Posts by Laura Reeves
393 – Gayle Watkins on Educating Breeders AND Buyers
Gayle Watkins on Educating Breeders AND Buyers
Dr. Gayle Watkins of Avidog and host Laura Reeves talk about the importance of educating both breeders and puppy buyers.
“We have to take step back,” Watkins said, “and realize how complicated our world is and how UNobvious it is, to even smart people that aren’t engaged with us, and help people understand and honestly for us to distinguish what really is important and what isn’t important…
“Let’s say you would like a 50- to 60-pound active sporting breed. You don’t care about color and what pops up (in an online search)? Both the German Wirehaired Pointer and the Golden Retriever, which is so wrong,” Watkins said. “So, finding a way to guide people in a more sophisticated way, in a way that you understand and I understand, the buyer doesn’t understand. They don’t know because they think of (dogs) as cars. They just come in different colors … but those of us who breed know that those cars are very, very different. There’s a whole big difference between a Maserati and a Volkswagen Beetle. (Even though they are the) same color and about the same size and they can only carry two passengers.”
In order to facilitate outreach and education of both ends of the dog purchase, breeders and buyers, Watkins has joined forces with Good Dog, a young company focused on educating the public and supporting dog breeders.
“We need people breeding dogs,” Watkins added. “So, if we have people who are interested in breeding dogs and doing it perhaps not to the level we would like to see, what’s better? Run them out or raise them up?
“We have to find a way to engage people more in producing quality pet dogs. The hobby breeders are going to continue in their sport and they’re going to continue to get championships and things like that, but we need more people who are trying to produce lovely pets…”
With an estimated 8-9 million replacement dogs needed just in the U.S. annually, as previous guests on Pure Dog Talk have noted, hobby breeders simply cannot meet the demand.
“How do we find those breeders, develop those breeders, lift those breeders up so we can keep playing the games that we love to play,” Watkins asks? “Because we’re not going to be able to, in my opinion, if we don’t change something. The laws, the legislatures, the government… the animal rights activists, they’re pretty successful now with adopt, don’t shop. We have got to find a way to fight them.
“I strongly believe we cannot fight animal rights if we divide each other. And boy we’re good at dividing. There’s got to be a bigger voice and I think that voice needs to be young, technologically sophisticated, and able to make enough money to fight for us. In the world that we live in, in purebred dogs, making money is anathema… and that has not gotten us to a very good place in defending our right to breed.
“I think what we did when we were attacked by the animal rights people is we said ‘oh we don’t make money doing this.’ That became our defense. That became our value. In doing that, it sets us up for failure on so many levels. It costs a lot of money to raise good puppies. If we don’t have the money to do our job well, now we’re opening ourselves up to attack from that perspective. (I think) we didn’t have the confidence or we didn’t have the backing or we didn’t have the organization to say ‘hey, you know, Mercedes makes a really nice car.’ It’s not that you can’t make money and do a great job. You can do both of those things. But if you make a puppy into a commodity, where one is the same as the other, right now you’re going to run into a problem. So, I think that value is one we have to overcome and then we have got to figure out a way to open our eyes to what’s changed in the world.”
Amongst the very first episodes on Pure Dog Talk were interviews with Watkins on puppy whelping and raising. These remain some of our most popular episodes.
Early Pure Dog Talk interviews with Gayle Watkins:
https://puredogtalk.com/11-dr-gayle-watkins-nutrition-dam-canine-nomographs/
https://puredogtalk.com/podcast/14-dr-gayle-watkins-2-breeders-guide-to-neonatal-puppies-2/
https://puredogtalk.com/14-friday-fun-dr-gayle-watkins-2-breeders-guide-neonatal-period-puppies/
https://puredogtalk.com/podcast/17-dr-gayle-watkins-transition-period-in-puppies-part-3-2/
https://puredogtalk.com/17-dr-gayle-watkins-transition-period-stimulation-puppies-part-3/
https://puredogtalk.com/podcast/20-bomb-proof-your-puppy-dr-gayle-watkins-4-2/
https://puredogtalk.com/20-gayle-watkins-bombproof-puppy-sensitive-period/
392 – Access to COVID Relief Funds for Dog Professionals
Access to COVID Relief Funds for Dog Professionals
D’Arcy Downs-Vollbracht, corporate attorney and Border Terrier fancier.
