Warm Welcome from the Passionate Puppy Practitioners

Our inaugural welcome episode introduces why the Passionate Puppy Practitioners are dedicated to the breeding cause. We’ll explain how we came up with the name "Breeders Brew." We'll also take you behind the scenes and share its inspiration.

Series 1 contains personal opinions and stories to captivate seasoned breeders and curious newcomers. We'll walk you through the structure of our series and offer a glimpse into future topics.

But that's not all – we'll unveil the Critical Care Sheet, a vital tool for breeders, and introduce you to our thriving community of enthusiasts and experts.

So grab your headphones and join us on the Breeders Brew Podcast as we embark on an unforgettable journey into the fascinating breeding world.

📌 Grab your FREE accompanying Breeders Brew Critical Care Sheet.

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Love the podcast? Get even more as a Brew Crew member → www.breedersbrew.com/brewcrew

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Transcript

Sara: 0:02

Welcome to the Breeders Brew, the dog breeding podcast hosted by myself, Sara, the Canine Family Planner,

Isobel: 0:09

and me, Isobel, the Canine Nutrition Coach.

Sara: 0:12

We're promoting responsible breeding by unpicking the minefield of breeding myths and methods from the past. but owners wishing to expand their whelping wisdom. Welcome to episode zero of the Breeders Brew Podcast. Thank you for joining us. We wanted to take this opportunity to explain a little bit about ourselves and our backstory and why we've decided to create the Breeders Brew Podcast and community.

Isobel: 0:37

Absolutely. So I'm so excited to be a part of this with you, Sara. For those of you that don't know, I'm Isobel. The canine nutrition coach.

Sara: 0:45

And together, we like to refer to ourselves as passionate puppy practitioners, because we are active breeders. We have our feet on the ground. We speak to breeders regularly through our individual work channels. We see the reality of dog breeding. So it's not just a case that we have an opinion and we don't own any dogs or we don't breed, or we've just read a textbook. This is. Hmm. The whole point of the Breeders Brew podcast is that we offer practical advice and support that can be applied to your dogs in everyday living environment. So what's the backstory about us? How have we come to be and how have we got to this point? So I shall start with myself. So I'm really keen to share with you my experience that changed my complete Perspective of dog breeding. And it started when I was sitting in a vet's waiting room at one o'clock in the morning on a bank holiday weekend, just listening to their clock tick. My pregnant bulldog Patsy wasn't due for another week and she had breezed her pregnancy up until this point. However, this was my third vet visit in under 48 hours. I'd basically decided her condition had declined so quickly that she should be c sectioned at 57 days pregnancy. And I felt really guilty for this because ultimately, as a breeder, I had put her in this position. She had never decided that she wanted puppies. It was me that made that decision. After a painful wait in the vet's waiting room, they finally confirmed that I'd done the right decision. I had operated two days before their advice, but they agreed it was the right thing to do. Thankfully Patsy survived that critical operation and she was stable. She had to be spayed and they needed to keep her in overnight to ensure that she had a safe recovery. Unfortunately none of the pups had survived and no surprisingly to be honest. I did still ask to see these puppies because they were my seventh generation and I was really keen to see what this breeding combination was to produce and there were eight beautifully marked bulldog babies all still rosy pink but sadly not breathing. And I have to say, I learned a huge lesson that day. It was a big breeding lesson. I learned about the line between life and death. As a breeder, I think we're really lucky that we get to create these multiple bundles of joy that we nurture and rear, and then we pass on to families, owners, and they get to enjoy them for their lifetime. But instead this time for me, I sadly drove home with an empty puppy box and weirdly I felt good. My purse didn't, my purse had taken a massive hit with all these vet bills, but actually deep down inside I felt good because I knew I'd taken the right preventative care and decisions for Patsy that many people wouldn't have acted so quickly on. On reflection, I'd realised I'd been really fortunate that All of my concerns that had got me to that point, I'd been able to relay to a small group of like minded show readers who over the years, to me, had become really good friends. And I was really grateful that they were able to advise on additional ways that I could monitor Patsy's health that my vet hadn't even suggested. And this made my decision to c section Patsy even more evident. I was really fortunate to have this natural network of people around me to support me, even though they weren't local to me, they weren't close to me, but they were definitely at the end of the line. I wouldn't wish my experience on anyone in the world. That day is the day that I believe that I became a breeder, and even though Patsy was my sixth generation, so I'd had plenty of litters before, but that was the day that I was shaken out of a false sense of security. And so that got me wondering, how do you gain breeding confidence if you don't have this type of access to this level of knowledge and experience? And since that situation, I feel really fortunate that I founded a company called HomeScan that provides breeding services and support. And even more so, my role as the canine family planner is that I provide accessible and trusted breeding information and knowledge to my clients. One of the channels for me to be able to do that is the Breeders Brew podcast and community. And this is to be an unrestricted platform to be able to share our knowledge. It's an opportunity for anyone like you to become part of a network of like minded dog owners who along with breeding experts can provide trusted support and for you to be guided to avoid your own life and death situations. I'm really pleased to say that Patsy made a full recovery. She's now eight years old and she's absolutely still loving life.

