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Parker Family

Homespun Doodles • August 28, 2023

Thank you for taking the time to visit our Blog! We thought a good first post would be one in which we tell you a little bit more about our family (at least the humans, since the whole rest of the website is about the pups!), and how we came to be as a breeding business. Enjoy!

Pryce and Somer met in the summer of 1992, where they worked together as lifeguards at a community swimming pool. They quickly became best friends, and (although not yet romantically involved) decided to attend the same college after they graduated high school in 1994.

Their friendship turned into romance in the summer before their freshman year of college (who were they kidding? It was meant to be!), and they were already married by the spring of 1996.


While they were still full-time college students, they welcomed their first child, Myah, into the world later in 1996.



After graduating from Kutztown University (Pryce with a Bachelor’s in Psychology and Somer with hers in Elementary Education) they soon became Houseparents at Milton Hershey School, a pre-K through 12th grade boarding school for economically and socially disadvantaged youth. During that time is when they got their first Golden Retriever, a beautiful boy named Monte, who became the mascot for their student home of 12 high school boys.

In 2002, their second daughter, Claudia, was born. It was also around this time that Pryce and Somer made the decision to homeschool, which turned out to be one of the best decisions they ever made. Homeschooling gave them the ability to spend a lot of time with their kids, and it also gave their lives a flexibility that would later prove to be key in running a business where so much is up to Mother Nature.


In 2005, Pryce and two partners started a side business, focused on buying, flipping and renting homes in the Lebanon PA area. The same year, Will was born, making the Parkers a family of five.



In 2006, the Parkers left Milton Hershey School and moved to Lebanon. Pryce went into the real estate flipping and rental business full time while Somer took part-time work running a tutoring ministry in the evenings. Not long after that, in 2007, Pryce and one of his business partners purchased two Subway restaurants and transitioned out of the real estate business.


Wyatt, the last of the Parker children, was born in 2009, making them a party of 6.

 

Well, 7…


Because through all of this time and transition, their faithful pup, Monte, was there to brighten every room he entered and every face who saw him. Monte’s life was filled with people and love and adventure and it was as if he had been born to be part of the Parker family.


But in 2010, Monte’s time on earth came to an end. (Some time maybe we will write a blog about the incredible way in which Monte said his goodbyes to his family before he passed, but that is for another time.)

As sad as it was to lose Monte, his passing also opened a new chapter for the Parkers, because about a year later they brought home their very first Doodle, Miss Stella. A few years later, Stella had her first litter of puppies and the Parker family was hooked. Even though there wasn’t really any money motive, the discipline and the wonder of breeding meshed well with the homeschool life. The Parker kids learned lessons on how nature works, how to be responsible for other life, and how to keep up with a rigorous chore schedule. Along the way, they also learned how that work could translate into other peoples’ joy, a fact that sustains the endeavor to this day.

Today, Pryce and his business partner run multiple local businesses. He coaches baseball and likes to get as much time outdoors as possible, if he has time between home improvement projects and kid activities. His favorite part of breeding dogs is assisting the mommas in bringing new puppies into the world. It is a little “miracle of life” moment every time he sees it.


Somer is a homeschool teacher and Homespun Doodles CEO, CFO, CMO, COO, and CBO. In her free time, she likes to take walks and plan what she will be working on when her free time is over. What Somer loves the most about breeding dogs is the look on the faces of families when they come to pick up their babies, and getting the joyful updates that families send in the weeks and months after taking them home.


Myah graduated from York College in the spring of 2019 and is now a Respiratory Therapist for WellSpan Hospital. Her favorite thing about puppies is their sweet breath.


Claudia is currently finishing her schooling in order to pursue a career as a Registered Nurse. She and her beau, Eli, married in 2022. Her favorite part of the puppy business is snuggling the puppies.

Will is still in high school and is a competitive swimmer. Will thinks he would like to be a teacher and coach. His favorite thing to do with the puppies is to lie down and let the puppies attack him with kisses and nibbles.
 