D’Arcy Downs-Vollbracht, Concierge Legal Group, joins me to provide critical and timely information for members of our tribe impacted by the shutdown of events and travel and businesses due to the COVID global pandemic response. As a corporate attorney, she is in regular contact with businesses dealing with the situation on a large scale.
“I realized at some point … I wonder if my friends in the dog show world are having the same issues,” said Downs-Vollbracht, a Border Terrier fancier. “But maybe they don’t have a lawyer or they don’t have an aggressive financial planner to help get them through it. And maybe they don’t even know or think they’re eligible for it because some of them are not set up in some of the more traditional business entity structures. That’s how I got into (assisting dog folks in her free time) and I got very passionate about it pretty quickly.”
The unique niche comprised of professional handlers, superintendents, photographers, judges, groomers, trainers, boarding kennel operators, even veterinarians, has been drastically impacted by the nationwide shutdowns.
Downs-Vollbracht has already helped dozens of our Tribe with her advice and agreed to share her knowledge and experience with us.
“When dog shows come back, we need people to come back with them,” Downs-Vollbracht said. In order to help ensure that happens, she strongly encourages folks to make use of the resources that are available.
Her top recommendations, links and advice:
IRS Stimulus Funds
IRS Non Filer – to ensure $1200 stimulus payment. If you have less than $12,200 in reportable income you are not required to file. If you haven’t filed for last year and don’t plan on filing this year, use this to let the IRS know where to send your check. You can also link your bank account for a direct deposit if you need the money right away.
https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus/non-filers-enter-payment-info-here
IRS – Get My Payment Tool for people who filed taxes last year or this year and are trying to obtain their stimulus payment. Note- if you are currently on a payment plan with the IRS or owe back taxes you will still receive the stimulus payment. The stimulus will not be used to offset money owed to the IRS or to student loans. The exception to this are certain child support commitments, if you are a dependent, don’t have a valid social security number or other limited circumstances. If your income exceeds a certain threshold amount, you will receive a reduced payment or if your adjusted gross income is over a certain threshold. However, most Americans will receive the payment.
https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus/economic-impact-payments
SBA Links to Disaster Relief / PPP
https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/coronavirus-relief-options
Links to Lenders – Self Employed, Independent Contractor, Gig Workers, LLC, PLLC, Corporation/ S-Corp, etc..
*Remember, using a small local bank or a non-traditional lender like those listed below will often result in a quicker decision and faster funding.
Kabbage
https://www.kabbage.com/paycheck-protection-program-loans/
Bluevine
Lendio
Fundera
PayPal PPP
https://www.loanbuilder.com/ppp-loan-support
Pandemic Unemployment Assistance
Department of Labor State Office Lookup
https://www.dol.gov/coronavirus/unemployment-insurance#fact-sheets
Interactive Map to Find State PUA Resources
https://www.nar.realtor/political-advocacy/pandemic-unemployment-assistance-pua-by-state
Also, people should check for private funding. Most counties and states have local funds available. The chamber of commerce in many smaller communities is a good resource for smaller grants.
391 – “From the Mouths of Babes”: Learn From Youth
“From the Mouths of Babes”: Learn From Youth
The dog world is frequently seen as “eating its own” – in other words scaring away new folks who are trying to learn. So, I decided to try learning from the new people. I talked to exhibitors who are just getting started, what gave them encouragement to become involved and stay involved. This is the second of these conversations. You can listen to the first one here.
Today we talk with Emily Wright, Jessica Deardorff and Justus Lucey, folks from all across the country, all across breeds, all across ages. I *hope* these people are the future of our sport, because it will be in good hands.
