***Please know that Breeder Spotlights are not an endorsement of any breeder or program. They are simply a "get to know you". If you are looking to purchase a puppy/dog be sure to do your due diligence and fully research your breeder.
What do you breed and how long have you been breeding?
We breed AKC poodles in both small standard and miniature sizes. We’ve been breeding for
about 6 years.
What made you choose that breed?
Honestly, I started out a doodler but over time realized that what we loved best about the breed was actually the poodle. I was in denial at first. I wanted to believe the part we loved was the lab or the golden retriever but alas, it was also and especially the poodle in them. Their intelligence is unmatched and most of them are so intuitive it is almost scary.
What drew you to breeding in general?
I’ve always loved animals ever since I was a little girl (bringing home all the lost, abandoned and odd like a one-eyed duckling I found) and honestly probably should have pursued a career in the animal field early on. Instead, I became a nurse and eventually gave it up for farming.
While I was farming, we decided to dabble in breeding with just one litter. Well one litter
becomes, two, becomes three. You know how it goes. You get started and fall in love with the
whole process (ok maybe not the pooptastrophes) and that was it. I was hooked and wanted to know and do more and better for my puppies.
What’s everyday life like for you?
Everyday life has changed for me recently as we decided to jump into the hot housing market
and sell our farm last summer. We moved and I’ve spent about 6 months mourning the
changes in my life but recently we had two litters and that has both occupied my time and
changed my perspective. I’m able to focus more on breeding which is really nice and not have
my hands in so many pots at once. I only breed now (but we do have a handful of goats) and
raise 4 kids so it is nice to have life a little more streamlined since I’ve got one of those living life fast and furious type personalities and tend to take on more than any one person should.
Although we left the full on farm life behind, I couldn’t be contained to a neighborhood so we still have 23 acres in the country to give our dogs the freedom to be in nature with us.
What’s one thing you wish you knew before you started breeding?
How undeniably imperative it is to have at least one trusted mentor and friend who will help you through it all. I’m so fortunate to have several now that I have gained over the course of my breeding career but I would have been so much better off to have sought out someone ahead of time to help guide me along. I seriously could not do this without my small, trusted circle of women who I talk to now pretty much daily.
If you could go back in time to right before your first litter, what would you tell yourself?
I wished I had been more thoughtful about researching literally everything about it before I
started. I had no experience and did not know what I was doing and honestly it could have
turned out really badly. I was fortunate that I actually had healthy dogs and that the odds were
in my favor for those two litters.
What are you most proud of in your program?
I’m proud of the thoughtfulness we have put into improving our program over time by
implementing first the aspects of Puppy Culture that suited us and now parts of Badass Breeder as well. Those first two litters we were flying by the seat of our pants and we didn’t honestly know what we were doing or why (I cringe just thinking of it now). I will forever be grateful to the creators of Puppy Culture for really bringing me the knowledge to improve my puppies and my practices. After we implemented it, we began to hear so many compliments about how people had never seen such well-behaved puppies and that just fueled our fire to continue to make improvements to our program for the sake of our puppies.
What makes you keep coming back for more....what’s the best part about breeding for you?
When my puppies go home and people tell me they’ve bought dogs before and never had an
experience like buying from us. They are generally so complimentary of our processes and the steps we take to ensure our dogs are prepared to go home (and our families are educated and prepared to receive them) and assimilate into their homes. They are not only appreciative but often refer other buyers after having had such a great overall experience. This tells me we have made positive changes to our program and are doing something right. This is the why in the “why do you do what you do?” Knowing I did as much as possible to prepare my puppy to be a part of a family and to make the experience streamlined and enjoyable for all is worth all the poop clean up I had to do to get there.
What’s the easiest part of breeding for you?
Probably the whelping process (and the first 3 weeks while mom does all the things HAHA). But honestly whelping just puts me right back in my nurse mode and that feels really natural to me so I enjoy the medical part of that and the charting and keeping things recorded and organized.
I REALLY enjoy the connection I build with my dams during that delicate time. The trust we
earn from each other for going through it together is immeasurable. Being there during a birth
(of any kind) is truly an honor of my life and I am grateful to have been present at so many.
What’s the best thing you’ve purchased for your program?
Docusign will always be at the top of my list. Also toppers for my ex pens so the climber
puppies cannot get out anymore. That was a recent purchase for my current two litters and has been a game changer. Lastly, I would say I cannot live without my potty tray system. I mean who wants to clean up all that poop everywhere? NOBODY!
What’s one thing you’ve discovered that saves you the most time and energy when you have a litter?
Realizing I don’t have to do it all and that it is ok to take the adults to the groomer. I know it
sounds silly but I wasted so much time trying to groom them myself when I needed to be doing other things and just relieving that little bit of pressure felt like a lot off my shoulders. Also put the potty trays in early to really encourage them to use them. This also cuts down on laundry since the trays take up space where they would instead be peeing on the washable pads. Double bonus.
What’s one thing that just “grinds your gears” in the breeding community?
Worrying about being judged by the purists. I think I’ll just leave it at that but most of us know
how harsh that world can be and just how unforgiving.
What’s your biggest pet peeve in regards to breeding?
Ok I don’t know if this answers this question exactly but being on social media all the time. I feel like in this downturned market in particular, I find myself being attached to my social media way more than I would like and it consumes time I would rather be spending with my family.
What do you stress over most?
The potential to bring in an illness. Something I cannot see but could obliterate my program.
Yeah it is on my mind anytime I have puppies on the ground.
What’s the most difficult part of breeding for you?
Having to fail out a dog you’ve kept for the better part of a year and grown attached to.
Likewise, the revolving door feeling that you just cannot breed and keep everyone long term. I mean I guess you can but the numbers would become overwhelming in a short period of time. I really didn’t take that into account when we got started and sending the adults off to new homes is by far one of the harder things I have had to do.
What’s your goal for the next couple of years?
We are focusing on our mini lines and hope to improve them. We’ve got several of our
foundation girls coming of age that are going to bring us some really unique colors that have
been long awaited so we are really excited to see those puppies.
What’s one thing you wish you knew more about in regards to breeding?
I’d love to feel more confident in judging conformation overall. I’d also like to get into some of
the AKC agility competitions if I ever get the nerve.
If you could shout one thing at the top of your lungs to all breeders...what would it be?
Work together instead of against each other. If you have puppies and I know you, I’m probably
referring buyers to you. It’s that easy. I want you to succeed (and I know how hard this market
is) and I will absolutely send you people who contact me looking for what you have and I can’t
fulfill it for them. Heck, even if they’re just closer to you than me and it makes more sense I will
absolutely send them to you and not even try to sell them one of mine. I feel we need to
encourage more of this as well as more open mentoring of new breeders to help them get a
better start. Less judgement and competition and more cooperation and encouragement.
What’s the funniest thing you’ve seen so far when it comes to breeding?
Was it funny? It was a horror show for sure. I used to have a whole house on the farm that was
dedicated to raising puppies. Well once they were a certain age, I let them stay overnight by
themselves. It was maybe 100 feet from our main house so it was safe and we were like a
quarter mile or more off the road. Well one day I went over in the morning to let them all outside to potty when I discovered that I must not have latched their ex pen gate. There was poop ON EVERY SURFACE they could touch. I mean everywhere. Ground into the floor, pillows, couch, all the things. I have yet to this day to see another pooptastrophe that apocalpytic. I was speechless and I will always remember to double check the latches. I can’t even tell you how bad it was. I can laugh now but it was NOT funny that day.
Thank you Kristyn for taking the time to share with us! Everyone show her some love.....go like and follow her page: Must Love Poodles
