Tarnedge

Welcome to Tarnedge Labradors.

I have been training and breeding Labradors for 30 years and I am a Kennel Club Accredited Breeder.
I have 19 working Labs at present ranging from Simba, who was twelve in July and still working, down to Murphy who was a December puppy. Our next litter is due in December, by Wogan out of Treacle. These puppies should have a lovely temperament and will be suitable as working dogs or family friends.

We're now well into November, and I have just heard that Eva Robard has won her second CD Open Working Trial at Dunholme in Lincolnshire on 7th November. Well done Eva and Tarnedge Columbine. We had some other good news recently that Kelly Chapman with Tarnedge Posy came second in a CD championship working trial in August. Congratulations to them both.

Back here in the dales, the grouse season is nearly finished now. The older dogs have been working their socks off and two of the youngsters - Wogan and Phoebe - have made an excellent start. They're both already regulars on the moors and are now starting to pick up on the low ground too.

Wogan has confidently retrieved goose, pigeon, duck, partridge, pheasant, snipe, grouse and rabbit and I am very excited about this young dog. He is soft-mouthed, quiet and very biddable and I'm looking forward to watching him develop in confidence and experience over the rest of the season. He kind of makes up for Tex a bit, who got a little carried away on her first day I'm afraid and tried to eat her first grouse! She's now back to basics!

We had an appointment for the young dogs to get their hips and elbows xrayed recently, and we've just got the results back. Cassie and Tex both scored 0/0 hips and 0 elbows so together with Indi, Button and Teal, we now have five dogs with perfect hipscores.
I was also really pleased with Wogan's score of 2/2 hips and 0 elbows because he's down to be our new stud dog. He's very handsome, black carrying chocolate, by Field Trial Champion Greenbriar Viper of Drakeshead out of a really well bred working bitch, Optigen tested clear and has a great attitude to life.

On the home front, the Thirn charity clay shoot which takes place on some of our land and is in aid of the local hospice at Northallerton hospital went really well and we were able to send them a cheque for a thousand pounds. As an added attraction, we had a gundog test and scurry for the first time ever this year, and Field Trial Judge Graham Whitehead was kept busy for the whole afternoon. I got roped in as a dummy thrower, and at the end of it was bullied into entering a couple of dogs myself. They said it was to swell the numbers, but since we'd had fifty entries and full classes, I knew they just wanted me to make a fool of myself! However, nothing daunted I nipped up to the house, grabbed a couple of leads, a whistle and two of the dogs. Knowing how much the shooting fraternity take the mickey out of working chocolates, I took two chocolates; Indi and Katie. Might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb...
Being seasoned gundogs, neither of them had picked up a dummy for twelve months, but bless their cotton socks, they hardly put a foot wrong. Indi - Tarnedge Teak - came second in the open working test and Katie - Tarnedge Mudlark - came third in the scurry! One up for the working chocolates!

After one or two hiccups we managed to get all our younger dogs Optigen tested for PRA last year. PRA stands for Progressive retinal atrophy and is an inherited eye condition which can eventually cause blindness. Although, very sadly, they didn't all pass, at least we know what's what now, and we are in a position to plan our future breeding programme with even more genetic information at our disposal.
For those of you who are interested, there are three results you can get from the blood test. Optigen (a laboratory based in the USA) are checking the dna to see whether dogs are AFFECTED, i.e. they will probably eventually get PRA and go blind; whether they are CARRIERS, i.e. they cannot possibly ever get PRA but unless bred to a clear dog they may pass it on to their offspring; or they are CLEARS, i.e. they cannot possibly ever get PRA and they cannot breed a puppy that will ever get the condition. For more information log on to www.optigen.com.
With this new test available to us, it's possible to erradicate PRA from labradors completely!
Unfortunately, of course, it's not going to happen because not every breeder is going to be prepared to spend the money and go to the trouble of doing it.
However, puppy buyers can help tremendously by only buying pups from breeders who have had these tests done, or at the very least used an Optigen tested clear stud dog on their bitch. After all, nobody wants a blind dog, do they?

Anyway, enough of all that, for those of you who haven't been to the kennels to meet them, a little about the dogs.

Tarnedge Labradors are genuine working dogs. Despite being talked into having a go with Indi and Katie at the working test, I have no real interest in competing myself, but I do use dogs with a good record in field trials for stud work. We live in a very beautiful part of the Yorkshire dales and have 17 acres of grassland for the dogs to run free in. The dogs work three or four days a week all through the season, from August up on the grouse moors to February down in the woods on local estates. They are in great demand from the local gamekeepers because of their wonderful attitude and ability. They are honest and reliable and have excellent temperaments. We expect them to work like troopers one day and then curl up with the children for a cuddle the next! They not only make good working retrievers, but also excellent companions, but they do need plenty of exercise and stimulation. Some of our puppies have gone on to do very well in obedience competitions, working trials and working tests. Some have simply become well-loved members of the family.

All our dogs are hip-scored, elbow-scored, eye-tested and Optigen tested. We only breed from dogs with low scores and clear eye tests. They are bred from Field Trial Champion and Winning stock and mostly go back to my foundation bitch who was by Field Trial Champion Pocklington Glen out of a bitch by Field Trial Champion Drakeshead Tinker.

I would like to introduce you to some of our dogs.

Rival Lady of Tarnedge (Holly), the family pet! She is a yellow bitch who is by our own stud dog, Tarnedge Sandy by F.T. Champion Aughacasla Sam of Drakeshead. She is a real softie and a great character. She has a bit more substance than some working labs and she has a lovely head. Her hips are 5-6, elbows 0-0 and her eyes were tested clear on 9th August 2008.

