Decoding the Dachshund | Yappy Hour Podcast with Nicky Hammel

Welcome to The Yappy Hour, powered by Yappily – the podcast for dog lovers who want to deepen their bond with their four-legged friends. In this episode, host Nathan Dunleavy chats with Nicky Hammel, a licensed breeder and behaviourist specialising in long-haired dachshunds.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• How to read and understand dachshund behaviour
• Common behavioural challenges and how to tackle them
• The truth about dachshunds' "stubborn" reputation
• Why responsible breeding is crucial and what to look for in a breeder
• Managing barking, reactivity, and separation anxiety
• Tips for raising a well-adjusted dachshund from puppyhood to adolescence
• Essential health considerations like IVDD and PRA

Find local and ethical dog trainers, dog behaviourists, dog walkers, groomers, dog pros and pet businesses near you.  Yappily is the UK directory built to help you find trusted pet care professionals you can feel good about working with.

📍 Search verified and trusted listings on Yappily

Welcome to the Yappy Hour, powered by

Yappily the podcast for dog lovers who

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want to better understand and connect

with their four legged companions.

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I'm your host, Nathan Dunleavy, and today

we are diving deep into one of the UK's

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most iconic and entertaining breeds.

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The d.

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Joining me is Nicky Hammel a

behaviourist and licensed breeder who

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specializes in long hair, dachshunds.

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In this episode we'll talk about

what makes this breed so unique, the

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common behavioural challenges pet

parents face, and how to raise a happy,

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healthy, and confident sausage dog.

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Whether you've just bought a puppy home or

you are living with a feisty middle aged

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sausage, this episode will be for you.

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We'll also bust a few myths, share

some practical tips, and reflect on

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why working with your dog's natural

traits, not against them is the secret

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to building a long lasting bond.

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So grab a cup of tea, settle

in, and let's get started.

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour:

Welcome back to The Yappy

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Hour, powered by Yappily.

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I'm your host, Nathan Dunleavy, and

I'm so excited to bring you another

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episode today, even more excited

that we've got Nicky Hammel with us.

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Welcome, Nicky.

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I.

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Thanks for being on the yappy hour.

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Nicky's actually a really good friend

of mine, so it is just gonna be like

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having two friends, just having a chat

about our favorite things, which is dogs

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or in Nicky's case, Dashan or Dashan.

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I don't gotta pronounce it properly

now 'cause I can never spell

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Dashan, but I struggle saying it

sometimes as well, so, brilliant.

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So Nicky, welcome to the Yappy Hour.

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I'm so excited to have you.

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Thanks for joining us.

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How's everything going in

your world at the moment?

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Nicky Hammel: Yeah, really,

really good actually.

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Really good dog's.

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All well, dog's all happy.

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

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Nicky Hammel: yeah, really, really good.

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Really good.

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Perfect.

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So tell us a little bit

about how you came to work.

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So closely with this iconic little breed

and what sparked your love for dash outs.

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Nicky Hammel: Well, it's, it's

quite a long story actually, so.

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: We love

a long story, so you fill your boots.

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Nicky Hammel: so in my previous job

I worked for a high street bank as a

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mortgage advisor and a really, really

good friend of mine bought an accent.

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the more time I sort of spent with

him and with her, it, it just, the

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breed just kind of got me really.

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

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Nicky Hammel: I'd wanted one for quite

a while before I got my first one.

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It actually took me, I think

about a year to persuade my

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husband to let me have a dog.

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and yeah, that's how, it's just, just

kind of escalated from there really.

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And I became unhappy in my

job at the bank and, you know,

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sort of wanted a way out of it.

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So initially we kind of decided

that we would set up our own

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home boarding and daycare service

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour:

that's right.

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Yeah.

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Nicky Hammel: we really wanted to

sort of nail down and specialize

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in Dexon because they are, they can

be a funny little breed and they

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really, really love their own breed.

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Not always comfortable around larger dogs.

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So we wanted

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Right.

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Nicky Hammel: of, in our search

for, for a service for ourselves, we

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wanted to kind of create something

that other people could enjoy.

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I mean, there were a few

services around like that,

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

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Nicky Hammel: Not all that many.

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So that's kind of where we started.

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And then as lockdown

happened, you know, that had a

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

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Nicky Hammel: impact on the business.

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So I then kind of took that

time retrain as a behaviourist,

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yes.

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Yes,

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Nicky Hammel: decided to kind

of step away from that a little

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bit and then move into breeding.

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So,

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: yes.

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And that's where you are now.

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So you are still doing a bit

of behaviour work, aren't you?

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Nicky Hammel: A little bit here and

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: yeah.

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Nicky Hammel: my primary focus

really is, is on my breeding program.

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour:

Is the breed in?

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Yeah.

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So you did sort of specialize

in, so I have said it wrong, so

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I'm saying dash sound, but you've

said D Sound, so is it D Sound?

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Nicky Hammel: DAXs hun.

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: D

so I wanna make sure I say it right.

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So DD, it's a bit of a

German, German word, isn't it?

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It's a funny word.

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Nicky Hammel: a German word.

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Yeah, translated.

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So the translation from English

to German is Badger Dog, which

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour:

Ah, I never knew that.

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Nicky Hammel: bred to.

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yes.

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Okay, so I'm finally gonna say it

wrong all throughout this episode

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now, but I'm glad I double checked.

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So, yeah, great.

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So similar journey to me.

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I worked in the bank and then

obviously started off dog walking.

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Lockdown hit, had to shut down my

business for a couple of weeks, and

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then I retrained in, in lockdown

as a dog trainer and specifically

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separation anxiety specialist.

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Yeah, so haven't gone the full hog of you.

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As being a licensed breeder, but did do

a little bit of hobby breeding, hence why

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I've now got four, two po, two poodles.

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So we love the little dogs.

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And yeah, it's great.

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So we're gonna be moving on to

our next section now which is all

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about getting to know the breed.

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So what makes a dash

a sound, a duck sound.

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I'm still struggling with that

word and I should have mentioned at

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the start of this episode as well

that Nicky is another one of our.

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Breed specialists or breed experts.

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So we've had a few different breed

experts on so it's really great

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that we're gonna be delving more

into this fantastic little breed.

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So for those listening, for our

listeners who don't know the breed that

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well, how would you describe a typical

dexon in personality and temperament?

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Nicky Hammel: Personality.

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They're absolutely hilarious.

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They, for such a small dog, they've

got such a huge personality,

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: I have,

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Nicky Hammel: every single one

of my dogs is different and

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brings something different.

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So humans, no single

one of them is the same.

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: yeah.

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Nicky Hammel: Within the different

coat types that you get within

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the Dax and there are three.

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yes,

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Nicky Hammel: so what I do sort of

find with mine is my short hair is

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a lot more kind of overexcited with

life in general and everything.

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Whereas.

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: I, I

know this one who you're talking about, so

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Nicky Hammel: She was my first ever

dog, bless her heart, and seven

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Kimmy.

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Nicky Hammel: Oh yeah, that's Kimmy.

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And she's an absolute angel.

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She is just quite hectic.

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Whereas the long hairs I do

find a lot more chilled and a

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lot more laid back in general.

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yes.

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Nicky Hammel: variances between that, but.

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

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Nicky Hammel: And you know, they're,

they're just such lovely little dogs.

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They are lovely and you know,

they, they love to have a good

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run around and they love their

exercise, they love playing, but

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Mm-hmm.

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Nicky Hammel: time, they like the

balance of being able to, to chill

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and cuddle up with you as well.

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: So

they make a bit of a lap dog as well.

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So there's a wired hair.

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Wired hair, Dax sound isn't there as well.

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Nicky Hammel: there

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Okay.

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And then you've got mini Dak

sound and then a standard dexon.

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Is that right?

