The Honest Dog Breeder Podcast

In our final episode of the series, we hear from Dana Filatova of Kismet Labradoodles in Ashville, NC, as she recounts the essential, sometimes challenging, lessons learned from her very first litter. Dana's debut...

Today we welcome Andrea Gardner of Desert Sky Poodles in Utah, who brings a truly unique perspective to the world of dog breeding, shaped by her background in agricultural education. Andrea explains how the principles...

We sit down with Megan Smith of Acadia Goldendoodles in Maine, who proves that responsible breeding can—and should—be a joy. After 17 years in the game, Megan has cracked the code on sustainability and enjoyment. She...

Leilani Nichols of Northwest Cairn Terriers in Oregon joins us to share her unique approach to breeding and placement. In a world where every puppy looks cute, Leilani uses her marketing to target buyers who are truly...

Meet Sarah Whitman of Bonnie Brae Collies, who just sold her first litter of puppies. Sarah's experience working in accredited zoos with rhinos and elephants fundamentally shaped her approach to breeding. She shares how...

In this 12 Days of Breeders interview, we welcome Andrea Jones of Maple Hill Doodles in Ohio. A 25-year veteran breeder of Goldendoodles, Cavapoos, and Cavadoodles, Andrea has built her program on advanced, and...

In this 12 Days of Breeders interview, we welcome Bill Wyatt of DubDub Danes in Bentonville, Arkansas. After a career in high-level sales, Bill applies his deep customer service acumen to breeding, expertly guiding...

Today, we dive into the highly specialized world of German Shepherd service dogs with Cynthia Kelly of Regis Regal German Shepherds. Cynthia shares the unique, rigorous process she has developed for raising, training...

For Day 4 of 12 Days of Breeders, we welcome Kari Roach of Choice Paws in Utah. Kari's journey is highly strategic: a former pre-med student, after starting out as a guardian home, she ended up buying an established...

For Day 3 of 12 Days of Breeders, we dive into the world of Livestock Guardian Dogs (LGDs) with Natalie Thurman of Apex Anatolians in Frenchtown, Montana. Natalie's dogs aren't just pets—they are 24/7 protectors tasked...

In this 12 Days of Breeders interview, we welcome McKenze Ocampo of Twilight Doodles in Dallas, Texas to share the experience and expertise she's used to build a thriving breeding business. McKenze discusses the daily...

In this first episode in our 2025 12 Day of Breeders, we talk to AKC Breeder of Merit, Kim McGuirk of Newbliss Chicago Lagotto, who built explosive business success by focusing on radical customer service and smart...

Breeders are some of the toughest people out there—but grit alone won't move you out of burnout. In this episode, I reveal the small hack that shifts you from survival mode into intentional growth mode. You'll learn how...

In this episode, I discuss my own personal year of dog breeding, what worked, what didn't go so well, and how I plan to change things going forward, plus how you can use my insights to start evaluating your own program...

Feeling overwhelmed? Can't seem to catch a break? Your program feels more like herding cats rather than breeding dogs? It happens to us all! In this episode we'll go over the two kinds of breeders, which one you are...

Ever sold a puppy to a buyer and regretted it? Many things can happen when working with the general public and dogs, sometimes we get it wrong. In this episode we'll discuss what can happen to make it go wrong and help...

Puppy buyers are changing, they're asking for more from us, and they have new boxes they want us to check before buying. There's also a dark side of this movement that has buyers publicly coming after breeders. Today...

Discounting older puppies is tempting. Discounting is what stores do as the seasons change. They'll have sales for summer clothes as summer comes to an end. Yet, does it work for puppies? The answer? Well, sometimes...

Parvo was one of the most stressful challenges I faced as a breeder—until I found NeoPar. In this episode, I share my journey and how NeoPar has worked for me to protect puppies against parvo at a very young age, even...

Ever wonder how to plan and budget for your facility upgrades? In this episode I'll share my best tips and tricks for facility upgrades, whether its the little stuff while you're just getting started, an intermediate...

Over the last few episodes we've discussed ways to build a financial future, whether or not it includes dogs. In this episode we'll discuss whether your should invest in your facilities, so you can grow your breeding...

She told me, "If I don't sell 20 puppies this month, I'll go under." It was a wake-up call—and not just for her. In this episode, I'm sharing real ways to turn your dog breeding profits into long-term financial...

One of the biggest mistakes I see breeders make is that they finally get some momentum—puppies are selling, income is flowing—and instead of using that money to create peace or freedom down the line, they burn it. You...

I asked myself this question recently when I realized I'd back-to-back (and overlapping) litters starting on January 31st of this year had been a little too much for my bandwidth. While there are easy calcuations to...

In this Q&A we have 5 questions I've been asked recently on the website. I'll go into brief detail on what to consider with each question and what do to about it. If you want to submit your own questions for Q&A, send...