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Meet Michelle Barlak, breeder of Maximal Toy Manchester Terriers, as she shares insights on breeding, the sport, and its challenges.
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1. I live in New Jersey with my husband, Scott, and our pack of Toy Manchester Terriers, and an Ibizan Hound. I currently serve on the Board of the American Manchester Terrier Club and chair the Health, Rescue, and Breeder Mentor Committees. I also assist with Judges’ Education seminars and mentoring. I have been an AKC Delegate for the Ibizan Hound Club of the United States for nine years and also serve on their Crisis and Rescue Committees. I work as the Public Relations Manager for a non-profit that breeds, raises, and trains Seeing Eye dogs for people who are blind.
My mother started in purebred dogs with Shetland Sheepdogs and, when I was 10, we added Toy Manchester Terriers to the family as something to show when the Shelties were out of coat. They soon took over and sparked a lifelong passion for the breed. I’ve sat beside the whelping box and helped to raise litters for as long as I can remember. So, in that sense, I feel like I have always been a breeder. But when I was 25, I officially started my own breeding program and began using the prefix Maximal. It’s hard to believe that 30 years have passed since my first Manchester Terrier, and it gives me goosebumps when I see flashes and glimpses of her in her descendants today.
2. Temperament and structure are equally important for show and performance puppies. I think it’s important to always remember that a poorly constructed performance dog is more prone to injury and arthritis. We have a lot people in the breed who do both, so you will find that many of the performance dogs are also show dogs. I begin to really pay attention to my puppies’ structure at six weeks of age, but this breed changes so much from week to week that I try not to make any firm decisions until the puppies are eight weeks old. So many times I have thought a puppy would be a pet at six weeks and by eight weeks they were my pick. I like to watch the puppies trot around naturally and observe not only their movement but their head and tail carriage. By eight weeks, I have a good idea of confidence, drive, and temperament. I photograph every litter and, if I have any questions about how a puppy with a particular trait might develop, I compare the photos to images of their parents at eight weeks. I also weigh every litter at eight weeks old and keep statistics to help predict adult weight, since our breed has strict weight limits.
3. In my opinion, the breed has gotten better and better with each decade. Temperaments have greatly improved. The vast majority of our breeders take the Breed Standard to heart when it states that the Toy variety should be a diminutive version of the Standard variety, leading to the improvement of substance and heads. It’s extremely challenging to maintain the correct head and substance on a small dog, and I call on our breeders to rise to that challenge. We cannot maintain size in our breed by continuing to select and show limit dogs that are so close to the 12-lb weight limit that they must travel with their own scale to ensure the dog stays in weight from one show to the next. The smaller specimens with strong breed type may be more challenging to consistently produce, but they are so important to maintaining proper size in the Toy variety.
4. I began stewarding in earnest a couple years ago, both to pass the time while at shows and to help with expenses. It has been intensely rewarding because it afforded me the time to really observe what was going on around me. There’s a fair amount of new people coming into the sport, and most judges will spend time with them and help them. The vast majority of judges want to see good dogs and point to the good dogs, and you can really see their demeanor change and their face light up when one comes into their ring. It has really bolstered my faith in the sport and helped me to remember the importance of being present in the moment. It’s too easy to go back to the set-up and sit on your phone rather than watch other breeds and judges while you wait for Groups to start. You can learn so much.
I understand that the number of shows concerns many in the sport because it’s attributed to lower entries at events, even though total entries continue to increase each year. Selfishly, I enjoy the number of shows that are only a short drive away each month. It allows me to afford and attend more events. I also think it’s great to have so many communities where the public has the ability to attend a show and meet breeders. We could do more to promote our shows and increase public attendance, which would help to grow the sport and educate the general public about responsible breeders.
5. Social media is just a tool like anything else; it can be put to good use or not. It has helped me to feel more connected with people in my breed and in the sport, and that has so many benefits in terms of information sharing and putting our heads together to solve problems and help others.
6. One of the things that has been on my mind a lot lately is how we can better support our fellow breeders who are aging out of the sport and struggling to keep up or downsize. We always hear the whispers of a bad situation before the news breaks. It’s never a surprise to those of us who are really paying attention, but sometimes our hands are tied because those who are closest to the person don’t want to get involved or don’t want to rock the boat. We need to have compassion and empathy, and we need to remember that we are a family and that sometimes family members don’t know when to ask for help. If you or someone you know is struggling, there are resources in our sport to help. Take the Lead is a great place to start.
7. There are so many great programs now that we didn’t have 20 or 30 years ago, but you’ve asked about the last decade. So, I’m going to say that AKC’s online presence has really ramped up. I love what they are doing with their social media, AKC.tv, and growing the relationships with TV networks that are providing more AKC programming each year. I also have to give a shout-out to the great work being done in AKC Government Relations. They have prevented so many legislative disasters and we really owe them our support.
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