Complaint Review: Winsome Kennels

Thank you to the spca that took on over 40 dogs, and Kim for taking over 50. For everyone else that didn't give us and exposed Jamie for what he did.

For all the dogs that suffered this condition my people be kind and help the heal

Kennel Syndrome: what is it?
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In puppies, who in the imprinting phase, had little or no social contact with humans, the need of inclusion towards humans is absent or very poorly developed. We then speak of kennel syndrome, normally seen in dogs coming from "puppy mills". It is a syndrome of emotional inflexibility, which emerges if dogs are kept in within restricted kennel environments (with insufficient socialization to humans) during the first months of their lives. These kennel-dogs exhibit a behavioral syndrome characterized by extreme and persistent timidity and anxiety, and at times, fear-biting when removed to an unfamiliar environment. They will always be afraid of humans. The results of bad socialization, however, are for a part breed-dependable. A Labrador Retriever is less sensitive for this than many other breeds, probably because of its natural will to please.
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Generally, a dog suffering from kennel syndrome is practically unable to cope with any change from his routine environment. It is extremely shy, and afraid to be touched. The impressions gained by the dog during the imprint phase stays with it for the rest of its live. What is done during this period can never be undone. Without proper training and handling with an experience dog trainer, it will display chronically disordered, antisocial behavior. A dog suffering from kennel syndrome has to learn to trust and interact with humans. It is extremely nervous and wary of our well-meant care. When approached, it tries to make itself scarce, and if this does not succeed it will drop its tail between its legs. Its eyes are glassy, its ears laid back, and it often passes some drops of urine or rolls over onto its back. It is terrified by the noise of the television or passing traffic and will try to run away. This behavior occurs again and again, even though the television is on the whole day or cars are going by continuously. 

It goes without saying that a dog suffering from kennel syndrome is desperately unhappy. It lives in a world which is, quite simply, terrifying. Any attempts to approach it on your part, however friendly, are experienced as frightening and the same holds for all other impressions which it missed out on or barely received during the response phase. In this situation, no matter you try when training dogs who are suffering with this condition, its going to be extremely difficult for both of you.
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(Source: Scott J.P., Fuller J.L. (1965): The development of behavior (ch.4), The critical period (ch. 5), The development of social relationship (ch. 6), in Dog Behavior: The Genetic Basis, Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1965, Phoenix Edition 1974., 84-182.)
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Kennel Syndrome: how to treat it?
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First of all: a dog will never overcome kennel syndrome. Any damage done in the imprint phase can not be undone. The only thing you can do is to make its life (and your life with a dog suffering from it) more acceptable. Routine is very important here. Since a dog suffering from kennel syndrome is unable to cope with any change from his routine environment, we need to describe this routine environment, to establish our starting point. Try to answer the following questions:
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1. Is the dog afraid of you?
2. Is the dog afraid of other people in your family?
3. Is the dog afraid of people in general?
4. Is the dog afraid of sounds (vacuum cleaner, traffic, etc.)?
5. Is the dog afraid of other dogs?
6. Does the dog bite when its afraid?
7. Is there any situation in which the dog seems to be quite happy and relaxed?
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Once youre able to answer the last question with yes, or I think so, you may start thinking of a set of goals, but dont be too optimistic. The method we use to train the dog is called shaping (training by successive approaches). This method is used when desired behaviour can not be learned in one go. In shaping we are always one step closer to our goal and the dog is gradually trained.
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So this might be your set of goals:
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1. I want the dog to trust me and be comfortable with me.
2. I want the dog to trust my partner and be comfortable with him.
3. I want the dog to trust my neighbors and be comfortable with them.
4. I want to be able to take the dog for a walk.
5. I want to be able to take the dog to the vets.
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Once you have reached these goals, you may start thinking of a next set of goals, but again: dont be too optimistic.
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Give the dog confidence. Dont push the dog, give it time to trust you. Reward it every time it exhibits desired behaviour. While youre bonding with the dog, dont let it be distracted by anything or anyone, like the radio, or other dogs. Dont force yourself on the dog; let it come to you when its ready. Reward it when it does. Dont ever punish the dog! Ignore undesired behaviour.
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Once (or if) youre able to walk the dog around your house, and once (or if) this has become a routine the dog is reasonably comfortable with, you can expand this circle, little by little, until this new circle has become a routine.
Once (or if) walking in your neighbourhood is not a problem, you can try to walk to busier parts of town, but dont overdo it. Remember that its hard for the dog to cope with any change from his routine environment.
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Dont be afraid to give up. This is not a sports match. You dont have to be a winner. After all your effort and time, your patience and frustration, there comes a time that you have to admit that this is all there is, at least for the time being.
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A Labrador has an amazing will to please, an incomprehensible love for people and trust in people. I remember a situation years ago, in the USA, where over 80 Labradors were rescued, all underfed and mistreated, some of them entangled in barbed wire. The photographs were heartrending. The vets were ready to put them out of their misery and euthanize them, but just couldnt when they found out that these Labradors were still wagging their tails when they were released, were still loving and loveable animals.
Jason, a yellow male Labrador suffering from kennel syndrome, came to me after he was mistreated. He was even afraid of his own name, so I changed it to Joe and avoided using any a-sounds in his presence. Everyone who knew this dog said it would never be able to go to a dog show. Four months later, after I succeeded in giving him the self-confidence he so desperately needed, I took him to a dog show. The judges report said: Excellent. Happy young dog with good features. Promising. 

