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Collaboration

Writer's picture: Kayley PaylorKayley Paylor

I grew up playing team sports and was reasonably successful at them. I was in a volleyball gym at seven days old, my team qualified for and attended Nationals twice. I played Select soccer as well. My senior year my team won our division.


I can't really say I fit in with my teams as a kid and teenager. I really didn't, but I loved the idea of collaboration, teamwork creating a whole greater than its parts. More often than not, even on successful teams, there was more often derision and discord. But, when there was harmony it was truly beautiful.


While I know how to work with people, it's always been part of my job whether as a stage manager in theatre or as a dog trainer working with clients, I've never easily made friends. It's likely why something I cherish above all else is collaboration.

Voltaire (In Stride Sambala Crowd of Thousands) #1 NOHS Azawakh, NOHS Final BOB, NOHS Finals Group 3 - Photo Diana Han
Voltaire (In Stride Sambala Crowd of Thousands) #1 NOHS Azawakh, NOHS Final BOB, NOHS Finals Group 3 - Photo Diana Han

Last year in particular was a year of both triumphs and disappointments. The breeding program I'd worked so hard to build came to fruition in huge ways. The #1 NOHS Azawakh, #1 UKC Azawakh, #1 NOTRA Azawakh were all bred-by dogs. 2 new bred-by AKC Champions, 5 new bred-by UKC Champions, 2 new bred-by IABCA Champions, 2 new bred-by Gazehound Racing Champions. These aren't insignificant statistics for any hobby breeding program. For one of the rarest breeds in AKC, they are commanding statistics. So, yes, by working with my puppy owners, by supporting them, I have watched my bred-by Azawakh go on to incredible heights under their owners' care.


However, last year I felt there were some marked breakdowns in communication, in collaboration. Some certainly were my own failings, at least in part. However, there is an ongoing situation that I cannot speak more on at this time, that has left me questioning myself, my program, and whether I'll ever again be able to trust people.


More than just about anything, I wish to see within Azawakh, a community of individuals dedicated to preservation - to honoring a breed that is thousands of years old. I wish to see both old and new owners, exhibitors, competitors, stud dog owners, and breeders working together and collaborating for the future of the breed.


2022 UKC Premier Nationals. Megan with Ami, Lenny with Czerny, Jenn with Sakinah and Saga, Kayley with Anubi and Birdie, Veronica with Amalu and Gem
2022 UKC Premier Nationals. Megan with Ami, Lenny with Czerny, Jenn with Sakinah and Saga, Kayley with Anubi and Birdie, Veronica with Amalu and Gem

For me, this doesn't mean everyone must agree. It doesn't mean everyone must have the same goals and vision. I know for a fact there are dogs that I would wash that other people would breed. And, vice versa, I have used dogs others would wash. There is a strength to smiling and cheering other people and their dogs' successes, even while you know you're on a different path. It doesn't mean I won't work with them in the future. It is simply different. Not better or worse.


That is something I struggle with, I know I'm not alone in the world in that regard. I can be headstrong, at times a force of nature and it is a constant learning process to slow down, listen and remind myself that my way is not the only way. That being said, that is a sentiment that I truly believe.


I don't want to be alone in my passion. I have no desire to be an island. I yearn for connection and collaboration- for the good of myself, for the good of the breed. To me, this is beyond mere cooperation.


Cooperation is working together towards a common purpose. If a bitch owner approaches me about a stud dog then I'm going to asking about their goals for the breeding, why X dog? If we are in agreement on those goals, then we forge a contract. What are the limits, concerns, the hard lines governing each party within the planned breeding? At that point, we fulfill the terms of the agreement working toward our common goal and usually part ways until the next time our goals align. That, to me, is a beautiful example of cooperation: I have this, you have that, we both want X. It's critically necessary to the dog world.


Beyond that and much rarer, in my opinion, is collaboration. While it could be argued it's simply a matter of semantics, I feel there's a qualitative difference between cooperation and collaboration. While cooperation is temporary action necessary to overall community and in specific, breeding dogs, collaboration is an ongoing process venturing far beyond a this-for-that exchange and into the realm of mutual, complex problem-solving and support.


We have all had instances where collaboration devolves, spirals, mutates in a way that is detrimental to share common goals. This can make this level of trust and investment feel futile or naive. Then there's the instances where you again experience true collaboration, and it again changes the face of the game.


I leased Czerny, a five year old Azawakh bitch from September to December. Czerny first went into season shortly at 2 years old. She didn't cycle again until she was almost five, a full two years later. Her owner was not in a position to breed her that cycle unfortunately. I asked to lease her in attempt to have a litter out of her that cycle.


When we began idle discussion, Czerny had started to bleed two days before. By the time that I realized it was likely she wouldn't be able to be bred that cycle, she was over a week into season. It was at that point that I asked to lease her and then we collectively began the mad dash to get Czerny from the Chicago area to the Pacific Northwest.


