09/04/2026
🤍 What Being a Breeder Really Looks Like
Sometimes people see the puppy pictures, the fluffy faces, and the price of a puppy.
What they don't see is everything behind that picture.
They don't see the vet bills, health testing, quality food, vaccines, deworming, microchips, toys, bedding, kennels, puppy pens, litter supplies, cleaning products, laundry detergent, whelping supplies and the endless list of things we somehow need to order one more time.
They don't see the washing machine running constantly.
The p**p. So much p**p. 😂
The p*e.
The mess you cleaned 10 minutes ago that somehow needs cleaning again.
They don't see the early mornings and very late nights.
Or sleeping on the couch night after night during whelping because I refuse to leave Mom and her babies alone.
They don't see me checking newborns over and over—Is everyone warm? Did everyone nurse? Is that baby gaining enough? Why didn't this one gain as much today?
They don't see me caring for Mom throughout her pregnancy and then watching her just as closely afterward, making sure she's eating enough, drinking enough, comfortable, healthy and getting the breaks and love she needs too.
They don't see the hours spent with the puppies.
Holding them. Loving them. Cleaning them. Socializing them. Introducing new sounds and experiences. Watching personalities develop and wondering if I'm doing enough.
Did they get enough individual attention today? Did we work on enough? Am I preparing them well enough for the families who are trusting me with their baby?
And then there are the pictures. 😂
Take 50 pictures.
Puppy looks away in 23.
Eyes closed in 12.
Puppy walks off in 8.
Something ridiculous happens in 5.
Two good pictures.
And somehow those two pictures make it all worth it. ❤️
Then comes one of the hardest parts people rarely talk about.
You can spend days talking with someone. Answering questions, sending pictures and videos, learning about their family and imagining your puppy growing up in their home.
You start thinking, This could be the perfect family.
And then they disappear.
Or they change their mind.
Sometimes you shrug it off. And sometimes, when you've been exhausted and worried about finding the right homes, you cry.
Because these aren't products sitting on a shelf waiting to be sold.
They're my babies.
And with every puppy comes another worry:
Will I find the right person?
Did I choose the right home?
Will they love this puppy the way I have?
Did I ask enough questions?
Did I miss something?
There are vacations we don't take and family events we can't stay at very long.
There are times friends or family don't come over because protecting young puppies from illness has to come first, or they are just tired of my dogs.
There are dinners I don't cook because by the end of the day I'm exhausted.
And yes, sometimes part of that puppy money makes its way to Taco Bell because everybody is finally fed, clean, tucked in and sleeping—and I realize I haven't eaten. 😂🌮
The rest?
It goes right back into these dogs and this program.
So when someone asks why a responsibly raised puppy costs what it does, this is part of the answer.
You aren't simply paying for a puppy.
You're helping support everything that happened before that puppy was ever placed into your arms.
And please don't mistake this for complaining.
I chose this.
I chose the sleepless nights.
I chose the mess.
I chose the responsibility.
I chose the worry.
I chose to become ridiculously attached to tiny creatures I know I eventually have to let go.
And I would choose it again.
Because there is another side to all of this.
It's watching a tiny newborn take its first breath.
Watching little eyes open.
Watching wobbly legs learn to run.
Seeing personalities emerge.
Watching children love on them.
Getting that first picture from a family after go-home day and seeing one of my babies exactly where they were meant to be.
That's the part that fills my heart back up.
Being a breeder isn't just puppies.
It's responsibility, sacrifice, investment, worry, heartbreak, joy, and an incredible amount of love.
And at the end of another long day, when everyone is healthy, warm, fed, clean and sleeping peacefully…
I look around and think,
I'm tired. My house smells like puppies. There's another load of laundry waiting. And I wouldn't trade this life for anything. 🤍🐾
— Southern Olive Doodles