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Nicky Hammel: do?

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Yeah, two

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah,

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Nicky Hammel: So

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: yeah.

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Nicky Hammel: there's two different

sizes in this country, and it's the,

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it's the mini longs that I bring.

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I don't breed the short hair,

but yeah, just the mini longs.

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour:

they're the mini long-haired huns.

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And would you say that their temperament

is different from the short hair

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to the long hair then as well?

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Nicky Hammel: Oh, in my experience,

yes, but also not only with my

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own dogs, but from when I used to

do daycare and boarding as well,

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Hmm.

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Nicky Hammel: you know, the

majority of the dogs that I

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had would be the short hairs,

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

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Nicky Hammel: in the daycare.

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'cause they, they were

more popular at the time.

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So

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: But

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Nicky Hammel: back to.

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they were like, albeit they would

behave differently in this environment

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to what they would at home.

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: mm.

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Nicky Hammel: know, just sort

of a comparison with how,

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how I see like my long hairs.

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Yeah, there, there is

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Mm.

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Nicky Hammel: a difference there,

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: And

I love it that you had to convince your

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husband to get like one, seven years ago.

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Now you've got loads.

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Nicky Hammel: you know,

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour:

That's brilliant.

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Nicky Hammel: don't you, where

you're like, well, what's one more.

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour:

What's one more?

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That's what happened to me, but we've

actually stopped at seven 'cause we, yeah.

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We couldn't afford anymore,

but yeah, I know what you mean.

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Nicky Hammel: I can't even

remember a time when I had seven.

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour:

Yeah, well as long as I've known

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you, which is a good few years

now, you've always had quite a few.

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But yeah, I mean, what's, you

know, little dogs, they make up a

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couple of big ones, so it's fine.

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Nicky Hammel: they

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: So

my next question then would was around

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what you think are some of the biggest

mis misconceptions around the breed.

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Nicky Hammel: I would say.

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There's probably two,

which I see an awful lot.

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And it's around people just assuming

that they're, because of their size,

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they're a lap dog and they're gonna

cuddle up with you and, you know, just

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want human attention and that's it.

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Which, to be honest, that

couldn't be further from the truth

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because they are working breed.

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Okay?

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You

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

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Nicky Hammel: variance between each dog as

an individual and, you know, their, their

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desire to, to work and be a hound is.

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It's more prevalent in

some than in the others.

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

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Nicky Hammel: the other thing that I see

a lot is people calling them stubborn.

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour:

Oh, okay.

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And yeah, I hate that saying

'cause there's no such thing

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a stubborn dog is there.

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Nicky Hammel: No, no, no, no.

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And that's it.

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And you know, thinking back to, you

know, when I sort of do my behavioural

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work or I see posts and Facebook groups

and things like that, I think people

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kind of labeling them as that actually.

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Are you motivating your dog enough

for them do what you want them to do?

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And do they understand what you

are actually asking them to do?

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And yeah.

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So yeah, that, that's what I see a lot.

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And you know, people,

you know, notoriously say

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they're difficult to train.

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They're this, they're that,

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Really.

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Nicky Hammel: and actually they're not.

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You've just gotta understand

them as a breed and

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: I said.

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Nicky Hammel: how you can motivate them

to, do the behaviours you want them to do.

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour:

So it's all about tapping into

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that natural instant, isn't it?

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It's, yeah.

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Nicky Hammel: Yeah.

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour:

Yeah, yeah.

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And you know every dog can be

trained, but it's, you know, some dogs

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pick up a lot quicker than others.

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You've gotta put in the time.

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And yeah, it's about, and I'm a

big believer in sort of people.

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Doing their research

into the breed as well.

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That's really important, isn't it?

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So that leads us nicely onto

behavioural support for Dak Sands.

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So you've mentioned that obviously,

you know, some people say they're

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hard to train and they're stubborn,

but what would you say are some

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of the most common behavioural

issues that you see in the breed?

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And what do you wish more

owners knew about handling them?

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Nicky Hammel: I mean, I think

probably the, the top behaviour,

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you can hear one of mine now

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour:

That's okay.

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I am surprised mine aren't going.

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That's absolutely fine.

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It's all about the happy hour.

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Nicky Hammel: oh yes, and

there's lots of YAP in here.

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I would say probably the top

behavioural problems I see is

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excessive barking reactivity

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

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Nicky Hammel: probably

separation, although I don't

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tend to see so much of that now.

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That was a really big thing, you know,

sort of around lockdown time when we were

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yes,

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Nicky Hammel: You know, everybody.

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that it was a great time to buy a

dog 'cause they were at home and

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then of course they then went back

to work and the dogs couldn't cope.

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour:

that's, yeah.

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Nicky Hammel: I don't really see

an awful lot of that at the moment.

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Mm.

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Nicky Hammel: the excessive barking, the

reactivity perceived aggression and yeah,

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

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And obviously they're

barking for a reason.

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It's a natural form of vocalization

communication for a, for a dog, so,

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Nicky Hammel: course, of

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: yeah.

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Nicky Hammel: you know, particularly

with Axon, they're, they're a breed

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that was specifically to bark.

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So, you know, when they would sort of go

to ground after, you know, sort of rabbits

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badges and things like that, they had to

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Mm,

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Nicky Hammel: to bark so their

handler could actually locate,

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you know, sort of where they were.

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour:

that's it.

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Nicky Hammel: they, they are a breed that.

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Is gonna be more prone to barking because

that's what they've been been bred to do.

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So

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

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Yeah.

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Nicky Hammel: that would be a top thing

that really, if you are, if you are gonna

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be looking to get a DAX and one of the top

things that you really need to understand

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour:

Is it they?

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Is it they bark?

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Nicky Hammel: Yeah, they do.

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour:

Well all, all dogs bark.

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But yeah, I mean there's some that are

gonna bark more than others because

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they've been bred for a certain reason and

it's just, just the genetics, isn't it?

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And what you know.

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Nicky Hammel: Yeah, of course.

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour:

And you're saying about sa I I

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hadn't worked with many essays in,

in Dxi, but recently I just worked

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with a short head, short head one.

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But I hadn't seen many.

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It was mainly sort of like

the cockapoos and the beagles

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that I'd been working with.

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Yeah.

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So yeah, it is interesting.

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So how could someone strike the right

balance between support and their

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dog's emotions and setting boundaries?

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Nicky Hammel: So again, I think it's

that piece around understanding your

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dog and, you know, understanding

what is natural behaviours for them.

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Understanding that, you know, with natural

behaviours, you know, you can't, I.

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Train those out of a dog,

they're there and that's it.

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I think, you know, in terms of,

of, of setting the boundaries and,

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and being clear with what you want

them to do is, you know, actually

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realistic with what you're expecting.

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going back to the whole barking thing,

you know, if you are gonna expect

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that a dog is never gonna bark, then.

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You know, it, it, it makes

it difficult, doesn't it?

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But

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

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Nicky Hammel: you know, being able to

work with your dog and actually teaching

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them that they don't have to bark all

the time and actually, kind of having a

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bit of control over that and rewarding

them, you know, for example, when they're

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quiet and you know, so on and so forth.

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah,

tapping into that, you know, those natural

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instance and giving them a different

outlet with some sort of enrichment

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and brain games and stuff like that.

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Really?

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Nicky Hammel: Yeah.

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A hundred percent.

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A hundred

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

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Nicky Hammel: you know, another example

of that is, you know, they're a breed that

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you know is specifically bred to chase

things because they're a hunting breed

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah,

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Nicky Hammel: You know, this is

something that I've experienced

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myself before I knew any better.

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You know, one of my dogs would kind of

be off chasing everything on a walk.

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And actually you can almost like flip

that and give your dog kind of access

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to things where they can chase things

so they don't then have to kind of go

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off and make their own entertainment.

