Question for Jack

[Osagedogman2015]

I wanted to talk to you a little about your current situation regarding the dogs if you don't mind. I remember years ago getting the Gazettes, and other mags, and seeing your ads and watching the different dogs that you've worked with. I realize that you poured everything into your dogs and I can understand what it means to a man to watch and grow with the dogs as time passes. It becomes a part of you.

I see that you are now sharing your time with the Amazon dog and she is your only dog that you have from all these years. How are you dealing with it and how has it affected you?

About 2 years ago I got down to only 4 dogs and they were getting up in their years and I contemplated going down to just one or two dogs and letting the breeding fall into the passage of time. I really didn't know what I wanted to do.

I thought about things like waking up in the mornings and spending time with all of them, seeing the different personalities evolve, and just having that feeling that good dogs can give a man. Then I thought about how I am getting older and maybe I want to travel, be selfish and just spend my time fishing and hunting all of the time, or whatever else that may be possible with the freedom of being able to just take off for a week or two.

I guess it is something normal to think about but I can honestly say that I've never talked about it with anyone, even my wonderful wife.

[Officially Retired]

I wanted to talk to you a little about your current situation regarding the dogs if you don't mind. I remember years ago getting the Gazettes, and other mags, and seeing your ads and watching the different dogs that you've worked with. I realize that you poured everything into your dogs and I can understand what it means to a man to watch and grow with the dogs as time passes. It becomes a part of you.

I see that you are now sharing your time with the Amazon dog and she is your only dog that you have from all these years. How are you dealing with it and how has it affected you?

About 2 years ago I got down to only 4 dogs and they were getting up in their years and I contemplated going down to just one or two dogs and letting the breeding fall into the passage of time. I really didn't know what I wanted to do.

I thought about things like waking up in the mornings and spending time with all of them, seeing the different personalities evolve, and just having that feeling that good dogs can give a man. Then I thought about how I am getting older and maybe I want to travel, be selfish and just spend my time fishing and hunting all of the time, or whatever else that may be possible with the freedom of being able to just take off for a week or two.

I guess it is something normal to think about but I can honestly say that I've never talked about it with anyone, even my wonderful wife.

Great post, and these are some tough questions.

I can see by the fervor with which you're posting peds & photos, that you are a bulldog junkie also

To be honest, in a way I feel by getting out that I betrayed my family (dogs) ... but in another sense I feel I am greater than my dogs and I have more in me than just dogs

It is a paradox that is not easy to resolve ...

To be even more honest, I still am thinking about getting back into my dogs, at some point, salvaging the few pieces of what's left, and carrying on forward.

I think the break has given me some more, and better perspective, especially with this site.
I have no worries about "still being competitive";
I am 100% confident in my ability to breed good dogs, so I know I will get right back up to the top, immediately.
I also think getting truly back on my feet, financially, for real, will help me make better choices if/when I do get back in.
(100% dog breeding is a rough way to earn a living.)

In the end, there is nothing on earth more interesting to me than 1) my dogs, 2) nature photography, and 3) private investigation.

I have gotten 4 of the 6 licenses I need to do my own thing as a totally-rounded investigator.
After I get the last 2, Florida has reciprocity with CA in licensures.
I love the mountains and landscapes of CA, but FL is better dog country IMO.
I am not sure if I will stay here or not.
What I do know is, rather than "quit my job" and get 100% back into dogs (where I am financially-dependent on dog sales), if I get back into dogs again, I will be a self-employed investigator at $95/hr, so I will never have to depend on my dogs for money (and thereby make a bad sale to survive) again.

I am currently working for an employer, a very cool one, and am able to work from home, but in working for someone else, I am not making as much as I could make, so I will be 100% autonomous and self-employed as an investigator, before I ever get back into dogs again.

I will admit though ... it is nice to have the freedom I have now ... and I may never go back.

But I will also admit that, the happiest I have ever been is when the money's right and I am sitting on a yard of World Class Athletes of my own creation ... and to see all of their intense, eager faces enjoying themselves in a perfectly-cleaned chain spot.

Only a dogman can understand that

Jack

[Osagedogman2015]

Thank you Jack.

I know that the dogs are a big part of who you are, and to separate yourself from something that means so much to you, is definately something that weighs on your mind. I remember reading what Ed Faron wrote in their book. When they acquired almost all of Mr. Hollingsworth's dogs and how Mr. Hollingsworth would look out at all of the empty chain spaces and how it affected him. I've thought about that many times and wondered if I too would be able to let go.

Like you said, it is a paradox not easily solved.

I'm glad you have something that you enjoy to work towards. I wish you the best in that. We should be able to have our cake and eat it too. The best thing about having a goal is achieving that goal and if you don't set the bar high enough, it really doesn't mean much. At least deep down inside it doesn't. Being self employed and having that freedom is the American dream for most. Add having a world class family of dogs to go with it....that is the icing on the cake.

[S_B]

Osagedogman I'm very pleased to read your thread and Jack's response. I'm sure most here will relate, these dogs bring us so much joy although the cost can be greater than the rewards for some.

Life without them would be ultra difficult to adjust to for me. Nothing makes me happier than all those happy tails and grins I see daily.

S_B

[Officially Retired]

Thank you, and very well said by both.

Was just talking with my brother about some of my goals ... and the topic of this thread came up.

I feel a sense of freedom now, that I hadn't had in too long a time, but there is a sense of emptiness now, too, that NOT having these dogs in my life anymore creates.

I can definitely see myself with a yard of dogs again within a few years ...

Jack

[Osagedogman2015]

Sometimes you need that contrast in life to really clarify things and help you understand what it is you really want/need. It helps to have a different perspective and see things in a new light so that you can FEEL what it is that is either missing, or something that maybe you can really do without.

I can see you having dogs again also. Maybe you start all over again with totally different dogs just to challenge yourself, or just starting back up with your Amazon dog and finding those precious few dogs that may be left to continue on for you and your dogs legacy.

I say good for you regardless of the choice.

[Officially Retired]

Sometimes you need that contrast in life to really clarify things and help you understand what it is you really want/need. It helps to have a different perspective and see things in a new light so that you can FEEL what it is that is either missing, or something that maybe you can really do without.

Absolutely.

The old saying, "You're so close to the trees, you can't see the forest," applies.

I can see you having dogs again also. Maybe you start all over again with totally different dogs just to challenge yourself, or just starting back up with your Amazon dog and finding those precious few dogs that may be left to continue on for you and your dogs legacy.

I will definitely start with my own family.

I just "get their vibe" and like the dogs I've created better than most of what else I've experimented with in the past.

I am going to have to see what is there, and what is lacking, in the specimens I pick up ... and (along with the knowledge I already have of their background) start incorporating some of the elements I feel might enhance what's already there.

One thing I intend to do also, is increase the size a little bit ... but that will also be hard to stick to if the little ones keep showing me more, pound-for-pound

I say good for you regardless of the choice.

Thank you!

Jack