Hoily's daughter Tarnedge Tillia, (Tilly) by F.T. Champion Broadlaw Elder of Laggengill.
She is an absolute darling - good looking, intelligent and desperate to please. She is a brilliant working dog with a wonderful attitude. Her hips are 4-3, elbows 0-0 and her eyes were tested clear on 9th August 2008.

Tarnedge Lunar, (Lulu) is three years old and bursting with enthusiasm. She is very affectionate and friendly and incredibly athletic. She has not only a great desire to please, but also the ability to think and is now a regular member of my husband's team. Her eyes were tested clear on 9th August 2008. Her hips are 2 - 2 and her elbows are 0 - 0.

Our sweet natured chocolate bitch, Button, (Baked Caramel Custard - not a name of our choice!) has a lovely temperament and has a great zest for life. She has recently managed to control her great enthusiasm for eating the grouse instead of retrieving them and is back in the team!!! Her wonderful character also makes her a great family member. She is lovable and affectionate and great fun. Her eyes were tested clear on 2nd October 2007, her hips are 0-0 and her elbows are 0-1.

Button's daughter, Tarnedge Treacle, is by a working chocolate lab, Havelock Bushman of Swallowbarn belonging to Rob Price from Leicestershire. She has an excellent temperament and is full of enthusiasm. She has a great nose, bags of stamina and has matured into one of my most hardworking and reliable dogs. Her eyes were tested clear on 9th August 2008, her hips are 5-4 and her elbows are 0-0.

We kept one of Treacle's puppies from her first litter by Tarnedge Sandy. Katy (Tarnedge Mudlark) is an absolute star. She was three in April. She is chocolate, and such a loving and enthusiastic little soul. She joined the team last season and is already an honest and reliable little worker, showing tremendous maturity for such a young dog and quickly joining her mum as one of my most reliable dogs. She has exactly the type of mentality that I am trying to breed into the chocolates. A very special little dog! Her eyes were tested clear on 13th January 2007, her hips are 5 - 7 and her elbows are 0 - 0. I had a litter out of her last year by Garronpoint Ross of Drakeshead and kept a bitch puppy to continue the line.

Little Foxfell Sika was two years old on New Years Eve. She is approximately seven-eighths working bred, with twenty two Field Trial Champions in her pedigree. A chocolate bitch by Paul Beaumont's dog, Broadwath Teak of Wingbeat by F.T.Ch. Willowyck Jack Snipe. She's only small but she's very sweet-natured and willing to please, and she's as smart as paint! Her hips are 2/6, her elbows are 0, and she had a clear eye test on 9th August 2008.

Tarnedge Topaze is a young, dark yellow bitch out of Tarnedge Swansong. She goes back in a direct line to my old Pocklington Glen bitch, Jay of Oakmeadow. She's very friendly and has a lovely temperament. Her hips are 0/0 her elbows are 0 and she had a clear eye test on 9th August 2008.

We kept three pups last year. Cassie, a chocolate bitch out of Lulu by Indi; Tex who is black carrying yellow and hopefully chocolate too - she's out of Holly by Broadwath Teak of Wingbeat ; and Phoebe, who is black carrying chocolate - she's out of Katie by F.T.W. Garronpoint Ross of Drakeshead. All these three bitches are nicely bred with lovely temperaments and look like making really good working dogs.

Then there's the boys. Simba, (Tarnedge Sandy) my honest old dog, is twelve now. He still has his own page as a stud-dog, complete with photo, although I have sadly retired him from stud this year. He continues to be very fit in himself though.

Indi, our chocolate stud dog also now has his own page. He is three years old in July, by Basil of Boatswain out of our own Tilly. He is a very sensible, very laid-back chap; A lovely dark shade of chocolate and enthusiastically retrieving anything and everything! His eyes were tested clear on 9th August 2008 and amazingly, he also has 0 - 0 hips and 0 - 0 elbows and is Optigen tested clear.
He reminds me very much of his great-grandsire, Simba at that age. He'll have an awfully hard act to follow, but he is very popular as a stud dog and has already fathered lots of puppies, including our own babies, Scruff aka Tarnedge Arran, who was out of Kizzie's litter which we hand-reared when mum had no milk; and Tarnedge Cassiopaeia, (Cassie).

And last but not least there's Wogan. He was bred by my friend Paul Beaumont, by F.T.Ch. Drakeshead Viper out of a well-bred working chocolate bitch. I bought a half share in him as a pup and have just started working him this season. He's incredibly good-looking, intelligent and biddable, and is now available for stud work. He is pra clear by birth, has a current eye certificate, hips of 2/2 and 0 elbows.

We are very proud of our dogs and we only sell puppies to homes where we feel they will be happy. They need a garden to play in and somebody with the time and commitment to bring them up as confident, well-balanced and well-behaved dogs whether they are workers or companions.
We do like to talk through all the pros and cons of dog ownership with any prospective new owners, to ensure that the pups do go to suitable homes. We then give a full back up, advising and helping in any way we can through the following weeks to make sure that the pups settle in well and that all goes smoothly. Obviously, all puppies take full written instructions on their feeding and general care when they leave us.

Although all our dogs are good with children, we do not recommend mixing small children with small puppies. Puppies bite and scratch and small children drop puppies on their heads. Better to wait until the children are a little older!!

Tarnedge

http://www.champdogs.co.uk/breeder/4629.html