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So

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour:

definitely.

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Nicky Hammel: setting those boundaries,

giving the dog the proper outlet

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

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Yeah.

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Nicky Hammel: the natural behaviours

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

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Nicky Hammel: you know,

showing them alternatives.

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah,

and like you say, it's about understanding

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what those natural behaviours are as

well, so understanding them and then

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sort of setting your dog up for success

and playing to those strengths and

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giving those, those given those those

outlets, which, you know, I love that.

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Perfect.

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Yeah.

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Brilliant.

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So we're gonna move on

to our next section.

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Thanks Nicky for that.

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So life as a responsible breeder.

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So you are a licensed

breeder of long-haired dins.

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What does responsible

breeding mean to you, Nicky?

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Nicky Hammel: I think breeding, I would

say, I mean, kind of taking it right back,

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I mean, when I first started breeding

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I had my first litter.

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And then I didn't require

a license for that.

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And I thought, right, I'm gonna,

I'll have a support from a really,

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really good friend of mine who

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

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Nicky Hammel: and mentored me

through it because, you know, you,

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you know yourself, you know, it

can be quite scary when you're

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour:

it's, it's very scary.

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Yeah.

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Stressful.

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Nicky Hammel: especially, you know, if

things don't quite go as they should do.

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So I had my first litter and I

actually contacted my animal welfare

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officer and I was kind of like,

okay, I really, really wanna apply.

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For a license.

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And even at that point, she, she kind of

said to me, she, she was like, well, how

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many litters are you gonna be having?

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I mean, I didn't have that

many dogs at that point.

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and she was kind of like,

well, because you're not gonna

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be having litters regularly.

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You don't actually need a license.

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And I was kind of like, well, I know I

don't probably need it right now, but

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour:

But you want, you wanted it?

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Yeah.

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Nicky Hammel: not so I can just say to

people, oh, I've got a breeding license.

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But was, it was more around having,

you know, something in place where I.

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You know, I knew I was following

what the government kind of set

399

out as regulations to protect

animals from a welfare perspective.

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I mean, it's not to say if I wasn't

licensed, I wasn't gonna be doing

401

that, but, you know, you, you know,

I would've followed it anyway.

402

But,

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

404

Nicky Hammel: obtain a license, you

have to have the animal welfare officer

405

come round and inspect your premises.

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They

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

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Nicky Hammel: with a vet who spends

a good amount of time inspecting your

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour:

Oh, okay.

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Nicky Hammel: all of

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour:

Oh, I didn't know Yvette did as well.

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Wow.

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Nicky Hammel: Yeah.

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

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Nicky Hammel: when I first had

mine, I had my animal welfare

416

officer around who I already knew

because I was a licensed boarder.

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour:

Of course it's the same person.

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Nicky Hammel: Yeah, so she come around

and did an inspection and you know,

419

sort of gave me some guidance about, you

know, sort of things to put in place.

420

And then the vet then comes round

and I think she was probably

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here with a vet for about a good

hour, hour and a half, you know,

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Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour:

Oh, okay.

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Nicky Hammel: everything.

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They'll look through policies, procedures,

they'll look through your premises and

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you know, all sorts of things like that.

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And then they'll put together a list

of recommendations of, you know,

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further things that they may want

you to put in place or things that

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you want, they want you to change.

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And then once you've done all of those

changes, the animal welfare officer

430

then comes back again and reinspect

what you've already done and decides

431

whether they're happy to, to sort of

432

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Oh,

433

Nicky Hammel: license.

434

So for

435

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour:

quite, quite a rigorous process.

436

Nicky Hammel: yeah, that, that

437

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour:

That's good.

438

Nicky Hammel: Was one of the most

important things to have in place.

439

But then, you know, sort of following

on from that, it's making sure that all

440

the breeding stock that you've got are.

441

Good examples of the breed,

442

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Mm.

443

Nicky Hammel: to, you know, select the

best candidates for your breeding program.

444

looking at things like health tests,

the temperament of the dog, and, you

445

know, all bits and pieces like that.

446

then, you know, it's

447

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

448

Nicky Hammel: then sort of made

that commitment to breed, you know,

449

I think one of the most important

things for me is, although I'm.

450

Breeding puppies and bringing them into

the world, and you know, they'll go off

451

to their new homes and things like that.

452

because I'm the breeder and I've brought

them into the world, ultimately I have

453

a responsibility for that dog from the

day they're born right up until the day

454

that they're, you know, they pass away.

455

So,

456

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour:

Yeah, and that's good.

457

Nicky Hammel: One of the things I

have in place with my puppy owners

458

is I have a contract in place, which

basically says, you know, if at any

459

point in your puppy's life you are

unable to care for them, they must come

460

back to me as the breeder and I will

461

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour:

That's amazing because

462

Nicky Hammel: point

463

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: I, I

don't, I don't think a lot of breeders

464

do do that, and I think that's important.

465

That sets you apart.

466

Nicky Hammel: And I think as

467

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

468

Nicky Hammel: know, with the amount of

pressure that's on rescue centers and

469

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

470

Nicky Hammel: that at at the moment as

well, I think, you know, as a breeder, if

471

you are just gonna sell a dog to someone

and then just almost like wash your hands

472

and say, well, there you go, then you

know that that's not responsible really.

473

And.

474

You know, just sort of following on

from that as well, it's the whole

475

process that you go through when

you select suitable families and

476

owners for your puppies as well.

477

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

478

Nicky Hammel: not, I mean, I'm

sure there's breeders out there

479

that aren't as thorough, but for

480

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

481

Nicky Hammel: I have to know everything

about family and be completely

482

comfortable with them before I'm

gonna let them take one of my puppies.

483

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour:

Yeah, no, that sets you

484

apart from everyone else.

485

And I think as well for us it

comes down to ethics as well.

486

'cause we are part of like similar

go government bodies and obviously

487

we've got like a moral compass and

a certain ethics that we follow.

488

So I think from your perspective

as well, the reason you did that

489

is because it comes down to your.

490

And ethics and what you

believe in are your values.

491

Nicky Hammel: Yeah, absolutely.

492

And you know, just sort of going back

to, you know, the taking back of a

493

puppy, you know, if I, I mean, I always

keep in touch with my puppy owners.

494

You know, when someone has a puppy

from me, I always say to them, look,

495

you, you are literally part of my

family now and you're stuck with me.

496

You're having this puppy

497

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour:

That's lovely.

498

Nicky Hammel: know, always

keep in contact with them.

499

You know, people that send me

updates, videos, all sorts of things.

500

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

501

Nicky Hammel: you know, if I.

502

I out that someone was struggling

and they hadn't come to me and that

503

one of my puppies had ended up in

a rescue or something like that.

504

Not that I'm saying there's

anything wrong with rescues

505

'cause there's absolutely not.

506

But you know, if I found out

that one of my puppies had gone

507

to a rescue, I would be so upset

508

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

509

Yeah.

510

Nicky Hammel: I would like

to have that opportunity to

511

always have them back myself.

512

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour:

You are so invested in, in the puppy

513

and their, and their new guardians.

514

Perfect.

515

So that mo, that mo moves us on nicely

to the next question, which is about

516

how do you support puppy guardians

to feel more confident and prepared

517

when taking home their new puppy?

518

Nicky Hammel: So when people have a

puppy from me, I mean, depending on when

519

the puppy owner comes into it, I mean,

some people I'll be in contact with.

520

before a matings taken place, or a

puppy's born or anything like that.

521

you know, some people it will be, you

know, a little bit further down the

522

line when the puppy's a few weeks old.

523

you know, I have a lot of contact

with my puppy owners prior to

524

them taking their puppy home.

525

You know, they have the option to ask

me questions at any time whatsoever.

