Our Story

It All Began With the Wrong Dog

If you ask a breeder about how they got into breeding, they will often tell you how the right dog came into their lives and changed them forever. But my story begins with the dog that was all wrong for our family.

See, I was an “adopt, don’t shop,” girl. It was the responsible thing to do, right? While I’m grateful for ethical shelters who humanely seek to rehome every pet, it’s not always the best solution for every family. But I didn’t know that: I only knew that you were “supposed” to get a dog from a shelter, so that was what we did.

We responded to an animal shelter ad for a litter of puppies being raised in a foster home. Puppies! A clean slate, right? We went to see a “part chihuahua” litter, and picked a little male puppy. His mom had been found on the side of the road when she was pregnant. That was all the background we knew about this little ‘clean slate’ of ours.

One of the many things that surprised us, once his puppy coat blew, was how thick his fur was and how much it shed. I didn’t know a dog could shed that much! In reality, I doubt our mixed breed dog had a drop of chihuahua in him, though I couldn’t tell you what he was. He soon developed a lot of fears and resource guarding. He got sick whenever we took him in the car. He was always scratching at his skin. He ran away constantly. He pooped in the office whenever he could.

I’ll be the first to admit that a lot of his problems were a lack of knowledge on our part. Good training could have prevented or mitigated many of his issues. He could have overcome his anxiety and resource guarding in time. But I didn’t have a knowledgeable breeder on my team to help me figure out what problems were his and what were mine. This poor dog had no socialization from the foster home where he was born. I didn’t even know what socialization was.

Soon, we had a dog with growing fears and difficulties, and thick, coarse, black fur all over the house. It would have been a less-than-ideal situation even if I hadn’t already been overwhelmed with a baby, a toddler, and two full-time stepkids. As it was… after several years, we found ourselves making the difficult decision to rehome him.

Since we had no breeder to turn to, we listed the dog on the local classified page for a small fee. My children sobbed their goodbyes, which broke my heart. My husband and I swore we would never do ‘the dog thing’ again.

Seven years. Seven years is how long it took before my heart was ready to try again on a dog. It was a dark, difficult time for my family: I had health issues that left me partially bedridden for 2.5 years. My marriage was shattering before my eyes. My husband was no longer living at home. And of course, there was that little worldwide pandemic thing that knocked life as we knew it off its feet.

My family needed hope. We needed a reason to laugh again, to be happy, and to move forward with life. We needed healing, both emotional and physical. After scrolling day after day on various dog breeder Instagram feeds (hey, no judging: it was a lonely time!), I realized that many of our problems could have been avoided by a well socialized puppy with known genetic traits, bred with intention and purpose, with a knowledgeable breeder to support me.

When I learned about the Badass Breeder method, everything clicked into place for me. Empowered puppies who learn with a curriculum (be still, my homeschooler heart!) designed to challenge and stretch them developmentally to become adaptable and resilient dogs? This was exactly what our family needed!

Did I mention my husband didn’t want a dog? At all?

I got the dog anyway. I jumped in with passion, learning everything I could about puppies and dog training. To be completely transparent: there are still things with which we struggle. I’m not perfect! Scout isn’t perfect. But she is brave, assertive, confident, smart, curious, loving, and patient. Her temperament is, in part, awesome genetics and, in part, the tolerance training her breeder did when she was a baby. Those things make a difference.

So was my family magically healed by the power of a dog? Actually… sort of, yeah. Not with magic, but with slow and steady love. It has been a gradual and daily progression of hope and healing. Scout gives us something to wake up to with joy every day. Scout gave my husband reasons to be home (he hates to admit that he’s a huge fan of her!) which was one of many baby steps in helping our marriage. (Also a work in progress!) She sits with us when we cry, because sometimes life is still hard. She spent hundreds of hours at the foot of my bed when my headaches were so bad that I couldn’t function. The foot of my bed is still her favorite place.

We got on this breeding journey because once, a long time ago, we got the wrong dog. That is what fuels my passion for helping others to find the right dog for them. I don't want anyone else to have to deal with the pain that comes from getting it wrong. Every dog deserves the right family, and every family deserves the right dog.

I can't wait to help you find yours.