Q&A: First Podcast Guest, Harry!

This episode of The Breeders Brew brings a fresh and insightful perspective on breeding as we welcome a special guest—Isobel’s partner, Harry! 🐾 Having zero dog experience before meeting Isobel, Harry shares his journey from a complete novice to an involved breeder and responsible stud dog owner. His learning curve has been steep, but his insights shed light on the realities of breeding from a beginner’s standpoint.

If you’ve ever wanted to hear a newcomer’s take on breeding, owning a stud dog, and navigating the world of responsible breeding, this is an episode you won’t want to miss!

What’s in This Episode?

🐶 Harry’s Background – From a dog-free childhood to a house full of Dachshunds
🐍 Reptiles vs. Dogs – Why growing up with snakes didn’t prepare Harry for dog ownership
🐾 First Impressions of the Breed – The quirks of Miniature Dachshunds and why they’re not always as easy as they look
🤯 Surprises of Dog Breeding – The unexpected challenges of responsible breeding and why it’s more than just “having a litter”
🐕 Owning a Stud Dog – The time, effort, and responsibility beyond the actual mating process
📞 Managing Enquiries – The different types of bitch owners and how to spot red flags
📅 The Importance of Timing – Why progesterone testing can make or break a successful mating
🔍 Ethical Stud Ownership – Why responsible stud owners provide support beyond just a service
📑 Stud Contracts & Aftercare – What ethical stud owners should provide post-mating
🌍 Building a Breeding Community – How support networks and knowledge-sharing make a difference

Links & Resources Mentioned

📌 Join the Breeders Brew Community on Facebook – Join Here
📩 Submit Your Questions for Future Episodes – podcast@breedersbrew.com
📑 Pregnancy & Puppy Predictor Tool – Available Here
📝 Critical Care Guide – Download Here

This episode is insightful, refreshing, and full of practical advice—especially for those new to the breeding world. Share this episode with any breeders-to-be, stud dog owners, or partners who’ve been roped into dog life! 🐶🎙️

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Transcript

Isobel Canine Nutrition Coach (00:21)
welcome to yet another one of our Q &A episodes on the Breed is Brew podcast. Not only am I joined by my usual fantastic co-host, Sara, a canine family planner. I was gonna just... That's the one. We are also joined by

Sara (Canine Family Planner) (00:34)
The Canine family planner. Partner in crime.

you

Isobel Canine Nutrition Coach (00:40)
my other partner in crime as well, my boyfriend, Harry, I should say long-term partner. We have obviously been in the Dachshunds together for a very long time and we thought it'd be great to have Harry as a guest on today because he has naturally a very different approach to life and dogs are one part of that.

Although obviously we live together and the dogs are very much part of same family, our outlooks on breeding and the way that we give advice, take advice and what we do for a living is even hugely different. So welcome Harry.

Harry (01:14)
Thanks for that Isobel thrilled to be here.

Sara (Canine Family Planner) (01:16)
Thanks for joining us. So, Harry I'm going to take over because I don't know your background, whether you ever had dogs growing up as a child or anything like that. So it'd be great to know what was your life pre-Isobel in regards to dogs, interactions and ownership.

Isobel Canine Nutrition Coach (01:16)
Okay.

Harry (01:33)
Yeah, so pre-Isobel my life was 100 % dog free, believe it or not. It was always a sort of desire of mine to have dogs as a kid growing up, but it's not something that mum and dad were into or any of the family kind of really did. So yeah, my kind of experience and involvement with dogs has been limited to the last 10 years, since I met Isobel which probably doesn't come as that much of a surprise to you, Sara, knowing her quite well.

Sara (Canine Family Planner) (02:02)
So you didn't have any pets, not even cats, parrots?

Harry (02:06)
We, yeah, so my dad had a strange sort of thing for sort of reptile creatures. I grew up with snakes and lizards and bearded dragons and so on. Basically not the nice kind of fluffy pets that you'd like to have. My mum absolutely hated it, but somehow tolerated it. But yeah, was, I mean, we had giant African snails at one point. Why? I don't know.

Sara (Canine Family Planner) (02:26)
Okay, that's different.

That's alternative. Okay, so that because that was my next question was gonna be that were you not scared of dogs? Some people where they don't have So dogs and pets in the family they then find it quite alien But the fact that you were coming up to snakes and reptiles dogs seem quite an easy alternative to that I suppose

Harry (02:47)
Yeah.

And for me, the big draw was like, it's a creature that has a personality, right? Which was way different to looking at the pets that, you know, that I had as a kid growing up. So it was always a bit like, why, you know, why have all my friends got dogs or cats or, you know, creatures with personalities and my little pets just sort of, you know, wrapped around my arm. So that, yeah, it was always, it was always a desire of mine to have dogs growing up. And I think it would always be something that I'd encourage once.

Isobel Canine Nutrition Coach (03:02)
Bye!

Harry (03:13)
you know, if I get to that point where I have a family, I definitely want my kids to grow up around dogs.

Sara (Canine Family Planner) (03:21)
Yeah, I think dog interactions and ownership brings a sense of caring. Well, obviously, the other pets, you still have to care for them and feed them and make sure they're well looked after and cared for. But I think dogs, because they're in your household and with other animals, I used to have guinea pigs when I was little. I wasn't allowed a hamster because they were too small and they escape and get lost all the time. And they come out at night. So I had to the bigger version of guinea pigs. But.