526

and that's, you know, prior to

them getting the puppy, whether

527

it be, you know, sort of around.

528

Feeding equipment set up at

home, anything like that?

529

I mean, when people come, 'cause

normally people will come for a visit

530

before they take the puppy home.

531

So a lot of this will, we'll talk

about on that initial visit when

532

they first come to meet their puppy.

533

So we'll go through a lot of information

at that point, and people will have a

534

lot of questions, but also when they

take their puppy home, you know, they

535

go home with a, a full information

folder of, of information around

536

vaccinations, worming, health tests,

537

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

538

Nicky Hammel: sorts of things like that.

539

And you know, I always say to my

puppy owners when they go, you know,

540

you, you've got my phone number.

541

You can ring me or message me at any time.

542

You know, if there's anything you're

not sure of, anything you're worried

543

about, any support I can give you.

544

You

545

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah,

546

Nicky Hammel: only ever a phone

call or a message away, so they

547

know that they've got me basically.

548

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour:

I think that's fantastic.

549

'cause not everyone offers that or

does that, and it's nice that they

550

can feel supported and it, it just

says more about you as well, that

551

they're getting their puppy from,

you know, a really ethical reader.

552

Perfect.

553

Nicky Hammel: And not

554

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Okay.

555

Nicky Hammel: you know, for as, as

a breeder, and you'll probably know

556

from, you know, when, when you've

bred yourself, there's nothing nicer

557

than somebody got one of your puppies

sending you a photo or a little

558

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah,

I still get, yeah, I'm still in groups

559

now and I get updates, so I mean, it

could be a year down the line and I

560

then get a message and it's lovely.

561

It's quite, quite heartwarming and.

562

Nicky Hammel: so lovely.

563

And do you know what, one of my

puppy owners for Christmas this

564

year, it actually made me a little

bit emotional when I opened it.

565

So I dunno if you've seen them,

but you can get these like.

566

Plates or plaques and things

and you know, you can do like

567

dog footprints on it or your

568

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yes.

569

Nicky Hammel: and stuff like that painted.

570

And they'd sent me like this

little plaque with their dog's like

571

footprint on it and I was just like,

572

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour:

Oh, that's cute.

573

Nicky Hammel: So lovely.

574

So

575

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour:

That's nice.

576

Yeah.

577

So you've picked, you know, like

you say, you do your research on

578

the, the owners, they get vetted.

579

So you've picked a, you know, you've

picked some good people there.

580

Nicky Hammel: Yeah, absolutely.

581

And you know, I've had people that,

well, I think one person who's actually

582

come back for a second puppy as well,

583

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yes.

584

Yeah.

585

That's good.

586

Nicky Hammel: that's been lovely as well.

587

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour:

Yeah, that's really nice.

588

Perfect.

589

So moving on to our next section.

590

Thank you for that.

591

So it's all around

puppyhood to adolescent.

592

So raising a happy and fulfilled dexon.

593

What are the key things you recommend

for the new Dexon guardians to

594

focus on during those early weeks?

595

Nicky Hammel: So early weeks,

I would say take things slowly.

596

Don't expect too much, at the same

time, you know, sort of start doing

597

things as you know, as soon as you,

you take pup home, because I mean,

598

obviously while the puppies with me,

I will have done a certain amount

599

of socialization and habitation.

600

So, you know, puppies will sort

of leave me with, you know, sort

601

of being comfortable around a

variety of different people.

602

Particularly children as well.

603

You know, I'm very fortunate in that

respect because, you know, a lot of

604

the time you, you can hear stories

about people's Dax ands not liking

605

children and, and, and things like that.

606

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Right.

607

Nicky Hammel: you know.

608

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Okay.

609

Nicky Hammel: If they've never been

around children or the new home

610

doesn't have children, that actually

be quite difficult, especially if

611

they've got family that have got

children that then sort of visit

612

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Mm

613

Nicky Hammel: So, you know,

614

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: mm.

615

Nicky Hammel: kids are, well, they're

nine and nearly 10 and nearly 18.

616

So, you know, they're, they're very,

very much hands-on with the pups.

617

They get handled by them, you know, they

get to spend a lot of time with them.

618

So.

619

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

620

Nicky Hammel: You know, and they get

to meet a different variety of people.

621

You know, we have visitors

and things like that.

622

And, you know, they have a lot of the

time they, you know, they're, they're

623

downstairs in an area of the living

room where they can see everything

624

that's going on, all the sight

sounds, smells, everything like that.

625

I mean, some breeders you know, will

sort of have dogs and kennels and

626

things like that, and, you know.

627

I dunno how much they get to

experience a home environment.

628

But you know, we make sure when our

puppies leave that, you know, they've

629

kind of experienced most things that

they sort of need to experience and

630

it's really about the owners, you know,

sort of keeping up on top of that and

631

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

632

Nicky Hammel: to build on that, but

obviously not doing things too quickly.

633

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

634

Nicky Hammel: So for them

to sort of start doing that.

635

And also as well, know, sort of getting

them to build the pup's confidence, you

636

know, sort of alone and things like that.

637

So, you know, the, the most tempting

thing to do when you've got a new puppy

638

is just to pick, pop up and cuddle them

all the time, which saying is wrong.

639

all do it.

640

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: We do.

641

Nicky Hammel: them have that little bit

of independence where they can kind of.

642

Go and do own thing and actually put

proof in the home so you know it is

643

safe for pup and you're not sort of

almost like telling them no every five

644

minutes or Come here, don't do that.

645

It's, you

646

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

647

Nicky Hammel: opportunity to be confident

and, you know, sort of go and explore

648

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

649

Nicky Hammel: getting into

trouble, if that makes sense.

650

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

651

And I think the, from my experience

working with puppy owners, the things

652

they struggle with initially is

probably like toilet training and yeah.

653

So have you got any tips on

sort of toilet training at all?

654

Nicky Hammel: I mean, in terms of

toilet training with, with mine,

655

I will just sort of, you know, af

probably every sort of 15, 20 minutes

656

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour:

That's it.

657

Yeah.

658

Nicky Hammel: them outside

particularly after they've eaten

659

or had playtime or they've just

660

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

661

Nicky Hammel: up and things like

662

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

663

Nicky Hammel: I mean, we start

toilet training with the pups

664

around sort of three or four weeks.

665

So we have them, you know, sort of,

kind of in a welcoming box up until

666

three or four weeks till they get

a little bit more mobile and then.

667

really good at cleaning up

after them, you know, sort of

668

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

669

Nicky Hammel: they're there.

670

But

671

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah,

672

Nicky Hammel: a little bit

older around, you know, sort of

673

three and a half, four weeks,

674

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: yeah,

675

Nicky Hammel: of create in a pen, you

know, a separate sleeping and toilet area.

676

So, you know, they do start to

understand the difference of,

677

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: yeah.

678

Nicky Hammel: of where to

go and where not to go.

679

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

680

Nicky Hammel: and one thing I do sort

of say to my puppy owners is, don't

681

fall into the habit of using puppy pads.

682

I'm, I'm

683

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: I know.

684

Nicky Hammel: I think they've got a place,

685

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

686

Nicky Hammel: Nelly, I'm not a fan of

using a puppy pad indoors because I think

687

it's confusing and it kind of teaches

the pup that it's okay to go to the

688

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour:

Yeah, your, your encouraging to go

689

indoors, but I know that like for some

people that were using them, I, what

690

I used to say was, we'll put it by

the back door and then slowly move it

691

outside so that the puppy knows to go.

692

But I.

693

With a lot of this, it is for

long getting a new puppy and we

694

don't know what we don't know.

695

So it's all about sort of education

and research and stuff like that.

696

And, you know, getting a reputable

sort of dog trainer positive

697

reinforcement dog trainer.

698

Early on, that's mine.

