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I keep being asked who has created this website? The answer is MOI! ha ha. Rachel of course.
Yes you will notice each page is being updated at the moment, with a change of colour theme and pictures. Some text is altering also. I suppose I have an artistic flair and I create all the artwork contained in this website. It's just something I love doing. This is why I can commit to updating it so often. Other people have to pay someone to do it and just leave their websites floating with old news. Where as our site is updated all the time. This is why you do not need to keep ringing me also, as you can just check in here and find the info you wanted to know. Hope this helps xx
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This was a question put to me. I have tried explaining it before and probably failed in my explanations. It depends firstly which breed we are talking about. The Bracco for example has seasons super regular. You know when there will be a litter ahead.
But the Vizsla oh my what a breed they are. Ive always said if you wanted a business breeding dogs do not have a Vizsla. Because of their unpredictable nature you just can not call them a business venture like some people think dog breeding is! A Vizsla can have a season then five months later have another. These are rare. A Vizsla can have a season then another seven months later. Most commonly. A Vizsla can have a season then not another one for a year. Also quite common. A Vizsla can have a season and then have another 18 months later. Not as common. But do I own all those scenarios? Yes I do! But this is where it gets annoying really for all concerned, if we take Willow. She had a season, then another seven months later, now she's been 13 months since her last season. So each dog does not even follow an exact pattern. So when asked when will you have a litter, the answer is who ever comes into season and it works right. Because then we have to look at if they have had a litter before and how long. A bitch should really have 12 months between a litter. But in most of our dog's cases it's 14 months and longer in some cases. A bitch needs a rest between raising one litter to the next. We then look at age of bitch. We like our girls to be around 2 when they have a litter but in some bitches cases we wait until they are 3. Each dog should be taken on merit and how they are mentally, and can they cope yet. We sometimes plan a litter and then another girl comes in, who has shot over her season a long while so if we do not breed that one instead they could be too old for us to breed as we do not like breeding dogs over the age of 6. We do our breedings when bitches are younger so they can cope much easier. Its a bit like humans there are more risks if you leave dogs to be 4 before a first litter, than if you breed it at 2. You can liken that to a 20 year old lady having a child, over a 40 year old for first child. We all know midwifes have you down as a higher risk if you're older having your first baby at 40. So does this makes sense to you all ? I hope so. At the end of the day our breeding has always been in the lap of the Gods! I was also asked Recently. Why do you have your own stud dogs? To answer this one for you. I love males, and always have done. I prefer males over females and I have always been like this. Im a boy lover! You can speak to another breeder and they have the opposite answers. The reason we have our own stud dogs is mainly because Vizsla are unpredictable, and some bitches do not like going out to stud. They do not like the males you have chosen. You may get smaller litter sizes. Bitches love the dogs they live with. They prefer knowing their chosen mates. I find it fascinating that females will even choose a dog with in the pack they live with. They can get a bit miffed if they are told sorry not that boy. They like the youngest dogs normally. Thats my honest experience owning dogs and bitches together. But we also own our own dogs as it saves travelling. Travelling is never convenient, it is at a time when it's a weekend, or evening. Most stud owners are governed by no rules, and do not ever want to give you a receipt for studs, and if you do not have a receipt you can not prove this to the good old tax man. Also most studs in the Uk are not health tested to my standards. So you're going backwards instead of forwards in health. When you own your own studs it's up to you to make sure they are fully health tested. Some people let their dogs be used at open stud the whole time and you can bring in lots of health issues. Let's think if a person was doing this you would understand where im coming from. Also we know the semen quality is by far better. Because they have not had five bitches just before yours. My dogs are not at open stud. It's only if someone contacts me and I find we have a mutual beneficial path towards same goal. It maybe we want a new bloodline back in the future and collab with that person. We have one collab at the moment in which it will bring a new blood line back in the future. With out this hobby and collabs going on this would not protect the Silvestre bloodline to be as healthy as it is. So loads of reasons why we have our own stud dogs. Now we can not use our own studs forever as we would get inbred. So this is when we go out and buy another male in, for future stud services but our boys are very much pets. It takes me a while to find new bloodlines I want here. So this can start years before I actually do it. But yes we love the boys, and we love having our own males. Reading articles today on fuel shortages coming up. Diesel in particular.
With litters coming up and the talks of fuel shortages, I thought it would be a nice offer that if at the time we have puppies and you can not travel too far, we would deliver your puppy for you. Licensed breeders are allowed to deliver puppies in unusual circumstances. When we had Covid only licensed breeders could travel, Im hoping it does not come to this as it's always better to collect your own puppy. But if the government puts rationing in, business owners will be allowed to travel still which we would be able to do. Or we could give you names of local couriers who would deliver puppy for you. There is always an option. So do not be put off by fuel shortages as we can work around each other to help each other. Rachel x What is a titre test?
