Keeptryst Kennels

04/11/2026

Hello everyone!

I wanted to share a phenomenal experience getting pre breeding MRI scans done on my cavaliers at Bush Veterinary Neurology Service with Dr. Uzzle and his team in Leesburg, Virginia.

First, they were incredibly kind and tolerant of all of my questions and preferences. They were very transparent about the process and treated my dogs like the kings and queens they are 👑

Of course, the biggest question that everyone has is, how much did it cost...

If I would have chosen to use their radiologist, it would have come to $950 per dog. I asked if I could use a different radiologist located over in europe and they were completely accepting of my preferences. Because I chose to use an outside radiologist that i paid directly, they only charged me $760 per dog.

This right here is unprecedented. I spoke with the neurologist about how much I appreciated them making an affordable option for us breeders, and he said they were doing everything they could to keep it affordable. At this price, there is absolutely no reason that every cavalier breeder cannot be doing MRI's on their dogs. Yes the anesthesia is a risk, but this breed is in serious trouble If more breeders don't start breeding responsibly and ethically. And anyone that tries to say that Syringomyelia is not a problem in the breed has not been paying attention.

Their facility is very clean, and from start to finish It took approximately five hours from the time I saw the doctor to the time I was leaving with four dogs. All 4 of my dogs were brought back to me 99% Sober. I was genuinely shocked how quickly all of my dogs recovered from their anesthesia protocols.

After I received all of my dogs back, the neurologist did a very quick once over with me over the things that he saw and what he thought. It was very insightful and really helped me make sense of some of the terms I had been hearing but couldn't figure out.

I am very excited about this clinic being an option for us in this country. They make appointments year round on mondays. To get that discounted price, you need to have at least four dogs, but they do not have to all be owned by you.

For those of you who claim you love this breed and choose to breed them, please go get your dogs scanned. You owe it to the puppies that you are producing. You owe it to the people you are selling puppies to. The more people that choose to get their breeding dogs scanned, the better the health of the overall breed will be and the more ethical choices we as breeders can make as a whole.

I want to say a huge thank you to Angela Thibodeaux for posting about this clinic and making many aware of its affordability and high quality scans. I also want to say a huge thank you to Lisa Payne for helping me find a really great radiologist with a lot of experience in the breed (among the 5 billion things you have taught me 🥰).

Dr. Mandigers is a radiologist over in Europe and holy Wow his results came in just a couple hours of me submitting all the paperwork and paying him 85 euro per dog. And the details in his report are extraordinary. His grading was very fair and in my opinion, very accurate.

A word of caution...
At bush, they will shave a substantially large place on their chest to attach a heart monitor.. about 2.5"x 5" . I highly recommend not taking your show dogs in to get scans a week before nationals 👀 oops...

07/19/2025

PRECEDENT SET IN LAWSUIT AGAINST PETA!
On October 18, 2014, in Parksley, VA, People For The Ethical Treatment Of Animals (PETA) stole Maya, a happy and healthy Chihuahua, from her porch while her family was out. When the family returned and found their beloved Maya missing, they searched the neighborhood, then checked the video on the surveillance camera. The film showed a PETA van and employees stealing their dog. They called PETA and asked for Maya’s return. Shortly afterward, a PETA attorney called and informed the family that Maya was dead. PETA had killed her that very same day, along with several other dogs they also took from the same area. PETA was convicted in criminal court and fined a paltry $500 for the crimes of trespass and theft of Maya.

Now, Maya’s family has brought a civil suit against PETA. They are seeking a nine million dollar judgment against the organization, and rightly so! PETA, an organization that professes to be advocates for animals, stole and killed Maya (and others) and then argued in court that doing so was not such a big deal, because doing so was not outrageous and the dog was worthless, because she wasn’t licensed. But, a judge has set precedent, by ruling that according to current law, dogs are property, whether licensed or not, and therefore, have value. He also struck down PETA’s argument that Maya's family wasn't entitled to punitive damages, because PETA's behavior did not meet the test for "outrageous conduct:" that is used for determining whether or not punitive damages can be claimed. The judge in the case, Everett A. Martin, Jr. was direct and concise in addressing this point when he wrote, "I believe reasonable people can find that taking another's dog and killing it is outrageous and intolerable. I overrule PETA's [argument] on this ground."

Court decisions have meaning far beyond the current case being argued, which is why decisions, like this one are typically filled with references back to other similar cases. The decisions set precedent, that are then used to help decide future cases involving similar issues. In other words, if PETA had prevailed in their arguments, as absurd as they were, they could have set the legal precedent to allow others who steal and kill pets to go unpunished. The fact that the judge in this case smacked down so many of PETA’s arguments has many of us smiling and laughing, knowing that the more their donors get to see who they really are, behind the glossy ads and PR tricks, the more PETA's multi-million dollar coffers will dry up.

http://www.thenokillnation.org/ #!Court-Documents-Show-PETA-is-Worthless-PetaIsWorthless/c1rn0/576e6b9b0cf233125dbeca4e

http://www.delmarvanow.com/story/news/local/virginia/2015/12/08/details-emerge-maya-lawsuit/76932438/

01/14/2025

11/11/2024

It is uncommon to see a show line GSD at a national IGP event.
There has been much written about the differences that have evolved between show and working GSD lines over the last half century. Louis Donald has an excellent book called The Definitive German Shepherd Dog that discusses the differences in detail and a recommended read for any serious GSD enthusiast.