Isobel: 5:32

That's such a positive end to the story though, Sara. I think it's only such a positive end because you proactively manage that situation so effectively and I think it's amazing that you had that knowledge, you had that support network and hopefully you can go on to help somebody else avoid the same pitfalls and dramas in their own breeding stories. Well, I hope we can both offer that. Hopefully so, absolutely. I mean, it goes about saying I'm obviously an avid dog enthusiast myself as well. It goes about saying I've had dogs in my life. the entire time as well. I should actually probably share a story with you that I don't think I've ever shared publicly. It did fundamentally alter the way that I care for my dogs, puppies, and even probably for me for that matter. I don't even know, actually, Sara, if I've even told you half of this, so it'll probably be a new one for you as well. There was actually a moment a good couple of years ago, I was dragging myself into the pain and fatigue clinic to go and wait in the pain and fatigue reception to see the pain and fatigue consultant. As you can imagine, I was feeling horrific. I was exhausted. I was in pain, burnt out. My head literally felt like a gray, fuzzy TV. I was called in. My heart was absolutely pounding as I was hoping I'd finally have answers on my. declining health condition. I was finally diagnosed with ME, and for anyone that doesn't know, that's chronic fatigue syndrome. Everything made sense, but the 10 ton weight on my shoulders I was carrying around instantly got heavier. I was told it was one of those conditions that was incurable, life limiting, and to be honest, lifelong. So as you can imagine, the next few weeks were a total blur. I finally accepted the diagnosis. I was glad I had answers. And I next asked my university for some help and guidance. They strongly suggested that I took a leave of absence, which meant basically go home, rest and recover, and just return at a better stage. But ironically, I'd just been told there wouldn't be any better, and that instead I needed to get used to this new normal and just learn to live with it. I went on to have spiralling anxiety and a constant pit in my stomach over what was the right decision. Did I leave? Poor ten years of solid graft down the drain and all my high grades to get to this point and chase the career in big pharmaceuticals. I was already a few years into my university degree, doing really well, but I had uncovered so many uncomfortable truths about the industry, and I wasn't sure if I could just pretend that none of it had ever happened. There was a big moment a few days later when I was sat in a medical manufacturing design lecture, I know it sounds a bit of a mouthful. But our professor was one of the world's leading human and veterinary medical factory designers in the world. He was a great lecturer, but he started to share with us his most proud and successful job that he'd ever worked on in his entire career. He'd helped design and create one of the world's most profitable plants. They were producing something that I would actually like to call a plaster drug. This particular drug was for use on both humans and animals, but essentially it was just going to fix the immediate symptoms but never the root cause. The intention was these patients and animals were to be kept on this drug long term, potentially need further treatment, but as you can imagine, this went on to make the plant one of the most profitable ever seen in its era. I sat there with a growing lump in my throat. Prickles in my eyes. I could not work out whether I was just feeling really ill, whether I wanted to cry or actually just be sick. I couldn't believe I was sat here using my precious and very little energy to learn how to profit off another animal's sickness. That was it for me. I decided I couldn't do it. I could not walk away from university. At that moment, the decision was made for me. I would not take leave of absence. Instead, I knew I needed to stay and use every last drop of fight I had in me to learn everything I could that was wrong in this industry and uncover as many dirty details as I could whilst figuring out all the complexities. So that even if I did burn out before the end of my degree, at least I could say I tried. Or better still, I was hoping that if I made it to the end, at least I'd be sat on a first class master's and hopefully a knowledge base of everything that I could go forth and change. And hopefully, eventually, somehow, somewhere, help people see behind this giant cloak of amazing marketing and instead realise that actually what we're pumping into our beloved dogs and ourselves could actually be making things worse. Anyway, as you can imagine, I'm pleased to say I made it. It was one of the hardest, but most amazing achievements in my entire life. And the reason I share this is because ultimately it is only you that holds the key to unlocking a truly healthy lifestyle for your dogs. And it's through holistic nutrition and care. And certainly not by spending hundreds on these big marketing giants that produce hollow food and plaster drugs. And that's why, obviously, I went on to found the canine nutrition coach that is me. And I'm sure there's no doubt that you've realised that your dog's life can always be improved, but you might not be sure how to do it. Well, that's what That's where the Breeders Brew comes in and I want you to realise that it is simple. We can make such simple changes by being proactive and more holistic with our approach through correct nutrition and husbandry and hopefully we will impart all of our great knowledge onto you throughout this podcast series.

