.
The Flat Coated Retriever breeder I've been in touch with (and met her and her three girls) agreed to put us on the list for a litter planned and would be ready to go home late May of next year (pending our housing situation changes of course)! I know its a year away but I'm so excited! Naturally of course the planned breeding could go wrong, our housing situation may be delayed...a number of things can happen, but I have my fingers crossed anyway! This has been 2 years in the planning from researching breeds, contacting breeders, reading various dog books, and making sure my SO is really ready for a dog to become part of our lives (he's never had a pet before let alone a dog).
The breeder I'm in touch with is who I personally hope to go through. She's been nothing short of wonderful in answering questions and meeting up with us so she can 1. screen us as a good match for a FCR and 2. Have us meet her three girls and talk with her face to face. She does not breed often (maybe a litter every other year) and never before the bitch is 2 years of age (the bitch planning to be bred is now 2). She has a mandatory spay/neuter contract for all dogs going home as just pets, and does home inspections (she just wants to make sure the house is secure and the yard is fenced and that the dog will be residing indoors). She will take back any dog at any point in their life with no questions asked. She considers any puppy she has bred and placed to still be "her" dogs and as such she loves keeping in touch with them, and WELCOMES any questions from any of her puppies new owners at any time. In fact I'd say she lives for it, she loves talking about her dogs, the breed, and helping new owners out with questions that come up. Passionate about her breed I think would be an understatement!
Her bitch Gilly who is the one planning to be bred is amazing. Full of energy and life, very biddeable and spunky (in a good way). She just finished her Canadian Championship and is now working toward her US championship which if things keep going the way they are going should be accomplished soon! Her other two girls, Katie is the eldest now 11 and actually the mother of the other two. Katie is still as spunky as ever, and if it weren't for the grey hairs you'd think she was more like 5 years old! Lindy is the middle at 5 or 6 years old, a liver, and unfortuantely a poor (conformation wise) example of the breed. She was a runt, so she kept her and Lindy's only job is to be the sweetest and bestest Lindy she can be (and she excells at that, Lindy is an absolute love and a half). Lindy is noticably smaller and her skull is more lab like with a more defined stop.
She keeps her dogs in superior form without an extra ounce of fat to be seen. Most of her dogs in the past have been therapy dogs as well. One other thing is she does require that the puppies be placed in a puppy class as soon as they are eligable to help with socialization and aid the owners in learning to communicate with their new dog (and start on training asap since the FCR is relatively rare and she wants her puppies to grow up to be good ambassadors for the breed).
She sounds to me to be a really responsible and ethical breeder. If anyone else here feels otherwise let me know, b/c I really don't want a puppy from anything else but the best.
I am so excited, this year cannot hurry up fast enough. Life is duller without a 4-legged creature running underfoot and poking their nose at you to tell you your being boring that going outside is sooo much more fun!