Join Us! 2027 Pure Dog Talk at Sea – “Pedigrees to Pups”
Join Dr. Marty Greer and Laura Reeves aboard the Royal Princess, sailing Vancouver to Seattle by way of Victoria, BC, for a seminar at sea built for preservation breeders. This is Pedigrees to Pups, ADVANCED, bringing together the ART and SCIENCE of building a lasting line in ONE place.
Wednesday is the meet and greet after departure. Thursday is yours, for the ship and for Victoria. Friday, the day at sea, is the seminar: a morning purebred dog presentation, then an afternoon presentation and Q&A with Dr. Marty Greer, followed by After Dark. Sponsored by Whidbey Island Kennel Club.
April 28 – May 1, 2027 · Royal Princess
Vancouver → Victoria → Seattle
Registered? Reserve your stateroom with Princess →
Meals and drinks are your own. Cabins are booked separately, not here.
The Ship
Royal Princess
Vancouver, BC → Victoria, BC → Seattle, WA
Our classroom for this sailing is a Princess ship running between Vancouver and Seattle, with a single port call at Victoria. The seminar itself takes place on the day at sea, which is exactly why this itinerary works: a full teaching day when the ship has nowhere else to be, and nobody has anywhere else to go.
Getting There Most people fly into one city and out of the other. Amtrak Cascades also runs between Seattle and Vancouver if you would rather come up by rail. Check current schedules directly with Amtrak.
Questions about the sailing? Ask us →
Royal Princess, our classroom for the day at sea.
Four stops, three legs, one loop. If you start in Seattle it is north by rail, home by sea. The train leg is optional and on your own, and everything from Vancouver onward is the cruise.
Swipe to follow the route
Stylised for clarity. Coastlines are simplified and the sea legs are drawn to be read, not navigated.
One day at sea. One full curriculum.
Pedigrees to Pups – All Aboard!, compressed into the day the ship has nowhere to be. Laura Reeves and Dr. Marty Greer split a full day of sessions covering breeding philosophy, health testing, genetic diversity, and canine reproduction, with Q&A woven throughout. Wednesday and Thursday are for getting to know each other and exploring Victoria.
◆ After Departure
Meet and Greet
Gather once we are underway from Vancouver. Time and venue posted in your daily programme aboard.
◆ Morning
Leisure Breakfast
No sessions today. Enjoy the ship.
◆ In Port
Victoria, British Columbia
Explore on your own.
Define Your Line in the Sand
- No such thing as a perfect dog — a rigorous ethical hierarchy weighs health, temperament, structure, and working ability
- Three tiers: Level 1 minor and manageable, Level 2 chronic management, Level 3 life-altering or fatal — the issues that must be cut
- Knowing when to hold hard lines and when to allow some grey area, without discarding invaluable genetic diversity
- Take-home: an interactive discussion to identify and prioritize your own line in the sand
Health Testing Deep Dive
- OFA vs. PennHip
- DNA testing: yes, no, or maybe
- Breeding around diseases with no test available
- When type has to take a back seat to health
Small Gene Pools, Bottlenecks & Popular Sire Syndrome
- Gene puddle solutions: reject island breeding, test and tell openly, and build international bridges for diversity
- Bottleneck mitigation using DNA diversity panels to choose the littermate that maximizes diversity
- Popular sire syndrome: a sire with over 100 puppies narrows diversity sharply — a UK Golden Retriever study found only 67 unique individuals among 31,000 dogs
- Breed to the standard, not the ribbons — top-winning does not guarantee top-producing
- Hot topic: outcrossing to another breed, and if, when, and how
◆ 12:30–1:30 PM
Lunch
On your own. Meals are not included in the seminar fee.
“Bitches, Amiright?”
- Fertility and infertility in the bitch — the diagnostic workup and treatment plan
- Progesterone “funk”
- Pyometra
- Accidental breedings
- Managing the high-risk pregnancy
“Stud Muffins”
- Fertility and infertility in the stud dog — the diagnostic workup
- Collecting semen
- Packaging and shipping fresh semen
- Semen delivery: vaginal AI, Mavic, TCI, or surgical
- Semen analysis — six parameters
- Frozen semen
◆ Throughout the Day
Open Q&A
Bring your questions — time for Q&A is woven into each session.
◆ Evening
After Dark
Aboard ship, after the day’s sessions. Venue posted in your daily programme.
Booking Your Cabin
Registering for the seminar does not book your cruise. Those are two separate transactions. The seminar fee is paid here; your stateroom is booked directly with Princess through the cruise planner working with our group.
Royal Princess · Your Stateroom
Vancouver → Victoria → Seattle · April 28 – May 1, 2027
A Princess cruise planner is handling staterooms for this sailing and will walk you through the options. A small deposit is due when you book. Whidbey Island Kennel Club members already have a group number on file, so say so when you get in touch.
What You’ll Need
Each traveler completes a form for the cruise planner. Have ready:
- Your name exactly as it appears on your passport or driver’s license
- Date of birth
- Address, town, state and ZIP
- Telephone number and email
- Whether you are a Whidbey Island KC member
- The name and breed of any dog you have owned
Completing that form is your consent for the cruise planner to call you about your booking. She works Pacific time, mornings through early afternoon.
