Dr. Michael Woods has bred and exhibited Labrador Retrievers, under the Waterdog prefix, for over 40 years. He and his wife, Lynn, have bred and/or owned many Canadian and American Champions as well as Best in Show and Specialty winners. They have also exhibited Border and Smooth Fox Terriers.

Michael is a CKC All-Breed and All-Obedience Class judge. He is on the exempt list of the AKC, and is not limited in the number of shows he is approved to judge for the American Kennel Club.

 As a judge, Michael has officiated extensively throughout Canada and the United States, as well as in Japan, Korea,  China, France, Thailand, Indonesia, Bermuda, Brazil, Peru, Equador, Argentina, Colombia, Ireland, Finland, Holland, Mexico, Puerto Rico, New Zealand, and Australia.

Dr. Woods has published on the Labrador Retriever, Conformation Judging, Retrievers, and Ethics in the dog fancy, and wrote a regular column, " Ethics", for Dogs in Canada.  Michael has also given seminars throughout the world on judging and evaluating the Labrador Retriever. He has presented seminars on the Labrador Retriever at the American Kennel Club's 'Sporting Dog Institute' and at the Labrador Retriever Club of the Potomac.

Michael wrote a column, "Speaking Out", for the Labrador Retriever Club Inc. and served as an approved mentor and presenter for the LRC, Inc. He co-authored the Illustrated Labrador Standard for the Labrador Retriever Club of Canada and was chairman of the committee to revise the CKC Labrador Standard.

 Michael was Vice-President in charge of judge's education for the Dog Judges Association of Canada, and is a member of numerous Labrador Retriever Clubs. He has served as  a member of the Canadian Kennel Club's National Appeals Committee and Ethics Committee. He is now retired from his position as a University Professor of English and divides his time between Dartmouth, Nova Scotia and Charlestown, Rhode Island.