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  • SELECT THE BREEDER BEFORE SELECTING THE DOG

    Part 3 of The Breeder You Become series A puppy application came across my desk not long ago from someone who had clearly spent time trying to give the right answers. The home sounded lovely, the yard was fenced, the veterinary reference was there, and every question had been answered with the kind of care…

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  • THE YEARS BEFORE THE FIRST LITTER

    Part 4 of The Breeder You Become series One of the hardest things to teach a piano student is that playing the notes and understanding the music are not the same accomplishment. A child may arrive with a difficult piece already chosen because someone performed it beautifully online and made the whole thing appear effortless.…

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  • WHAT EXACTLY ARE WE PRESERVING?

    Part 5 of The Breeder You Become series An old pedigree lay across my kitchen table one evening, its paper softened by years of handling, while the dogs whose names filled its columns slept in the next room. Some of those names belonged to animals I had known. Others reached back through people I had…

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  • WHY WOULD ANYONE CHOOSE THIS LIFE?

    Part 2 of The Breeder You Become series Watching this great herd of buffalo, with the immense adults moving together and the smaller calves protected among them, I found myself thinking about continuity. Every animal standing there belonged to something larger than itself. The oldest carried experience, the strongest offered protection and the young represented…

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  • SO YOU WANT TO BREED. BUT WHO WILL YOU HAVE TO BECOME?

    A few mornings ago, one of my young Poodles was watching me from across the grooming room with that suspiciously intelligent look Poodles have perfected. She looked as though she understood the entire situation and was simply waiting to see how long it would take the human to catch up. The dryer was running, towels…

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  • THE DOG’S BODY KEEPS SCORE TOO

    A dog’s body begins keeping score long before a breeder is willing to admit that something is wrong. That is one of the hardest truths in breeding, especially once we live with more than three or four dogs. At that point, we are no longer simply sharing our home with several beloved pets. We are…

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  • WHAT KIND OF BREEDER ARE YOU REALLY?

    PART SEVEN: BUYERS ARE PART OF THE SYSTEM This series began by asking what kind of breeder stands behind a litter, but any honest examination of breeding eventually reaches another participant whose choices shape the system just as powerfully as those of the person planning the mating: the buyer. That statement may sound like an…

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  • WHAT KIND OF BREEDER ARE YOU REALLY?

    PART SIX: WHEN “REPUTABLE” IS NO LONGER ENOUGH The word “reputable” carries enormous power in the dog world because it suggests history, credibility and trust earned through years of visible accomplishment. A reputable breeder may have produced champions, served in breed clubs, mentored newcomers, completed health testing, written educational material, supported families and devoted decades…

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  • WHAT KIND OF BREEDER ARE YOU REALLY? PART FOUR: WHY DOODLING IS NOT PRESERVATION BREEDING Truth does not exist to condemn confusion, but to reveal it, and that distinction matters whenever we speak about doodles because the conversation becomes emotional almost immediately. Families look at these dogs and see intelligence, affection, humor and companionship. They…

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  • WHEN ETHICS BECOMES A MARKETING STRATEGY

    I am acutely aware of how difficult it has become to distinguish responsible breeding from the carefully constructed appearance of it. The deception is rarely crude or obvious. Poor breeders do not usually introduce themselves as careless, uninformed or motivated primarily by money. Instead, they adopt the language of ethical and preservation breeding. Polished websites,…

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