Emily Wright and her Berger Picard Sketchbook Over and Out, Roger
Emily Wright: We call it Team Sketchbook. We approach it as a team. (Liz Hansen) has made herself incredibly available and that’s a special kind of thing. That’s the best thing I can say for people who are long-term breeders or professional handlers or whatever it is. Making yourself available and then not making people feel stupid …try to keep your eye rolls on the down low because I’ve not come from any kind of (dog) background or anything like that. (I’m) studying all of those things and now learning how to put the best of this dog together with the best of that dog and … these breedings and those pedigrees … it’s just so cool to be able to carry on …
Justus Lucey: I count anyone who had taught me something valuable and taken some time to teach me a mentor … I haven’t really had a lot of bad experiences, other than you know there will always be those few that don’t want you to succeed. You have to have thick skin sometimes and surround yourself with the ones that are sincere and honest with you and happy for you.
Jessica Deardorff and Hawk von Nadar with his breeder, Ash Nadar
Jessica Deardorff: Honestly, I wish clubs modeled more after horse clubs. In horses you buy a pony and you get membership … and off you go. You show, you get medals. The barrier to entry is very low … if you want to join a dog club, you really don’t just buy a dog and send a membership in. I really feel that clubs could do so much more to not just educate dog fanciers but just the general public … I really think if that model was followed you see the little shift in dog ownership in education.
Justus: The dog people can learn so much from the horse people. I also think that the horse people can learn so much from the dog people. I think that there’s very similar principles. I find that at the horse shows, at the barrel races, the sportsmanship is outstanding. Even if the big winning horse at the time has a total failure of a day, the rider is always so nice. Great sportsmanship to everyone else. I find that dog people can be a little more grumpy.
Emily: I was super heavily involved with rescue. And I was super on board with adopt don’t shop and now I see the error in my ways because both of them are very valid … in my performance events my rescues weren’t cutting the mustard, frankly. I adore my rescue (but) that was one of the big things that changed (my mind) and then another part of it was the health … I think about how much I spent on my rescues at the vet. I’m like well if I’d spent on a well-bred dog … and I just see how many of my friends rescues have died early deaths.
390 – Mastitis: Causes, Prevention and Treatment
Mastitis: Causes, Prevention and Treatment
Dr. Marty Greer joins us for our Veterinary Voice. We’re talking about mastitis in lactating bitches. This infection can come on fast and furious with no warning. In some cases, it can be minor, in others life-threatening.
Enjoy an excerpt here:
Definition
MG: Mastitis is inflammation or infection of the mammary glands, most commonly associated with a female that’s nursing her puppies or recently nursing puppies. It can occur occasionally, not very often, associated with a false pregnancy or some other causes. But most commonly we see it in the mom dog that’s just had a litter of puppies and for whatever reason there’s developed an inflammation or an infection.
Causes
LR: So what are those common causes? What do you see? Do you see it most frequently when you’ve just started to wean the litter? Do you see it (while) puppies are nursing?
MG: Sometimes it’s a litter with a small number of puppies and there’s not enough puppies nursing to keep the mammary glands from engorging and becoming infected. Most of the time it’s a bacterial infection that just spontaneously happens … you need to keep the whelping box and the area that the female is in really clean to try to prevent it, but I’ve seen it occur in places where I know that it’s impeccably clean. The most common bacteria that we see are either the bacteria in the GI tract or… the ones that we usually see in the bitch’s own environment… so it can just happen that for some reason they send up into the mammary gland. It can be associated with trauma but most of the time it just spontaneously happens.
Early mastitis can be a little bit tricky … so we look at every mammary gland. We express the milk out of every gland. Sometimes we’ll have to look at it under the microscope … many times it kind of slaps you in the face, it’s not that hard to see … when you walk in the room and everything was good when she went to bed, you get up the next morning and you see one big red hot swollen gland that’s not a diagnostic challenge.
It can occur in more than one gland, so it just depends on exactly how it initiates and what the source of the problem is.
Re-occurence
LR: So, then my next question continuing in the process of we don’t really know what causes it do you see this run in families or breeds? Once you’ve seen it in an individual are you more likely to see it in that individual again?
MG: Most of the literature says that it is not a familial or a breed specific trait… Most of the time it’s just a one and done. The other thing is that you need to be just really vigilant. I think once you’ve seen it once you’re probably a little bit more hyper vigilant. … mastitis can be very mild or it could be very serious. We can see a form of gangrenous mastitis caused by certain kinds of bacteria that is really, really nasty.