Travel Documents
A valid passport is required for everyone on this sailing — it begins in Canada and ends in the United States. See the FAQ below for full details.
Send us your details and we will put you in touch with the Princess cruise planner handling this sailing. She will call you to walk through cabin options.
Getting to the Ship
Getting yourself to Vancouver is on you. However you travel — by train, by air, or otherwise — it is not part of group registration and is not booked or paid for through us. The options below are here to help you plan, not to book.
Seattle → Vancouver by Train
amtrak.comFlying In and Out
Join us on the day at sea.
This registration covers the Friday seminar only. Choose the rate that applies to you. Your stateroom, your meals and your drinks are booked and paid for separately.
◆ Pure Dog Talk Patron
$75$100
Full seminar for Pure Dog Talk Patrons. Not a Patron? Join and get the discount.
Standard Rate For Everyone
$100
Full seminar for everyone else. Not a Patron or WIKC member? This is your rate.
◆ WIKC Members Attend Free
Free
Full seminar at no cost for WIKC members. Register and select the member option below.
Registering here does not book your cruise.
Not a Patron? Select the Standard Rate.
The 25% discount is reserved for active Pure Dog Talk Patrons. Any registration placed at the patron rate without an active membership will be adjusted to the standard rate, with the balance due before the seat is confirmed. Want the discount? Become a Patron.
Meals and drinks are on your own.
Unlike our land seminars, there is no meals package. You will have the ship’s dining available to you as a cruise passenger.
Seminar Registration
Reserve your seat for the Friday day-at-sea seminar by completing the form below.
Secure payment via Stripe. Your seat is reserved upon successful payment. Your stateroom is not.
Questions about the cruise.
Everything you need to know before we sail from Vancouver on April 28, 2027. Don’t see your question? Reach out, we’d rather talk it through than have you wonder.
What is the cost of attending?
- $100 · Standard rate
- 25% off for Pure Dog Talk Patrons ($75)
- Free · Whidbey Island Kennel Club members
That covers the full day of sessions at sea with Laura Reeves and Dr. Marty Greer, with Q&A woven throughout.
It does not cover your cruise. Your stateroom, your meals and your drinks are separate and are arranged through Princess.
I’m a Pure Dog Talk Patron. How do I get the discount?
Select the patron rate when you register and you will pay $75 instead of $100. The discount is for active patrons only.
Not a patron yet? You can join here.
I’m a Whidbey Island Kennel Club member. Do I pay?
No. The seminar fee applies to non-members. Whidbey Island Kennel Club members attend at no charge, whether or not they are Pure Dog Talk Patrons.
Please still register on this page and select the member option. It costs you nothing and it tells us how many chairs to ask Princess for.
Can I bring my dog?
No. Princess does not permit pets on board at any time. Service animals for a guest with a disability are the only exception, and they require written notice to Princess at the time you book, plus Princess’s written approval.
If you travel with a service animal, tell the cruise planner when you book so the paperwork is handled well in advance.
How do I book my stateroom?
Through the Princess cruise planner working with our group, not on this page. A small deposit is due at booking, and each traveler completes a short form covering name (exactly as it appears on your passport or driver’s license), date of birth, address, phone, email, WIKC membership, and the name and breed of any dog you have owned.
Submitting that form is your consent for the cruise planner to call you about your booking. WIKC members already have a group number on file, so mention your membership when you get in touch.
Where does the cruise go?
Royal Princess departs Vancouver, Canada on Wednesday, April 28, 2027, makes one port call at Victoria, British Columbia, and finishes in Seattle, Washington on Saturday, May 1, arriving at 7:00 AM.
Keep that arrival time in mind if you’re booking a flight home — give yourself a reasonable buffer for disembarkation.
What travel documents do I need?
A valid passport is required for everyone on this sailing — it begins in Canada and ends in the United States.
Princess makes travel documents the traveler’s own responsibility, and requirements can change. Confirm what you need with the cruise planner when you book, and check your own government’s guidance before you travel.
What about meals?
On your own. There is no meals package for this one. As a cruise passenger you will have the ship’s dining available throughout.
Is there a limit on attendance?
Seating is set by the meeting room Princess assigns us, so the seminar is capped. We will post the number here once the room is confirmed.
Either way, the cabins will run out before the chairs do. Book your stateroom early.
Is there early access for club members?
Yes. This began as a Whidbey Island Kennel Club cruise, and the club’s cruise planner went to WIKC members directly before it was opened up more widely. Members already have a group number on file with Princess.
Registration on this page is open to everyone.
When do I have to pay, and what if I cancel?
Two separate answers, because there are two separate transactions.
The seminar is paid here when you register.
Your cruise follows Princess’s terms: a small deposit at booking, with the balance due well before you sail and cancellation fees that increase as the date approaches. Group bookings can differ from the published schedule, so get the exact dates and terms from the cruise planner in writing when you book.
Still have questions?
We’re happy to help. Reach out at team@puredogtalk.com and we’ll get you what you need.