Isobel Canine Nutrition Coach (03:47)
Yes.

Sara (Canine Family Planner) (03:48)
They're in hutches. They're not just free-ro... Nowadays it's a different, isn't it? People have house rabbits and things like that. But back when I was a kid, you had your guinea pig out in the garden, which even now would be questionable. think sometimes I would say they've got to be undercover and all that kind of stuff. So that's all changed. But they were in the hutches. So unless you made the effort to get them out, you didn't really interact with them. But I find with dogs, they're constantly in your face, aren't they? Because you're in the same living.

quarters as them and then you learn all their personality and their quirks and traits and that kind of thing. so your first dog that you've owned has been the miniature Dachshund

Harry (04:28)
Yeah, so it's the only breed that I've really got a huge amount of experience with, albeit now we do have three of them, which is maybe two too many or one too many, maybe at least for myself.

Sara (Canine Family Planner) (04:43)
can't say that on this podcast. Not enough. I have no...

Isobel Canine Nutrition Coach (04:44)
Sorry, no, I think you mean one or two not, you can't say, I think you mean one or two not enough. I've got plans for at least

Harry (04:44)
you

Isobel Canine Nutrition Coach (04:52)
another one this year. Come on, catch up.

Sara (Canine Family Planner) (04:55)
I keep saying to Isobel yeah, you've got to remember one more. I mean, I'm at six now, come on. It's nothing.

Harry (04:59)
Thanks man.

Isobel Canine Nutrition Coach (05:03)
And we've got four

we've got two pairs of hands, 50 % extra hands, 50 % extra pair of walking legs.

Sara (Canine Family Planner) (05:10)
Well, and it's all about even numbers. If you've got one, you might have two. If you've got three, you might have four. If you've got five, you might have six. It's just how it works. OK. Oh, me and Isobel, yeah, dog maths. That's what it needs to be. Me and Isobel, the girl maths is bad enough. Let her know dog maths. Yeah, that's another level. OK, so what's your opinion of the breed?

Isobel Canine Nutrition Coach (05:14)
Yes.

Harry (05:15)
Yeah,

two was nice.

That's how it works.

Isobel Canine Nutrition Coach (05:22)
Yes, new kind of girl math, dog math.

Harry (05:33)
you

Isobel Canine Nutrition Coach (05:35)
You

Sara (Canine Family Planner) (05:39)
because to me, they're a very quirky breed. they're tiny to me, but they have very loud personalities for their size. So which always amazes me. So what's your thoughts on the breed? The good and the bad, I suppose.

Harry (05:56)
I think quirky is maybe a nice way of putting it. I would say 100 % they do fit the stereotype. They are fantastic little personalities. They have huge personalities for the size of them, right? I think maybe if someone like me doesn't maybe have quite so much patience as Isobel does, they do grind on me a little bit because they are quite vocal. They're sort of, they're protectors. They're a little bit territorial, know, the person around the, you know.

He knows not to come too close when he's sort of down the end of the road and they're vocal and they'll express what they're feeling. They're pretty stubborn, but I think on the flip side, you know, they've got huge personalities and they are incredibly loyal and yeah, they love nothing more than to jump up on your chest and have a little cuddle, which is nice after a long day at work, right?

Sara (Canine Family Planner) (06:40)
Yeah, and they don't take up much room. They don't eat that much in the scheme of some dogs that are eating a kilo of food a day, raw food a day. And they're massively popular, aren't they?

Harry (06:52)
They are definitely, I'd say in the last, you know, maybe sort of six, seven, eight years, they seem to have really kind of blown up in popularity. But I think, I think small dogs in general probably have. And I think as well, you know, having the, the portable nature of them certainly helps, right? If, so if an Isobel be going back up to see my parents, we can, you know, we'll chuck all three of them in the car. It's not even a question as can we bring the dogs around? You know, they're not, it's not like we're taking two, you know, German shepherds around and.

you it's going to be a little bit more problematic is you sort of bundle them in the car and you're off. yeah, so I think I think small breeds in general are probably are getting more popular. And it was never a desire of mine to have three miniature Dachshunds or three small dogs. But I do I do love them.

Sara (Canine Family Planner) (07:35)
I mean, you're sounding like a typical partner to a dog owner, but it's not what I thought life would be, but we'll go with it. If you could own a dream dog, what would your dream dog be?

Harry (07:38)
Okay.

Bernie's Mountain Dog, 100%. I've wanted one for a long while. I kind of saw myself having one of those, not a little army of Dachshunds kind of running along behind me. I do get stopped a lot on walks because I'm somewhere between six foot two and six foot three and I literally have the smallest dog I could find. the little old lady's love to stop me and make reference to that.

Sara (Canine Family Planner) (07:51)
Okay.

An army.

Isobel Canine Nutrition Coach (08:09)
you

Sara (Canine Family Planner) (08:11)
So would you be overcompensating to get a Bernese?

Harry (08:14)
I just absolutely love the look of them, right? I think they're beautiful creatures and yeah, there's a big old list. There's a list probably about as long as my arm of dogs that I would have. And to be fair, probably wouldn't a few years ago have even put a Dachshund on there or a miniature Dachshund.

Sara (Canine Family Planner) (08:31)
There you go, what do think about that Isobel? Are we gonna have to start some counselling at some point?