Necrotizing mastitis. Fortunately, it’s not common. I’ve had one case of it and I’ve seen a couple of others from other veterinarians. Those do require surgical excision of the abnormal tissue and in those cases gangrenous really means that the gland or multiple glands will just absolutely turn black and there’s a very clear line where the tissue is normal, and the tissue is abnormal. So, it’s not particularly difficult surgically to determine where you need to take tissue and where you need to leave it. But those are the only ones that I’ll typically take to surgery. Most of the other mastitis cases, even if they tend to abscess open and leave a bit of a tissue gap, I usually don’t close those surgically or remove any tissue surgically unless literally that tissue is black. In those cases, yes, surgery has to be done to save the bitch’s life.
Prevention & Treatment
LR: What other precautions? Do you recommend antibiotics prophylactically?
MG: We don’t prophylactically use antibiotics on our bitches. What you do, if you do that, is just end up making more resistant bacterial disease if it does develop. Basically, keeping the whelping box clean. Keeping the bitch clean is good. You can spray her mammary glands with Chlorhexidine and then rinse them off so that she’s less likely to have a problem. You can certainly use a probiotic, so those are the things you can do preventively. And then, if you do develop mastitis, it’s definitely a disorder that you’re going to need to use an antibiotic for. I typically will reach for clavamox. … You can certainly culture it, start on clavamox and then transition to a different antibiotic if it’s indicated based on her clinical response and the culture.
Additionally, I will frequently give a big bolus of IV fluids to those girls when they come into the hospital. I won’t keep them because I want to get him back home with their puppies but while they’re at the hospital for an hour, so I’ll pretty aggressively give IV fluid and then along with that I’ll put them on meloxicam as an anti-inflammatory and pain medication.
We’ve been using meloxicam for close to 20 years on our postpartum bitches and the amount that transmits through into the milk is not going to cause a problem for the puppies. It reduces inflammation in the mammary gland makes the females feel a lot better. If they’re feeling better they’ll eat better they’ll lay down for the puppies to nurse better … most of the time you don’t need to remove the puppies from the lactating … you can usually send her home and let her continue to nurse her puppies, which is actually got the advantage of keeping the mammary glands more empty than if you just take her home and immediately wean the puppies.
To hear the remainder of this interview, listen to the podcast audio on the player above.
Dr. Greer also discusses complications of mastitis with blastomycosis. The link to our earlier podcast on the topic is here.
389 – Working Together Leverages Resources in Rare Breeds
Work Together to Leverage Resources in Rare Breeds
Dawne Deeley and Amanda Kelly are back for the second half of our conversation about rare breeds and their unique challenges.
Who buys our dogs and why?
“It behooves us to think about the drivers for ownership,” Kelly said. “What is it that our breed offers that no other breed offers? What are the challenges that are unique to our breed? What are the barriers for people to consider getting one? Are they not getting any of these rare breeds because they’ve never heard of them? Or are they not getting them because there’s something about them that is maybe not with the average home is looking for? I think that in itself is a really important thing that we all need to understand and think about.
Set up for success
“We can breed the most beautiful dog in the history of the world but 99.9% of anything that we breed is going to go to a pet home… So what are we doing in order to ensure that we’re setting our dogs up for success … setting individual dogs up for success in the homes that they go to has an exponential effect in having people that meet them be more interested in every dog we breed. (They are) ambassadors for our breed.
“My background is in marketing and communication. So I tend to think about things kind of from the perspective of pushes and pulls. We push out information, but we also need to have a pull … we need to have people who are just interested in (the breed) and we need to figure out how we get the breeds in front of them and how we match up our breed with the right home.
We’re all in the same boat
“These breeds that are lower number, they’re the canary in the coal mine. A lot of the more popular breeds … registrations in general are falling. It’s something that the entire dog fancy is facing together. There’s power in numbers and we all have an opportunity to work together, pooling resources, small breeds coming together to do big projects. There’s lots of opportunities to do things, but we have to first recognize that we’re all kind of in the same boat.
“One of the examples that I can give you, a thing as simple as a pedigree database. Something that people can go online and look up pedigrees and do coefficient of inbreeding calculations or different tools that we might offer … breeders in other breeds may not think of that as such a big thing, but it’s just proving to be beyond our reach.
