Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Joi Stevens . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Joi , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea
As long as I can remember I have had a love for animals, especially puppies and dogs. As far back as being 8 or 9 years old I was walking neighborhood dogs to earn extra money. I recall a neighbor having a litter of golden retriever pups, I walked dogs for weeks to save up (with my parents help) to buy one of those pups. The entire process fascinated me, breeding and whelping and raising them, and the thought to someday responsibly breed dogs was cemented into my mind where it remained for over 4 decades, all the while learning with each dog and job in my life. I lead my younger life finding my way in the world. From a job perspective, animals were always a part of it. Working in pet shops ,which are sadly and understandably frowned upon these days for their connection and involvement with purchasing from puppy mills which as we know are horrible living conditions. My time working in pet shops taught me so many valuable lessons. Working there allowed me to see what I did not want to be! How I did not want to see my puppies. But I also learned that there was a better way! I learning how to groom dogs, train puppies, I worked behind the scenes at Vetreinary offices all the time having my own dogs in my personal life.
I distinctly remember when the reality of how poorly bred the pet store puppies were when I myself purchased a Golden retriever pup where I worked. This particular pup was 3 months old and still at the pet store. In the mean time I worked diligently training him to sit, stay and lay down. Hoping to make him more attractive to future buyers because I was falling in love. With this boy. I had collect $2 bills for a long time (400 of them) and decided to buy this sweet boy. On our first vet visit I was told that the pup had a severe heart condition and would not live to be a year old. He should be euthanized and I should get another puppy. As a 19 year old, hearing this, it broke my heart. I was already invested in this gorgeous puppy. There was no way I could have this pup put down.
I chose to keep ‘Trapper’ and give him the best life he could have regardless of the amount of time he lived. When I notified the pet shop they very nonchalantly said. We will tell the breeder he’s deceased and they refunded my money. Thankful, I would gladly use for future vet visits. My heart was now processing that The breeder (puppy mill) did not care, not about the puppy or the fact that they had produced a pup with parents that probably carried the same health issue. Again, in todays world, the proper health testing would have avoided this. I was learning that things had to be done better, better for puppies and a healthier way to bring them into this world. As for Trapper, life went on. He had an amazing fulfilling life. Where he was included In my wedding and saw the arrival of our 2 sons. We allowed him to live life to his fullest, swimming and playing but at a modified pace. He over did it at times and I even revived him once with CPR. This boy was my heart dog, literally and we learned together for 13 years how to navigate this world. The day we had to let him take his last breath my husband sat on the floor and our vet cried with him. She had been on this ride with us for 12 1/2 of his 13 years. At this point his heart was double the size it should be and there was no medical reason as to why he was alive. I say his heart was big so he could spread so much love.
I vowed to Trapper that when I finally breed dogs in an ethical way I will……
•Health test the parents to avoid heslth issues in their puppies.
•I will care about each puppy born into this world and treat them with kindness.
•I will screen those that want my puppies so I know they are going to good home.
•I will guide new puppy owners in their journey.
All of these things I can proudly say that I do in my Rockwall Doodles breeding program!
Life did continue after we said goodbye to Trapper. We found and fell in love with another gorgeous golden retriever who we purchased from a breeder, a huge step up from a pet store, he was a best friend to our children growing up. A wonderful family dog!
We had to say our goodbye to him at 12 years old.
After the loss of him my husband really didn’t want to feel the devastation of a loss again so we went 3 months where our home felt as empty as our hearts. We lead our life but there was definitely a gap. I knew what it was but I had to convince my husband. My love for dogs and reading about them lead me to finding a relatively new breed called a Goldendoodle. I was fascinated to learn that they were a cross between a Golden Retriever and Poodle and the were low to non shedding! I was sold!
I approached my husband about this amazing dog breed and he agreed that we were missing out on so much without a dog in our lives. So the research began on breeders that produced Goldendoodles.
Learning, this road was all about learning.
We found a breeder and they happen to have a male pup that would be ready in 4 weeks. I still had not learned everything to ask or understand about the raising of the pups but I felt everything was falling into place for us to get this pup. After talking with others that had purchased puppies from this breeder I felt even better.
