Classes are Here! (Finally!)

Two courses have finally been added to the site! I'm so excited about this! I really truly hope that those of you just starting out in color genetics find value in these courses! Here's a quick overview:

Course 1: This course is designed to be a simple read through, giving you the basics of the genes responsible for the colors and patterns we find in most poodles and doodles. It covers each locus individually and explains the impact on the coat that particular locus has. The goal of this course is to not only learn about these different loci but to be able to decipher your dog's genotype when you receive your trait test results.

Course 2: This course is video based and is focused on how to predict the probability that a puppy could be a certain color or pattern based on the genotypes of its parents. It builds off the first course showing you how to pair genotypes together to determine these probabilities. You'll get a basic rundown of how to use punnet squares and how to combine your results so that you can know every color and pattern possible, even those that require the genes from more than one locus.

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My main goal in producing these courses is to have the information you need provided in the clearest, easiest way to learn. The only way I can know if these classes are beneficial to you is through your feedback! If you take the class, please fill out the questionnaire at the end! I'd love to know if you think it's great, think it's crap, or even somewhere in the middle.

The best thing about this course platform is once you purchase this course, you'll always have access to it. Any changes I make will be automatically updated on your end! So I can take the feedback I receive and shape the course to benefit you more.

I want everyone to get their money's worth and really learn and be able to work through these on their own. You're so much better off as a breeder when you do not have to rely on others! Being able to make pairings to produce what you want will help your program so much. I know it has mine!

For a short time only!!! Enjoy this 50% off discount! Code: tsb50

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Again, thank you to all of those that have supported me in this endeavor! It wasn't easy, that's for sure!

A special thanks to Lauren Myers and April and Rochelle Wilson for always being my sounding boards and putting up with all my questions!

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#breedereducation #poodlebreeder #doodlebreeder #caninegenetics #colorgeneticsfordogs #breedersupport #coursesforbreeders #dogbreedercommunity #dogbreeder

Breeder Spotlight with Jessica Yazza of Copperhead Puppies

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday! I figured now was as good of time as ever to share a bit about myself as we're about to kick this whole thing off with the new year! So, I'll be your Breeder Spotlight this week!

***Please know this is not an endorsement of the breeder, their program, or their dogs. If you are looking to purchase a puppy/dog do your due diligence and research your breeder.

What do you breed and how long have you been breeding? I currently breed standard poodles and labradoodles (with the occasional aussiedoodle litter). My program will be changing to focus only on poodles and bernedoodles after this next year. I’ve been breeding for a little over 7 years now.

What made you choose that breed? I started out with Labradors. I live smack dab in the middle of duck country so labs are a part of everyday life around me. I got a wild hair to have a litter of labradoodles and just fell in love with that litter and the poodle stud we used. I’ve never looked back! Poodles will always be “my breed” from here on out!

What drew you to breeding in general? My husband and I started breeding so that we could continue the lines of his prized hunting buddy, Sklyer. He’s the one that started this whole thing for us. It’s slowly morphed and grew into such a bigger thing than either of us imagined.

What’s your everyday life like? I’m a wife and a mother to 3 little kiddos. So I’m busy even without the dogs. But add on the dogs, litters, facebook groups I run, and now the website....my plate is full! I have an excellent support system that I could never do this without though. My family is close and always chips in to help. We currently live in a subdivision so we’re a bit restricted to how large our program can grow but hope to move onto more land within the next year.

What’s one thing you wish you knew before you started breeding? I wish I knew how much I would have to deal with people. I am not a people person! Between scammers, unscrupulous folk, and the people that just can’t seem to read….I really want to go stick my head in a hole half the time.

If you could go back in time to right before your first litter, what would you tell yourself? Breathe, you got this and you’re going to do great! I have to tell myself this before every litter. It doesn’t seem to matter how many I’ve had, I get nervous before every whelp and stress the entire time the pups are with me. That never goes away.

I’d also tell myself not to doubt and that I’m capable of more than I give myself credit for. I think in the beginning, without the experiences I’ve had, self doubt was real and I wish I could have saved myself from that.

