AKC BREEDER OF THE YEAR HONOREES
Daryl Martin TOY GROUP
1. How does it feel to be honored by the AKC to represent your Group? When you work as hard as you do for so many years to make better dogs, and consistent quality to the standard, it is a wonderful feeling to be recognized by your peers. Certainly, it is a very high honor determined by old school dog people. Thank you very much! 2. Who are the people “in dogs” who’ve influenced your breeding program? My mother was always my highest mentor; she was always black and white about what was correct and natural, instead of trying to cover-up faults. She always believed it is easier to have the virtues or breed for virtues that are im- portant in the breed than cosmetically making it happen. Of course, all the old school breeders; the Salilyn Springers, the Salagray Boxers, the Wycliffe Poodles, the Alekai Poodles, the Grandeur Afghans, all the old-time, large kennels were icons of my goals of my breeding for consistent lines of dogs. However, in today’s world, big kennels are a thing of the past—but their phi- losophies still exist. 3. Do you have specific philosophies that you maintain as a breeder? I like to breed sound, elegant, healthy dogs for the basics, as this is hard to fix. Of course, I like pretty faces too and I do not like common dogs. When you breed through the years and something very wrong comes up in a puppy [that] you have never had, you place it as a pet and do not think you can breed it out. I prefer very related dogs as long as you have knowledge of the dogs. So, if I were to outcross I would hope to breed to a dog that has what I call a “family.” In our breed, this is very hard to do these days. Very few people have line-bred family dogs that have good virtues. Just because someone has been in it a long time doesn’t mean they have a line, particularly in Maltese. Besides breed- ing for over 50 years and seeing many dogs in the pedigrees throughout the years, I have been fortunate to also handle many dogs of other breeders from all over the country. Very few people in this breed have had this opportunity, most only have had their hands on their own or where they have gotten them from. When I show someone else’s dog, I have to feel positive about it to win. However, in my heart I know how they do not or will not add to my breeding program unless I know the parentage. With that being said, I have had a wide scope of different dogs throughout the years, and “hands-on” many dogs from many lines of dogs through the years. I know a lot of original dogs in my breed from parts of the pedigrees that are either in the last generation or from genera- tions fallen off the pedigrees. 4. Can you speak to the importance of breeding to the standard? Breeding to the standard has been my cry for 50+ years. I have written articles for the AKC Gazette about the different styles verses the different types verses the standard. I have seen the dogs from the very beginnings, and I constantly preach to breed to the standard! I also have the “hands-on” from when we first started with inferior dogs (only because the breeders would not sell my mother good dogs and, coming from another breed, she did know the difference) and the steps it took to get to the plateau of consistently well-bred dogs, but even from the beginning using the standard as the bar. 5. What breeding advice would you give to today’s novice fancier? You have to start with a dog that has good merits to the breed standard. Study dogs all over, not just by Photoshopped pictures, and go watch them in the flesh or on video to see what they really look like. So many people only want to start out with a cute look. I would want to see the dog’s parents, if possible, or dogs in the pedigree. Most people will not be able to purchase the crème of the crop as their first dog; you have to prove yourself. You also want to make sure you have dogs from a healthy line. If your first litter doesn’t turn out for show, you at least want a healthy dog that you can sell as a pet. Health is just as im- portant as quality. Be patient, educate yourself about the breed, be consistent with a mentor, and read about the people and the dogs.
66 | SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, NOVEMBER 2020
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