I got my labrador bitch from a breeder a while ago and I am planning to breed her with my other labrador (they have different pedigrees) because they both have good natures. they have been checked out at the vet and are ok to breed from with low hip scores etc and they have an excellent nature and meet the breed standard well, but i read that my bitch and dog need to be champions before you breed from them. i have never shown them but thought that their good nature and breed standard and perfect health would be enough for them to produce good quality puppies. they have a few champions on their pedigree, but if i continue to line breed the labradors (which is what i want to do) without showing them the champions will eventually no longer be on the pedigree, so is it ok to have a pedigree without any champions on?

sorry if this doesnt make sense!!!! :)

No of course they don't need to be champions, they don't need to be shown either, but unless you are an expert I would get someone who has a good deal of experance to look at your dogs and give you an assement of just how good they are.

No dog is perfect and the art of good breeding is to try and improve on the parents with the pups they produce. I would ask the bitches breeder of their oppinion of the dog you own and whether it is the best match for your bitch. It is also best to put a novice bitch to an experianced stud and the novice dogs to a bitch who has been mated before.

So check with your bitches breeder about the best lines to use on her and have someone who knows the bred well give you an honist opinion of her. To embark on your first litter with the help of the bitches breeder is worth at least 2 years studying.

As Jackie says, as long as they are good examples of the breed - get them evaluated by the breeder of either your dog or bitch - or if that isn't possible, try and find the nearest breed society to you, join that, and you'll get advice there.

Good luck! - and if you're worried about losing the champions out of the puppies' pedigrees, just give them the extra generation!