New Section: Breeder’s Corner

Hello everyone! The idea for this new section has been in our minds for quite a while, and was originally written the ADPA Newsletter. We hope to add more installments under this "banner" both for the newsletter, and here within the TGK Blog. We do hope that you find these articles informative and helpful as they are intended to be. If you have questions about articles in this section, or ideas for new ones, please by all means, reach out to us! We would love to hear from you.

First and foremost, Jenna and I do not consider ourselves to be “expert” breeders! We are, without question, mega dog nerds! We have been fortunate to have some amazing mentors and friends within the breed, and just as important and is some ways more so, some amazingly knowledgeable mentors and friends in the communities of our two other breeds, the Spinone Italiano, and German Wirehaired Pointer.

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Jenna and I each had our own breeding programs before we got together, and for several years we collaborated with several other breeders, helping to produce and even whelp their litters in addition to working with one another. This has allowed our experience to extend beyond what Duck Creek Drents and Two Gun Kennels has produced. In addition to our practical experiences, we have been in a constant state of learning and revising our own program by taking on-line courses (Avidog, Madcap University aka Puppy Culture, Bad@ss Breeders), Vetvine and other relevant webinars, as well reading relevant modern books and articles on breeding, canine health, population management, and more. When in doubt, we still reach out to one or more of our esteemed mentors, some of which have some amazing resources and connections available to them.

What do we plan to cover in this column then? Hopefully what you ask for! But in all honesty, we can cover any topic from learning how to evaluate your own dog: conformation, structure, temperament, and what to look for in possible matches, being prepared for breeding, breeding agreements & arrangements, setting up a puppy nursery, whelping and raising a litter; early potty training, manding, teaching puppies how to learn and offer behavior, a much, much more.
Breeding dogs is an art, just as raising puppies is. It is important to note that there are many ways to achieve a desired result. There are few absolutely right ways to do something… but like most things, there are better ways and that is what we would like to help you with.

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