699

Sort of probably having a scrap

down there now on the floor.

700

Yeah, getting help early on doing,

I'm really big on sort of education,

701

doing your research into the breed.

702

Particularly obviously if it's like

you know, a breed that, like you say,

703

you've not got kids or, you've not got

a garden, you, you're just in a flat

704

that's gonna make toilet training harder.

705

Yeah, that's what I was gonna say.

706

So people don't realize that you

have to be so rigid and get them

707

out every sort of 15 to 20 minutes.

708

So I, I'd say like you

just have to put 'em out.

709

And even if they don't do anything

when they do go, you've gotta

710

fully praise them and reinforce

that with a nice, tasty treat.

711

But like clockwork, you have

to set a, a timer and get

712

them out every 15, 20 minutes.

713

And they, they, like you said,

after any form of excitement, play

714

eating, they've just woken up.

715

You need to just put 'em out.

716

'cause they don't, they can't

control their bladder straight away.

717

Nicky Hammel: Absolutely.

718

And then, you know, not getting

upset if they do have an accident

719

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Exactly.

720

Nicky Hammel: it is gonna happen.

721

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: It does.

722

I used to say create the party outside

and all your neighbors probably think

723

you're crazy, but you know, when they

do go outside, just wave your arms

724

around and get all, get all excited.

725

So you picked, I picked up on some, as

you said, so some of our pet parents

726

listening, they may know what's

of, they may have heard the word

727

socialization, but you mentioned habit.

728

It's another word I can't say habitation.

729

Yeah.

730

Are you able just to tell us what

that word means if you don't mind?

731

Nicky Hammel: the difference, I

mean, socialization, pretty much

732

everyone knows what that means.

733

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

734

Nicky Hammel: introducing the dog to

all living creatures, whether that

735

be humans, dogs, cats, any other

animals you might have in the house.

736

But habituation relates to, you know, sort

of things that are in the environment.

737

So, sight, sounds, textures,

all bits and bobs like that.

738

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

739

Nicky Hammel: well.

740

So what we sort of tend to do with

our puppies as well, we do do a bit

741

of the early neurological stimulation

and the early scent introduction.

742

So the early neurological

what you call it the early

743

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: a,

744

Nicky Hammel: neurological stimulation.

745

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour:

that's A-N-S-A-N-S, in other words,

746

Nicky Hammel: I was trying

to use the correct name.

747

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour:

that that's.

748

Nicky Hammel: you know, there, there's

various exercises that you can do

749

which kind of relates to touch.

750

So it's kind of touching

their feet, holding them in

751

different positions and whatnot.

752

And it's designed to,

you know, sort of create.

753

A little bit of stress, but also

to help build but good stress, not

754

stress in a bad way, but good to help

build their resilience a little bit.

755

And then, you know, you sort

of do that for the first week

756

from day three up to day 10.

757

And then you can also do

that with scent as well.

758

So you pick a different scent

for each day, whether it be.

759

You know, sort of household things like,

you know, some of your herbs, not the ones

760

that are like really strong, like cayenne

pepper or chili powder or something

761

like that, but your na, your natural

herbs that you get, you know, like your

762

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yes.

763

Nicky Hammel: and things like that.

764

You can grab bits and bobs,

you know, sort of from outside

765

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

766

Nicky Hammel: would be, you know, you

can record the pup's reaction to it.

767

So it's things like, you know,

if they have no reaction, whether

768

they move towards the item or sent.

769

Or, and whether they sort

of like move away from it.

770

So again, it's just building that

little bit of resilience there as well.

771

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

772

Brilliant.

773

I love that.

774

I was gonna mention as well, is that when

the puppy goes home, if that's either

775

eight, 10 or 12 weeks, and we've got

this thing with vaccinations now that

776

they have to wait or they get spaced

out, and that's quite a key, what we

777

call the sensitive period for, for dogs.

778

And they need to sort of, you know, have

all these different novel experiences.

779

So don't get so hung up on that.

780

You can't take your puppy out.

781

You should put it in like

a puppy sling so they can

782

Nicky Hammel: sling.

783

I

784

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yes.

785

Nicky Hammel: all of

786

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour:

That's, yeah.

787

So I just thought it would good to touch

on that, that even though they don't

788

have their second vac, you wouldn't let

them interact maybe with other dogs or

789

out on the street, but take them out so

they can experience those novel sounds.

790

Sight and smiles.

791

Nicky Hammel: Or you know, if you've

got vaccinated dogs in the family.

792

It's fine for them to come

in and, and and visit pup?

793

absolutely.

794

As long as they're vaccinated, it's just,

yeah, pup can't go on the floor outside,

795

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah,

796

Nicky Hammel: wrong with,

you know, bringing in novel

797

things from outside as well.

798

You know, sort of like leaves other

799

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour:

good idea.

800

Nicky Hammel: you know, sort of stones

and anything like that at all that,

801

you know, sort of pup can explore.

802

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

803

Brilliant.

804

Perfect.

805

So moving on then to when the Dak

sound goes through adolescence, so

806

it's quite a tricky time for them.

807

So it can be a lot for the, the

dog and the owners the pet parents.

808

What tips do you have or would you

like to share for this tricky stage?

809

Nicky Hammel: so I, one of

my dogs was quite a difficult

810

adolescent dog, and yeah, I can

completely relate to anybody who.

811

May struggle with this and you

know, from my own experience, the

812

only thing I can say is, first

of all, it doesn't last forever.

813

And you do come out the other side of it,

814

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

815

Nicky Hammel: being aware

that it's gonna happen.

816

Behaviours and things that the dog

was maybe happy to do before could go

817

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Mm.

818

Nicky Hammel: Things like toilet

training could go backwards.

819

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

820

Nicky Hammel: Know, particularly with

my male dogs, I've found they can all of

821

a sudden become more fearful of things.

822

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Mm.

823

Nicky Hammel: You know, they, they can

be seen as, you know, sort of ignoring

824

things that you are asking them to

825

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Right.

826

Nicky Hammel: And just in general.

827

You know, being able to do the

things that they could do previously.

828

And again, you know, it comes back to that

thing that we were sort of talking about

829

right at the very beginning when we were,

you know, sort of saying that they get

830

branded as stubborn and things like that.

831

It's,

832

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Hmm.

833

Nicky Hammel: it's not about

them being stubborn, it's about

834

they are not understanding.

835

you are wanting them to do.

836

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

837

Nicky Hammel: how the brain and

everything is developing and all

838

the hormonal changes and, and, and

things like that, it, know, everything

839

just kind of tends to go backwards.

840

So again, it, you know, it's being

really, really aware of that and

841

that you might have to go back to

basics with a lot of your training.

842

Things like your toilet

training and things like that.

843

You know, if they were happy

with being alone before and

844

they may not be happy with.

845

sort of being alone right now.

846

Again, that

847

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Hmm.

848

Nicky Hammel: a factor and I

849

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

850

Nicky Hammel: just about being patient

851

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Hmm.

852

Nicky Hammel: expecting them

to do too much and just having

853

that real understanding.

854

And it's not them being

stubborn or a difficult dog or

855

doing anything to fight you.

856

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Hmm.

857

Nicky Hammel: just one of those,

you know, developmental things that

858

everybody goes through and, you know,

you know, humans go through it as well,

859

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

860

Nicky Hammel: All sorts of stories

about teenagers getting up to

861

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

862

Nicky Hammel: next thing you know

when they go through adolescence

863

and when you know they're in

their teens and things like that.

864

And it's

865

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

866

Nicky Hammel: for our dogs.

867

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: So

yeah, obviously it happens a lot earlier.

868

So I wanted to touch on the point you

said about males being a bit more fearful.

869

So they do go through, and not

a lot of pet parents may know

870

this, it's the second fear cycle.

871

It's normally from about

eight to 10 months.