Isobel Canine Nutrition Coach (08:31)
There you go, open your eyes to the dark side. Well, I've them to

the dark side. Brought them to the dark side and some, as we said, we're already at three. Fourth is in the pipeline, let's go.

Sara (Canine Family Planner) (08:40)
you

Well,

I tell you now, you're not chucking a Bernie's melting dog in the car and going away for a long weekend without planning it or thinking about it or scheduling it. So that will change some plans quite significantly. And I guess the fur I don't even know what the fur's like on them about grooming and compared to a short haired Yeah.

Isobel Canine Nutrition Coach (08:52)
Yes.

thick, intense, yeah massively

different. I I grew up with long haired breeds as well myself, we had German Shepherds too and dark ones so I'm used to the little tumbleweeds of fur floating across the lounge floor and whatnot and it doesn't bother me too much and I don't particularly short haired breeds, it's nothing but yeah I think it's a different ball game when you've got double coated long fur breed that's going to be intense.

Sara (Canine Family Planner) (09:27)
someone had a swatch of a sofa to pick their new sofa and they had their dog and the swatch was the closest colour to this yellow Labrador and they were like, we found the perfect sofa colour. I was like, that's a really good idea. So, Harry, you've also been, not just been,

Isobel Canine Nutrition Coach (09:36)
to the dog. Fantastic. That's really clever. That's really clever. I like

Sara (Canine Family Planner) (09:49)
co-opted in as being a dog owner but also I guess a dog breeder because Isobel has bred litters while you've been together and you do have a stud dog. What was your initial thoughts on getting involved with all that kind of activity not just being sort of a straightforward dog owner?

Harry (10:08)
Yeah. So I think initially it's worth mentioning as, like I said, growing up, I kind of always had a desire to have dogs. It was never really any, you know, I kind of never give any thought to, either being a sort of dog breeder or being involved in sort of anyone's breeding journey. it just sort of hadn't sort of come up in, in sort of my agenda. but I think I know one way that sort of Isobel kind of justified it to me at the time was, look, let's have a litter and then we can keep one because I'm desperate to have another one. So rather than going out and, know, and sort of.

on a bit of a whim maybe and buying one having not known the of the pedigree behind it and not necessarily knowing the kind of the quirks if you like. know, as well as like, well, we may as well kind of, we may as well kind of breed from sort of, you know, the existing sort of dogs that we have in the family, which initially started with, with Izzy's mum who's, who's had the specifically Dachshunds for, for a long time. So that I think was a little bit more of a soft

introduction, if you like, because it was more, we were kind of getting involved, or I was getting involved in, sort of my initial breeding experience was because there was a kind of a desire to keep one of the, you know, one of the puppies from the litter in there. So it wasn't quite a, it wasn't quite a hard introduction of right, you know, let's just start doing this. And, and yeah, it was, was a nice experience my first time and feeling that, you know, the experiences and the journey that you go on.

through the whole sort of from stud to, you know, sort of post-whelp and actually raising the puppies. It was a really nice first experience. I think having that and having fond memories of that has kind of made me want to be a part of other people's experience who were looking to do it in the right way, if that sort of makes any sense.

Sara (Canine Family Planner) (11:49)
Yeah, so what was there anything particularly surprising or Don't know that you just thought I didn't realise dog breeders or somebody that breeding their dog has to consider this or go through these Points or emotions or was it harder work than you thought it might be?

Harry (12:06)
100%, 100%. Again, having not really given any thought to it, like I guess that, you know, the majority of either non-dog owners or dog owners that haven't really thought about it. Yeah, I mean, the amount of sort of planning that sort of needs to go into it. There's so many things that A, you need to kind of be clued upon from a kind of health and safety point of view from, you know, your bitch and the litter. But also there's the amount of preparation that needs to go into it, the amount of

thought and planning that needs to go into it to make sure that, you know, you're putting your bitch or your dog to, a relevant counterpart with the, a pedigree that aligns and, not kind of breeding in the wrong things. I think there's a whole kind of a research piece to be done before you start. And I think, the sleepless nights and the kind of risk of things going wrong and yeah, there's, so much more to it than I ever would have kind of realised.

they require a lot more sort of care and attention, particularly in the first couple of weeks. And I would have kind of expected, you hear about friends or, you know, friends kind of having letters and I guess unless you kind of drill down into it, people kind of remember the fonder sort of side of it and say, yeah, nice, it's really easy. It all went really smoothly and nicely. And maybe those people have been lucky, but I have heard a few sort of horror stories and yeah, you do realise there's a lot that needs to go into it in terms of planning and sort of.

and been dedicated,

Sara (Canine Family Planner) (13:22)
And I suppose, I mean, that's one of the benefits of having Isobel is that she's forced you through those aspects. Because if you were both clueless, if you were both just like, yeah, we've got, should we give it a go? You're both in the same point, but the fact that you have got quite a knowledge difference between what Isobel knows and what you know, and she's trying to educate you to know we do things properly. This is, yeah, we can cut corners, but to do things ethically and responsibly.

Isobel Canine Nutrition Coach (13:29)
goodness.

Sara (Canine Family Planner) (13:50)
and safely these are the the methods we need to do that. Would you agree with that Isobel if I just put words in your mouth?

