AS : There have been 202 homebred Greyhound champions and 42 BIS winners , and more in the making . These are “ just ” two of the extraordinary records the kennel has achieved to date . Other than the tremendous work of having had to breed , raise and find homes for these puppies , what did it take to accomplish such records ? Did teamwork with puppy buyers contribute to this success ? EE : Yes , breeding does take commitment and persistence more than anything . You have to realize that in order to succeed as a dog breeder , you will have to sacrifice quite a few other things in life . The dogs are there every day , and you have to face up to that responsibility today , tomorrow and every day for many years to come .
Very little can be accomplished without clever puppy buyers , who are dedicated to raising , feeding , training and socializing their puppies . Even though we have never co-bred any litters , we have depended on others to keep most of the beta bitches as well as the males that we have used in our breeding . I am very grateful for so many clever puppy buyers over the years .
I have always worked full-time out of home and have relied on a lot of help from others just to keep the dogs happy and content every day , and even more so for raising the litters . Without all those great helpers , it would have been impossible to breed dogs at all .
Multiple Ch . Jet ’ s Moulin Rouge is the only Brussels Griffon bitch and the only smooth Griffon ever to become an English and American champion . from sighthounds as you can get . Have the same breeding principles worked out in Griffons as well ? EE : No , I have found it much , much more difficult to breed Griffons . There are at least three main reasons for this : The breed has small litters , meaning much less room for selection ; they do not breed anywhere near as true ; nor are they as healthy as Greyhounds . If you breed two excellent Greyhounds together and they complement each other , you are very likely to get at least a couple of excellent offspring . Not necessarily so in Griffons . I have not actually found out yet how to breed Griffons , and it has not been for lack of trying ! But perhaps if you give me another 40 years or so ?
AS : So , what has Åge ’ s part of the big picture been ? EE : This project has taken a committed life partner , and I have been so lucky to have had the very best one for 26 years now in Åge Gjetnes . For sure Åge has been a huge support and has done more than his share of all the practical work that goes into the dogs daily , not the least of which has been raising litters . He is also an excellent handler and has shown many of our dogs to many of their successes . For many years now , he has co-owned the Greyhounds . Åge himself is an accomplished breeder , but we have bred our dogs separately . To have somebody to discuss both potential combinations with , and evaluate puppies and grownup dogs with has been most valuable .
AS : We ’ re certainly looking forward to the day when you break the Griffon code ! Is there anything you learned from breeding Griffons that you could make use of in your work with Greyhounds ? EE : Interesting question , as I have never really thought about this before . But I think I have learned to put even more emphasis on health and fertility and never take those things for granted . And I have certainly learned that what works in one breed does not necessarily work in another . That being said , there are some really good Jet ’ s Griffons out there too , however mostly males .
AS : What do you think the importance of your records is ? What message would you like them to translate to your fellow breeders and exhibitors ? EE : I actually do not think that the numbers themselves have much significance other than testifying to persistence and competitiveness . But an average of more than five champions per litter at least means that most of the Jet ’ s Greyhounds have been quite healthy and typical of their breed . Hardly any of them have struggled to make up [ their championships ], and many were shown to their titles in just three or four shows . Nevertheless , the champions and the BIS wins are not the real goal . On the contrary , the goal is to breed the ideal dog according to my own interpretation of the standard . This is , however , an unattainable goal , and during the very slow process of getting closer to it , I need some obtainable goals to keep me motivated . This is where going out there to compete , making up champions and winning Best in Show comes into it .
AS : Please summarize the highlights of your homebred Greyhounds ’ successes in the show ring and on the lure coursing field .
PAULINE OLIVER
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