So I purchased him site unseen. The day we met the breeder in a parking lot (something I would frown upon today) I brought my son along to surprise him.
It feels like yesterday. When I saw the breeder handing out puppies to 3 or 4 people ahead of us, I could feel the excitement. Those fluffy pups were placed in the happy owners arms – I never want to forget the excitement of getting a new puppy, I promise to remember that feeling and I am proud to say that I absolutely do to this day! Each puppy I place into new parents arms I feel their excitement. The next thing I know, the breeder is handing us a puppy that well, he didn’t look quite like the others, not so fluffy, more golden like. I was a little surprised but he’s in my sons arms and I can’t really say or do much, then that sweet pup licked my face and I was done, in love – end of parking lot story!
Hindsight from that day helped me learn and led me to some great questions that you should ask of a potential breeder.
•Do you health test parent dogs? What tests?
•Can I see pictures of parents and puppies? Can we FaceTime to see facility?
It’s very important to know who you are dealing with and where your puppy is raised. As a breeder I am never put out when people ask these questions! I am proud of what I have created in my breeding program and want to show it to those interested, and I’m a safe manner. We rarely allow inperson visits to limit any exposure of illness onsite.
Riley, that was the name we settled on for our new pup. He was the smartest and easiest pup I have ever trained. We owned a restaurant at the time that we got him so he went to work with me each day and fit in flawlessly. I waiting for his fluffy curls to come in which they never did, and he was shedding, not like a golden retriever, but shedding he did.
I recall a phone conversation with the breeder and her answer was ‘it’s a genetic anomaly.’
In my mind that is code for I do not know why. Actually it’s not an anomaly, today I know that genetic testing of the parents would have shown that it is a particular gene that both parents carried which means it would be passed down to 20% of their pups. Mind you, this is not a life threatening or health issue, it is the way the two parents dogs when bred together will produce pups with this type of coat, but it is something that is preventable (a breed that does not shed) if the breeder had been more educated they would have known and the buyer (me) should have been told.
Riley is what we now know as a flat coat Goldendoodle. This means he will not have curls and will shed. Less desirable if looking for a non-shedding dog. We also know that they have a very unique and intuitive personality that I adore.
So Riley taught me that genetics are a very important part of the breeding process. The biggest lesson is that informing a puppy owner is a necessary part or being a good, ethical and responsible breeder.
Riley lived to be 11 and he is the biggest factor in why I am a breeder of Goldendoodles today!
After Rileys passing in 2015 (45 years after witnessing the birth of a litter of puppies) my husband asked me “Why aren’t you breeding doodles”?
That was all it took!
In 2016 I started working feverishly towards my goal of becoming a Goldendoodle breeder.
Mind you, I am 53 and starting this journey. I do wish I had done this years ago, but I was not in the place to do it the way I wanted to do it.
I spent hours reading, researching and diving into the internet with a passion that is truly heart and soul based. My whole life had been collecting information working towards this but I spent every minute I coukd learning. I found a breeder that was doing all the things I found necessary, health testing, hands on raising of the pups etc, to purchase a female with breeding rights from. I found what I was looking for in a breeder and a pup, that was not an easy task! There were many phone calls, emails and closed doors I repeatedly knocked on. It was extremely hard to find what I was looking for or anyone willing to help me become a breeder. Either I didn’t have enough experience or I was looked at as a threat. It was extremely frustrating but I had the time, life experience and the attitude that I was not taking no for an answer, I was going to accomplish what I had dreamt about all my life.
We found our girl, Martini,
what a celebratory name and she was most definitely worth the wait. She became Marti, Martha, or Mardi gra. Oh the fun we had training, learning together and doing her health testing and making sure she was able to produce the most healthy of pups. She was my husbands love!! Watching my journey with the girl was watching my dreams unfold!
At the age of 18 months we were struck with a tragic accident that left us
Beyond devastated.
A senseless accident happened when Martini stood 10 feet from my husband Chuck.