What are you most proud of in your program? The pups that have gone on to be service dogs or ESAs to special needs children. Hearing from their parents all the ways that little ball of fluff has changed their lives…..I don’t think there’s anything I could be more proud of.

What makes you keep coming back for more....what’s the best part about breeding for you? I LOVE whelps! They make me anxious and sleep deprived, but I think I get more excited about each delivery with my mommas than I did having my own kids. It never gets old to me. I’m in absolute awe of every litter! I honestly wish I could just go sit in on other breeder’s whelps!

What’s the easiest part of breeding for you? I know this is going to be a shocker...color genetics! Being able to be more selective and produce exactly what I want has helped me so much in the past couple years.

What’s the best thing you’ve purchased for your program? Mary Langevin’s book! Not a huge purchase, but being a merle breeder it was so eye opening. There’s just so much info, I keep learning from it to this day.

What’s one thing you’ve discovered that saves you the most time and energy when you have a litter? Litter boxes! I’ve tried it every way imaginable I think, and litter boxes are by far the best possible set up for me. I use alfalfa pellets which seems to have really helped the pups associate grass with pottying. Plus I’m one of those weirdos that absolutely LOVES the smell of alfalfa.

If someone reading this is just starting out, what do you want them to know is the best part of what you do? The best part for me is what everyone seems to think I do all day….puppy snuggles! Those times that I finally get caught up on everything and can just go sit in the puppy pen and snuggle puppies, it’s the most stress relieving time. To have the unconditional love of those fluffy little guys and just sit and watch your hard work paying off, it’s seriously the best.

What’s one thing that just grinds your gears in the breeding community? The high school “mean girls” mentality. There’s breeders out there with this ego of thinking they’re God’s gift to breeding that seem to get off on belittling others. They’ll tear someone apart just to make themselves look better. Someone asking a simple question can have their entire program ripped apart and judged just because they didn’t give their entire life history when they asked the question. I just don’t get it.

What’s your biggest pet peeve with other breeders? People who have the opportunity to better themselves and their program and they don’t take it. As you know, I help many many breeders (and I love doing it). It irritates me to no end when I’ve given them the information they need and yet they still refuse to test, they keep asking the same question in the hopes I’ll change my answer, and they ignore any and all advise. It’s one thing if you do not understand a concept and need help but to not even test….ever….ugh, so frustrating!

What do you stress over most? My reputation. I try not to, I really do. But I want people to know and respect everything I put into my program.

I also stress over the health of the puppies, to the detriment of my own health actually. I’m such a paranoid person! My mind always leaps to the worst case scenario.

What’s one mistake you’ve made in your program that you wish you could go back and change? I invested quite a bit into a Grand Champion sired female that had been through training and was drop dead gorgeous. Just a month or two after we got her she had an episode of MMM. She’s gradually just gone down hill and of course will never be able to be bred. It’s been one of the most heart wrenching, stressful things, to have happened in my program. I more so just wish I could make her better. I’m completely ok with what I’ve lost financially, but what she’s suffered through just isn’t fair to her. We just started new meds, so fingers crossed.

What has been your biggest failure? I had a puppy with a liver shunt that had to be put to sleep at 6 months old. I had the family’s vet and my own vet assure me there was nothing that could have been done to prevent it, but I still live with that guilt today. I feel like I should have known. My heart ached for that family and still does.

What’s the most difficult part of breeding for you? The lack of sleep. I’m not the best person to be around when I’m sleep deprived. The older I get, the worse it gets.

I also struggle with the sacrifices this whole thing imposes on my family. While we still try to make life as normal as possible for our kids, there’s times we can’t take them to events, on vacation, or always give them the attention they’re used to getting. It’s a guilt I struggle with for sure.

What’s something you keep doing because you think you have to in order to be taken seriously by other breeders, but deep down really want to stop? Shaving faces! Nah, I won’t stop doing that but man is it a lot of work when you have a litter of 12.