Wyatt can be equally happy playing baseball or Fortnite. He also plays the violin and is a quarterback on his football team. Wyatt would like to be a professional gamer or play in the MLB or NFL, or maybe just be a famous YouTuber. In other words, he is keeping his options open! His favorite thing about having a puppy breeding business in his home is that there is usually a puppy around for him to sniff and snuggle.

 

So, that is the Parker Family! Thank you for reading our very first blog post on our new website. Please continue to check back in for more posts on all kinds of things. We hope you will enjoy!

What's the Deal With Back Yard Breeders

By Somer Parker • January 15, 2024
The term Backyard Breeder is another one of those terms that you may see quite often as you search for a puppy. While the term doesn't carry quite the same sinister feel as "Puppy Mill," it isn't a compliment either. As with so many labels, this one has different meanings to different people. My definition of a Backyard Breeder is this: it is a novice breeder who has decided that they would like to enter the market but has not properly prepared themselves for the rigors of the job, has not made the necessary investments, and has not educated themselves enough to produce a reliably high quality puppy. Likely, they are doing the breeding as a "side hustle" and expecting that it will require a minimal amount of commitment. They are either not aware of what health and genetic tests can and should be done to parent dogs, or they are unwilling or unable to make the substantial investment into performing those tests. Finally, because they are not thinking of this as a full-time endeavor, they are unlikely to establish solid long-term business practices. They may really take good physical care of their dogs, and may even produce some cute puppies, but they just don't have a deep enough understanding of what they are doing to be fully trusted. I think the name gets misapplied often when it is referring to a serious upstart breeder or one who runs a small operation from their home. It is perfectly possible for a newer breeder to do a fantastic job provided that they have researched and implemented best practices, invested in the necessary testing and equipment, formed a relationship with an experienced mentor or two, and opened themselves up to the infinite educational material available on the internet and within the professional breeder associations. The fair hit against a new breeder is that they simply haven't yet established a track record of producing quality puppies who live long and healthy lives, nor have they had a chance to show their character in sustaining long term relationships with clients. Experience certainly counts, but the simple lack of it does not, itself, make one a Backyard Breeder. As far as the size of the operation, of course that can not be used as the measure of whether one should be given the label. Some of the best breeders in the world do very limited numbers of puppies, focusing on quality over quantity. The better term for a smaller professional breeder is probably something like "Boutique Breeder." My practice here at Homespun best falls into the category of Boutique. I run a small operation from my home, I focus on quality, I keep up with best practices, and I stand behind the puppies that I sell. Many of the methods used to detect a Puppy Mill (see my previous blog post on that!) can also be used to detect a Backyard Breeder. Most likely, a true Backyard Breeder will not have much of an internet presence, won't be able to produce health testing certificates or genetic test results, won't be able to converse knowledgably about common genetic diseases or other canine illnesses, and may give you a general air of incompetence. Look before you leap!

