In the very early hours of St. Patrick’s Day, Alice welcomed her first litter of puppies into the world.  It was an easy delivery, probably helped along by the fact that Alice was in great shape prior to breeding.  Having puppies in the house again is exciting, since our last litter was born in the summer of 2019.  Since then we have had 2 missed breedings.  My girls only come into season every 9 to 12 months, so a missed opportunity means waiting a long time before getting the chance to try again.  Despite what you may have been led to believe by anti-breeding groups, female dogs are really only fertile for a few days out of the year.

Over the next few months, I will try to share frequent updates.  This is partly because puppies are adorable and fun, but also to improve understanding about what it takes to raise a healthy well adjusted litter.  I feel like there is a lot of misinformation out there and wish the general public had a better idea of what breeders experience on a regular basis.  Breeding dogs is not easy or profitable, but it is important, especially if very rare breeds like PBGVs are going to maintain sustainable populations. I work with pet owners and dog sports enthusiasts every day, and understand very well how important it is to have the right match between human and dog.  Part of why dogs and humans have evolved together for most of our existance as a species is because of the diversity that exists among domestic dogs. Without selective breeding and people willing to take on this, we will lose with diversity in just a few generations.