I’ve actually realized I do things differently than a lot of other breeders and I’m ok with that. One thing about me….I won’t compromise my own beliefs to please someone else. But I am a very open minded person, so I like to see what others do differently, to see if it’s something I can get on board with or not.

If someone reading this is just starting out, what do you want them to know is the worst part of what you do? As far as raising the litters, it’s the cleaning. There’s just so much cleaning. It’s non stop. There’s cleaning the actual puppy pen, baths and grooming, laundry…..oh the laundry. And then you end up getting behind on all your normal chores, just snowballing into chaos.

In regards to the business as a whole, it can sometimes be a very negative atmosphere. It’ll eat away at you if you let it. A thick skin is definitely needed!

What’s your goal for the next couple of years? We are getting our first 2 bernedoodle girls this year. I’m really looking forward to raising them! We’ve had a few Berner girls stay with us for breeding with our stud, and man they are just the best! (except the shedding….so thus bernedoodles for us!)

How long have you been breeding with color in mind? Ever since I got my merle stud. I knew I had to learn about merle before breeding him and once I got started learning about color genetics I just couldn’t stop. I’m such a nerd. I had a basic knowledge of colors and how they worked but I didn’t get really really into it until a little over 3 years ago.

If you could shout one thing at the top of your lungs to all breeders...what would it be? There’s no such thing as a “sable phantom” or a “sable tri”!!

What’s the funniest thing you’ve seen so far when it comes to breeding? My stud just recently tried to tie in the wrong hole. While that was pretty funny itself...my husband’s reaction was absolutely priceless! He was actually the one out with them and came in to tell me about it. I was curious how he knew and his response still makes me laugh “the smell….the god awful smell”. He was mortified.

Parting words….

I just want all of you to know how humbled I am that you’ve put your faith in me. While I love my breeding program, I also really love helping all of you. It’s given me a sense of purpose I didn’t know I needed.

I love the community that we’ve grown into (it’s only been a year!). I see so many of you helping others where you can, respecting each other, and creating an atmosphere that other breeders want to be a part of.

I realize the more we grow the harder that bubble will be to maintain but I have faith in all of you that we can do it!

One of my favorite quotes:

“No man can become rich without himself enriching others.”- Andrew Carnagie

Do you want to be featured in our Breeder Spotlight? Send us a message here.

Breeder Spotlight with Brooke Dent of Dent's Doodles

Brooke was kind enough to sit down and answer some questions for us for our very first Breeder Spotlight! Take a look at what she had to say!

***Please know this is not an endorsement of the breeder, their program, or their dogs. If you are looking to purchase a puppy/dog do your due diligence and research your breeder.

Photo Cred: Dent's Doodles

What do you breed and how long have you been breeding? We breed primarily Goldendoodles and Standard Poodles with an occasional litter of Saint Berdoodle or Toy Aussiedoodle litter. We started breeding in 2017.

What made you choose that breed/s? I had poodles growing up and fell in love with doodles when I got my foundation Goldendoodle, Presley. She just had the best mix of both breeds for our family.

What drew you to breeding in general? My grandmother and aunt bred full time growing up. My mother bred Westies for a short period of time while I was in middle school. I had no interest in showing at that time but did in agility so she stopped to take me to events.

What’s everyday life like for you? My everyday life revolves around my home, dogs, and kids. I am up early feeding and cleaning the dog room. Brushing is a must, especially because my poodles think they need to pull hair when they play fight. My kids are old enough to help out so it’s a huge plus.

Do you work full time? No, I’m retired from the Army.

Do you have a support system? Yes, I have several breeders and my family is great. Husband gets frustrated more often then not but when I get overwhelmed and talk about just stopping he says no (also he is the puppy whisperer).

Do you live in the city or have land? I have an acre in the city right now and in the process of buying a bigger house with 4 acres in the country.

What’s one thing you wish you knew before you started breeding? Invest in good equipment the first time and you’ll save hundreds if not thousands in constantly replacing cheap stuff.