“If there’s opportunities that we can work with other clubs to do things, even something as simple as having access to a teleconference line to have meetings for your club. Our national breed club has struggled with technology, with a lot of older members who can’t figure out how to use Skype or FaceTime … until last year we were having our national breed club meetings in a chat room and typing back and forth to one another … so there are opportunities to help, to support one another, to come together across breeds, to make things happen that will lift us all up, that I think that we need to think about.”
388 — Auntie Laura Takes on Social Media Bullying
Auntie Laura Takes on Social Media Bullying
We’re going to talk a little something today. This is going to be a little bit of vintage Auntie Laura. We’re going to roll out a little bit of carrot and the stick. A little bit of whoop ass. Because there’s things going on in our world that need addressing. We’re going to talk about bullying and we’re going to talk about burnout … I have a special guest I’m going to bring on here shortly. But first I’m going to start with a little bit of a story.
… I was that kid. In elementary school. I was that kid that the boys at the bus stop stole my Wonder Woman lunchbox and threw it under the bus. I was that kid. I was bullied because I was different. I was bullied because I was a girl. I was bullied because I reacted to it.
I learned and I turned into an angry little kid. If somebody tried to bully me, I kicked them or I bit them. I was a horrible child. It has taken me a long time to learn about life and to learn how to deal with some of these things … one of the things that I’ve learned over time is that bullies need one of two things or both. They need attention and they need oxygen. If you don’t give it to them, they go away.
So, in the microcosm of the world in general, in the midst of shut down when everybody is stressed out and freaked out, we come to the microcosm of dog shows where everybody is really stressed out and freaked out. And then we throw in a little social media and it gets a little carried away.
Dale Martenson is going to help me. He’s going to be the voice of reason, ’cause I can get a little hot under the collar on this topic. So, we’re going to talk today about some very specific ways that we can deal with properly harnessing our frustrations. Properly using social media. And just basically dialing it back a notch.
Dog shows, when I started … a kid that had been bullied my whole young life… dog shows and dog people and the dog community are where I found acceptance. I found family and I found peace and I found an opportunity to grow and excel that I did not have elsewhere… I was brought into the tribe and into the fold and accepted and nurtured and raised up. I believe that we have now lost our way.
Find a positive instead of looking for someone to tear down. Instead of looking for someone to trash who doesn’t agree with you. Instead of looking for a fight. Go find something good to do with your time and be better than the bullies.
Compassion and kindness and thoughtfulness … those are the things that our world needs … I really, really, really mean it you guys. This is not how we act.
A point of clarification for the peanut gallery. Having an opinion and even expressing said opinion do not constitute bullying. The line is crossed when individuals start name-calling and even threaten reprisals against those with whom they do not agree or have expressed differing opinions. Learn more about social media bullying and what you can do if you are the target here: https://www.helpguide.org/articles/abuse/bullying-and-cyberbullying.htm
387 – WHAT Are Rare Breeds and WHY are They Rare
WHAT Are Rare Breeds and WHY are They Rare
Susi Szeremy, working media at Westminster Kennel Club, with BIS winner GSP, CJ.
Susi Szeremy, founder of National Purebred Dog Day, joins host Laura Reeves to talk rare breeds, the #NPDD Photo Contest and celebrating our purebred dogs on May 1. Enjoy this excerpt of our fun and fascinating conversation. Click the play button to hear all the details in the podcast.
“What is a rare breed and why is it rare,” Szeremy asks. “I suppose that rareness is determined by our experiences … I recently observed that if you and I have never seen an example of a breed, given all of our travels at dog shows, it’s either because it really is a very rare breed or it’s a working breed that hasn’t experienced a push for recognition amongst more established registries.
Low Numbers or No Exposure
“For example, there is a Blue Lacy. There is a kelpie. I’ve not seen either of them because they don’t belong to any registry that I’m aware of. There’s not a push to get them recognized, but it doesn’t mean they don’t exist. In fact, the Blue Lacy is the state dog for Texas. It’s a very cool dog, named after the Lacy family, not because it’s like blue lace, but it is a wicked working dog and so is the Kelpie. Unless I hightail it down to Texas or Australia, I’m unlikely to see either of these dogs anytime soon. Conversely, I find it interesting that just four years ago the AKC put out an article entitled ‘11 rare dog breeds you never knew existed’ … I know I’ve seen every one of those breeds. They are considered rare according to this article. What I consider rare is something that I’ve never seen.
