@fluffbreeder My opinion is not worth much as we never actually got puppies on the ground but, I suppose I was in a situation that had some similarities so…
Our first (male) dog of the breed. We had no interest in breeding but we dabbled in showing. He did very well in open and a few champ shows. I was supported by his breeder, and introduced to other people involved in the breed. We also visited multiple shows, at champ level, and observed what we liked/didn’t like. Lines that did well in the ring and also kept in the loop as to whether those dogs went on in other spheres/future health issues etc.
He was a lovely dog, wonderful temperament, well put together but had a rare freak health issue which wasn’t genetic in origin, the specialist put it down to ‘bad luck’, which meant that we stopped showing etc by the time he was about 3/4, and just focussed on his needs as a family pet. But in those years we’d dipped our toes in the water, learning more about the breed.
Several years later we got a bitch from a well respected breeder. She had spoken to our first dogs breeder/other people so altho I didn’t know her personally at that point, she could find out about me on the grapevine through mutual friends etc. We spoke at length before we took our girl on. I explained we’d like to show and that IF everything went well in terms of her type/temperament/health results we might at that point want to have a litter with her to keep a bitch to show. BUT OBVIOUSLY THAT WAS COMPLETELY DEPENDENT ON HOW SHE TURNED OUT.
Her breeder was lovely and supportive. She agreed that she would obviously be sold with endorsements but that she would be willing to lift them on the condition that she was a good example of the breed, fully health tested and that we worked together with her support and input.
Things went well and the endorsements were lifted. We spent time discussing stud dogs and which dog would compliment her. We chose a dog who had not only done well in the ring, but also had his show gundog certificate and who we’d met at shows and was a lovely, well rounded boy. His owners/breeders were also very established/reputable and generous with advice and support.
We did all the things you’d expect- obviously health testing, we registered for an affix and with the KC accredited breeders scheme (as it was at the time), we had someone from the KC come to our house to inspect us- meet her, check our records, make sure our house offered a suitable environment for raising puppies etc etc. We had her blood tested to ensure our timing was right and then visited the stud dogs two hours away. We had found a vet about an hour away who specialised in reproduction and had them on hand. We had her scanned and confirmed she was in pup. We had bought all the equipment required etc. We had a long waiting list which I’d had to close as there were more people interested than possible puppies. The prospective puppy owners had been passed our details by our girl’s and the stud’s breeders, and wanted a dog with their lines. Some were ‘pet’ homes and I think three were looking for potential show. Everything was going really well.
She then developed a pyometra. Very rare during pregnancy but ‘just really awful luck’ and no obvious cause/anything we did or didn’t do. The vet offered to try and D and C so we could try again. However, we decided to spay her as this was the safest option for her.
It was really scary and traumatic, and obviously incredibly expensive- several thousands. Obviously we didn’t do it to make any money, we had planned to keep one of the puppies to show for ourselves and improve from our girl. However, selling the other puppies would have buffered the loss.
We were lucky in that our breeder decided to use the same stud dog with our girl’s sister, and let us have second pick. She is the most wonderful girl you could imagine, personality wise she is the most perfect family pet, I could not have asked for more … but her back end conformation isn’t as correct as it could be. She did fine as an adolescent at open level showing but there were many dogs who were better put together and the breed is not a numerically small one. As much as we think she’s perfect she wasn’t going to improve the breed so we had her spayed.
And that was the end of our short experience!
I think in your position your best bet is to start getting involved with the breed- the breed club/shows/working (not sure what/if there are opportunities for BMD to showcase their working skills, I’m not familiar with the breed). Talk to established breeders. Sit ringside and listen, volunteer to help out at breed club shows. Make friends and connections. When you’ve worked out the type you like speak to their owners and breeders for advice, with a view to obtaining a nice bitch puppy with show potential. Start taking her out and see what feedback she gets.
Good luck.