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Been up late thinking about when I first started SD and what I've learned from stalking litters and showing and breeding and being #1 in my breed. What is the one piece of advice you would give yourself when you started or maybe someone new who is playing or maybe someone who has been around awhile but isn't doing as well as they want to be doing?

Mine is to not rely so much on SOP. in most cases good dogs have good dogs and sometimes the best puppy isn't always the highest SOP, and sometimes you have a closet gem hidden underneath your lower SOP puppy.

My tip would be to make sure you are friendly, enjoy the game and be part of the community. I would advise to not operate as a 'closed kennel' as no one needs that.

Most importantly - be patient! This is a slow game

I think mine would be don't overfill your kennel - the temptation to upgrade because 5 dogs isn't enough, then go family because 30 dogs isn't enough, then panic because 5 full kennels isn't enough........

Hahaa - Mournebrake I totally hear you! :P

I got my first family sub last year and I have already been considering another ... Thankfully I have kept myself incheck so far :P

Great advice guys I know I almost quite but everybody was so helpful but I agree with getting a lot of dogs starting out slow is good because I made some mistakes in the beginning fewer dogs are easier to handle then once you get better you can get more. Patience is a virtue in this game too. I have been playing for about a month and half and have 5 kennels now. Once again thanks to everyone who has helped me I love the game now and am really into it. Maybe 5 kennels is a little much but it works for me.

But already wanting one more maybe I need to take you guys advice too LOL

Mine would probably be to take your time and not try to jump into everything at once. I think that got me when I first joined, but it got me again now that I'm back from my two year hiatus haha.

I've just sort of overloaded myself a bit I think, even though I've only got one subbed kennel. I'll learn, (hopefully), but I'm hoping to not leave on another hiatus either so...

Don't over fill your kennel. (NO ONE go look at the number of dogs I have! LOL) Also, learn how to use custom food formulas to save yourself sessions.

I just had to go look Yippee - it gets us all....... eventually!

Yippee, you have an addiction!! 49 retired dogs!! how on earth do you find the money to feed everything? your feed bill must be $200 a day!!

I love all these . I just started back up maybe a month ago and I've already practically gone broke getting dogs and breeding so I can be somewhat competitive :P. Need to heed all this advice!

Yes, Mourne I do have an addiction.

Hi, My name is Julianne and I'm a chihuahuaholic.

And believe it or not, my food bill is less than $100 on most days. Chihuahuas don't eat much. I've got everyone on either Pet House for Adults or the same custom blend. Buying in bulk seems to help.

LOL Julianne, I laughed reading your reply. I guess it should be cheaper feeding small dogs, maybe that's a suggestion I should put forward - toy breeds and small terriers should cost less per day to feed than medium breeds, and giant breeds should cost more still.