We’ve had terriers for years and can’t get away from this breed group, just love them. Growing up, there was a male Airedale. And years later, along came two male Lakeland’s, and a female Cairn. For many years we were a two dog family, so when we lost our second Lakie boy a couple of years ago, our family picture was just not complete. As we kept learning along the way, researching various terrier breeds, we realized the Welsh Terrier would be our biggest canine undertaking ever, but we were eager because we had met and started working with Emma Kesler, a terrier training and behavior expert. We had wanted to sharpen up our working relationship with our Cairn first, so that when a puppy arrived, she’d be in great shape, confident and ready for her little brother.
Emma’s dog Miles is from Bayleighwelshterriers so we applied, realizing that the demand for such high quality bred dogs could result in our app going to the back of the file cabinet. We were impressed that the very next day we had a response. We had done our research with other reputable terrier breeders, and a number of times we never even heard back. So much for that! Still, after we had applied with BayleighWelshTerriers and heard back, it was a roller coaster ride for a few months, watching and wondering, how long will this take?, how will the litters do?, how many males verses females will come along in those litters, where are we in line? etc….. And so yes, Keith kindly kept us informed about several upcoming litters and what was happening with them, the good, bad and the unfortunate, yes, little did we realize that still births and emergency deliveries do happen 🙁
We must say that every time we called Keith to get more information about what was going on, she never made us feel like we were a bother. She took our calls cheerfully and was readily accessible, which is amazing for someone who we discovered must be a very busy person. And, she always made us feel welcome to call again and again, even sent us pictures and videos of puppies that might or might not end up in our home, just to keep us in the loop on things. This was immensely appreciated! She even offered information on when to call again and why, whether an ultrasound was resulting or some other notable news, offering insight into the size of the litter, and further, to inform us of how many males verses females comprised a certain litter, since we were needing a male to fit our circumstances. It helped us understand better that there are so many wheels spinning in a quality breeders wheelhouse, busy juggling all the issues. That it’s not just a simple process, but rather multi-faceted for sure.
Another thing we learned is that Bayleighwelshterriers also serves to mentor up and coming Welsh terrier breeders, yet another cog in the fast spinning wheels of developing the best welsh terriers one can find, and continuing this legacy onward for years to come. But on the other side of the coin, expectant puppy parent, if they are serious too, and are responsibly doing their homework, such as we were certainly wanting to do, also have priorities and concerns. They of course, are doing everything possible to be ready for the homecoming and fuss about what kind of infant care and health testing is going on with their potential baby. And so it was another plus for us that Keith arranged for us to interface directly with Emily Carroll of Carroway Welsh Terriers, a breeder she was mentoring, and who was raising two litters with ties to Bayleighwelshterriers. Once we got to know Emily and the setting she was providing, and the methods she was using, it was so reassuring that she was offering elevated, high quality puppy care that is so vital in the opening days and weeks of a puppy’s life. So, the day came, and we got the call in mid December, and into our life came our new boy. His name is Archie. And now, it was our turn, to really work hard, and do honor and justice to this beautiful breed. We are truly grateful, and can honestly say we got everything and more from our experience with Bayleighwelshterriers.