I see you.
The 4AM show prep. The conditioner routines. The hours of line brushing. The miles driven. The perfectly timed progesterone testing, the surgical AI, the vet tech consults, the imported semen, the deep pedigrees, the title dreams. I see it—and I respect it. It takes tremendous work to shape a show dog, and even more to maintain one in full coat and campaign.

This community is passionate, skilled, and full of people who love their poodles. I will never say otherwise.

But I’m writing today because something doesn’t sit right anymore.

Despite all that effort… our dogs are not thriving.

We have poodles with champions in every line who are infertile by age three. Dogs with luxurious coats but broken guts. Dogs who finish their Grand and drop dead at eight from hemangiosarcoma or go blind from autoimmune disease. Miniatures with early-onset seizures. Standards with chronic GI dysfunction. Toys with mitral valve disease before their golden years.

And yet, we keep showing. We keep breeding. We keep trusting the system that says:
“Don’t worry—it’s genetic. It happens.”
“Give this med. Try that food. Boost with that vaccine.”
“You’re doing everything right.”

But what if we’re not?

When Knowledge Becomes Religion

There is a deep loyalty in the show world—to our mentors, to our vets, to the breeders who came before us. That loyalty is powerful. But sometimes, it turns into dogma.

Many in the show community have the best intentions—and the best access. Top-dollar veterinary care. Specialists on speed dial. Premium kibble or prescription formulas. Expensive supplements. Monthly preventatives. Annual vaccines. Everything the “best of the best” is told to use.

And when that doesn’t work? They double down.
More titers. More scopes. More scans. Another vet. Another opinion. Another protocol.

We’ve been taught that if we just spend more, test more, protect more—we’ll get a healthy dog. That the answer is out there, somewhere, in a sterile box or a pharmaceutical fridge. That the system we’ve been trained in will not fail us if we stay faithful enough.

But it is failing. Quietly. Repeatedly. And we’re afraid to admit it.

Natural Rearing Isn’t Anti-Show—It’s Anti-Sickness

I want to be clear: I’m not against showing dogs. I grew up in the ring. I know the thrill of a win, the pride in presenting a poodle at their best. I still show today.

But I’m done pretending that conventional methods are “the best we can do” just because they’re traditional, institutional, or expensive.

Natural rearing is not about neglect.
It’s not about tossing your dogs in a field and hoping for the best.
It’s not about conspiracy theories or anti-vet sentiment.
It’s about returning to nature’s blueprint.

It’s about asking hard questions like:

• Why do we vaccinate at 8 weeks when maternal antibodies block the shot?
• Why do we feed dry, processed food to a carnivore?
• Why do we give year-round heartworm meds when heartworm isn’t year-round?
• Why are we losing fertility in young dogs?
• Why are neurological and autoimmune issues rising across every variety?

It’s about recognizing that health is built—not bought.

What Could the Poodle World Be—If We Were Brave Enough to Shift?

Imagine the power of the show community—if we put even half of our energy, money, and time into species-appropriate nutrition, epigenetic support, and detoxification instead of suppressive treatments.

Imagine if:

• Breeders supported gut flora with whole foods instead of antibiotics.
• Puppies were raised with raw milk, glandulars, sunshine, and early neurological stimulation instead of drugs and sterile wipes.
• Reproductive health was restored not with synthetic hormones and supplements, but through terrain support and ancestral feeding.
• Champions weren’t just measured in points and ribbons—but in vitality, lifespan, and legacy.

We could change the future of the breed.
We could reverse cancer trends.
We could restore fertility.
We could raise the healthiest, happiest poodles this breed has seen in decades.

But first—we have to admit that what we’ve been doing… isn’t working.

This Isn’t Judgment. It’s an Invitation.

I say this as someone who once believed all the same things. I was raised in the vet world. I vaccinated. I fed prescription food. I trusted experts. And I watched my beloved poodle seize, suffer, and slowly lose her spark. That heartbreak was my wake-up call.

