Episodios

  • 694 – What’s Your “Line in the Sand” for Breeding

    694 – What’s Your “Line in the Sand” for Breeding
    Jul 7 2025
    What’s Your “Line in the Sand” for Breeding Host Laura Reeves is joined by Dr. Marty Greer for an important conversation about “what is YOUR line in the sand” when breeding dogs. This is a conversation around breeding ethics and having a “mission statement” for your breeding program. “I had a listener ask about a baby puppy with one testicle yoyoing and one maybe, maybe not there and what should they do? And Marty said, ‘Well, there's only a couple things and it won't take very long (to talk about), but I think that there's no reason not to breed that.’ And I'm like, wait, what? So, Marty, I want you to talk to me about why, because this was a very interesting perspective that had literally never crossed my mind.” The conversation continues from there with Marty describing her “line in the sand” as deadly diseases. Her reasoning being the additional genetic diversity that comes when we don’t “throw out the baby with the bath water” for issues which do not actively impact a dog’s quality of life. “The world according to Marty Greer is for me a level 1 is something that you don't have a life shortening, life altering disease from. It's a retained testicle. For me it's extra eyelashes. For me it's an entropian. For me, it's an umbilical hernia. “For me, level 2 is something that requires chronic management, long term allergies. Thyroid disease, things that always need to be on medication. There's an ongoing expense. There's an ongoing thing that has to happen, but it's not serious. “And for me, Level 3, are life threatening, life altering, life shortening diseases. This is my definition. For me, that's bad temperament. If your dog bites somebody, I don't think that dog should be in your gene pool. If I have to muzzle your dog to breed it, I don't think it should be in the gene pool. That for me is orthopedic diseases that are crippling. Hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia, patellar luxation, all this stuff that happens orthopedically. And for me that's things like seizures, because I think seizures are life threatening. “But that's my world. I live in a veterinary clinic. Remember, that's what I do every day. So I see dogs that come in with owners that are distressed, dogs that are dying, dogs that need to be euthanized. And so my perspective is going to be different than other people's perspectives because that's not the world they live in.”
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    36 m
  • 693 – The Glen of Imaal Terrier’s Place in Ireland

    693 – The Glen of Imaal Terrier’s Place in Ireland
    Jun 30 2025
    The Glen of Imaal Terrier’s Place in Ireland We have friend of the pod Theresa Nesbitt back and you guys know how much I harp on the current dogs are living history, right? Like this is my jam. And that purebred dogs represent a specific place and a specific people in a specific time. Well, Theresa has taken that for the Glen of Imaal Terrier and done this huge deep dive on it. And her information and her stories are so fascinating. You know, in the green room off air we were talking about. How cool it is for kids for adults to learn history using purebred dogs. In Ireland, the national cultural heritage status of native breeds is protected by the government. “What they're protecting is yes, the dogs,” Theresa said, “but actually the dog-human connection and where they came from relate to so many parts of Irish history and heritage. And there's only 9 native breeds there so I love getting into it because I felt like it was manageable. “I think for preservation, it's really about the past and the present and the future. So we have to look at what came from the past. Right now, breeders, right now, we're working very hard with breed standards and we're saying, so how do we move forward into the future? “Breeders can find their purpose for what they need to do today to make sure that those dogs of the future are still able to reach back through time and touch those things. So it's a hard job for us, but we have to do it.” Theresa’s description of the physical location that is the Glen of Imaal is absolutely fascinating and why it tends to indicate to her the breed would have been unlikely to actually have worked as turnspit dogs. “What is really important about it being the Glen of Imaal is the antique features and the unrefined to this day. And because (the area) was so hard to get to, the dogs stayed the way the dogs used to be.” Listen back to the episodes referenced in today’s conversation HERE and HERE.
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    32 m
  • 692 — Pro Tips for Hot Dog Shows and When Safety Overrules Ribbons