There are show line breeders whose lines remain committed to excelling in working ability. Rebecca Buchman is one such breeder. She had the only showline dog competing at the 2024 United Schutzhund Clubs of America GSD National Championship. Her dog Loki aus Gerstbrei is Breeder-Handler-Owner-Trained and earned a solid protection score with 85 points, which outscored roughly half the field of working line GSDs. I was in the helper tent after their performance and heard both helpers comment on how impressed they were with this dog.

This was not a one-off performance. Rebecca previously competed with Loki's Grandmother at the 2015 GSDCA IGP National Championship.

11/01/2024

DONATE LOCALLY! ❤️🐾🐾

10/21/2024

10/21/2024

This 👇

•Pet your dog, all the time
•Talk to your dog, all the time
•Allow your dog to follow you, all the time
•Allow your dog to be on your lap or laying on your feet, all the time
•Pet, soothe, comfort your dog when it whines or barks for attention...or is simply anxious
•Allow your dog to demand affection/interactions
•Be emotionally dependent on your dog to the point that unhealthy dependency and interactions are no longer noticed
•Allow your dog to do whatever it wants, whenever it wants—aka, provide no structure, rules, or accountability
•Foster an environment of chaos, stress, and anxiety
•Refuse to train and pattern calmness
•Refuse to crate train your dog
•Refuse to correct your dog when inappropriate behavior occurs
•Refuse to train your dog how to be independent/alone by using a “Place” command, “Downstay, and/or “away” time in the crate
•Let your dog out of the crate when it whines or barks
•Avoid training or anything that makes your dog temporarily uncomfortable or unhappy—in other words, cater to your dog’s every desire/need, designing your life around your dog, rather than having your dog fit into yours
•And many, many more...

Basically, baby, soothe, allow, enable, disable, lean on, omit teaching necessary life skills, prioritize what feels good for you rather than what does good for your dog, and through this master plan of leadership-free chaos, and systematic cultivation of creating a toxic dependency between dog and human...you’ll ensure that when you leave, your dog will be a true emotional mess, because you haven’t prepared them to be calm, obedient, strong, resilient, robust, independent, and alone.

09/29/2024

Having been a veterinarian for almost 3 decades, I have seen the tide of how animals are treated change drastically. When I graduated dogs were dogs, now dogs are considered to be higher ranking than people. In our crazy world, people love their dogs more than they love their own families and they treat their dogs better than they treat other humans and I am sorry to say that we are destroying our dogs mental health because of it.

It is increasingly common to go into an exam room and have a dog that is growling at me and trying to bite and the owner is petting it telling it that it is a good dog. It is NOT being a good dog and it should not be rewarded for growling and trying to bite. It is important that we train our dogs properly and we use right language with them. Never is it ok for a dog to growl and try and bite in an exam room where nothing horrible is happening to them and feeding into that behavior does not make it better for your dog, it trains them that their fear is a good thing and it is not.

Mental disorders are exponentially increasing in our dogs and it is us owners fault. Please stop treating your dog like it is some fragile child and start treating it like it is a dog. TRAIN them and teach them commands and correct them when they are wrong and stop thinking you are going to hurt their feelings if you do. Dogs are dogs, not small humans. They need training and proper instructions or it leads to horrible anxiety issues in them and I can assure that that behavior is going to hurt your feelings way more than being an adult and training your dog to be a good dog instead of a spoiled child.

The following are a few copied excerpts from an article that I read this morning from a dog trainer. I feel like there are a good reminder for all of us on exactly what are dogs are and what they need.

"Your dog is a dog, not a human child. Constant unearned affection is a killer and creates an unhealthy addiction for both dog and owner. Your dog will love you unconditionally but will never respect you unless you give it reason to.

The most basic of basics, your dog must learn how to be still in any situation. If your dog can’t be still around any distraction, you will never have control.
Recall
Sit
Down
Walk nicely on leash
Out, meaning release anything in your mouth

You MUST have a language dedicated to your dog that your dog can learn by you being consistent and applying meaning to the words you use. Your dog MUST know what yes means, but also MUST know what NO means. If nothing comes after those words, yes equals reward for good, no equals correction for bad, your dog will never give meaning to either. Your dog’s name is not a command, or correction. NO should not be your dog’s middle name.

The training starts the second you bring the dog home."

07/16/2024

https://www.wusa9.com/article/life/animals/pet-owners-warned-algae-mats-detected-potomac-river/65-b8e0a276-810f-494c-bfd9-0b595332fde6

Locals!!! It’s NOT SAFE right now to take your dogs to the river. There is algae blooms in the river. No not take your dog to the river!! 

Algae blooms can be harmful to animals, so pet owners are advised to keep their furry friends out of the water until further notice.