My partner, Theresa, called around to vets to get Czerny a health certificate to fly. I reached out to friends at the Basenji Club of America National to see if anyone had flown on Alask (the only airline talking dogs as accompanied cargo). As our luck had it, we did know someone flying home, though at an airport a substantial drive away from Czerny's owner.


Theresa and I discussed stud dogs with Czerny's owner and settled on Haris, who had finished his health testing the week before. I coordinated with Haris' owner.

Czerny's first day in the PNW
Czerny's first day in the PNW

The day after I asked to lease Czerny, she got her health certificate to fly. The day after that, her owner drove her through apocalyptic, unexpected construction to the airport. She flew to Seattle and then transferred to Portland. She hung out with us on Sunday and then we did progesterone Monday at a friend's clinic at my way back up to Seattle. She was on day 10 of her cycle at that point.


I arranged with my own vet to run progesterone on day 12, which showed she'd ovulated, her numbers rising quickly from her level on Monday. Through all of this, my intact boys weren't beside themselves. They were curious, but not at all acting like she was ready, which made me thankful for progesterone testing.


The next day I met up with Haris' owner and did the breeding. I was watching Haris while his owner was out of town so we did two more breeding the following days at my house. She had an ultrasound at 28 days that showed, despite Herculean efforts and true collaboration to make all the pieces fall into place, Czerny hadn't taken. We did an X-ray at day 54 post ovulation just to confirm the results of the ultrasound and then began to look for a transport home for Czerny.


I was initially expecting to fly her, but a primitive breed savvy friend was heading to the East Coast and offered to transport Czerny home. This was serendipitous since the previous year, I'd transported a bred-by puppy for them to Royal Canin. Our friend took Czerny most of the way home before their car broke down. This meant Czerny's owner and partner had to drive 6 hours to go pick her up.

Czerny's LGRA FTE
Czerny's LGRA FTE

However, despite all the struggles, Czerny made it home safe and is back with her people. Through the hurdles, intricate yet spontaneous logistics, and moments of stress, I never once doubted that everyone was working toward one common goal. It was a true feat of collaboration. And, while Czerny didn't get to have a litter, she did get to experience LGRA straight racing, which she quite enjoyed!


It was this experience, even with the unfavorable outcome, that helped me take the leap in collaborating with people again


I'm currently deep into the process of planning a liter for the end of the year. This will likely be my first surgical AI, my first use of frozen semen, my first time collaborating with a stud dog I don't own/didn't breed, and my first time dealing with shipping semen. The number of moving parts makes my head spin and it's certainly the most expensive way to breed I can think of, but I am excited for the pairing. This could have been an absolute nightmare to plan.


Instead, like with Czerny, I have found the stud dog owner incredibly helpful and an excellent collaborator. We've gotten all the (complicated) paperwork we've needed to get out of the way and it went smoothly. We have similar goals and while there have already been some sizeable bumps in the road, we are collectively handling them piece by piece.


It's experiences like this that remind me that through all the failed communications and misunderstandings, true collaboration is soothing, fulfilling, and worth the other hardships.


More than these other, temporary collaborations, last year brought an unexpected, incredibly welcome partnership of a program wide level.


I placed Quixote (Tabiri x Amidi) with a longtime friend, Theresa, in fall 2023. He was a favorite in that litter. He was flashy and handsome even as a puppy, but why I placed him with Theresa was his mind - he had the working capacity that she needed.


Theresa and Kayley with Birdie, Quixote, Drama, and Amidi - Ami took two Reserve Best in Show Brood Bitch
Theresa and Kayley with Birdie, Quixote, Drama, and Amidi - Ami took two Reserve Best in Show Brood Bitch

We talked often and attended events together regularly. Over time topics of discussion became increasingly complex- breed standard discussions, structure, pedigrees, future pairings. Theresa was a practicing CVT for well over a decade and maintains her license to this day, so her insight to matters was welcome and nuanced. She has worked with dogs for decades, evaluated hundreds of litters and thousands of dogs. These conversations provided me with a piece I hadn't realized I was missing- a local, broad expert opinion on the topics I am most passionate. It was hardly that we always shared the same opinion - in fact she often has a differing opinion than I do. That is what allows us to truly tackle both the pros and cons of each decision.


There has been such a relief, beyond a personal level, to have another person who just intrinsically understands the decisions, the dogs, the titling, and health testing. A person who can back my line of logic or explain, in clear thoughts the pieces and angles I might be overlooking. Despite the turmoil that is my life at the moment, there is peace in that collaboration, that partnership. I feel fortunate to have that partnership moving forward and we will be pursuing a collaborative breeding with another kennel moving forward, which we're both extremely excited about.


None of us can exist in a vacuum. Some people are part of the overall community and interaction is necessity. Some are acquaintances or even friends that you enjoy interacting with but aren't part of the process. Collaboration in my eyes is truly where individuals come together to create a whole greater than the individual parts.

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