Premiering for its second season on December 9th (7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT), Breeder of the Pack on Animal Planet is an eight-part Canadian series that offers up an in-depth look into the business of dog breeding. In the first of these eight episodes you will meet Sherry Rupke, by far the youngest breeder to be featured at only 28.
In the business of breeding she is certainly an entrepreneur; Sherry started breeding dogs at only 15 years old when she bred her first dog, a Golden Retriever. She says that growing up on a farm, her parents instilled in her a love of animals from young age. But, after having experienced her first litter she decided she wanted to do something "a little bit different, not what everyone else was doing" and so, took to the internet to research Golden Retriever mixes and decided the Poodle would be the right one for her. The next year, at 16, Sherry had her first littler of Goldendoodles and hasn't looked back.
After may years breeding Goldens with Poodles, Rupke says a friend of hers introduced her to the Bernese Mountain Dog, and she had to get one for herself. Initially, she was breeding purebred Bernese, but after encouragement and interest from her friends and family, she decided to mix her Bernese with a Poodle and in 2003, came up with the first ever Bernedoodle.
The dogs at Swiss Ridge Kennels come in three different sizes: the Standard (45lbs and up), Minis (25-45lbs) and Tiny (10-25lbs). All of whom Rupke says are full of energy and have characteristics of both breeds. There is no standard for breeding when it comes to mixes since they aren't recognized by the CKC (Canadian Kennel Club), but she has her dogs tested for typical health problems to the breeds like thyroid problems in Bernese and Luxating Patellas in the minis. Looking into health problems and temperament, Sherry says, is an important aspect of a good breeder.
"There are things a breeder should be looking for health-wise. We look at health, temperament and look when we're breeding our dogs together."
She also notes that you should ask to see health certificates for the parent dogs and "definitely talk to references - other people that have their dogs" are a good start.
Since the dogs out of Swiss Ridge are mixed breeds, I was curious how she was received by the breeder world and she replied, "when I first started, I would get hate mail from purebred breeders, but I haven't gotten hate mail in quite some time, so I think they're realizing the Goldendoodle is here to stay."
So, if you can't get enough of these doodles, or are simply intrigued by the world of dog breeding, tune into Animal Planet for the Breeders of the Pack series on Fridays at 7 p.m. The show will also feature such breeds as Afghans, Border Collies, Olde English Bulldogges, Shepherds and more.