    692 — Pro Tips for Hot Dog Shows and When Safety Overrules Ribbons
    Jun 23 2025
    Pro Tips for Hot Dog Shows and When Safety Overrules Ribbons Host Laura Reeves brings you Pure Dog Talk's LIVE@5 discussion of the hot summer dog shows and when safety is more important than ribbons. "Let's talk about what hot means. And everybody has their own understanding of it, right? So what is hot to someone like myself from the Northwest might be no big deal if you're from Phoenix. Understand that if you're hot, your dogs have similar acclimation and so it's really important to understand what your dog can tolerate. "I was doing my handling class for folks last night and I was talking about this topic and I had a pug dog back in the day, Pug Special, and the day he went best in show in Wisconsin, the thermometer said it was 105 and it was 85% humidity. Yeah, it was really gross. If you look at the photo of me from that day, I look like I've been dipped in olive oil. It is just disgusting. "The judge was Norman Patton. I remember it all very clearly and he flat told me that the reason my dog went best in show that day, not just was he a nice pug dog or what have you, but on that horrible gross awful day, my dog went around the entire best in show ring without panting. "And so a lot of that has to do with what the dog is acclimated to. That particular pug dog lived in Nebraska at the time. He was accustomed to gross humidity. And my dogs were not pampered pets. They went outside in the gross humidity. I was careful with them, but they were acclimated to the heat and the humidity, which other dogs If I had brought him straight from the West Coast to that environment, he'd have died. But because he was acclimated after a couple of years in Nebraska, it was more manageable for him. "And the other thing that I did was manage his situation. So at a hot dog show, you have an ice chest full of ice and water. More water than ice, but it is ice cold water. You do not give that to your dog to drink. You put your cool coat or your shammy or your towel or your whatever you're going to use in that water and then you ring it out as much as you need to for your dog's coat and you put it on the ground and you have the dog stand on it. "You do not put it over the dog's back because that's not going to get them cool. Dogs release heat from their pads, they release heat from their ear flaps, they release heat in their groin, anus, all of the places that have unfurred space. And so if we're going to keep our dogs cool, the way to keep them cool is to have the coldness underneath them. "And then I had a good Ryobi fan. I had a spray bottle with water in it, and I had another shammy and I had trained him. So this is the other part. He was trained. That's an important part of this conversation. He was trained. He could lie down on his side in the ring and I would cover his eyes, his whole head up with another cold chamois. And so he was iced, literally, he was chill. "And this particular ring was outdoors, kind of in semi shade. I spent the vast majority of that time in the best in show ring with the dog lying down and my back to the judge, to the ring, to everything else so that I could put him in the shade. I used my body to shade him because there wasn't as much shade as I would like there to be. "So you can manage the heat if the dog is accustomed to it, if the dog is fit and if it is acclimated to the basic conditions and then you can keep them cool enough for the amount of time that you have. So that's number one. "Number two, remember. There's no law that you have to go to the dog show that you entered if it's 100°. Another special, another time, another place. There was a big candy ass. I can't say it another way. God love him. I loved that dog, but he was not heat tolerant and he had won a big specialty in California. And I had a huge falling out with his co-owner over it because I refused to show him the group, because it's gonna be 105 and it was out in more sun and he was going to be...
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    35 m
  • 691 — Alaskan Klee Kai Move to Miscellaneous

    691 — Alaskan Klee Kai Move to Miscellaneous
    Jun 16 2025
    Alaskan Klee Kai Move to Miscellaneous Host Laura Reeves is joined by Chelsea Watson for a discussion of the Alaskan Klee Kai moving to Miscellaneous this summer. [caption id="attachment_14178" align="alignleft" width="370"] Versatile, energetic and aloof, Alaskan Klee Kai join Miscellaneous.[/caption] According to Watson, the Klee Kai was developed in Alaska in the 1970s by one woman who wanted to create a “miniature Husky.” The breed was developed using Alaskan Huskies, with additions of Siberian Husky, American Eskimo Dog and Schipperke. The Klee Kai is 12-17 inches tall, with a variety of colors and coats available. Bred as a companion dog, it should still move with the smooth, effortless carriage of its working forbears, Watson noted. The Klee Kai was accepted into AKC's FSS (Foundation Stock Service) program in 2020. An active, even busy, breed, Klee Kai are aloof and reserved with strangers, but excel in agility and other performance events, Watson said. “They are very high energy breed,” Watson said. “They are not couch potatoes. They also are a very versatile breed. You want to go hiking for three hours every day? They can do it. Bike for five hours or five miles a day, probably 5 hours too, they can do it. Kayaking and paddle boarding with them. They could do weight pull. The tricky part is you got to have patience because they're still gonna do a quid pro quo. What’s in it for me? The Husky piece is strong in them, (but) I would say they are more trainable than Huskies. Patience, it just requires a lot of patience. It's like training your cat.” The following links offer additional information about the breed. Alaskan Klee Kai Association of America (UKC) https://www.akkaoa.org/ Breeders List https://www.akkaoa.org/find-a-breeder Dog Breed Information https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/alaskan-klee-kai/
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    31 m
  • 690 — Conditioning for Canine Athletes

    690 — Conditioning for Canine Athletes
    Jun 9 2025
    Conditioning for Canine Athletes

    Host Laura Reeves is joined by Dr. Ashley Nixon to discuss conditioning our canine athletes, whether for the show ring, dock diving, agility and more.