Sara: 10:33

That's amazing story and I didn't know many elements of that and we're up to, are we nearly four years that we've known each other now?

Isobel: 10:40

Yeah, probably, yeah, probably maybe five.

Sara: 10:43

Oh, well there you go then, oh my gosh. And I didn't know those, yeah, the details of, of that story and why you've come to be. And so I think it just proves that we've got quite a big backstory to both of us as to why we're so keen to help dogs, help their owners in the ways that come natural to us from our own personal experiences and perspectives. Absolutely. So, just to, to move along a bit in regards to, you might be wondering, why is this podcast called The Breeders Brew? And as I've alluded, we've known each other for a little while and we tend to natter dogs a lot.

Isobel: 11:20

All day, every day, almost, when we're not dealing with our clients of our own.

Sara: 11:24

Yeah. Yeah, sadly, my holiday weekends, it makes no difference. There will be a dog conversation somewhere. Ultimately, we want this podcast to be an informal, friendly, welcoming atmosphere. We want to create that environment of where you will just grab a brew. You will grab a cuppa or a pint, the brew's down to you and you join us. And so you dial in, have a listen. Take part in the community, which we'll, we'll tell you a bit more about, but we just want for you to feel like you're part of actually the dog breeding team. And we're aware that dog breeding can feel quite isolating, particularly if. Your friends aren't dog, dog owners or breeders, or you don't have a mentor, or there aren't many people in your area that have the same breed as you. That there's quite a few barriers to dog breeding. People can get quite judgmental over people that breed dogs as well. Some people don't like to shout about it. We are here for all types of dog breeders, regardless of where you are on the spectrum. If you've not had a litter yet, if you've got a bitch that's in pup, it's your first litter that's due to, you know, you're on 10 generations or more, bred for decades. I think there's something here for everybody. The way that this podcast is laid out is that we are We're going to release episodes in series. So we didn't want just some endless every week. We're just going to dial in and, and just, you just listen to us chat for an hour. We wanted them to be targeted, focused episodes that had some relevant theme to them. And so series one, which is, this is the pre precursor to is what we're referring to as the breeding. Blueprint, and it's an outline of breeding. If you just listen, it consists of eight episodes, four that focus on the puppies, four that focus on the dam. And it's just a really nice outline about dog breeding, covering all the elements that you'll, you'll need to know to hit the ground running. We've also created a community that sits alongside the podcast. So we're really keen for you to get involved, make a post, join the community. Ask some questions, gather some thoughts, if you want us to elaborate more on an episode that you've listened to, we're more than happy to do so. And what we've also done is we've created a critical care sheet. So with series one, the episodes were already nicely tied into a free downloadable critical care sheet. Just print that off and refer to that every time you have a litter, you will be in safe hands. You'll be in the safe. Breeder Brewer's Hands.

Isobel: 14:08

Yeah, I was going to say, well, they'll be safe in the positive puppy practitioner's hands is actually what they'll be safe in.

Sara: 14:15

That is very true.

Isobel: 14:16

We hope that you'll come and join us in the Facebook community, particularly as dog breeding can feel so isolating. It's really nice to have that community around you and be able to share your thoughts, your opinions. Yeah, just come and join us. Have a chat. We're always happy to talk all things dog. Obviously myself and Sara will be in there. Sara with her many years of breeding experience. Myself also with breeding experience and obviously my background as well. I'll be able to offer any advice on nutrition, supplements and everything in between, between Sara and I. Hopefully get involved in the conversation. We look forward to meeting you all and hopefully, hopefully forming some new friendships.

Sara: 14:51

Yeah, and we want it to be a non competitive community. And I think sometimes that's where the problem arises in dog breeding is if you have friends and they're the same breed, it can start sometimes feeling a little bit competitive. It's not that type of environment. We want you to come and just be open and honest. I've learned loads from Isobel in the time that I've known her. I think it's vice versa. And I'm sure there's still tons more for us to learn. And this is really like the central. Cooking pots is the breed, it's a witch's brew to a degree of breeders brew of, you know, just all these different elements and types of people together, but just really keen on learning, best practice, safeguarding their females, taking a really proactive approach when we're not keen about being passive and waiting for stuff to happen when you could have prevented it much further in advance.

Isobel: 15:45

So that's enough talking. We're excited to say episode one is very much on its way. If you make sure that you subscribe to our channels, follow us on social media at The Breeders Brew and even head to our website breedersbrew. com. You'll be the first to know when episode one drops and you definitely don't want to miss it as it's the whelping wishlist walkthrough. We'll go through my secret recipes that you whelping kits and Sara will enlighten you on her absolute must haves. What a better place to start in your breeding journey. See you in episode one. Hey, before you go, head to breedersbrew. com to claim your free critical care sheet and receive your invitation to join us in the Breeders Brew Community Forum.