About us

Hello, I hope you like my website, it is dedicated to my dogs, to whom my heart belongs. I have lived with, worked with and bred Labradors for many years. As you read on, the story will unfold as to why I now have both Labradors and Whippets.

I was born in England in 1957, my father was a jockey, my mother a teacher for severely disabled children. We had a Labrador and Jack Russels, jumping ponies and horses. We were a successful jockey family.

Dog breeding was more of a hobby for my mum. In 1974 and 1980, two very serious accidents ended my career with horses. It was only after having my children and going through a life-changing illness that I got dogs again. At first just a Jack Russell, which I bred once. Then my family bought me a chocolate labrador when I finished my cancer treatment. Buttons, unfortunately a product of irresponsible breeding and the reason – after the heartbreak of having to put him down after 3 years – for breeding Labradors that are as healthy as possible, fit for purpose, i.e. able to work and hunt, trained as rescue and assistance dogs or simply great family members.

I was very lucky to find a great mentor who helped me find a great bitch for foundation breeding. She was a qualified S&R bitch, my children’s best friend and the producer of a champion in every litter she had. Many search and rescue dogs, assistance dogs and fun-loving pets. My Kennel Of Poet’s Corner was registered in Germany in 2001/2 under VDH / FCI (O.P. C). I have been fortunate to have a number of outstanding dogs.

Our breeding goal is to produce healthy and strong Whippets that are loving and loyal, easy to handle family dogs that are successful at shows and also do themselves proud at ‘work/sport’.

Of course we breeders all want to breed this one champion. We long for the day when our hearts burst with joy because you as a breeder have done everything right. The hours of calculations and research into pedigrees, health results, show and sporting successes, discussions with puppy buyers and all the further training, even though you are now over 60 years old and have been involved in dog breeding for over 55 years.

I have been very fortunate to experience success. I ran an outstanding Dual Purpose Multi International Champion male (show and working/hunting). I have also bred several champions with beauty and working titles. For me, a dog has to be able to do what his breed stands for – without sacrificing beauty and without losing his easy handling.

This is the third breed I have bred. I grew up with Jack Russell Terriers and Labradors. From 2000 onwards, I only bred Labradors in Germany. Since 2019 ‘of Poet’s Corner’ is a VDH approved Whippet breed. Due to my illness, I can no longer carry a Labrador if necessary. After almost three years in Ireland, where I learnt a lot about Whippets and Greyhounds, I decided not to have another Labrador litter.

My goals have never changed, but there have been a lot of developments in science recently – just as there have been for all of us in society. So I would ask anyone interested in having a puppy to think ahead and go through some scenarios: Whippets can live to be 16 years old and some even older. Are you able to take on lifelong responsibility for a Whippet and do you really want to?

Training

I enjoy the sporting activities with Ella, without being anxious that she will become uncontrollable. All dogs will potentially chase a cat that runs away, a rabbit that jumps up in front of it. And a Whippet? Oh yes! Of course they will and they are faster than most. But I can honestly say, I have had much more difficult Labradors to train. It has nothing to do with whether a dog goes to sporting events or not. On the contrary, sighthounds that are satisfied and have to opportunity to live the life they were bred for, where they are physically challenged are often easy to handle in everyday life.

Every dog will chase, and yes, sighthounds notice things moving at quite long distances. But so do an aweful lot of other breeds. It‘s all a case of bringing the dog up to be obedient and some good basic training goes a long way towards that. Whippets don’t have to go coursing or racing. When they have reached adulthood they are happy doing a variety of other activities with their owners, such as mantrailing, search and rescue, agility and other dog sports. Some go on to be even service dogs or just being with active people that like to walk. An adult Whippet is happier than most breeds when the exercise is limited. It is not true that they have to walk 2-3 hours a day. They are quite happy with a brisk 1 hour walk a day, if you have a garden or one longer and two short walks if you don’t have to much time.

But like all dogs they need a sensible, aggression free training to learn the basic needs of living with a family. And they need a safe place to run 2-3 times a week when they have reached a good standard of recall.