Marti was taken from this earth – She bolted out in front of a vehicle driven by someone that loved her dearly right in our driveway.
Our hearts were broken,
for the driver who loved her as deeply as us and who is such a sensitive soul.
My heart ached for my husband chuck who let himself love another dog after losing his best friend Riley. Martini lived to please him. She healed our hearts only to leave us broken hearted in a way I will never forget.
My heart hurt for myself who loved her as a child.
I mourned my lost love of that sweet girl and the loss of my breeding dreams.
My girl was my stepping stone on my long awaited journey of breeding dogs.
We lost so so much in a blink of an eye by this action that was an absolutely accident! Not anyones fault! In this loss I learned, I learned that accidents can happen to anyone, including myself. I never will judge another’s heartbreaking accident, I will feel it and understand at a deep level.
We knew as soon as she left us that we couldn’t live without the love of a dog in our life.
I truly did not know if I would continue towards my goal of breeding but we had to have a place to put all the love we had to give. We had to heal! We knew this coukd only happen through the love of a dog!
I approached Martini’s breeder who showed me nothing but grace, understanding and empathy. She also had a puppy that was directly related to Martini. Her Mother was a Sister to Martini’s Mom so in a sense we had a piece of Martini in our pup whom we named ‘Remember’ AKA Remi.
Her name is a reminder to never forget Marti and all she taught us even in her tragic loss.
Our real Rockwall story or the beginning of our breeding program starts with Remi. Our foundation girl who so graciously allowed me to learn along side her the ins and outs of breeding.
Joi , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
From my perspective, The road to becoming a responsible breeder of Goldendoodles was a long rough and winding one. With many ups and downs.
Remi was a dream to train and we bonded well. She was mastering all basic commands within a week of getting her, she was so willing to train. She adores my husband and loves me but she lives to have fun and well, Dad is more fun than me lol.
A blast Training and being compliant with a true zest for life would describe Remi well. A very solid dog!
My goals as a breeder are to raise healthy, even tempered pups from health tested parents.
Testing heart, hips, eyes, elbow and patella’s as well as genetic panels for hereditary diseases.
Starting with healthy parents with great temperaments is key! A wonderful reasons to ask breeders about the parents temperament of any pup you are interested in.
My long journey to finding a male to purchase as a stud lead to me a fabulous breeder named Tessie Henry of Someday Doodles in Georgia. In the process she became my mentor, great friend and truly helped me go from planning stages to producing the amazing Rockwall Doodles that we see today.
We purchased our beloved stud Dalton from her. He is the sweets most compliant boy that adores me but is head over heels for Remi who we intended to breed him to. At this point my vision of my program was not fully visible to me. I am simply going one step at a time. One girl and One boy, feeling this as a huge success!
These two are A true match personality wise and genetically- with one exception.
Remember the flat coat gene I mentioned with Riley? Both Remi and Dalton carry that gene.
Which is perfectly fine, as long as you have the knowledge.
Knowing that we could produce flat coats in each litter was not a problem.
I adore their personalities and there are people that want more of a retriever look in a doodle with less shedding, hence the flat coat.
I genetically test all my pups and then I know which pups are flat coats and can home them as such. With genetic testing, there is no excuse for a breeder or new puppy owner to be surprised getting a flat coat. Every flat coat puppy I every produced went home with a person who knew they would not grow long hair and they would shed.
Thank you Riley for teaching me those genes and the personality that I truly feel comes with it!
When Remi and Dalton were completely health tested and old enough we successful bred them and waited for the vets appointment to confirm the pregnancy. I remember that day so clearly. The life long excitement of hearing the words that the pregnancy was confined and seeing the pups on an ultrasound was simply amazing!
I truly treasured watching Remi growing her pups and feeling her babies moving in her belly. Every phase of this is miraculous.
When it comes to Whelping time, Our Momma dogs are assisted in delivery of their pups. Usually by 2-3 people. It’s exciting yet nerve wrecking for me. The Momma and the babies are relying on me to make sure it all goes smoothly. Delivery can be a long process but we are with them from start to finish.
