Team Lilleagle had a fabulous time.

The lovely Enzo (Ziva x Dialynne Peter Piper) took home a fourth in his class.

Ludo (Whisky x Wenannou Vader with Dialynne) didn’t bring anything home, but went round beautifully, unfortunately he didn’t allow his lovely judge to go over him as recently he’s had a few table collapses at shows!

Binnie (Whisky x Wenannou Vader with Dialynne) at her third ever show took home a 3^rd, quite an achievement.

And their mother, Whisky was foot perfect round the ring, just a little large for the judges preferred type.

I am immensely proud of them all.  Mention must go to Bella and Rachel for handling them to perfection.  Jed and Amelia for being grooms / drivers and of course Ziva, without whom, we wouldn’t have this lovely line.  She is just such a beautiful character.  And a shout out to the wonderful Di Volpe who managed to catch Binnie in the ring with Bella for some photos.

On Saturday Jed returned with Bella to be her stand in pretend mother as she took another breed round the ring to take home a 1^st!  Fabulous, mature handling for her age.

Anyway, less chatter, now pictures, because that’s what you’re here for!  Some field images from the day before, a McTimoney workout and the day itself.

Crufts 2026

We had a lovely day out at the Beagle Champ show in Stoneleigh.  The dress code was Red, Blue and White.  We didn’t disappoint – Jed came home with best dressed!

The girls had a fabulous time and had the opportunity to let off some steam in the paddock whilst sporting their colour themed outfit.  Bella had fun with Enzo and Elvis.  G and Benjie got their stud book number.  Rachel was getting love from the Quincerhound gang.  Still waiting for someone to send me a picture of Jed looking dapper!

Whisky (Willows Freda Hatun Among LIlleagle x Ch Dialynne Peter Piper) recently achieved her Stud book number qualification.  She now has lifetime qualification for Crufts!

I am over the moon, she has developed into such a soft, gentle girl with loads of love to give.

With the closing of the Kennel Club Assured Breeders scheme (ABS) comes a new standard from the Kennel Club.  Interestingly I thought that all Kennel Club Assured Breeders would be meeting the new standards, but it seems not.  To me the new standards are far lower than the expected requirements of the ABS.  The Kennel Club have placed to practices that registered litters will be marked on, Good and Best.  We will follow Best Practice with all our litters.

When looking for a new puppy on the Kennel Club website, you will find they are ordered in standard practice.

Watch out though – check both mum and dad have best practice.  Not many do!

All my pups are Best Practice from both mum and dad.  It is not a hard to obtain these DNA tests (saliva and blood generally) and it is responsible that prove our puppys’ parents are tested for known heredity diseases.

It is also good practice to re-test the DNA of breeding dogs every two generations, so don’t just look for Best Practice, check if a test was actually done or how far back in the generations the test was done, we cant rely on hereditary clear on both sides for too many generations.

Here you will see Chivas Whisky is hereditary clear for a number of her tests and clear (the test was performed) for IGS-2.   Looking down you will see why I decided to test specially for IGS-2 prior to breeding.

When we look back at the mum (Ziva) we can see she had her full tests done, We know that as she is clear no pups will be affected, but we still need to look at dad.

Here dad doesn’t have the IGS – 2 (this is a newer test and he is now older) – and you can see why we retested for IGS with Whisky.  Any of Whisky’s pups we decide to breed from will need their MLS DNA test performing as this dad was hereditary clear from his parents, giving me the two generation gap where I prefer to retest.

Good Practice schemes and tests

We strongly recommend that breeders, at a minimum, conduct these tests before breeding, as evidence indicates these conditions are a significant concern in the breed.

• DNA test for Lafora’s – Find a lists of tested dogs here
• DNA test for Neonatal cerebellar cortical degeneration (NCCD) – Find a lists of tested dogs here

Best Practice schemes and tests

These tests address conditions that are still significant for the breed, though they may not be as critical as those listed under Good Practice. They might be less common or newly identified, and research is ongoing to determine their full impact.

To support the breed’s health, responsible breeders should ensure they complete all tests in both categories. Following our Best Practice guidelines means completing both the Good Practice and Best Practice tests for your breed.

• DNA test for Factor 7 deficiency (FVIID) – Find a lists of tested dogs here
• DNA test for Imerslund-Gräsbeck syndrome (IGS-2) – Find a lists of tested dogs here
• DNA test for Musladin-Lueke syndrome (MLS) – Find a lists of tested dogs here

Huge congratulations to Lee and G who have attained Benjie’s stud book number this year at The Beagle Club Championship Show.  Benjie is now qualified to attend Crufts for life.

Dave (Lilleagle Knows Dave – Ch Davricard Milton at Dialynne x  Dialynne Miss Marple) who was well known as a pup over facebook with the strap line of “be more Dave” spending the majority of his time chilling wherever he was, has been to the clinic.