    "Cardio's good for everybody," Nixon said, "but I think it's really important to consider the sport you're doing and what you're asking your dog to do. They can be cardiovascularly fit, but maybe they don't have the propulsion to do some dock diving or agility, right? So I think it's super important to kind of keep that in mind and not just say, hey, I walk my dog, we go for a run, we're fit, we're good.

    "I like a ton of stuff you can actually do at home with basic equipment (for conditioning work). You can have them do some push-ups on an unstable surface, like a little exercise ball. You can have them pivot. It's great. Front end up, back end up. I love sit to stands for these guys and you can do a ton of different variations. You can have them do it on a mattress, Fit Bones are great. Cavalettis are great for these guys. You can especially pick up some changes in their gait or change their gait.

    "(Cavalettis) are super versatile and if you want some flexion, you can have serpentines over the cavalettis and arrange them in, you know, semi circles, get some nice spinal flexion. Like that."

    Listen to the full episode for more from:

    Dr Ashley Nixon DVM, CVA, CVMRT, CVSMT, FCOAC, CAMP, CSCC

    Chief of Staff

    Dr. Ashley Nixon knew she wanted to be a veterinarian since she was just 3 years old. That passion inspired her to obtain her DVM from St. Matthew’s University School of Veterinary Medicine, and complete her clinical year at Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine. She received her CVMRT (massage & rehabilitation) and CVSMT (spinal manipulation) certifications from the Healing Oasis, and was trained and certified in veterinary acupuncture at the Chi Institute of Traditional Veterinary Medicine. She passed additional testing to become a fellow of the College of Animal Chiropractors, and received a certification in arthritis management. She is certified in arthritis case management.

    Dr. Nixon has a special interest in sports and conditioning, and is certified through NC State.

    Prior to the ATC, she most recently worked at a specialty referral practice in the south as a rehabilitation veterinarian. She is active with multiple dog sports.

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    32 m
  • 689 – Infertility Problem Solving Protocol

    689 – Infertility Problem Solving Protocol
    Jun 2 2025
    Infertility Problem Solving Protocol Host Laura Reeves is joined by Dr. Marty Greer for a conversation about the problem solving protocol for infertility using a case study submitted in the private Pure Dog Talk Patrons group. Greer’s first recommendation for fertility issues is to have a complete semen analysis on the stud dog. “There are six parameters that we should look at for semen quality. It should be volume, sperm count, the motility, the morphology, the longevity and speed of progression. …(I)t's much easier to analyze the fertility on a male dog that is a female.” Greer continues with discussion of “lifestyle” choices of the bitch. Nutrition choices, sunlight exposure and more. “The foods that we see that we have good success with, are going to be Purina and Royal Canin. Those are the two diets that we reliably see good fertility with. Purina, their Sport 30/20, which is 30% protein, 20% fat is a really good diet for fertility and the Royal Canin makes a pregnancy diet, the only pregnancy diet that currently is on the market. “Dogs need 14 hours of daylight. And if you don't have the opportunity to have it, if you don't live in a climate that you can do that. Where you're building isn't set up for it or whatever it happens to be. You can get full spectrum light bulbs and turn them on for 14 hours a day. “We also see high performing dogs, dogs traveling with a handler or they're out at field trials every weekend and they're running hard or hunt tests or whatever activity you happen to be doing. Sometimes just being away from home can be really stressful for the dogs and we can see that affecting their fertility.” Greer continues with other potential infertility causes and treatments. Be sure to listen to the episode to catch her 2-2-2 "infertile bitch protocol."
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    47 m
  • 688 – Dual Dogs Serve Dual Purpose