Isobel Canine Nutrition Coach (13:55)
Absolutely, think no, Essentially Harry's had a whistle stop tour of 25 years of breeding knowledge crammed into the decade we've been together. So he's been brought up to speed at an incredible rate of knots because I've essentially mentored him without doing so directly because I do things the way I do them because of knowledge or what I've learned or peers and Harry's learned that firsthand. So like you said, if we were both on the

novice playing field and it was our first litter together you can see how steep that learning curve would be through probably a lot more challenges and failures where you would just be reading on Facebook groups or Google going oh goodness this has happened what do we do rather than once you've been breeding long enough and you've got that knowledge and you've got a couple of decades under your belt it's a matter of oh yeah seen that before oh yeah my friends had that before and you just take everything in your stride a little bit more

Sara (Canine Family Planner) (14:48)
I guess it's not just that you've bred, you also have a stud dog. So you're also supporting people that come to you and trying to mentor them. I know, Isobel, you said to me, Harry's picked up on some stuff really quick, where you said various things to people enquiring about studs. Harry's obviously heard it.

Isobel Canine Nutrition Coach (15:04)
Yeah.

Sara (Canine Family Planner) (15:09)
understood it, run with it. So then when you next get your stud enquiry or someone asked that question, he's been able to pass on that information to the next person. So how have you found it owning a stud dog Harry? Because it's hard work. People never really appreciate the difficulties and complexities of managing female owners, let alone actually getting the breeding done.

Harry (15:33)
Yeah, I think you've hit the nail on the head there. So I think the providing of the service, if you like, is maybe 50 % of it. And it's the easiest 50 % of it in most cases, you know, the, kind of the journey starts a lot earlier than that. And it's the, managing of expectations, the dealing with bitch owners and trying to ensure firstly that they're doing it for the right reason. if I'm going to let my boy be used by somebody, I want to know that.

Well, actually you are in this for the right reason. So there's a little bit of, sort of ensuring and expectations are aligned and that you're on the same page, but just the, you know, the amount of queries and I think I'm in particular, I'm quite sort of open in terms of if you have any queries or, know, there are things you're not sure about. I'll be quite hands on from way before, you know, sort of the met in a way before the bitches even in season. I don't think it's important to do that just to kind of ensure that.

the entire breeding journey goes as smooth as possible. the managing of of bitch owners can be quite tricky at times, I think. And you can give your advice and you can sort of pass on the knowledge and the experience that you've gained. And when people necessarily sometimes don't want to take that, it can be a little bit of a challenge in retrospective conversation down the line. But I think, yeah, mean, in terms of actually

sort of earning a stud dog to go back to your original question, it's been way easier having a boy who entire in the house, way easier than I kind of ever thought it would be because you hear about this a lot of the time that they get quiet sort of territorial and can be sort of scent marking and it changes the personalities completely. Luckily with our boy, that's not happened to me at all, which has been.

which has been amazing because he's still just as good a sort of pet as he always was and that's, you know, first and foremost, that's what they are, right?

Sara (Canine Family Planner) (17:16)
Yeah, exactly. Yeah, a thousand percent. what's the breadth of, bitch owners that you find the different knowledge levels?

Isobel Canine Nutrition Coach (17:25)
I think that's a really good question. And I think you'll see in Harry's response as well, how depending on where you fall in that spectrum, there's people that may not even align with our

Sara (Canine Family Planner) (17:26)
Like...

Isobel Canine Nutrition Coach (17:37)
because it's one of the first things that Harry does with a study enquiry is have the conversation of what is your current knowledge? And I think more so than knowledge, it's what's your desire to learn and do better?

Harry (17:50)
Yeah, I think it's worth by starting and maybe sort of outlining, I guess, the range or the broad spectrum of experience that people have I could pick up on that fairly quickly when we have sort of initial enquiries come in, And I would kind of split down into maybe four sort of groups, very crudely, of, levels of experience, if you like, that we sort of deal with. there's one of those groups that frustrates me a little bit.

which I'll come onto in a minute, but, the first one you have, you know, absolute sort of beginnings, haven't done it before would like maybe like myself and Isobel, you know, they, they want to have a little, so they can keep a puppy from it. They don't know how it works. They don't know exactly what's involved, but as a stud owner, you're the first port of call. so that's a really good opportunity to again, make sure not only doing it for the right reason, but they can have the best kind of start. And you generally find with these kinds of people, a lot of advice is appreciated at that point.

And which is fantastic, right? The second group, I would say, are the kind of slightly experienced. Maybe you've had one or two litters, but again, are still maybe they've used a different stud dog in the past, or maybe they've bred a different breed in the past. Again, still quite open to interpretation for information and happy to kind of receive any kind of bits and pieces you can pass on. It's the third group is a group that frustrates me a little bit. And it's those individuals that have maybe had

you know, three or four letters in the past and, and, and maybe make out as if they've had 200, you know, and you've, you've, probably come across these people before it's, it's the people that have had a litter or two and they think, you know, they've encountered every single thing that can go wrong. sort of quite happy to take a step back at that point and say, look, that's fine. I'll kind of say, well, if you all kind of set in your ways, this and the other, you probably may not get that far and maybe we won't.

Sara (Canine Family Planner) (19:12)
They know it all.

Isobel Canine Nutrition Coach (19:14)
The one that to Lucy's.