872

Is that right?

873

Nicky Hammel: And although it's

kind of called a second second

874

fear cycle, it is more to do with

adolescents and the hormonal changes.

875

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: I

did wonder that, because I was thinking

876

they've got this second fear circle.

877

I don't really know what that means.

878

But then they've got adolescents,

they've got all this brain fog, and

879

like you say, they're by no means

meaning to, to ignore you or to do

880

like things that they shouldn't be.

881

But they're, they've got a lot

that they're, they're dealing with.

882

So you, you are saying it's actually

sort of more of the same then the, the,

883

Nicky Hammel: Yeah, I think so.

884

And you know, again, I like to

make the comparison to humans.

885

'cause I think a lot of the time when

you're speaking to people about it in

886

relation to their dog, if you can link it.

887

To the human concept, it's

either something they've gone

888

through themselves or they know

someone that's gone through it.

889

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

890

Nicky Hammel: interesting what

you were sort of saying about the

891

brain fog and things like that.

892

You know, obviously when women go

through perimenopause and menopause

893

and, and things like that, you

know, I'm at that age now, you

894

know, you kind of become a little

895

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: My.

896

Nicky Hammel: You

897

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: My mum.

898

My mum, bless her, she's in her sixties.

899

She's been going through it for years,

and she's still having problems.

900

Bless her.

901

So I've, yeah, you've got my,

you've got my respect you ladies.

902

Nicky Hammel: But you know,

it all joking apart, it is

903

exactly the same for the dogs.

904

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

905

Nicky Hammel: you know, if people can

kind of relate to that and understand

906

that, I think that gives people a

deeper understanding of their dog.

907

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour:

Yeah, it's always good to

908

compare, make comparisons.

909

And can you is it with smaller dogs,

do they tend to start adolescents

910

in six months or does it just vary?

911

Nicky Hammel: It varies.

912

It varies.

913

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Hmm.

914

Nicky Hammel: you know,

915

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour:

I know with bigger dogs

916

it's like a Yeah, go ahead.

917

My love.

918

Nicky Hammel: no, no, no.

919

I was just gonna say, you know, with some

of my dogs, I've not even noticed them go

920

through adolescence and hormonal changes

921

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Oh,

922

Nicky Hammel: same and you know,

they've not been any different.

923

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour:

that's interesting.

924

Nicky Hammel: But then of them you

really, really do notice the change.

925

And like I was saying, one of my dogs

really, really sticks out for me,

926

and you probably know who that is.

927

Anyway, my dogs,

928

yeah.

929

Yeah, it, it does vary so much.

930

And you know, even with like,

some of the girls, I mean, the

931

girls mature at different rates.

932

You know, I've, I've had dogs

that have come into season, you

933

know, and had their first season

when they've been five months old.

934

And then at

935

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Oh wow.

936

Nicky Hammel: you know, I've had

a dog that didn't have her first

937

season till she was 13 months old.

938

So, you know, it is all

939

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Mm.

940

Nicky Hammel: very, very different.

941

Very, very

942

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

943

Nicky Hammel: what

944

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Do

female and male D Dashon Ds go through

945

adolescents at different ages or.

946

Nicky Hammel: would say

some of the girls earlier,

947

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

948

Mm-hmm.

949

Nicky Hammel: I mean, I start to

notice things with the boys around

950

sort of seven, eight months.

951

And like I say, with the girls,

they can come into season sort of

952

as early as five or six months.

953

So

954

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

955

Nicky Hammel: it does.

956

I do think in general the girls probably

go through it a little bit earlier.

957

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

958

And what I was saying earlier is

that I think the bigger dogs tend

959

to be later around about 18 months,

or 12 to 18 months, but the smaller

960

dogs do tend to start earlier.

961

So, yeah, that's really interesting.

962

So if there's one thing that you

w that you, if there's one thing

963

you wished all D and pet parents,

guardians knew, what would it be?

964

Nicky Hammel: I would

say probably the biggest

965

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: I.

966

Nicky Hammel: Is whatever you are

going through, you're not alone.

967

You're not, and know it's absolutely

fine for you to reach out for help.

968

Don't sort of

969

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

970

Nicky Hammel: by yourself or think you're

the only one that's going through it.

971

You know, a lot of the time.

972

You know, when people get a new

puppy, it, it is very overwhelming.

973

You know, it's like when you have a

child for the first time, it is, you

974

know, it's very, very emotional and, and

you know, sort of very, very similar.

975

And, you know, people

struggle and, you know.

976

like to call it the puppy blues, but you

know, that is something a bit like the

977

baby blues, again, the human analogy.

978

It's,

979

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

980

Nicky Hammel: very real

for a lot of people.

981

And you know, if you've got a dog or

pup that's keeping you up half the night

982

and you know, you're sleep deprived and

you know, you can't get your dog to do

983

what you want them to do and they're not

doing this and they're not doing that,

984

you know, it is, it is really, really

emotional and you know, to anybody,

985

I would say don't suffer in silence.

986

Reach out for help.

987

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour:

Brilliant.

988

My God, we've literally

sailed through this episode.

989

It is literally been jam

packed with information.

990

It's so, I love it.

991

So we're gonna spend the next sort of five

minutes or so just sort of wrapping up.

992

So for someone who might be struggling

right now, what would you say to

993

them to make them feel more hopeful

or to help them feel more hopeful?

994

Nicky Hammel: just.

995

Whatever it is that you're going

through at the moment, it is just

996

a point in your pet's journey,

997

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Mm.

998

Nicky Hammel: know, and you know, just

sort of reiterating around, you know,

999

the adolescent side of things, you know?

00:42:49,267 --> 00:42:49,627

Yes.

00:42:49,627 --> 00:42:55,087

That can start at any time from, you

know, 5, 6, 7 months and go on, you know,

00:42:55,087 --> 00:42:58,087

until sort of 18 months to two years and,

00:42:58,221 --> 00:42:58,611

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

00:42:58,837 --> 00:43:04,267

Nicky Hammel: you know, it's, it

is just that moment in time and.

00:43:05,377 --> 00:43:09,367

You know, once you've kind of gone

through that and things settle down,

00:43:10,147 --> 00:43:14,617

you know, you'll kind of look back

on it and think, it wasn't that bad.

00:43:14,617 --> 00:43:16,147

I probably would do that again.

00:43:17,737 --> 00:43:18,127

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

00:43:18,277 --> 00:43:20,137

Nicky Hammel: you know, whatever

anybody's going through, you

00:43:20,137 --> 00:43:21,817

know, it, it isn't forever.

00:43:22,177 --> 00:43:26,647

And like I say, it is

just that point in life.

00:43:27,622 --> 00:43:27,982

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

00:43:28,162 --> 00:43:28,792

I love that.

00:43:29,132 --> 00:43:35,852

And basically if someone was looking at

getting a d you, you'd, you'd recommend

00:43:35,852 --> 00:43:38,372

them researching the breed, wouldn't you?

00:43:38,377 --> 00:43:39,277

And doing their homework.

00:43:39,377 --> 00:43:39,947

Nicky Hammel: percent.

00:43:39,947 --> 00:43:45,047

And you know, I think particularly

just sort of going back to what we were

00:43:45,047 --> 00:43:52,427

talking about earlier with how I select

my puppy owners, so I have a form that.

00:43:52,802 --> 00:43:56,732

A potential puppy owner has to fill in

because I basically wanna know everything

00:43:56,732 --> 00:44:01,892

about this person, you know, what they do,

what their work is, what their family set

00:44:01,892 --> 00:44:04,202

up is, and this, that, and the next thing.

00:44:04,332 --> 00:44:04,912

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour:

That's good.

00:44:04,942 --> 00:44:05,512

Your father.