In a nutshell you do a blood test at your vets and send off blood to dragon labs and they send you a result 3 days later. It costs approx £45 for titre test from company, plus what your vet charges for the blood test. It's graded 0-6. Anything over 0 is positive reading. By titre testing you will know if your dogs got antibodies to those virus, distemper, hepatitis and Parvo virus. If your dog has anti bodies you do not need to vaccinate. If your dog has 0 antibodies then sadly boarding kennels and home boarders wont accept the dog. But the twist to this tale is that dogs may not of been in contact with virus so their titre is low. So ideally before any titre testing is done you walk your dog into busy areas where other dogs have walked. For me we go to training classes, high dog area like show, woods, beaches etc. Then titre. If you keep dog at home in bubble wrap the titre will be 0 to low. Titre roughly every 3 yearly. But do not miss your yearly vet health check. Vets check hearts, lungs and can talk to you about other aspects of your dog care. This is important. Keeping an eye on weight for example shows you if your dog is well. For a more in-depth version go to our Silvestre Academy which will be online soon with lots more information in it. Rachel x I have been a dog breeder for a long time and I think it's this year more than any other year where I have realised that an established breeder has a lot of knowledge to impart on others. I have mentored many people over the years in breeding dogs. It's a trade if you like passed down the generations. I was taught by two different breeders with two different ethics originally. But then when I changed breeds I had another mentor who taught me about the Vizsla. You will always have questions. Your puppy owners will have questions so you need to have answers.
The header to this post is do it better! Because even now I learn and I dont think there will ever be a year I do not. Once you have the knowledge it then worries you more about new time dog breeders. You only learn by things going wrong then talking to other breeders how they coped. We tend to look at instagram and think breeding must be the most wonderful thing in the world because they do not see heart ache. It's an industry which should be supported more by government because it is a struggle. Vet bills are so high these days, feed bills are so high also, and anyone with good welfare will have one hell of a dog bill at the end. All I can say to new people coming along is strive to do better. Learn all you can, and take advice from experienced breeders. Take the advice and learn from it. Lots of people even do not think they are breeders because they have one litter. But you've bred the dog so you are a breeder. You sold your puppies so you are selling puppies. So you have a. responsibility now to your puppies. So why is it so many dogs are not health tested ? Cutting financial corners will not help you in the end. On Tik Tok there is a breeder who has an academy called Tracy's breeding academy. I would highly advise you join up to her scheme because she will give you sound good advice. Loosing puppies is soul destroying, and if you learn how to save puppies that may for example be dehydrated then you've learn something. How to save puppies. How to breed dogs properly. Thank you for being patient for the Academy which is coming. We have given basic pet knowledge for years and years, but now I am going to go into each subject further. So far Ive written 20 articles for this academy. It is coming I promise but I dont want to activate it properly until I have got them all done and uploaded.
I am having a yearly membership fee. Or you can down load a single article for £7.99. This will be helpful to those of you that just want instant knowledge on one thing. This academy will be available for every single dog owner who wishes to read it. For ages I have doubted my self and knowledge. Then one day I downloaded someone's article for £5.99 and was so disappointed in it that I thought my goodness I give far more advice than what they have done. So its pushed me to do it and I hope it will be ready in a few weeks. The Silvestre Owners page on this site will vanish. We are now sending just a few articles which are relevant by email to you. The academy is there for everything else. I hope this new venture helps you and educates you more on your pets. I hope you join up for a year when you have puppies off us as it will be worth it. Rachel All pet owners should be aware.