Vulnerable breeds
“I think it’s a perfect storm of different elements. Now, I make a distinction between what breeds are vulnerable in the UK and what breeds are vulnerable here. In the UK, there are 13 breeds that are coming in at 100 registrations as of 2019. That is in their country of origin. That’s how they make it on that list, if that was their country of origin and they have fewer than 300 registrations each year, in the UK they are considered a dog that cannot sustain itself moving forward unless they get over that 300 mark. And there’s 13 of them. I think the worst number that I saw in 2019 belonged to the Irish red and white setter and that only had 39. The Otterhound, I think surprisingly, came up a little better at 44. But worldwide there’s maybe 800 Otterhounds, which I don’t understand because it is a scruffy wonderful dog. Yeah, we don’t hunt otters anymore, but in my opinion an Otterhound can be repurposed… to track and trail.
Too much Choice or No Choice…
“So far as why I think this is happening to some breeds, I think among the reasons is too much choice and no choice. Let me explain. We’re getting more and more breeds known to the public. So there’s more choices for them to pick from if they go to a breeder. However, the adopt don’t shop and rescue world has had its impact. So if you’re vulnerable to feeling the guilt that you must adopt and you must rescue then your choices are very limited because I don’t think you’re probably going to find a rescue Azawakh.
Societal changes
“I think size is not all of it because I think a lot of people are inclined to say ‘well the dogs are very big and people don’t want big dogs anymore.’ Yet the King Charles spaniel, 93 dogs in the UK last year were registered, and that’s a small dog. It’s a marvelous dog. I think the culture has changed as well. We are living in more urban settings. We’re closer together, so a hound that bays is probably not going to be appreciated by our neighbor.
“We don’t hunt as much … so we have less land … we live on less land and there is less land available to people to hunt on. People I think are vulnerable, if they don’t do their homework, they see a dog on TV or in the movies that they fall in love with because the dog has a character. The character’s portrayed as having a quirky personality. People fall in love with that personality, not necessarily thinking or realizing that that may be a character written in but the actual breed itself comes with a different set of attributes. If they don’t do their homework, they’re going to be disappointed.”
386 – Protecting Diversity and Sharing Quality in Rare Breeds
Protecting Diversity and Sharing Quality in Rare Breeds
Host Laura Reeves is joined by two of North America’s most successful breeders of rare and threatened breeds, Amanda Kelly, Fwaggle Toy Manchester Terriers and Dawne Deeley, TsarShadow Karelian Bear Dogs.
These two talented women share their insights, perspectives and guiding principles in preserving their breeds and moving forward into the future.
Diversity not division
Amanda Kelly
“One of the things I personally really hold as a strong belief when it comes to breeding is that diversity of opinion and action within our breeds is what really protects the diversity in our breed,” Kelly said. “So, all of that to say that the fact that I’m doing what I think is right and you’re doing what you think is right is what’s important. It doesn’t matter if those are the same things. In fact, it’s probably more important that we’re all doing different things. Being able to accept that there’s a thousand ways to skin a cat, for lack of a better example, is a really important thing when you’re working in a rare breed. You have to appreciate the fact that there is more than one road that can be traveled.
“One of the advantages of having been around for a really long time is that you know who everyone is and you know who likes who and who doesn’t like who and … where all the skeletons are in everybody’s closet. One of the things that I have found most interesting is looking back over two or three or more decades, that you’re always going to have popular lines. You’re going to have popular sires. And there’s going to be dogs that come in and out of fashion from different lines. But when push comes to shove and you’ve bred yourself into a corner or there’s just a lack of diversity because everyone has used the same dog, the places that you end up going are often places that were created out of a rift… you know a big hatred — breeder X hates breeder Y and so breeder X would never have anything of breeder Y’s in her line etc etc … and not that I would ever encourage it because I think getting along is also really important, but when you look 20 years down the road and everyone who has breeder Y’s dogs are now going to breeder X with their line because that’s where the diversity is….”