If you could go back in time to right before your first litter, what would you tell yourself? Study genetics more and buy exactly what I want. Don’t get me wrong starting out I did want to do solid poodles BUT I didn’t have any understanding of how parti or how the K locus worked.

What are you most proud of in your program? Temperament and structure is always important in my opinion but I’m super proud of the service dogs that come from our program.

What makes you keep coming back for more....what’s the best part about breeding for you? One of my greatest joys is seeing how happy their families are to meet their puppies and also the delivery.

What’s the easiest part of breeding for you? Pairing males with females is easy for me now that I know more about genetics.

What’s the best thing you’ve purchased for your program? Ultrasound machine

What’s one thing you’ve discovered that saves you the most time and energy when you have a litter? Having a utility sink to bath them.

What’s one thing that just grinds your gears in the breeding community? Honestly I hate when people try to argue science. Or you the excuse, “well I didn’t get DNA tested to have children”. I feel like with dogs it is cheap enough and too easy to obtain not to do it.

What’s your biggest pet peeve in regards to breeding? People who think you just throw two dogs together and then sell puppies. A lot more work goes into raising puppies.

What do you stress over most? Emergency csection and fading puppies.

What’s one mistake you’ve made in your program that you wish you could go back and change? When I first started I liked red Goldendoodles, but they were really hard to find, so I settled for a cream with perfect structure (I did just breed her to a deep red tuxedo and I’m keeping a male back) but I’ve learned to never settle!

What has been your biggest failure? I lost a girl. I’m still devastated and always on my toes. Had a flawless labor, but developed horrible diarrhea and vomiting. I took her temperature and it was 104. We went straight to the 24/7 animal hospital. They kept her there for five days giving fluids and nausea medicine. I finally took her to my vet for a second opinion because everything was coming back fine. She had a hernia in her colon that had a small tear. We had to put her down. I hand raised her litter. It was the hardest thing I have ever had to do.

What’s the most difficult part of breeding for you? Loss, any loss is hard.

What’s something you keep doing because you think you have to in order to be taken seriously by other breeders, but deep down really want to stop? Live Facebook videos! I hate them. I always have brain fog and I am COVERED in tattoos so people are taken aback when their breeder has sleeves.

If someone reading this is just starting out, what do you want them to know is the worst part of what you do? Poop. You’ll hear it time and time again but it’s the poop. Who knows if pee pads, turf, or litter are your right answer but they will walk in it and you will have to keep up with potty trims! If poop makes you gag this is a very unforgiving job.

What’s your goal for the next couple of years? My goals are to produce deep red parti Goldendoodles.

What’s one thing you wish you knew more about in regards to breeding? GUARDIAN HOMES.

How long have you been breeding with color in mind? Since mid 2018 but didn’t fully grasp it until 2019.

What’s one thing you just don’t understand about genetics? Mh, more importantly my Merle Goldendoodle that’s lengths are 273 and if I should stay away from spsp and Ssp she is SS.

If you could shout one thing at the top of your lungs to all breeders...what would it be? So having to bottle feed an entire litter I will ALWAYS and forever use Natures Farmacy probiotics, formulas, supplements, AI kits or just about ANYTHING!

What’s the funniest thing you’ve seen so far when it comes to breeding? I have one female that refuses to lay in her whelping box without my old pregnancy body pillow predelivery.

Parting words from Brooke:

ALWAYS go with your gut. If you ask groups for advice remember it’s just advice and it’s ultimately up to you. Not everyone has your program's best interest in mind and sadly that can include your veterinarian (that does not mean do not go to one but do not let them belittle you about having a litter of puppies). You CAN pass on a family you feel isn’t a good fit and deposits can be returned anytime you get a bad vibe. Never bite off more than you can chew. Multiple litters can be done and done well but are time consuming and require a great deal of work. Breed what YOU like not what is popular, you’ll never be happy breeding Bernedoodles if you prefer Goldendoodles.

Do you want to be featured in our Breeder Spotlight? Send us a message here.