On the 18th March a change to the law on livestock worrying comes in. Before if your dog worried sheep the maximum penalty was low, something like £1000. Now there comes an unlimited fine. It's also going to be taken much more seriously. Your dog could be seized also. Farmers always had the right to shoot dogs. You could also have a prison sentence, so this is the time to train your dog. Insurance will not cover you now on third party for this if it happens. Most insurance companies are pulling out from the cover. So check your cover and if it's still applicable. What does this mean for you? IN a nutshell TRAIN TRAIN TRAIN. If you own a breed of dog which is hunting, herding, or even the bull breeds can be known for charge at livestock and shoulder barge. You need to keep your dogs on leads in and around livestock for safety. But also Train your dog. Those thinking of buying puppies you are at a good point as you can start now. What we do not realise when we buy dogs is their heritage means it's in their make up. An English bulldog and mastiff will shoulder barge going back to why it was created, to charge at live stock and barge them and grab. Until the butchers could get out of the shop to catch their escaped stock. Then a split in the breed with English bulldogs and French bulldogs as the smaller toy bulldogs were not strong enough for the job. But they still think they are in their heads. So fascinating the history of breeds and how they were created. I could write all day. I will put something together at some point into our academy on some breeds of dogs and how they were developed. This maybe helpful to everyone. We understand why this law needed to be changed because it's dreadful for farmers loosing a flock of sheep and vet bills associated and income lost. We are with the farmers how terrible this is. But we also understand dogs instincts. So it's down to us to have the best dogs our dogs can be. This only happens with commitment from us the dogs owners. We advise the help of a holistic veterinary surgeon if your dog has environmental allergies. The difference between conventional medicine and holistic is that it's artificial against natural. I believe for every negative on the earth is a positive to heal. But finding these positives can be quite complexing. The holistic vet likes to get to the centre of the problem and find natural ways of healing your pets. Read my article and I hope it helps. If you liked this article why not let me know and I will write more to help.  Gut health and environmental allergies in dogs are closely connected. Many dogs that struggle with allergies to things like pollen, grass, dust mites, or mould often also have an imbalance in their gut microbiome. Supporting the gut can sometimes reduce the severity of allergic reactions.
The Gut-Immune system connection. Around 70-80% of a dogs immune system is located in the gut. The digestive tract is lined with beneficial bacteria that help regulate immune responses. When this balance is disrupted (Often called gut dysbiosis). The immune system can become overreactive. This over reaction is what we see in dogs with environmental allergies, known medically as Canine Atopic Dermatitis. How poor gut health can worsen allergies. When the gut microbiome is out of balance
In dogs, this inflammation often shows up as.
Several factors can disrupt gut bacteria.
Improving gut health can help strengthen the immune system and sometimes reduce allergy severity.
The foundation of gut health starts very early in life. Puppies develop their microbiome from.
IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER While improving gut health can help manage allergies, it wont cure environmental allergies completely in most dogs. Management often requires a combination of
Crufts 2026
What a great day for Silvestre team who did well across the board. Id like to say a big well done also to those who went and was not placed on the day. We must not forget the honour it is to qualify and we had huge classes. BRACCO Silvestre Stolen Kiss 4th Silvestre Im Batman 5th Silvestre blow me a kiss 5th out of 18. VIZSLA Silvestre Party girl 1st place junior Silvestre This aint Texas 3rd Puppy Silvestre fit as a fiddle 2nd Special yearling. I would like to take this opportunity to wish all team Silvestre a happy day at Crufts 26. As the saying goes you always take the best dog home no matter what the win is.
Vizsla have an early start in the ring at 8.30am. usually Veteran dog class starts first followed by puppy. Bracco have a normal start. I shall look forward to photos on the events on the day and I wish everyone the best times. After all it's no mean feet qualifying for Crufts. A lot of people forget the thrill of going to Crufts. The atmosphere is unlike any other show. There has been a lot on social media this week with the downsides of Crufts. Behaviourists putting their two pennies in, on a lot of things they really do not know about. It creates gossip and puts their social media at the forefront. What you may not know the exhibitors have to follow rules set out by Kennel club. We are not allowed to leave the hall until 4pm. Again this is a rule which should be changed in this day and age. We have discover dogs stands where you can go and meet and greet your breed of dog you like. So for those on social media who do not know the rules of the show please stop saying negative stuff as if it is the exhibitors choice. The only choice we have is to not enter it. Another rule which is dogs are supposed to be on their benches at all times. Again this should be removed. But we the exhibitors can not do anything about these rules. Maybe instead of negative comments on social media you could use your powers for positive and help get rules changed for exhibitors. We always tell team Silvestre if you have a dog that does not like this show environment do not take the dog. The dogs welfare must come first. Some dogs love the attention. Some are show offs. Crufts is like no other show in the UK and it's an honour and always will be to get to exhibit there. This show with the biggest amount of stalls selling everything you could want for a dog is a thrill to go around. When we go we advise team Silvestre to have someone with you so they can be with the dog at all times. Doing frequent toilet breaks outside and exercising your dog. Having a covered crate so the public do not interfere. There has been many cases of poisoning dogs. Not all who go are dog lovers. So take care of your dogs. We will always help you when we go. Make sure your dogs have the choice for a walk outside because it's boring for dogs other wise and they need to stretch their legs. There are dogs being shown direct from our kennel this year. But also lots of grand children also. Mavericks kids are going from one kennel. It will be lovely to see your results. Classes are usually bigger at Crufts and it's a long and hard day for all concerned. Have fun everyone! Rachel |
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April 2026
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