What is a Badass/Empowered breeder?

Empowered breeding is a term that is used to describe a method of breeding dogs that emphasizes the importance of the physical and mental health of the animals. This approach to breeding focuses on ensuring that the dogs used for breeding are in good health and have the necessary genetic traits and characteristics to produce offspring that are also healthy and well-adjusted.

In empowered breeding, breeders carefully select the dogs they use for breeding based on various factors such as their genetic history, physical health, and temperament. They may also use genetic testing and other tools to help ensure that the dogs they breed are free from genetic conditions and diseases that can be passed down to their offspring.

The goal of empowered breeding is to produce dogs that are healthy, well-adjusted, and able to thrive in a variety of environments. It is a proactive approach to breeding that aims to reduce the occurrence of inherited health problems and improve the overall health and well-being of the breed.

Written by Jeanette Forrey, a Goldendoodle Therapy Dog Breeder from Las Vegas, Nevada. She, with her family, owns 4E Kennels - #badassbreeder.

A former educator, Forrey produced THE ULTIMATE BADASS BREEDER’S GUIDE to aid breeders in every aspect of responsible breeding including but not limited to: BREEDING STOCK SELECTION, PUPPY CURRICULUM, PUPPY DEVELOPMENT, PUPPY EVALUATIONS, and BUSINESS SKILLS.

The Badass Guide to Breeding is our preferred playbook at Stokeshire as we desire to produce the highest quality family pets, and therapy dogs. ​

The Badass Breeder puppy-raising curriculum involves the intentional daily handling of puppies after 3 days of age and exposure to new stimuli, including new scents, sights, sounds, textures, people, and places during their critical socialization periods. This curriculum helps to empower puppies to be confident family pets and/or working dogs. It helps to teach each puppy resilience and that the world is safe, people are kind and dogs are friendly. 

Puppies are temperament tested at 6-7 weeks of age. The temperament testing assesses energy level, confidence, motivation, toy/prey drive, assertiveness, resiliency, sight/sound sensitivity, touch tolerance, and human focus. Knowing these traits allows us to honor each puppy's unique needs and match each puppy's temperament to their family's lifestyle and preferences so that these matches last a lifetime! This system empowers families and individuals to select their puppies with a holistic approach that goes beyond beauty and aesthetics.

A reputable dog breeder is a person who breeds dogs for the purpose of improving the breed, rather than for profit or to meet the demand for certain types of dogs. They are concerned with the health and well-being of their dogs, and they take steps to ensure that the dogs they breed are free of genetic disorders and have good temperaments. Reputable breeders will also be knowledgeable about the breed they are breeding, and they will be able to provide information about the breed's characteristics, history, and breed standards.

To find a reputable breeder, it is important to do your research and ask a lot of questions. Some things to consider when looking for a reputable breeder include:

  • The breeder's reputation: Ask around and do some online research to get a sense of the breeder's reputation. Look for reviews from past buyers, and try to talk to people who have purchased dogs from the breeder.

  • The breeder's breeding practices: Reputable breeders will have carefully planned breeding programs and will be able to provide information about the health and genetic history of the dogs they breed. They will also be willing to answer questions about their breeding practices and the health of their dogs.

  • The breeder's facilities: Reputable breeders will have clean and well-maintained facilities, and they will be willing to show you around their kennels or breeding facilities.

  • The breeder's knowledge: A reputable breeder will be knowledgeable about the breed they are breeding and will be able to provide information about the breed's characteristics, history, and breed standard. They will also be able to answer any questions you have about the breed and give you advice on caring for your new dog.

It is also important to be aware of puppy mills and backyard breeders, as these operations are often more concerned with profit than the health and well-being of the dogs they breed. Puppy mills often have poor living conditions and may not provide proper medical care for the dogs. It is best to avoid buying a dog from a puppy mill or backyard breeder, as these dogs may have health and behavioral problems as a result of poor breeding practices.