Soft music, calm environment and prepared for anything that may come.
We cater to them and literally treat them like royalty! Remi is quite the princess after she has a litter of puppies! She is a fantastic Momma who wants to stay in with the puppies as much as possible. We do ‘room service’ for her which means I will feed her every 2 hours around the clock so that she can get enough calories to feed all of her pups. Taking care of her is top priority! Her health needs to be monitored as well as the puppies if not more. The weeks leading up to delivery are spent cooking and freezing certain foods that will aid in helping momma recover and eat well while nursing.
When the pups are older, Remi is what I call a fierce trainer. She demands respect from the pups and teaches them to be respectful of other dogs.
She is amazing to watch!
I can still remember the first pup my husband and I ever delivered of hers. I held that pup in my hands still in the birthing sac as she delivered it. I marveled at all of this process that I had literally waited all my life for.
This perfect ‘parti’ pup
(Parti means 50% or more white on it) was exactly what I was in hopes of producing color wise. My learning included not only Health testing genetics, but learning what dogs to breed together to get the desired colors. But until I held that puppy In my hands and saw it with my own eyes I did not believe it. Thank you Tessie for teaching me color genetics!
That first puppy that Remi and I ever birthed was perfection in my eyes. A red and white Goldendoodle.
She was named Peppa and ended up being owned by an amazing woman in Florida who later agreed to collaborate with us and allowed Peppa to be part of the Rockwall Doodles program. Another amazing story within itself considering we are located in Maine and she in Florida.
We raise our pups in an environment that creates stable, curious puppies. Utilizing curriculum that enables puppies to explore the world safely and at a pace that they can handle. Our pups are not just let to raise themselves in a basement. Our whole lower floor of our home is our Puppy world. There is a nursery, playroom, bathroom, grooming room and outside playarea. The nursery is where the pups are born and where I sleep with the litter and Momma for 2-3 weeks. This is crucial in my eyes to be near momma and pups. Not everyone, not all breeders, do it this way, there are many amazing breeders doing it larger scale but I want to remain a small breeder and do it hands on in a way that works for me, my dogs and my new puppy owners.
Doing all things to honor my dogs and what that means to me. My desire for learning all I could prior to breeding led me to an amazing program called Puppy Culture. It is a hands on way to raise puppies incorporating curriculum and meeting age appropriate milestone.
Another huge boost to my learning was from a breeding program that created the Empowered breeder software. Badass Breeders, Jeannette Forrey who has made it her mission to bring responsibile dog breeding to the forefront, uniting, educating and upping the bar for dog breeders.
It is a community of like minded people coming together for the love of dogs! Her ultimate Badass Breeders guide has been invaluable!
My program is bits and pieces of all the programs, books, and experiences that I have learned and collected
Throughout the years. I continue to grow and change and add and delete
and evolve with time.
Our puppy work
starts at 3 days of age.
We do ENS (early Neurological Stimulation)
Which has been proven to help puos have stranger heart rates, higher stress tolerance, stronger adrenal glands and many more benifits. This involves safe handling of the pups in a various positions, creating tiny stressors in a safe manner.
We also do ENS (early sent Introduction) stimulating their minds and noses.
We introduce sights and sounds daily. Encouraging our puppies to learn and thrive in a safe environment.
Playing learning and teaching these pups in the 8 weeks that we have is critical. Each phase the pups go through is a different time to introduce
different items. Watching them learn through play is the culmination of my many years of learning. How ironic is that, I sent all my time learning to teach them to learn.
Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?
Part of my vision for Rockwall Doodles was to create a group to help support my business. Instead of me having 10 dogs in my home the best solution I could come up with was to find Guardians. Guardians are people who own my future breeding dogs. They are their forever family! These dogs live with them but are mine for breeding purposes. This is a win win for the dogs! They have two families that love them and they get to live in family homes.
We train together, and are all supporting eachother and my breeding program. We have created a group on messenger and we socialize and stay in contact almost daily..
We are Team Rockwall! It take a village is a great saying. Team Rockwall is my village!
