Pawsitive IDEAS

02/26/2025

Working cat! 💜🐾🐈

02/22/2025

02/17/2025

"What if we, with this movement, put them out of business? What if we bred to THIS standard: Moderate exercise needs. No resource guarding. No dog aggression. No separation issues. No digestive issues. No hip, elbow, or spinal issues that will cause pain. No heart, eye, skin, or genetic diseases. Must tolerate veterinary care and grooming without the need for sedation. Must be highly trainable and able to live with a busy modern family. All parent dogs must be pets, not kennel dogs. All puppies must be raised in a home environment, not a cage or pen. What if they went home crate trained, clicker trained, potty trained? What if we bred them with the job of COMPANIONSHIP, rather than trying to put hunting, herding, mushing, and guard dogs into companionship roles that don't suit them? What if we paired individual dogs based on health and temperament, instead of the current method of closed gene pools (only breeding dogs that came from the same ancestors)? What if we used modern science, veterinary medicine, and the information we can obtain from genetic testing, to better understand exactly what will be produced when we do this? What if that's what most modern dog homes need? What if we bred dogs for today's families? ".

love this! 💜💜💜 Exact reason I want to breed! To create amazing pets for families that NEVER need to go to a shelter or back to the breeder, that never need to be sedated to have routine vet procedures or grooming care, to not hear the horror stories of dogs biting kids or being agressive with other dogs, the list is endless. I'm not saying bothere arent ethical breeders who dont know about COI but i am saying its time to start learning about it and normalize it in our conversations with breeders.

Amy Townsend of Mandala Dogs writes passionately about her inspiration for breeding modern pet dogs

02/17/2025

Doodle lovers! Watch this! My doodle is 75% poodle. I've never had a conversation with any breeder (besides Scotti Harvey) who has shared the COI (coefficient of inbreeding) and why it's important to know when considering purchasing a $4,000.00 puppy!

As a responsible dog owner and advocate for healthy, temptmentally sound puppies, I promise to never again purchase a dog without knowing the COI of the breeding pair!

Thank you for creating this video! 💜💜💜🐾🐾

839 likes, 151 comments. “PART 4: sorry this video is so long, there was a lot to cover! This video explains why purebred dogs are so prone to disease, why outcrossing is beneficial, and why crossbreed dogs do not end up with “twice the disease”.”

02/17/2025

How many breeders have you met who have shared the COI (coefficient of inbreeding) with you when you were looking at purchasing a puppy?

COI is not neutral – it is quite literally an expression of risk. Higher COI equals higher risk of an individual inheriting 2 copies of a recessive deleterious mutation. This risk is at the population level, meaning that not every high COI individual will be sick, but overall they have a higher probability of being sick than low COI individuals.

When you linebreed, any shared recessive deleterious mutations from the common ancestor are likely to show up in the offspring. Breeders often believe that they can use this as a strategy to “purify” their breeding stock of bad genes. But there are two flaws in this way of thinking. One, you have to produce sick puppies in order to even identify what genetic diseases your breeding stock is carrying. I don’t know about you, but I don’t see how intentionally creating puppies with potentially painful, terminal, or lifelong illnesses can be considered ethical. Second, animals simply have too many recessive mutations for us to eliminate them all using this method. The number of recessive genetic diseases that any one dog carries is estimated to be between 50 and 100. Most of these diseases will never show up in offspring due to their recessive nature, UNLESS linebreeding is done.

Many breeds end up playing whack-a-mole with recessive genetic diseases: as they inbreed to eliminate one disease, more pop up due to the increase in COI (and therefore risk). Our breeds with the highest average COIs, such as cavalier King Charles spaniels, Doberman pinschers, bull terriers, and Norwegian lundehunds, are riddled with severe genetic diseases, and the breeds now lack enough internal genetic diversity to select away from these issues.

Consistency absolutely CAN be achieved without inbreeding. Many guide dog breeding programs are now producing Golden x Lab crosses that have a higher success rate than either purebred. The key is to select breeding individuals who are highly similar in the areas you want to reproduce, but heterozygous in other areas. The clone-like sameness that seems to be expected in the show ring may not be possible without inbreeding, but there are many better paths to producing consistent, reliable dogs who perform their intended function.

02/12/2025

Cozy cat in a fluffy bed 🐈

Dog snuggled up close on my lap🐕‍🦺

02/12/2025

Partners in crime🐾🚓💛🐾

02/10/2025

02/10/2025

Favorite pics this week! 💜💜💜🐾🐾🐾

02/10/2025

Star of the week! 🌟 Huckleberry!💜🐾

01/29/2025

My workspace today, buzzing with excitement as I shape a visionary plan for the upcoming year! 💜🐾💜🐾💜🐾

01/27/2025

01/26/2025

Elevate your pup's growth with our empowering Friday Play Day, a holistic four-hour experience from 10am-2pm that harmoniously blends swimming, socializing, sensory exploration, and playtime, fostering a culture of consistent positive reinforcement, all for $45, rain or shine!

Secure your spot today by sending a message and witness your pup thrive with confidence and newfound skills.

Our small group setting, limited to four pups, ensures personalized attention and tailored growth. Discover the transformative power of our expertly designed program, focusing on essential skills like recall, name recognition in a group, and obedience, while unlocking your pup's full potential.

Skills taught & reinforced: recall, name game, focus, sit, down, wait, stay, get it, bring it, find it, four on the floor, through, free, leave it, drop it, give, nose touch, paw touch, up, off, fun tricks, and more!

01/22/2025

Just a typical Tuesday evening with Chunk launching a sneak attack on her brother Salem, who's just chillin' in a bag, while Dad Tommy supervises and hisses at Reggie as he strolls by, completely unfazed by the chaos of sharing a house with five crazy cats!