I’ve now spent years unlearning everything I thought was true. Studying terrain theory. Reading medical literature. Attending summits. Healing with food, herbs, homeopathy, and faith. And I’ve seen something extraordinary:

Dogs recover when you give their bodies what they were made for.
Not chemicals. Not suppressants. Not synthetic tricks.

But rest. Real food. Sunlight. Love. Boundaries. Rhythm. And freedom from toxins.

What You Believe Is Powerful. But What If It’s Time to Believe Something New?

This isn’t easy. It takes humility to admit we were misled.
It takes courage to go against the grain.
And it takes faith to trust that nature has never needed our improvement—only our cooperation.

But I believe in the poodle community. I believe we can lead the way.
We can be known not just for beauty and brilliance—but for wellness and wisdom.

We just have to be willing to ask:

What if I’ve been doing my best… but there’s something better?

If you’re ready to have that conversation, I’m here.
Not to argue. Not to shame. But to share everything I’ve learned—and walk this better path together.

Because your dogs deserve not just a chance at the ring…
They deserve a chance at a full, vibrant, disease-free life.
And you deserve to witness it.

But What About the Poodles Who Are Still Thriving?

I can already hear the counterpoints—and they’re not wrong.
Yes, there are still poodles out there living to 16, 17, even 18 years.
Yes, there are lines that seem remarkably strong.
Yes, there are dogs who’ve had vaccines, kibble, preventatives, and never developed cancer or epilepsy or chronic gut issues.

And yes… I believe them. I don’t deny that they exist.

But this is where we need to zoom out.

Poodles are not like other breeds.
They are uniquely diverse—far more so than most.
They exist in three recognized sizes (four in Europe), eleven coat colors, and within a wide genetic pool that’s been stretched across continents, varieties, and breeding goals.

That diversity has acted as a buffer. It’s why we still can find resilient individuals.
It’s why the decline in the breed may seem “slow” compared to more tightly-bred populations.
But that variety is not immunity—it’s momentum.

Genetics may load the gun, but lifestyle still pulls the trigger.

And in the poodle world, the gun is getting heavier every year.
Even if a few dogs dodge the bullet, the trajectory is undeniable when you step into a veterinary clinic or a reproduction center or look at the breeding success rates from ten years ago versus now.

As a former vet tech, I saw it unfold.
The poodles came in—beautiful, brilliant, beloved.
But the pattern never lied:

• Increasing infertility in young breeding dogs
• Food intolerances in puppies by 10 weeks old
• Seizures in otherwise “perfect” dogs
• Allergies so persistent that even prescription diets failed
• Liver enzymes creeping up without explanation
• Damaged guts that couldn’t recover, no matter the brand

It wasn’t one line. It wasn’t one breeder. It wasn’t bad luck.
It was a pattern.

And patterns don’t lie—they reveal the system behind the symptoms.

So yes, there are still some who pull through—just like there are 90-year-olds who smoked a pack a day.
But that doesn’t mean cigarettes are safe.

What we’re seeing in the breed isn’t anecdotal anymore. It’s structural.
It’s epigenetic.
And it’s happening while we distract ourselves with ribbons and bloodwork and high-end kibble.

We Don’t Need Panic—We Need Perspective

The presence of some healthy poodles doesn’t negate the decline.
If anything, it’s a gift—a warning shot that tells us the window is still open to turn things around.

We’re lucky.
We still have variety.
We still have breeders who care.
We still have people willing to ask questions.

But we can’t waste this time pretending the outliers are the norm.

Because the healthiest poodles today? They’re not thriving because of the system.
They’re surviving in spite of it.

What if we stopped trying to find the exceptions, and started working toward a new rule?

One where terrain health, natural rearing, and genetic stewardship aren’t fringe ideas—but foundational pillars of breeding.

We don’t have to wait for collapse to begin the rebuild.
We can honor the elders who lived long, while also protecting the young who are suffering now.

And we can do both without shaming anyone—because truth doesn’t need blame.
It just needs clarity… and courage.