Badass Breeder Oath

1. Plan litters – have a goal/focus/mission and CLIENTS (don’t overpopulate).

2. Breed from only healthy, good-tempered parents that have been health tested.

3. Honor and respect your dam – before and after whelping – keep her happy and healthy. The same for your sires (vet care, high-quality food, living quarters, etc.).

4. Ensure all puppies learn the world is safe, people are kind, and dogs are friendly. 

5. Guide, shape, and mold puppies based upon critical periods, constantly evaluating and adjusting. Work on confidence, nerve strength and startle recovery.

6. Evaluate puppies, and provide information to buyers. Have the puppies seen by a vet and then and only then let clients choose their puppy that is healthy and best suits their needs, as well as the puppy’s needs. 

7. Take 100% responsibility for every puppy you produce for the entirety of their life.

8. 2-year contract – most genetic issues are not seen in one year, so be fair.

9. Educate your new clients. Keep in touch with them and create a community. You need word of mouth and you need their feedback.

10. Love your dogs, love your puppies, love your clients and be on a mission to change the stigma. Be badass or stop breeding. 

  • How comfortable a puppy is with humans. Do they try to impose their way (high) or naturally submit to human authority (low)? To test this, we observe if the puppy comes to the tester on their own initiative without the tester interacting with them.

  • How confident is the dog in its own abilities in new environments? When entering the testing area, how does the puppy respond to the unfamiliar place and objects?

  • Does, the dog naturally want to work for humans? This portion of the test involves asking the puppy to do something like play fetch, tug, and engage with the person. Is the puppy following what the tester asked them to do or is the person having to work really hard to get the puppy to do what they've asked?

  • How does the dog handle stress and react in different situations? Low is easily stressed, and high means they are able to adapt more easily in stressful situations. Nerve strength is observed throughout the test and we watch to see how the puppy handles stress and if they are able to overcome their fears.

  • How does the puppy react when they are roughly touched (have their tail tugged, toes touched, etc.) Low scores mean the puppy doesn’t handle unwanted touch well, and high scores mean the puppy wasn’t stressed and enjoyed being touched the whole time. Many of the puppies will enjoy this portion of the test.

  • How energetic is the puppy moving throughout the test? Do they take breaks and rest or constantly run around?

  • Does the puppy startle easily with loud, unexpected noises? Low scores mean the puppy has a high tolerance for loud noises, and high scores mean the puppy is sensitive to loud unexpected noises.

  • How stressed is the puppy when there’s an unexpected movement? Low means they are not stressed by visual stimuli and high means they are more easily stressed and may hide when they see something surprising, like an umbrella open.

  • Prey drive involves five different behaviors: searching, stalking, chasing, biting to grab and bite to kill. Among the dog breeds with a high prey drive, these behaviors manifest differently according to breed. Herding breeds, for example, have a strong chase instinct, while hounds like to stalk and flush out prey. How interested is the puppy in chasing, stalking, and pouncing small animals? Low means the puppy doesn’t have an interest in hunting and high means they can be trained to hunt and should be watched around small pets (birds, ferrets hamsters, etc.)

  • Pack Drive is a dog's natural desire to be part of a group. A dog with a low pack drive is referred as an independent. On the other extreme, dogs with a high pack drive often suffer from separation anxiety.

  • How interested are they in ‘following the pack’ and giving attention to the human? Low means they want to discover on their own, and high scores mean they are attentive to people and focus on them.

  • How overwhelmed is the puppy by human emotions when they have an emotional outburst? Not tenderhearted scores mean the puppy is not affected by the person's emotional state. Extremely tenderhearted dogs will “feel” with their humans and can’t handle emotionally charged environments. An extremely tenderhearted dog should not be an emotional support animal because it will be as overwhelmed as a human. The best emotional support dogs are moderately and highly tenderhearted.

  • Is this dog assertive (confident in greeting) or submissive (hesitantly waiting for a dog to approach) when meeting a new dog? The tester introduces a dog they haven't met before and we rate the puppy's interaction.