Yes he is at that age where his semen needed checking, by all accounts it was very hard to check them, he was quick to provide his sample and the semen were very active and came in huge quantities, the clinic said they hadn’t seen such active large quantities of semen for a very long time!  Good lad!  And huge thanks to Jo for keeping him so well.

This means we will be looking to use him soon, which excites me incredibly – he’s a stunning boy and my pick of that 2022 litter.  I am so fortunate he has developed well.

I read something scary this morning. Only 14% of puppies sold in the country are from licensed breeders. Up until December 2024 a small number of those unlicensed breeders may have been Kennel Club Assured Breeder members. Why do I mention this? Well at least those puppies sold had some sort of oversight too, but now, there are 86% of puppies sold in the country with absolutely no oversight, no one checking the welfare of the litters and their dams/studs. Only 14% of puppies therefore are guaranteed a level of welfare throughout their formative period, plus their dams would be required to have all year round appropriate care and welfare.

So what about those that aren’t licensed? Councils interpret the regulations differently. With some using the HMRC trade badge as benchmark (takings – not profit of £1000), some will use the “No more than 3 litters in 12 months” section of the regulation as their low set bar and some will use the “advertising” section as a reason to be licensed.

The doors are open and we could have people breeding 3 litters per year in some areas, imagine the possible impact on the health and welfare of their dogs and in turn your precious bundle over five years, that could be 15 litters of ten pups, 150 puppies out there with no one overseeing their welfare from the start, and that could be just one person in her flat breeding her toy sized dogs. Clearly the “hobby” breeder here will have hit the benchmark for HMRC and what is the possibility that they haven’t advertised?

There is an argument out there that the license is too tough, too complicated, unfair targets. Let me assure those that think this, no it is not. Even as a five star breeder, my care and welfare far exceeds the requirements and it is not difficult, in all honesty it is basic animal welfare, simple!

If you think that creating individual records for pups and your dogs at home and completing 4 hourly observations is too much, then you shouldn’t be breeding.

If cleaning bowls twice daily, feeding at least once daily or four times for pups, moping the floor twice daily, grooming your dog, health and behaviour checking daily, providing enrichment and providing a preventative treatment plan (to name a few basic areas) is too much, you shouldn’t even be owning a dog! Basic husbandry and welfare.

Every year, if not more often and often dynamically I look at my practice, my record keeping and make improvements, I look back and read how my pups developed, I share information with owners, everything is documented. Why? Everything I document I find useful in the future, when I am not sure I check back, how did that pup react to a scent, sound, texture.
Whilst I do agree there is some inconsistency in how the regulations are applied in different areas of the country, without them our dogs and pups would have no voice. There are people out there wanting deregulation, but there are too many risks.

For me it is imperative that anyone breeding a dog should gain knowledge first and get that license, yes it is expensive, but so is a caring for a dam all year, a c-section and raising pups. I can hear breeders here crying at me with the “there is no money in it, I am a hobby breeder” … I hear you, so am I! But Welfare before Wallet.

The welfare of the animals must come before our wallets! Perhaps councils could consider reducing their rates?

For more information and details relating to the figures visit Naturewatch.

Generally the timing of crufts goes hand in hand with our girls coming into season, it is spring afterall.  Well for the first time Ziva wasnt in season and she was able to experience her first crufts.

She had a lovely day, spending time with the public getting her cuddles, she was in her element navigating the stands, not phased by all the people surrounding her.  I am immensely proud of her.  Not only did she show her socks off, she also managed to get placed!  Congratulations to all other beagles and dogs that showed, we all took the best dog home!

After  years of many breeders working hard to maintain highest standards for welfare, care, health and after sales care, the ABS scheme is sadly being discontinued in December 2024.  We don’t know what this means for us in the future, we don’t know how you will be able to check if a breeder is actually working hard with the pups health and wellbeing in mind at all times.  At the moment all I can say is that Assured Breeders will continue to work hard, you should be able to find us until December, from there on I would recommend that every new puppy owner checks and views breeding licenses, reads contracts and spends time with the breeder before placing any deposits.  You must be confident that your breeder is going to honour their contract and take your pup back at any point in their life, without question.

I will keep working hard, I will keep improving with each litter I have and I will keep aiming to produce cheery hounds that are to breed standard and have a very soft, kind nature.   Our next litter will be from Whisky, Ziva’s first litter, she has proven herself to be kind with the pups, when they visit she continues to “clean” them and encourages them to toilet, she is maternal, mature and very soft natured, this is a great start!  If you would like to join my waiting list for a Whisky pup, please do get in touch.  She has been cleared from the vet as developed, mature, soft natured and ready to breed, added to our licence and the ABS have authorised her to be mated.