00:44:06,242 --> 00:44:10,892

Nicky Hammel: one of the questions

that I do ask on there is around

00:44:11,702 --> 00:44:15,362

they aware of the potential

health issues that DAXs can have?

00:44:15,722 --> 00:44:16,082

And there

00:44:16,412 --> 00:44:16,632

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yes,

00:44:16,652 --> 00:44:19,502

Nicky Hammel: know, sort of some quite

serious health issues that they can have.

00:44:19,772 --> 00:44:20,462

So I think.

00:44:20,657 --> 00:44:20,778

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour:

that's right.

00:44:21,062 --> 00:44:24,242

Nicky Hammel: You know, not to put the

sort of downer on someone wanting to

00:44:24,242 --> 00:44:29,132

get a puppy, but I think, you know,

with anything, you've gotta go into

00:44:29,132 --> 00:44:33,662

it, you know, with your eyes wide open

and actually, you know, be prepared

00:44:33,662 --> 00:44:37,922

for the fact that, you know, we as

breeders do as much as we possibly

00:44:37,922 --> 00:44:43,202

can around, you know, selecting

dogs for temperament confirmation.

00:44:43,262 --> 00:44:43,772

We do all

00:44:43,827 --> 00:44:44,047

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Mm.

00:44:44,252 --> 00:44:47,762

Nicky Hammel: health tests to

make sure you know that we're.

00:44:48,152 --> 00:44:52,322

Breeding the healthiest puppies

that we possibly can, but

00:44:52,652 --> 00:44:52,712

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

00:44:52,712 --> 00:44:56,792

Nicky Hammel: only so much we

can do because there is still a

00:44:56,792 --> 00:45:00,632

small chance that, you know, some,

something might happen, you know,

00:45:00,632 --> 00:45:01,892

sort of later on down the line.

00:45:01,892 --> 00:45:05,642

So really it's, you know, sort of

nailing people down and, you know, making

00:45:05,642 --> 00:45:07,652

sure that people are aware of that.

00:45:07,922 --> 00:45:08,252

And

00:45:08,422 --> 00:45:08,712

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

00:45:09,002 --> 00:45:12,392

Nicky Hammel: does go wrong, are

they gonna be prepared for it?

00:45:13,002 --> 00:45:13,292

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

00:45:13,742 --> 00:45:15,482

Nicky Hammel: and what

that's likely to involve.

00:45:15,752 --> 00:45:18,662

And then, you know, it's around

sort of researching the breed.

00:45:19,022 --> 00:45:22,202

You know, things like how much

exercise the breed needs, what, what

00:45:22,202 --> 00:45:25,322

sort of exercise they need, what

sort of things they're gonna find

00:45:25,322 --> 00:45:29,702

most rewarding, what sort of mental

stimulation are they gonna enjoy.

00:45:30,062 --> 00:45:30,332

You know, I.

00:45:30,782 --> 00:45:35,012

Things like, for example, you know,

the fact that they're a scent hound

00:45:35,012 --> 00:45:36,602

and they're very, very cent driven.

00:45:36,902 --> 00:45:40,832

So tapping into that sort of thing

and you know, just getting people to

00:45:40,832 --> 00:45:45,542

research so they can understand what.

00:45:46,367 --> 00:45:49,007

The dog is that they're getting and how

00:45:49,052 --> 00:45:49,272

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Mm.

00:45:49,397 --> 00:45:53,237

Nicky Hammel: provide the best

possible enriching life for that dog.

00:45:53,237 --> 00:45:53,537

And,

00:45:53,842 --> 00:45:54,132

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

00:45:54,707 --> 00:45:57,797

Nicky Hammel: we can educate as

much as we possibly can, you know,

00:45:57,797 --> 00:46:02,117

as breeders and, you know, there's,

there's probably breeders out there

00:46:02,117 --> 00:46:07,157

that maybe don't go into as much detail

and give as much information as I do.

00:46:07,602 --> 00:46:07,822

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Mm.

00:46:08,537 --> 00:46:11,087

Nicky Hammel: you know,

I of like people to.

00:46:12,107 --> 00:46:14,867

everything before they

then make a commitment.

00:46:15,497 --> 00:46:15,947

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

00:46:16,217 --> 00:46:20,807

I just want to quickly, really touch,

quickly touch on just about IVDD.

00:46:21,077 --> 00:46:24,677

So we mentioned about obviously

they're doing their research, but

00:46:24,677 --> 00:46:29,687

IVDD is something that potential

people should know about, isn't it?

00:46:29,687 --> 00:46:30,977

'cause it could happen.

00:46:31,577 --> 00:46:32,747

Nicky Hammel: Yeah, absolutely.

00:46:33,407 --> 00:46:33,797

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

00:46:34,217 --> 00:46:38,867

Nicky Hammel: And you know, it's also

as well being aware of the condition

00:46:39,147 --> 00:46:40,107

you know, it's a condition that.

00:46:40,737 --> 00:46:42,117

Affects their back and can

00:46:42,357 --> 00:46:42,927

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour:

That's right.

00:46:43,922 --> 00:46:44,212

Yeah.

00:46:44,697 --> 00:46:46,257

Nicky Hammel: dogs need surgery for it.

00:46:46,287 --> 00:46:50,847

Other times, you know, they can be

rehabilitated with, you know, sort

00:46:50,847 --> 00:46:54,777

of conservative treatment like pain

relief, crate rest, things like that.

00:46:55,137 --> 00:46:58,377

I mean, I've seen dogs recover

without surgery and then I've seen

00:46:58,707 --> 00:46:58,887

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Oh.

00:46:59,037 --> 00:47:00,117

Nicky Hammel: have needed surgery.

00:47:00,717 --> 00:47:04,407

You know, I've seen some that have had

surgery two or three different times.

00:47:04,407 --> 00:47:06,597

So, you know, it is being aware of that.

00:47:07,602 --> 00:47:08,142

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

00:47:08,397 --> 00:47:11,577

Nicky Hammel: that, you know, the disease

does exist and whilst we do everything

00:47:11,577 --> 00:47:13,767

we possibly can to, to minimize it,

00:47:14,506 --> 00:47:14,727

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Mm

00:47:15,687 --> 00:47:21,897

Nicky Hammel: you know, as a breeder,

given your puppy owners advice on

00:47:22,197 --> 00:47:23,877

how to mitigate against the risks.

00:47:23,877 --> 00:47:27,267

So the types of exercise, the

activities you allow your doctor to do.

00:47:27,297 --> 00:47:28,077

Things like

00:47:28,091 --> 00:47:28,542

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: mm.

00:47:28,707 --> 00:47:31,557

Nicky Hammel: their weight to a good

weight, looking at diet and, you

00:47:31,557 --> 00:47:33,207

know, sort of everything like that.

00:47:33,207 --> 00:47:35,187

And it, you know, it's

kind of given people.

00:47:35,547 --> 00:47:37,527

That awareness around that.

00:47:38,457 --> 00:47:38,757

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

00:47:38,757 --> 00:47:41,727

I just thought it was really important

just to touch on it because it is

00:47:41,727 --> 00:47:45,417

something you know that you do see, and

I just think if someone was new to the

00:47:45,417 --> 00:47:48,652

breed, it is something they should really

be aware of and they wanna look into.

00:47:49,407 --> 00:47:51,957

Nicky Hammel: But also, you know,

sort of off the back of that as well,

00:47:51,957 --> 00:47:55,627

you know, there is another condition

that they can suffer from, which is

00:47:55,627 --> 00:47:57,187

a condition that affects their eyes.

00:47:57,187 --> 00:48:00,217

So it's called progressive

retinal, a trophy.

00:48:00,332 --> 00:48:00,991

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: PRA.

