Breeding is one of the few areas where people make far-reaching decisions on behalf of a future life that cannot consent. “Ethical breeding” and “responsible breeding” are familiar phrases, but they can hide very different standards in practice. I find it more useful to treat breeding as a set of decisions with long tails, whereContinueContinue reading “Doing right by the dog”
Category Archives: Dog breeding
The role of conformation in spaniel health and strength
Many assume that if a dog can perform its job well, it must be fit and healthy but working ability alone is not enough. The key to a long, injury-free life lies in a dog’s structural conformation. Proper structure supports the body, prevents injury, and ensures that the dog can perform at its best overContinueContinue reading “The role of conformation in spaniel health and strength”
Shaping sound minds and bodies: raising puppies with evidence-based enrichment protocols
Last year, I raised my first litter of Polish Hunting Spaniel puppies – an intensive yet inspiring project drawing on my background as a psychologist. I had immersed myself in the science of canine wellbeing for two years, so my goal as a breeder was to optimise the puppies’ mental wellbeing by using scientifically backed techniques and environmental enrichment protocols. In this post, I want to share my experiences.
The anatomy of a breed standard
The key reason why breed standards matter even when you are focused on the potential performance of a dog is that not all dogs are physically suited to the activities we want to do with them. I’ve previously written about why structure matters even for working spaniels – it’s not just about performance, unless youContinueContinue reading “The anatomy of a breed standard”
The work of a breeder – part 2
In the previous post, I said that the male is the second most important choice in the process of breeding – the most important one is the mother. The mother needs to meet the same kind of criteria as the father, and a bit more because they are a much bigger influence on the puppies.ContinueContinue reading “The work of a breeder – part 2”
The work of a breeder – part 1
Recent conversations made me think it might be interesting to shed some light on the work that has gone into these puppies – all of our families are aware and appreciate it, but I’ll write for those who I’ve not had these conversations with. Many people think the work starts the day the puppies areContinueContinue reading “The work of a breeder – part 1”
The risks of openness
I posted something yesterday that (in my mind) was about how I’ve realised this process of breeding dogs is full of decisions. I think about this because my day job is about how people make decisions under uncertainty and how they evaluate risk. Some are big and significant, like the choice of male, health testing,ContinueContinue reading “The risks of openness”
Virtuous circles of trust in breeding dogs
Grace has been incredibly trusting with us throughout the process. She’s not very insecure about the puppies – she’s left them a few times, and we’re allowed to handle them all the time. She also allowed us to help her extensively during the whelping process. These might seem like obvious things, but after reading aContinueContinue reading “Virtuous circles of trust in breeding dogs”
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