Harry (19:30)
kind of be proceeding with, you know, but, yeah. And then, and then the fourth group, you know, we have some really experienced breeders, that have been breeding for 10, 20 years. and one or two cases, even more and, and these are, you can tell like straight away, these are, these are the kind of the bitch owners that know exactly what they're doing. And again, that experience is invaluable because they've, they've probably seen

and dealt with every possible thing going wrong that can go wrong. But I think to answer the question, initially upon the first screen in chat, you like, I'll very quickly decide within maybe 30 seconds And I think that for me, again, I've probably always been one to maybe judge people a bit sooner than maybe I should. know Isobel's a little bit more.

Steady aware with that. but for me, he's understanding intention, right? Intentions there. and that for me is the first port of call right?

I want to ensure my studs puppies have the best start in life. So quickly understanding much like if you are going to, sell puppies to someone, you want to know that they're, you know, they're going to care for them in the right way. They're going to have the right setup and they've got everything they need to thrive. And that I would say strikes maybe the kind of initial contact list in half immediately. The amount of queries we get from I would say I'm aligned with maybe is the right way of saying it.

Um, there's a huge volume of them and as you've kind of alluded to already, Sara it's quite a time or can be quite a time intensive process, So for me, maybe a little bit crudely or not, I'll kind of, you know, strike out the that are straight away that I don't think, you know, we were kind of on the same page, which kind of leaves more time for the people that are looking to do it in the right way. Experienced or not. That's, that's where I want to give my time. And I think Isobel and I are quite aligned on that.

Sara (Canine Family Planner) (21:18)
various mediums, whether it be messenger, whether it be phone calls? I think dog people like to talk, don't they? So do you find you get more calls rather than messages, or am I just making that up?

Isobel Canine Nutrition Coach (21:17)
Absolutely.

Harry (21:31)
definitely more phone calls, which is something that has been somewhat difficult for me to manage as I do have a full-time job that's quite demanding. So not always been able to deal with people's calls has been a little bit of a challenge. But the thing that kind of gets me that is what I don't want to do is not get back to people within

you know, sort of soon enough time for it. And then maybe they go and make a wrong decision and use, you know, a different stud whereby I think maybe the dog's all right, but the experience or what it can give you might not be exactly the same. so I like to say, think a lot, a lot of kind of calls will come in straight off the bat and you're answering every call open. It's not somebody trying to sell you insurance or they sat on the other. but there are sort of several, mechanisms and websites and bits and pieces that, know, we have kind of a stud advert or a

profile as well as our own website which we do sort of receive enquiries through which is really positive.

Sara (Canine Family Planner) (22:26)
And I'm interested to know, are there any trigger words that you just straight away think yay, equally, or nay?

for always makes me chuckle a little bit when some people say to me, my dog's on my period, that tells me you're a novice breeder. You've never bred before. that tells me the knowledge level immediately of that type of person where someone might say,

Isobel Canine Nutrition Coach (22:41)
Yes.

Harry (22:41)
you

Isobel Canine Nutrition Coach (22:45)
Yes.

Do know what's not a

Do you know what's when we get an inquiry from someone saying, my bitch is in season, is your boy available next week? And I know that's not in one word or a buzzword. That's to both Harry and I has always been a bit of a, because it's either somebody that's highly experienced and knows their female inside out and is doing their ovulation testing and knows their bitch is pedigree and has chosen our boy because of the fact that pedigrees are lined and they've

Sara (Canine Family Planner) (23:00)
Hmm.

Isobel Canine Nutrition Coach (23:16)
their research, which is unlikely but it could be that. On the other hand it's people that have gone, my bitch is on her period and let's go get her lined and I'm like okay like this isn't really the typical owner that we deal with because we encourage people to be getting in touch months in advance because that's how much research you should be doing.

And if we mentor you over the months prior and then you don't use our stud, that's absolutely fine because we've imparted knowledge on you that would have helped you to go and make a better decision anyway. So I think that's a bit of a waving red flag to us as if we get a...

my bitch is on her period and is your boy available next week? Like no, sorry, this isn't how this works. You can't just call up and book in to use our boy. You need to call us. We need to screen you. We need to have the conversation, discuss pedigrees, discuss your motives. And then we can see if he may be available for you next week. So I think it's always, it's one of those, it makes me laugh a little bit when people just sort of assume that they can just quote, in and you think,

Sara (Canine Family Planner) (24:21)
Well that's because they just deem it as a service. mean when you think Isobel we've had people ring and they think I have jars of dog sperm and that I can just put it in the bitch and I don't know what they think, I've got cupboards and stuff and I'm like no you need to still go and find your stud dog I can't do that bit. So yeah if you don't know you don't know do you? So they just assume if I'm paying the money

Isobel Canine Nutrition Coach (24:25)
Yes.

you

Sara (Canine Family Planner) (24:43)
I'm getting the service and that's when I want the service and that's when it should happen. But as you've rightly said, it's the output of what, if it's a service with no output, then fair enough. But no, the plan is puppies will be produced from this. And I want to know that the wellbeing of these puppies and your knowledge is able to rear them to a safe standard. Yeah, that they can then be placed into new homes and all the rest it. So it's just the beginning, isn't it for you?

Isobel Canine Nutrition Coach (25:07)
Yes.

