Life continues to be just long enough for me to keep making mistakes; writing this booklet for Kim in the way that I did is certainly one of them. Because of changed circumstances, I feel that some of the content in it is actually potentially dangerous to a reader now, so I need to set some things forth for you to consider.
It was inappropriate of me to endorse this breeder – or any breeder. I am a trainer and an author. Going forward, I will stick to that and leave marketing to others.
Kim and I have worked together for years tirelessly to make accurate training advice about how to support working LGDs easily accessible. Writing this booklet was one more such effort. We pooled our resources to create it; I donated my writing, and she paid for the editing my wonderful editor provided. My only stipulation in doing this is that the booklet always be free to anyone who wanted it. I used to offer it from my website for free download but have removed it. I don’t know if Kim will continue to distribute it, given our ended personal and professional relationships, but I believe that in order to get access to it from her, you must subscribe to her website. I do not consider that free; having to trade personal information to get access to this booklet is not OK with me. It is a breach of our agreement.
In the booklet, I wrote about my personal training experiences with Kim’s dogs and puppies. I know a lot about her training beliefs; many of them are in alignment with my own. The training information in the booklet is valuable, but if you read it, please apply it broadly rather than specifically to pups from this breeder. What I regret, in having written this as I did, are my words that have to do with marketing.
I have been involved in the Maremma industry – deeply and passionately – since 2015. During that time, I have seen abuse after abuse in this industry. I am very glad I will no longer have to make a decision about whom to buy a Maremma from or where to register a dog.
Because of the way Kim starts her pups, and the fact that her breeding dogs all have had hip testing, I felt she was the obvious choice in where to buy a puppy with a likelihood of success as a working LGD. What I failed to consider, and just didn’t know, is what it can be like to be in a contract with Kim and have something go wrong.
I am going to leave it at that and end by stating that I will never again advise someone to enter into a contract with this breeder. Be careful, out there, as you shop for pups. Read the fine print, from the assumption that the sky has fallen.