Why Such Low Numbers?
Dawne Deeley and ‘Eenokki’ dog, multi International Ch/World Winner/Nordic Winner/Finnish Winner/MBIS Can.Ch. TsarShadow’s The Berserker
“Historically (Karelians) are a very tough, single-purpose breed,” Deeley said. “In the Nordic countries up until I would say 2015, the Bear Dog was always in like the top 10 or at the very top 20 because we’re talking countries with an entirely different societal MO to North America. I mean I like to joke that every Finn is born with a cell phone in one hand and a rifle in the other. And every Finn hunts. I’m not exaggerating. Everybody. The women hunt birds. The guys hunt. Every Finn I know shoots something and it’s to put meat on the table. It’s their way of life. It’s what they do. The Swedes aren’t much different. Neither are the Norwegians. So this is a breed that was developed with a very specific purpose and it was to hunt big game. You had Finnish Spitz and finish hounds for hares and for birds. You had Bear Dogs for moose and bear. And that’s all they did. So now … progress marches on and now we’ve got dogs that are expected to do more things. We have governments that are saying ‘no, no, you know hunting is bad. You’re a horrible person if you hunt … especially in North America we have that way of thinking where ‘oh my god how could you actually shoot an animal.’
Finding the right homes
“My mom always said, ‘Choose the quality of the home over the quality of the opportunity,’” Kelly said, adding that her family’s breeding program always emphasized keeping prices fair and accessible for families.
Deeley agreed that show homes are not her first priority.
“My contract stipulates if somebody buys a dog as a show prospect that I will guarantee that I will show it and I will do everything in my power to finish it,” Deeley said. “Usually people either say well yes that’s what I want, or that’s what I don’t want, and so that gives me a tiny bit of control over where the good ones go. I don’t breed often enough to have waves of dogs of that caliber. I would rather see a dog go to a good hunting home than a good show home to be perfectly honest.”
385 – Bedlington Terrier: “Head of a lamb and the heart of a lion”
Bedlington Terrier: “Head of a lamb and the heart of a lion”
Three Bedlington Terrier breeders — Laurie Friesen, Gaby Gilbeau and Lucy Heyman — join host Laura Reeves during Rare Breed Month to share their passion for their unique dogs.
Kissing Cousins?
“So, what we know about the development of the Bedlington is kind of people’s best guess,” Laurie Friesen said. “We assume that they were bred with long-legged and short-legged dogs in a litter and the Dandie Dinmont actually evolved from the short-legged variety, where the Bedlington evolved from the long-legged variety. The Bedlington was sort of the poor man’s hunting dog and they used them for game to feed the family. They were very tenacious. As the Bedlington evolved they also, because of their tenacity, were used in other terrier breeds … I know the Lakeland has some Bedlington heritage. It’s also noted that when the hunt season was over, they were known to be pit fighters.
Laurie Friesen
“We have a saying in our breed that they have “the head of a lamb and the heart of a lion.” That’s one reason we don’t spar the Bedlington today. The other thing that’s interesting about the history and the hunting ability is we call them sort of a generalist. They were bred to course above the ground as well as go under the ground like your typical terrier.”
Versatile competitors
Gaby Gilbeau
“Building on that very colorful past,” Gaby Gilbeau said, “Bedlingtons are really kind of a Jack of all trades kind of dog. They are incredibly smart and unlike a lot of terriers, they’re actually very much people dogs. They really care about what their owners think. They are highly intelligent more in tune to what their owner is hoping that they will do, rather than some of the other terrier breeds which may have a little bit stronger of an independent streak. You see them at the highest levels of many of the events that the American Kennel Club offers. We compete in a huge range of activities with our dogs, from barn hunt and earthdog. They’re absolute machines on the coursing ability field. We’ve actually had some hunt masters ask us to run them against their whippets, just to 
see which one will be faster.
“I always say Bedlingtons are the dog world’s best kept secret. They are hypoallergenic. They don’t shed, so you have no doggy odor. They are rambunctious enough to still be active with a family with young kids. There’s some same sex (dog) aggression sometimes, but you know those are not extremely common. They’re great for families. They’re extremely active when you want them to be, like you’re gonna go on a five mile hike they’re game to tag along. But if you want to sit on the couch and watch Netflix all day, they are also cool to just hang out with you. They’re a very versatile dog that really fits a lot of different households.”