Sara (Canine Family Planner) (25:08)
guys, that's just

the beginning where other people just go, no, that's just the service and I pay for that and then I'll get on with my day. I would love to know Harry, what your thoughts were in regards to stud matings and whether they go to plan or not or how long they take

Harry (25:24)
Yeah, timing wise, I'll start with that one because that's generally an easy one. We allow about an hour or so. I like to allow enough time to kind of make sure that, you know, it's not a case of, right, come in, dogs together, off you go, do you know what I mean? So there's, for me, the best breeding experience for the bitch is the most comfortable breeding experience, right?

I think having a bit of a 10 minute meet and greet, stick the kettle on, make a bit of a coffee, ensure that one, the owner's feeling quite comfortable and quite happy, but also the bitch has a bit of a chance to meet the stud and maybe they have a little bit of a play or they can sort of five minutes. Sometimes they may not need it right and you sort of put them on the floor together or whatever and they'll be just trying to get straight down to it.

But also I generally try to allow a sort of 15, 20 minutes after the mating just to kind of run through, here's what the next steps are, here's really what you can do in terms of ultrasound scanning and bits and pieces like that that maybe the breeder has or hasn't come across. think, yeah, leaving that sort of 15, 20 minutes at the end. I think the meeting itself kind of depending on tie duration can be somewhere between

You know, sort of 10, 15 minutes up to sort of 45, 50 minutes in some quite sorry cases.

Does it always go to plan? No, it doesn't. No, it doesn't. I would say in terms of percentage success rate, it's definitely getting better in terms of having a successful mating because I am being a little bit, I know Isobel maybe not quite so much, but I'm being a lot more pushy in terms of making sure that the breeders are doing the right things pre-

Sara (Canine Family Planner) (26:48)
I can't...

Harry (27:10)
pre-mating. So a big one for me is, some of we've always recommended for Progesterone testing And quite a lot of the time, well, all the time that we have an unsuccessful meeting is because the bitch has come and it's the wrong time, despite the bitch and I go, no, she's flagging all my other dogs sniffing her. Oh, you know, I think she's ready. I've always gone on and did, you know, nine or 11 or whatever it may be before. You know, you're pissing in the wind ready, aren't you? So for me doing something that can

give you absolute clarity on when the right time to mate your bitches. Not only is that better because your bitches are almost fertile, right? So for the perspective, you know, for the breeders, sorry, they're going to likely have the biggest litter if you breed them at the right time. But it just ends up being a waste of everybody's time, Because, you know, my stud he knows and there's a window,

if he, if he knows that the bitch is ovulating, he will be, it'd be super, super interested. And really, you know, it's kind of a day or two generally we want to kind of have a successful mating after that. It's not that easy to, to tell when, when your bitch is ready. we've got a couple of bitches here managing those when, my studs.

around is not that easy when they're in season. would be receptive for a lot longer periods than what is the right window to actually do the mating in. So that just wastes everybody's time. And this is why we strongly recommend progesterone testing. And I'm trying to push for not letting people come and use my stud if they don't progesterone test. Now, Isobel, again, with more

Sara (Canine Family Planner) (28:25)
you

you

Harry (28:42)
more exposure in the industry is maybe has a bit of a disagreement on that because there are people who are experienced and know what they're doing and maybe haven't progesterone tested but have not needed to. But for me, put it this way, if you've progesterone tested, you're 100 % going to have a successful mating and there's not really been a case where we haven't apart from

Sara (Canine Family Planner) (28:45)
you

Harry (29:03)
maybe once or twice where some bitches just are not happy to have a dog on the back of them and don't like the feeling of being mounted.

Sara (Canine Family Planner) (29:10)
Do you want to add to that Isobel before I say my bit? Though Harry took the words out of my mouth in regards to testing.

Isobel Canine Nutrition Coach (29:13)
Yeah, absolutely. mean, yeah, no, you did.

And I think you've...

You've explained it beautifully and as much as if you're planning to breed there are multiple people's time involved, are living, breathing, little dogs involved and for the bitch to have the safest, most natural mating and a pleasant experience progesterone testing is vital because she will naturally be most receptive to a male in that optimal window which is what we always say is so important particularly for maiden bitches because they may not have even played rough and tumble with a male dog before so

having a boy jump her is a completely novel experience. So I'm all for progesterone testing. However, there are certain cases, as Harry said, we are dealing with more seasoned breeders that have been breeding 20, 30, 40 years and have done so before progesterone testing and understand their pack dynamics well enough that they feel that they can correctly identify the...

ovulation point of their female cycle, in which case they are the sort of people that I would say, okay, that's fair enough if you don't want to progesterone test, because you are experienced enough to pick up on some of those signs that potentially new or more novice breeders would miss when it comes around to ascertaining the right window. So I'm not strict, you absolutely have to progesterone test, but I can't understand why anyone wouldn't.

I would never breed, not progesterone testing.

Sara (Canine Family Planner) (30:41)
Yeah.

given the breed, Bulldogs, most people think you are crazy if you didn't ovulation test. They would actually be like, wasting your time what you're doing. And I think some breed that attitude is less and the dachshund are more like that. And especially somebody that has lineage, they have generations of and they never have tested.

Isobel Canine Nutrition Coach (30:53)
Yeah.