    688 – Dual Dogs Serve Dual Purpose
    May 26 2025
    Dual Dogs Serve Dual Purpose [caption id="attachment_14045" align="alignleft" width="496"] Brittany puppy with big dreams.[/caption] Host Laura Reeves is joined by Bobby Brian Lewis to talk guided quail hunts in Georgia and how his dual champion Brittanies help create goodwill for purebred dogs and dog breeders generally in this very old Southern tradition. Lewis has been guiding quail hunts since he was a teenager and his dad is still guiding in his 80s. The vast plantations and preserves of Georgia are a perfect backdrop for these hunts, Lewis said. “A lot of people we take, they've got the money to do it,” Lewis noted. “So they're influential. I mean I've taken senators, representatives, ex governors, state senators from Tennessee have all hunted with us and that kind of helps promote (purebred) dogs also. “You kind of get to know them a lot of more. They e-mail me, text me the next day and say ‘hey, where can I get training birds,’ they're involved in our sport now and we've kind of got an advocate on our side. “Just this year we had some legislation coming through in Georgia on dog breeders. The first thing I did was call a couple representatives I know and go, ‘this is gonna hurt our business here and we're trying to get good purebred dogs that have all the health testing and those type of things. And those are the puppies we're trying to sell. And this is going to kind of hinder this a little bit.’ And they were like, well, ‘tell me more.’” Lewis also noted that he’s “sold” on the importance of correct conformation in his bird dogs because they are sound and able to hunt well into their older years. “The conformation means I can hunt them till they're 10, 12, thirteen years old. Doing this type of hunting is very strenuous. We can guide 5-6 days a week. I kept some stats at the end of the season last year, where a dog on the ground retrieved 32 birds in 42 minutes.” All the birds shot during the hunt are eaten by guests and the family. Lewis even shared some of his favorite quail recipes (if you don't happen to have quail available, cornish game hens are a reasonable substitute.)
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    39 m
  • 687 – Movie Star Great Dane’s Owner Helps Educate the Public

    687 – Movie Star Great Dane’s Owner Helps Educate the Public
    May 19 2025
    Movie Star Great Dane’s Owner Helps Educate the Public Host Laura Reeves is joined by Bev Klingensmith, breeder, owner and trainer of the canine star of the new movie, The Friend. [caption id="attachment_14029" align="alignleft" width="671"] Bev Klingensmith and Bing on set filming The Friend.[/caption] Klingensmith’s dog, Bing, CH Flighty Foto White Christmas CD RA CA DCAT TKI CGC TT, plays the part of the Harlequin Great Dane in the movie which stars Naomi Watts and Bill Murray, about a solitary writer who adopts and bonds with a Great Dane that belonged to a late friend, helping her to come to terms with her past and her own creative inner life. Bing is Klingensmith’s fourth generation of homebred Great Danes, starting in the late ‘90s. “The production company actually sent an e-mail to me back in January of 2020. When I first got the e-mail I deleted it. People, I've told that story and people ask if I thought it was a scam or fake. And I'm like, no, I just didn't think it was realistic for me. They're talking filming in New York. I live in Iowa. And then I was like, you know, I do have lots of friends on the East Coast with Danes. Maybe I can help point them in the right direction, give them some contacts at least. That was really my only initial reason to reach back out.” Klingensmith is very aware of concerns about the risks posed by purebred dogs appearing in movies and has used the movie as a platform for education about her beloved breed. “I worked with the production team and we put a piece in the credits encouraging folks to visit the Great Dane Club of America's website for breeder referrals and rescue contacts. I have worked with a few rescues for fundraising. We've done so many Q&A events and things like that. And that is one of the things I always hit on is Great Danes are not for everyone. “They are not couch potatoes. They're giant, their expenses are giant. If you choose to get a Great Dane, where you get the Great Dane is so important. It's not just selecting the right breed for your home. It's also selecting where to get that dog. And that's almost more important than selecting the right breed. And that's been a huge statement that I've been trying to make over and over to the public and fingers crossed the message gets out there. “One of the things I like to point out, he is a champion. He's purposely bred, carefully bred, thoughtfully bred with generations of all the same behind him. That none of that has happened by chance. His temperament and his behavior, none of it has happened by chance. “I try to stress that to people as much as I can because we're talking about where you get your dog is so important. I told people a lot, ignorance and apathy, they're both really bad traits to have in a breeder. I might love my dog, but if I don't know what I'm doing, I'm still gonna be a bad breeder unintentionally. And that's just as damaging as the breeders that don't care.”
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    36 m