00:48:01,382 --> 00:48:02,222

Nicky Hammel: ERA, so you've

00:48:02,312 --> 00:48:02,912

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

00:48:02,982 --> 00:48:05,172

Nicky Hammel: So yeah, basically

what that is, that that's a

00:48:05,172 --> 00:48:06,672

condition that affects their eyes.

00:48:06,672 --> 00:48:11,052

So what, as a breeder, what you have

to do is you have to test all your

00:48:11,052 --> 00:48:14,802

breeding stock to see whether they

carry the gene or whether they're

00:48:14,802 --> 00:48:19,512

clear of it and what you have to

do within your breeding program.

00:48:20,547 --> 00:48:22,947

Dogs that carry the gene, absolutely fine.

00:48:22,947 --> 00:48:24,297

They won't be affected by it.

00:48:24,357 --> 00:48:27,057

They just carry the gene and

they, it means that they can

00:48:27,057 --> 00:48:28,317

pass it on to their offspring.

00:48:28,317 --> 00:48:32,547

But what you have to do with breeding

is you have to then put them to

00:48:32,547 --> 00:48:34,047

a dog that's clear of the gene.

00:48:34,677 --> 00:48:38,817

So what will then happen is each

puppy within that litter has a

00:48:38,817 --> 00:48:42,237

50 50 chance of being a carrier

or being clear of the gene.

00:48:42,717 --> 00:48:46,587

But what you can't do is if you've

got two carriers of the gene.

00:48:47,307 --> 00:48:51,567

can't breed them together because there's

a 50 50 chance that the puppies will

00:48:51,567 --> 00:48:54,417

either be carriers or they'll be affected.

00:48:54,417 --> 00:48:57,237

And if they're affected, it

means they could go blind at some

00:48:57,237 --> 00:48:58,617

point later on in their life.

00:48:59,066 --> 00:48:59,607

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Oh gosh.

00:49:00,037 --> 00:49:00,327

Yeah.

00:49:00,447 --> 00:49:04,317

Nicky Hammel: yeah, again, health

testing and you know, if anyone's

00:49:04,317 --> 00:49:08,247

looking to get a puppy, these are

the sorts of questions that you

00:49:08,247 --> 00:49:10,137

know, that people need to be asking

00:49:10,216 --> 00:49:10,437

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: It,

00:49:10,647 --> 00:49:10,797

Nicky Hammel: And

00:49:10,977 --> 00:49:11,196

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: it

00:49:11,217 --> 00:49:11,637

Nicky Hammel: what help

00:49:11,982 --> 00:49:12,071

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: should,

00:49:12,117 --> 00:49:12,687

Nicky Hammel: been done.

00:49:12,941 --> 00:49:13,571

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: yeah.

00:49:13,781 --> 00:49:16,752

The only reason I knew about, 'cause

the toy peles had to be tested for it.

00:49:16,812 --> 00:49:17,082

Nicky Hammel: Yeah.

00:49:17,127 --> 00:49:19,077

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: So

it is important, like you say, if you

00:49:19,077 --> 00:49:22,167

are, if you are getting a puppy that

you do ask that they've had these

00:49:22,167 --> 00:49:23,547

relevant health checks and stuff.

00:49:23,547 --> 00:49:23,607

Yeah.

00:49:23,862 --> 00:49:24,462

Nicky Hammel: absolutely.

00:49:24,462 --> 00:49:27,197

And not only just ask him,

but actually ask to see

00:49:27,252 --> 00:49:27,732

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour:

the result.

00:49:27,817 --> 00:49:28,037

Nicky Hammel: it.

00:49:28,122 --> 00:49:28,361

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

00:49:28,361 --> 00:49:29,051

See the evidence.

00:49:29,051 --> 00:49:29,381

Yeah.

00:49:29,597 --> 00:49:29,887

Nicky Hammel: Yeah,

00:49:30,071 --> 00:49:30,881

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour:

Yeah, definitely.

00:49:31,791 --> 00:49:32,271

Brilliant.

00:49:32,361 --> 00:49:34,191

So I absolutely love the breed.

00:49:34,561 --> 00:49:38,061

Obviously I've met your, I've

obviously helped look after your

00:49:38,061 --> 00:49:40,761

guys a couple of times and seen them

when I come around for a couple,

00:49:40,761 --> 00:49:43,281

but, and Kimmy like seems to love me.

00:49:43,531 --> 00:49:46,151

But I'm sure she's like with

everyone, she likes to gimme a wash.

00:49:46,602 --> 00:49:47,502

Nicky Hammel: She loves everyone.

00:49:47,502 --> 00:49:47,987

That dog.

00:49:48,481 --> 00:49:51,761

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: So I

mean they're just, I, I walk a few as

00:49:51,761 --> 00:49:56,581

well, so we've got a few Dax on our books

and like they're just full of character.

00:49:56,581 --> 00:50:00,091

I just think like they're just

really, they're really spirited.

00:50:00,922 --> 00:50:02,427

Nicky Hammel: They, they really are.

00:50:02,427 --> 00:50:03,987

And they're so funny.

00:50:04,576 --> 00:50:04,866

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

00:50:05,187 --> 00:50:05,727

Nicky Hammel: funny.

00:50:05,787 --> 00:50:09,777

And you know, each, like I say,

each of my dogs, they bring

00:50:10,047 --> 00:50:11,937

something completely different.

00:50:12,237 --> 00:50:12,297

To

00:50:12,361 --> 00:50:13,426

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour:

Their own personalities.

00:50:14,157 --> 00:50:16,977

Nicky Hammel: I mean, I've, I've

got dogs that make me laugh from

00:50:16,977 --> 00:50:19,887

the minute I get up to the minute

I go to bed because they're just so

00:50:19,887 --> 00:50:21,567

funny and the things that they do.

00:50:21,987 --> 00:50:25,377

And then, you know, you've got

the real, like soft ones that

00:50:25,377 --> 00:50:27,057

are like really, really cuddly.

00:50:27,387 --> 00:50:29,037

And then you've got the others.

00:50:29,067 --> 00:50:32,097

That are more scent

driven than the others.

00:50:32,097 --> 00:50:36,177

So, you know, you can go out and do some

training and have some real fun with them.

00:50:36,177 --> 00:50:38,822

Whereas some of the others,

they're kind of like, they're,

00:50:38,827 --> 00:50:40,077

they're not too fussed about it.

00:50:40,077 --> 00:50:42,027

They'd rather sit and

have a cuddle on the sofa.

00:50:42,507 --> 00:50:46,317

But you know, each one of my dogs

brings something different to the

00:50:46,317 --> 00:50:48,207

table and yeah, they're amazing.

00:50:48,267 --> 00:50:48,417

I'm

00:50:48,791 --> 00:50:49,001

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: they're,

00:50:49,017 --> 00:50:49,342

Nicky Hammel: they aren't.

00:50:50,501 --> 00:50:52,151

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour:

yeah, I love, I love them as well.

00:50:52,151 --> 00:50:53,951

They're such, such,

such little characters.

00:50:53,951 --> 00:50:55,211

So I'm Nicky.

00:50:55,481 --> 00:50:58,571

Where can our listeners find

out more about your work or

00:50:58,571 --> 00:50:59,951

to follow your gorgeous gang?

00:51:00,687 --> 00:51:04,977

Nicky Hammel: So I have a

Facebook page, which is opi d

00:51:04,977 --> 00:51:10,197

din, so that's O-P-I-E-D-X, dins.

00:51:10,497 --> 00:51:10,827

That's my

00:51:10,871 --> 00:51:11,321

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah.

00:51:11,697 --> 00:51:16,767

Nicky Hammel: And then I've got

a website, which is www.opax.co

00:51:16,767 --> 00:51:17,307

uk.

00:51:18,251 --> 00:51:19,841

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour:

Oh, and they can reach out to you

00:51:19,841 --> 00:51:24,316