One of my guardians is a groomer another works with my puppies 3 days a week when we have litters. We also have a trainer in our group and a former breeder. This group is proud to be part of a well run breeding program. They are my best advertisement.
When we have a litter of puppies go home, I create a messenger group on face book. All new puppy owners are included in the chat along with myself and the guardians and our trainer. My guardians all have puppy training knowledge.
So anytime a new puppy owner reaches out with a question there is most likely going to be someone instantly available to answer it. Supporting new puppy owners in this way has been very rewarding and new owners appreciate us providing this service free to them.
We ask monthly to see picture of the pups or our trainer will send them a video of her dog on a stay or a sit and ask them to replicate it. We make it fun and interactive.. a wonderful way to stay in touch!
How’d you meet your business partner?
Kristen was Team Rockwall before we were really a team lol. She has been there to support my dream to become a breeder as long as I can remember. When I wanted to purchase my first male to add to my guardian program I asked her if she would become his guardian for me.
Remember that A guardian home is their family and the dog is theirs for its entire life. I am it’s breeder and can use the dog for breeding purposes. Kristen and her husband were on board! She said to me. I will love him and keep him safe and help in any way I can. She really didn’t think that she was a dog person but knew that she could follow step by step rules on training and wanted to help me. I purchased Murphy from Tessie @ Someday Doodles. We planned my breeding program around this handsome boy that Kristen and husband Mike soon fell head over heels In love with. Kristen and Murphy excelled at training and this boy was so integrated into there life, he was there everything!! At 2 years of age Murphy passed his health testing and I had this brainstorm of an idea to breed him to Peppa.
Since I keep in touch with all of my puppy owner, I watched Peppa’s temperature, structure and personality come alive. I loved what I saw.
Peppa was the first puppy ever birthed at Rockwall Doodles so this had so much meaning to me.
With Tessies encouragement,
I asked Peppa’s Momma Kelsey if we could collaborate and find a way to mutually benefit from breeding Peppa. We came up with an arrangement to do all her health testing long distance as we are in Maine and She in Florida. This was a huge accomplishment. Next onto long distance breeding, again huge success.
Peppas Momma and human brother delivered her to Maine making the long drive at the right time in her pregnancy. Crazy wonderful right!?
Once back behind the Rockwalls Peppa delivered a healthy and stunning litter of Murphy’s pups. We were all on cloud nine!
Just one week later our world would change with an unforeseen tragic accident where Daddy Murphy lost his life in front of Kristen and Mike.
A day their world stopped spinning.
Oh I know this heartache all too well. My heart ached.
Martini taught me that life can be short and we don’t know why.
Here I was seeing my friend heartbroken In a way I can completely understand. Then from a business standpoint, Murphy was the sole Stud In my program – it was double heartbreak and another huge loss to my breeding program, another set back!
Kristen works with the puppies most days and this particular litter was extremely special because they were Murphy’s. She helped deliver them and loved them. I couldn’t take her pain away, I couldn’t bring Murphy back but what I could do was gift her one of his puppies. A piece of him to love. I am thrilled to say she took me up on it and she has Sampson (Sammy) to love and cherish. They have an amazing bond! Kristen took her love of dogs even further and became a groomer, opening her own business, where she continues to love on dogs.
She named her business in honor of her beloved boys.
M & S Doodle Grooming
M- Murphy
S – Samson
She learned because of the love of dogs. A true undeniable passion from the love of a dog.
Over the last couple of years Our Guardian program has grown.
Remi, Dalton and Peppa have retired and we continue to bring amazing Goldendoodle puppies into the world to families that wait rough 6-12 for them.
We utilize a application process to make sure our pups are going to those that truly want them and want the support of a breeder for the lifetime of their puppy.
Dreams do come true!
The roads may be bumpy but it all comes together if you just hang on and put in the hard work, surround yourself with family and people that believe in you and are proud to stand beside you!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.rockwalldoodles.com
- Instagram: Rockwall Doodles
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rockwalldoodles?mibextid=LQQJ4d
- Other: Rockwalldoodles@gmail.com