Grooming and Health
Lucy Heyman
“The Bedlington coat is very different from a poodle coat or Bichon coat or even a Kerry Blue coat in that it is quite unforgiving,” said Lucy Heyman. “You have to be extremely confident and skilled with the scissors in order to do it properly. That said, a lot of the grooming can be done with a clipper.
“It’s every 6 to 8 weeks with the groomers if you’re not going to tackle it yourself. I’ve had clients that have been able to tackle it themselves and turn them out looking like Bedlington should. It certainly isn’t beyond the average person’s reach if they work at it.
“For many, many, many years it was well known in the fancy and among the public that Bedlingtons had a disease called inherited copper toxicosis. It is essentially the same disease that humans have that’s called Wilson disease. This problem has been virtually resolved in our breed. There are very, very few dogs these days, well under 5%, that are affected when copper toxicosis.”
384 – Hungarian Breeds and Plato’s Theory of Forms
Hungarian Breeds and Plato’s Theory of Forms
Maria Arechaederra’s passion for Hungarian breeds started early. She was about 10 years old, she said, when “flipping through the AKC breed book one day, I saw a picture of the Kuvasz. And it was like a lightning bolt. Love at first sight.”
Plato and Breeding Philosophy
“To me you have to have a vision everyone understands how to read and dissect a breed standard. But if you don’t have a vision all it is is a bunch of parts. You know how a lot of breeds have an illustrated standard. I think those are great but I believe in being your own illustrator. Not that you’re an artist but in your mind you have to have that vision of what the perfect Pug or the perfect Kuvasz or the perfect Doberman is … when you look at your dogs you have to stack them up against that perfection. You can’t just say I want to fix rears the next generation, I wanna fix ears, you always have to be devoted to that vision.
“Look up Plato’s theory of forms … Plato’s belief was that there was a perfect everything in the realm of the soul, whether that be a chair or a tree or a dog. He said those exist in the realm of the soul and everything we see here on earth is just an imperfect version of that. I always joke that we are striving to build perfection, which is an impossible goal, but damn it, that’s the drive and the fun of it. We’re trying to create perfection.”
Kuvasz History
“OK the one beautiful thing about an ancient rare breed like the Kuvasz is that it’s survived the perils and tests of times of centuries of world wars. Even in their native Hungary they went from being livestock guards to the Royal dogs of the court of King Matthias of Hungary … he would have them in his Castle because according to legend King Matthias didn’t even trust his closest allies and guards more than he trusted his Kuvasz. So he always had them in the Royal Court and they also were used as napkins believe it or not people would wipe their hands on the white fur…
“To me that showed versatility, that this wasn’t just some kind of a wild animal out with the sheep. It could be even in a Royal Court as a personal guard … I can tell you personally from living with them and raising two children, that there is no greater babysitter than a Kuvasz. When my children were outside with a Kuvasz, I knew all was well with the world.”
Adding Pumik
Left to Right:
“Bebe” (Ch. Ederra’s Meant to Be)
“Zsa Zsa” (Ederra’s Lovely to Look At)
“Sandy” (AKC and Bah Ch. Ederra’s Sabbia Bianca )
Bebe and Zsa are sired by Ziggy-multiple group winning Gch. Catskill’s Hajas Hippie and Sandy is sired by Casper (BIS/BISS/RBIS Gch. Italianstyle Casper)
“With my love of Hungarian breeds, (I thought) this is a perfect segue. I already know a lot of people in Hungary and I want (an) old age breed … that was a little bit of a misconception on my part, I will say, because what I found is that as cute as they are, they are every bit tough pound for pound herding dogs, with a very short off button. What they’ve done, inadvertently, is made me have to move more. So I guess it’s good for me, but I thought it was gonna be my old lady breed and actually they hike more than my Kuvasz, so I love that. I love them. They’re great dogs. They do like the sound of their own voice, so a lot of people don’t like the barking. They’re very vocal because the Pumi actually uses its voice as part of its herding tools.”