Showsight Interviews: Connie Gerstner Miller
BY ALLAN REZNIK continued
4. The Malagold dogs are widely known, highly successful and well respected. What breeding philoso- phies do you adhere to? I have a few basic tenets that I fol- low. The first is that I generally do not breed outside of my own line. Basically, I work with pedigrees of dogs within my own developed lines. I do not breed to the current “It” dog, or the show dog of the moment. When deciding on a breeding, I need to know the history of that proposed pedigree which tells me their health, their temperament, their type and their strengths in what has been produced through the genera- tions. I know this because it is what I have developed and experienced with- in those pedigrees over many years of breeding. Occasionally, I will do what some might call an outcross, but when you look closely, the dogs are of simi- lar style, and I can see familiarity of the Malagold line in that pedigree. I also do not outright sell “breeding” dogs to any- one else, allowing me to maintain con- trol over the Malagold line. Additionally, I always breed to my vision of what the Golden Retriever should be. My vision of the ideal Gold- en is based on the breed standard. If I stay true to that vision, I feel my breed- ings will remain constant through the generations. 5. How many dogs do you typi- cally house these days? Tell us about your facilities and how the dogs are maintained. This is an interesting question, as my philosophy on this has changed over the years. I began Malagold with a boarding, grooming and show ken- nel. As a professional handler, the dogs were primarily housed in large
paddocks and had access to acres of open areas for conditioning and exer- cise. I had a few house dogs, but being that I was on the road handling much of the time, the house dogs would spend time in the kennel as well. After retiring from professional handling, selling the boarding kennel, and moving to Michi- gan 25 years ago, I keep anywhere from eight to 12 dogs in my home. They all live together and run together over 16 fenced acres. The exercise and condi- tioning practices are the same, but they are all part of the family now! 6. Who were/are some of your most significant dogs, both in the whelping box and in the show ring? Oh, there have been so many proud moments over the years. My daughter, Geri Hart, and I have bred and shown numerous nationally ranked Best in Show and Specialty Best in Show win- ners that I am so proud of! BIS SBIS Ch. Malagold Beckwith Big Buff CD, OS, SDHF was the foundation of the Malagold line of Golden Retriev- ers. He did everything I could have ever asked for—in the show ring, in the obe- dience ring, and as an outstanding sire. Buff has provided the most signifi- cant contribution to the quality of the Malagold line as he is the sire of my foundation dam, Malagold Beckwith Bootes, the producer of 11 champions in her own right. I can still see Bootes in the bitches produced at Malagold today, which is exciting. Grandsons of Bootes, and broth- ers, Ch. Malagold Summer Chant OS, SDHF and BIS Ch. Malagold Sum- mer Encore OS, SDHF were wonder- ful show dogs in the early 1980s, with Bravo earning multiple Best in Show wins.
Chant was the sire of the outstand- ing brother/sister team at Malagold of Corey and Clover. Ch. Libra Malagold Clover, OD was a very influential bitch at Malagold, producing multiple genera- tions of Best in Show and Best in Spe- cialty winners. The same holds true for BIS SBIS Ch. Libra Malagold Coriander OS, SDHF. Corey had a truly remark- able show career that included a Best of Breed and Sporting Group First at the AKC's spectacular Centennial Dog Show in 1984. Corey retired from the show ring with an exciting win at the 1988 Golden Retriever Club of America National Specialty—Best of Breed from the Veterans Class. What an honor for me as a breeder. A proud moment for me was the Best of Breed win at Westminster Kennel Club with our Stormy, BIS SBIS Ch. Mala- gold Storm Warning OS, SDHF. Stormy was also Winners Dog at the Golden Retriever Club of America National Spe- cialty as a young dog and won a Judge’s Award of Merit at the National later in life, as well as the Top 20 winner in 1996. Geri showed him to his multiple Best in Shows. He was everything I had worked for and he holds a very special place in my heart. 7. Please comment positively on your breed’s present condition and what trends might bear watching. Generally, the Golden Retriever remains an easy breed to live with and continues to be a wonderful fam- ily dog. But with that comes the prob- lem of popularity and people getting into breeding and producing litters for the wrong reasons. Trends, good and bad, go along with popularity of the breed. In general, we see excesses and extremes in the dogs walking into the
“GENERALLY, THE GOLDEN RETRIEVER REMAINS AN EASY BREED TO LIVE WITH AND CONTINUES TO BE A WONDERFUL FAMILY DOG. BUT WITH THAT COMES THE PROBLEM OF POPULARITY AND PEOPLE GETTING INTO BREEDING AND PRODUCING LITTERS FOR THE WRONG REASONS.”
112 • S how S ight M agazine , D ecember 2018
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