Our History & Future

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I am a breeder…..
 

My electricity bill has tripled.
My water bill has doubled.
My food receipts for a family of 4 is less than a ¼ of my dog food bills each month.

It is I, a breeder, who when my fridge quit, saved the dog meds and let the food go bad.

My feet find the way to the kennel before I have even grabbed a cup of coffee in the morning and the kennel is my last stop before bed.

While my friends are on a cruise to the Bahamas and my family meets for Christmas, I am home delivering puppies.

I haven’t had a real vacation in 20 some years, but maybe soon. All plans are made around heat dates, whelp dates, vet dates, shipping dates and dog shows.

 

My clothes are all stained with fecal matter, urine, afterbirth or bleach.. if I get a chance to get a way for a dinner with friends.
I shower and 10 minutes later I smell like a dog and am covered in paw prints.

 

Who else can you call at 3 am for support?
Most of my friends breed dogs.

 

Who else would understand how it feels to have invested hours and hours in a weak puppy to lose it? Or the joy in investing hours in one that lives?
Who else has the experience I sometimes need, the meds I sometimes need, or just an uplifting word I sometimes need?

 

I have slept on the floor beside a litter until the crucial 2 weeks have passed. I have bottle fed a litter of 12 … feeding every 2 hours and it taking 90 minutes to do for weeks at a time.

 

I have learned to be proficient at micro chipping, vaccinations, fluids, bottle feeding and tube feeding.

 

My vet takes her time to teach me what she knows, because she knows I care.
My vet knows me by first name.

 

I am a breeder...

 

It is I who delivers all my pups, towels and heat pads on ready – happiness and sadness sometimes intermingled.
It is to me that 63 days takes on new meaning, still excited by every new life.

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Even though it increases my work load, I look forward to the 12 day stage when eyes open, and puppies begin to emerge from the helplessness of newborns.

 

Puppy breath, a first bark and a heart of exploration.

 

I am a conscientious lover of animals and I have found my niche.
I am not uneducated, unemployable, illiterate or lazy as some Animal Rights folks would imply of breeders.

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I am a breeder...

 

.. a rash I am home treating?
.. a kennel not yet cleaned for the day yet
.. a leaf in the water dish
.. finding a mild infraction,
And although I feel no shame there is a part of me that feels the need to hide from powers that could come to invade my home and take my dogs .. maybe for

 

I feel I should tell my kids and friends to hush, do not tell others we are dog breeders, and I wonder when did breeding puppies go into the same secret place as criminal activity?  

 

I am a breeder and I am not cruel, dumb, uncaring or criminal.

I am not raking in money while sitting on my butt.

Every penny I make I earn through blood, sweat and tears.

 

My greatest joy is a healthy puppy and a wonderful home. The cards of thanks and the pictures of my puppy with its new family on the fridge, benefits of my efforts.

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I am an animal lover, nurse, midwife, heavy laborer, customer service representative, photographer, website designer, secretary, marketeer…

 

AND I am a breeder...

 

Here at Watercolours Kennels we specialize in Aussies.  The breed is so engaging and sweet.  The goofy personalities are wonderful as companion or service animals.  
We show all our dogs to keep the best possible standards.  We do both conformation and performance and our dogs excel in both.  I hope to take some time this year to do more sport and enjoy my own dogs, I won’t be breeding often only breeding when we want to keep a puppy. 
We have sold puppies for service, show and companions as our dogs do well at any capacity.  As the breeders of these lovely dogs, we feel that temperaments are essential even more so then health if you can’t live with your pup then the health tests are of no help.   We are not a large kennel and we only have a a couple dogs I no longer can keep a kennel so we offer a guardian program for people that fit the stipulations, contact us regarding our guardian Angels program if you would like to know more.   I have exhibited bred and t rained animals for over 35years.  Showing horses, dogs, cats.  Having regional national and international wins in both cat and dogs (conformation).  

We carry to this program a new thrill which for us is the performance part of dog sport.  We finish our dogs in conformation and then the real fun starts as we show agility, rally, obedience and much more.  

All our dogs are chosen and tested vigorously and we stand behind every pup we produce.   We normally breed when we are looking for our next dog to progress with our breeding program.   Taking very few reservations so we can work with every owner to make it the best possible experience for all involved.   I have shown my whole life and dedicated many years to breeding and learning all I could, trying to produce the best dogs I possibly could.  I would love to show in performance and hopefully have some of the top performance dogs in Canada. It is a new challenge to do both conformation and performance. To see our past all you need to do is go to one of our gallery pages and there you will not only find Aussies but some of our past champions and other show animals.
Working together, with this lovely brings a new joy to the sport. 
Due to Covid for the near future we won’t be showing and will only do limited breeding, I am having to concentrate on my health so I hope to get back to showing again.  Contact us to find out when our next litter will be.  I co own some animals and have litters that can be bred so ask answerable let you know when we will breed next 
Watercolour Kennels
 

Breeder’s Manifesto

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