Sara (Canine Family Planner) (31:04)
then to them to and it's worked seemingly why would they start testing now. So yeah, I see both sides of the coin on that one. I think it is breed dependent. But from a stud owners point of view, I think it's just so much more beneficial knowing that for you to give the best service. If everyone tested, you know, you've done your best to get the breeding done, where when they haven't tested it, there's always that little seed of doubt now because we're not

Isobel Canine Nutrition Coach (31:07)
Yes.

Absolutely.

Sara (Canine Family Planner) (31:33)
100 % sure she has even ovulated. So yeah, think that the points raised are valid.

Harry (31:37)
I think,

Isobel Canine Nutrition Coach (31:37)
Absolutely.

Harry (31:41)
I think just to add to that as well, Sara it's nine times out of 10. The reason why bitch owners aren't progesterone testing isn't because they are incredibly experienced. For me, it's a sign of, well, now I'm not bothering them in that because there's money they don't want to spend on it, which kind of says to me, are you doing it maybe in, you know, in the way that I would like?

to see you doing it.

Sara (Canine Family Planner) (32:03)
Well,

it kind of says if you're cutting this corner, what else will you cut corners on?

So let me ask you a question in regards to your post breeding

support, such as do you do stud contracts? What information do you provide the breeder between the mating pups being born that that kind of conversation? Because unfortunately, that's where the majority of stud owners do not get involved. However, I would deem that ethical responsible stud owners

they carry on that relationship after the breeding.

Harry (32:38)
quite glad you've said that. Because yeah, that's exactly what we do, It's been a part of the breeding experience. We're there and I operate a very open door type policy, if you like. So having experience between myself and Isobel, in my mind, we're there to be used, right? We're another resource that a breeder can use throughout their entire experience. think we're not really trying to kind of

be different and stand out from everybody else. I a lot of the majority of stud owners don't do this. I think everybody should.

out of responsibility and being a part of that and trying to better your specific breed and ensure that people are breeding in the right way. I think Isobel's probably would like to or has probably got one or two things that she'd want to say on this.

Isobel Canine Nutrition Coach (33:25)
Yeah,

I can't comprehend why any novice breeder would use a stud that provided simply a mating service and didn't provide a stud service. And I think it could be due to lack of knowledge that...

because we call it a stud dog and it's a stud service that it's assumed that people are paying simply for a meeting. So when you see stud prices ranging from this amount to this amount and bitch owners are searching, they're assuming they're just paying for a mating in our scenario, that is just simply not the case. Our

support is not a mating, you're not paying a mating fee with us because that is not what we're about. We feel a strong responsibility to ensure that our stud Dogs puppies have the best starts in life. So the support only just begins at the mating and as far as I see it that is the beginning of our

service that we are delivering because that is where yes you've done the mating well that's merely hopefully the conception part what comes next obviously being the canine nutrition coach there's an awful lot of extra knowledge that i impart on our bitch owners throughout the pregnancy even things down to dachshunds aren't a particularly easy breed to breed they're not difficult in and in the most difficult categories such as your bulldog sara but

they certainly have specific quirks they are prone to inertia, which is where labour stalls, they are prone to longer and more drawn out whelps as well and whelping pauses. It's not unheard of to hear of miniature dachshunds in particular needing C-sections. So there are so many supplements that bitch owners of this breed do need to be aware of.

Sara (Canine Family Planner) (34:47)
you

Isobel Canine Nutrition Coach (35:06)
So I see that as merely a responsibility and an obligation for me to be giving that knowledge, particularly to new breeders that can therefore keep their bitch safe and those puppies safe, particularly during the whelping stages. albeit I'm not awake 24 hours a day and all around the clock. So should a bitch owner contacts me at four o'clock in the morning, obviously I would be asleep. but you know, we are absolutely on hand for ongoing support, not to mention the fact that

Obviously as a canine nutrition coach, I've got the support club as well. So all of our bitch owners are invited straight into that where again, they were, they're receiving a really structured monthly contact based coaching program from us as well. So it's just incredibly comprehensive and

Like Harry said, not that we do this to stand out, but it's frankly incomparable to other stud services on the market because merely just from my obviously occupation and the business I've got alone, not to mention the fact that we've got, you know, decades of experience in the breed and breeding as well.

Sara (Canine Family Planner) (36:10)
I imagine there is confusion over the stud service and stud fee because I'm sure you've had it some people think they're paying for puppies when they're not they're paying for a mating so I think that adds an element of confusion and then obviously some people just don't realise that you should be going to studs that have some

Isobel Canine Nutrition Coach (36:23)
Yep. Yep.

Yeah.

Sara (Canine Family Planner) (36:33)
extensive amount of knowledge about breeding that breed, not just a case that they've got a dog and they want someone to use it. And so I imagine maybe that's where it gets all a bit blurry lined. And so yeah, it just gets all a bit gray and messy and people don't really know what to expect. Just quickly, because I'm conscious of time, what aftercare do you offer in regards to you said about support and knowledge? Do you do a stud contract? Do you give them

Isobel Canine Nutrition Coach (36:43)
Yeah.

Sara (Canine Family Planner) (37:02)
any other supporting materials.