Let's Talk About Puppy Mills

By Somer Parker • January 8, 2024
I have to admit that, when I am out and about in a social setting and the topic of vocation comes up, I have the slightest bit of anxiety over whether or not to share with others that I am a dog breeder. The reason is that I know, for many, the term "Puppy Mill" is so closely associated with my profession. It's hard to unclumsily say that I am a dog breeder but not THAT kind of dog breeder among strangers and acquaintances. But, since I am among friends here on my blog, let me delve into the topic a little. The term Puppy Mill means different things to different people, so let me first define what it means to me. A puppy mill is any breeding operation where the principle purpose is to produce as many puppies from as many female dogs as possible as cheaply as possible, often breeding females who are already sick or exhibiting genetic disease. AND Little care is taken to ensure that breeding lines are kept healthy and clean. AND The dogs involved in the operation (puppies and adults) are either abused or neglected or both. This abuse and neglect can take many forms, from failing to give mommas adequate food and water to locking mommas into a small area with their litters and not allowing them to ever take leave from them. We have all heard the horror stories about raids on breeder facilities where dozens of animals are in a state of filth or starvation or where momma dogs have not be groomed in their entire lives and their coats are matted to their skin. We shudder to think that we would ever support such a practice. Yet, despite the fact that many states have done much work in cleaning up the cruel practices that some breeders were carrying on, many puppy mill operations still thrive, with many unwitting families purchasing puppies from them, never knowing the conditions of the facilities. Have you ever seen the popular meme "When you order from Wish...?" If you do a Google search for that phrase, you'll see some pretty funny illustrations of what you might end up getting when you order from a service whose primary purpose is to churn out a cheap alternative to a premium product. Wish is a website, similar to Amazon, where you can go to buy almost anything you can imagine. I am sure that you can get good quality products from Wish, and the purpose of this illustration is not to throw shade on that business. However, many people have learned from experience that when you go shop on that site, you had better beware of the fact that you might not get what you expect, because so many of the sellers on the service don't have quality control as their main focus! The cheaper product you order might look EXACTLY like the premium version, yet you may find not long after getting it home that the problems lie just a bit beneath the surface. I am sure you can see where I am headed with this, but I will continue. You can think of puppy mills as a sweatshop for making puppies. The breeders who oversee the facilities are not worried about quality because their concerns run only as deep as how a puppy might look on the surface. Many of these breeders do produce cute puppies. But what is under that initial cuteness? Are there bad elbows or hips that will lead to easy injury and expensive surgery for dogs early in their lives? How about poor genes for vision that will ensure bad eyesight or blindness? Have the parents been cleared of genetic cardiac disease? Did the puppy have traumatic experiences early in life that will manifest in bad behavior later? So many of these questions are just not very important to a puppy mill breeder because of their focus on quantity over quality and their goal of pricing their puppies at what seems like a bargain. So, how can you avoid supporting such a facility? Ask about a warranty. In Pennsylvania, the only guarantee that is enforced by law falls under the Puppy Lemon Law, and will only cover a puppy which exhibits a SERIOUS active illness in the first few weeks after sale. Good breeders will stand behind their puppies for at least one full year for genetic defect. Ask what physical testing is done on parent dogs. At a minimum, the breeder should be testing for hips, patella, eyes, and heart, and parents should pass those tests as judged by a legitimate organization such as the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA), Penn Hip, the Canine Eye Registration Foundation, etc. Ask what genetic testing is done on parent dogs. There are multiple genetic testing services that breeders can now use to sift out diseases that were once common. Progressive Rod Cone Degeneration, Progressive Retinal Atrophy, von Willebrand Disease, Degenerative Myelopathy, Ichthyosis, and Chondrodysplasia & Chondrodystrophy are all diseases that can now be avoided if a breeder is aware of what parents are carrying in their genes. If a breeder isn't bothering to invest in genetic testing, beware. Ask if the seller belongs to any professional breeder organizations. Organizations like the Goldendoodle Association of North America (GANA) do an excellent job of holding their members to a higher standard. Though not all good breeders belong to one, it is a good sign when you find one who does. Talk to them on the phone. If you spend some time talking to a breeder, you will likely be able to get a good feel for what kind of person they are. Are they impatient with you? Consider that a bad sign. Do they answer questions vaguely? Watch out. Do they seem to verbally squirm when topics like health testing and warranties come up? Consider passing on their product. Consider the price. Whether you are shopping for a car, a pair of sunglasses, a new laptop, or a puppy, you will find wide ranges of pricing on the market. As we know, "you get what you pay for." Sometimes, going with the "bargain basement" price can work out, but often that is not true and you end up paying more in the long run for having chosen the cheap inferior product in the first place. Ask whether the breeder is subject to state inspections and has certificates that they can share with you. Most states require that breeders pass one or two inspections per year to stay in good standing. Familiarize yourself with the requirements of the state in which you are considering purchasing and ask the breeder for proof of their compliance. Puppy mills definitely still exist, but the more aware you are of the signs, the easier it will be to identify and avoid them!
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