Harry (37:06)
We do, yeah. So we have a stud contract which will be signed by both parties and both parties will return a copy. In essence, that will cover a range of things which I won't go into detail here, but it's not hugely lengthy, but it's just a bit of assurance either side for both parties. As a part of that, we do offer a free remit if the bitch has progesterone tested and misses. And if the bitch hasn't progesterone tested,

we offer a reduced fee mating the next time because, and realistically, we can't be sure we've pinpointed the meeting at the right time. So that's kind of included in the stud contract. I think as a part of that, Isobel gives a huge amount of sort of knowledge and little tips and tricks in terms of what bit donors can be doing in terms of dietary and nutritional requirements.

Isobel Canine Nutrition Coach (37:51)
we give a full mini book essentially on what to expect through the pregnancy broken down week by week that they take home with them, which is written by ourselves and from our experiences, particularly breed specific. So that's a really useful tool. also leave us, goes out saying copy of pedigree. They also leave us with the wonderful pregnancy predictor.

made by the wonderful Canine Family Planner and absolutely anyone that lays hands on this fantastic tool is always absolutely beside themselves with joy going my goodness this is amazing why have I never seen one of these before regardless of their experience level so I love giving those out. What else Harry?

They also leave us with the critical care sheet as well from Breeders Brew Series 1 handout, which is available on the website,

Sara (Canine Family Planner) (38:42)
.

Isobel Canine Nutrition Coach (38:43)
which is fantastic. I have them printed out and stuffed in every drawer, not to mention on my desktop computer, saved on my phone. So again, everyone leaves us with a printed copy of that, but it is really leave us with an entire printed pack, if not folder of information essentially.

Harry (39:00)
Yeah,

I think that that covers all of it. Aside from that very sort of cliche, but I would say they leave with a sort of a big feeling of satisfaction that they have kind of picked the right stud. You know, we've had not one single person leave us and say, or, you know, kind of not feel overly alerted and a hundred percent like they've made the right decision. And it's really positive getting that feedback when some of these bitch owners have used different bitches in the past.

and have completely different experiences, of feeling and getting that feedback that actually everybody who leaves you feels like they've left with something better. And we learn something from every bitch on it that comes in. We learn from them they'll hopefully learn something from us. And yeah, for me, it's a rewarding process and that's why we do it.

Sara (Canine Family Planner) (39:51)
Yeah, I imagine that you don't know what you don't know. So if you've always just gone to studs and you've just turned up and they donated their sperm and off you go, you think that that's what you get until you come across stud owners that are offering a better service, more comprehensive.

level of knowledge and information that now that I know that's where the benchmark is. And yeah, I've been massively undersold with all the other stuff from previous experiences that they had, whether they worked or not, the experience will not be the same. And to have that support we've talked about before Isobel is that breeding can feel quite isolating. So you really do need to support team and to have your stud owner as part of that team is

is next level, you know, it can be, you know, life saving for the bitch for the puppies. So why not have that really good strong relationship. And it's great to see people like you that are fostered that attitude to providing that information, support and advice, because it's not as common a occurrence as it probably should be.

Isobel Canine Nutrition Coach (40:38)
Yeah.

Harry (40:56)
Yeah, I think just to add to that as well, it's the community that you bring. So as a stud owner, you're generally the first point of contact in anyone's breeding experience, Now, you know, we have a sort of a wealth of connections, I would say, in terms of, you know, be it vets or people like yourself, Sara, who are kind of experts in the sort of fertility side of things, you know, opening and providing a little bit of, well, actually, you should speak to this person if you have that problem or this person provides a great service here and this person can do that and...

Opening up that that sort of community and sharing sharing those key contacts, I think can definitely sort of stop people from feeling quite as isolated on the on the breeding journey.

Sara (Canine Family Planner) (41:34)
Harry it's been great to talk to you I think you bought some brilliant insight from a different perspective to what Isobel and I are normally used to because we rattle on non-stop about what we know And have sometimes probably a fixed perspective. So it's good to see somebody that's actually quite in depth in

in the breeding of dogs, but fairly new to the process, but doing it the right way. So hopefully that opens the eyes of others that they can do the same and that they can get their other halves roped in to be doing the same as well. So yeah, it's a thank you ever so much for your time, energy and effort. And I hope people have enjoyed this podcast and enjoyed.

Isobel Canine Nutrition Coach (42:08)
Yes you can! Bring them to the dark side!

Sara (Canine Family Planner) (42:22)
that Harry and Isobel didn't have an argument while we were doing this recording, which is amazing. They'll have a domestic once we all sign off.

Harry (42:29)
Win-win. Thanks a lot for having me, both.

Isobel Canine Nutrition Coach (42:29)
heard me saying I'm like, he's heard he's heard me lining up the fourth

dog hasn't he in this podcast episode so dear dear.

Sara (Canine Family Planner) (42:36)
That's true, so watch this space people. Series 6, there'll be another dog. Alright then, thank you ever so much. Bye bye bye.

Isobel Canine Nutrition Coach (42:38)
You

Harry (42:38)
verse.

hahaha

All right, thank you both.

Isobel Canine Nutrition Coach (42:48)
Over

Harry (42:48)
Bye bye.

Isobel Canine Nutrition Coach (42:48)
and out. Bye.

Sara Lamont (42:50)
We hope you enjoyed this episode as much as we did recording it. I'm sure you've probably worked out by now that not all Facebook whelping groups are made equal. We strongly recommend you come and join us by simply searching Breeders Brew Community on Facebook and requesting to join the group filled with proactive and passionate puppy practitioners.