Unfortunately Joe had gained so much self-confidence that he thought he could be the leader of the dogs pack, so he had to lose a couple of fights with my Artie before he dropped that ambition. 

What Im trying to say is that you shouldnt overreach your goal. Surely you dont want an extremely submissive dog, but you certainly dont want a dog that dominates you. And however unlikely that may seem to you right now, dont rule it out and keep paying attention to what is happening. Dont underestimate the manipulative skills of your Labrador! :-))

     Betty's Details     

We happily inform all who have been subjected to Mr. Sheppard's treatment that he fell dead on the witness stand in court (how appropriate) in April, 2010.

Hopefully this has saved many dogs from his fury, mistreatment, and actions.
Long live his dogs and puppies in safe, Winsome Kennel-free world.
P.S. Always remember - you get what you give.

A kennel on the Sunshine Coast specializing in Poodle crosses (Golden, Wheaten, Lab) has to close very suddenly (in the next 2 weeks) due to the death of its owner.  Please pass this email on to anyone who may be thinking of a new puppy.

Just wanted to let everyone know that I recieved an email from Helga at Winsome. They have over 50 doodles ranging from older puppies ( 3-6 months), young ones in in the nursey, to adult breeding stock they need to sell as they are closing the Kennel. They are open to offers since they need to be sold within the next 2 weeks otherwise I don't want to think what will happen. See email from Helga and contact her for more information. She can forward pictures of the dogs availailble as the website will be closing down in a few days. I'll post pictures on Vancouver doodle meetup website of what is available.
The current website for Winsome is: wwww.winsomekennels. com or myminidoodles.com.

Please spread the word that these wonderful dogs need a home soon.

Jamies Sheppards personality is described as a Sociopath.

Traits include: Egocentricity; Callousness; Impulsivity; Conscience defect; Exaggerated sexuality; Excessive boasting; Risk taking; Inability to resist temptation; Antagonistic, deprecating attitude toward the opposite sex; Lack of interest in bonding with a mate.

Sociopathy is chiefly characterized by something wrong with the person's conscience. They either don't have one, it's full of holes like Swiss cheese, or they are somehow able to completely neutralize or negate any sense of conscience or future time perspective. Sociopaths only care about fulfilling their own needs and desires - selfishness and egocentricity to the extreme. Everything and everybody else is mentally twisted around in their minds as objects to be used in fulfilling their own needs and desires. They often believe they are doing something good for society, or at least nothing that bad.

There are at least four (4) different subtypes -- common, alienated, aggressive, and dyssocial. Commons are characterized mostly by their lack of conscience; the alienated by their inability to love or be loved; aggressives by a consistent sadistic streak; and dyssocials by an ability to abide by gang rules, as long as those rules are the wrong rules.

Every negative thread leads back to a disgruntled competitor in Victoria, You can see the commonality of the threads no matter how she tries to hide it. A court recognized expert wrote our kennel should be used as the Industry Standard.
When you read the testimonials from REAL CLIENTS at www.winsomekennels.com it is easy to see who is telling the truth. On average, 30 families a month visiit and adopt a puppy.
It is interesting that you must agree to the terms of service and attest what you are writing is the truth yet when you prove someone has lied these threads stay posted.

We purchased a golden retriever for full price $650 from winsome kennels. Jamie made us sign a contract before we could take her, which allowed him to use our dog for breeding. Jamie wants us to pay for shipping to and from our home to his kennel. We had to agree to feed our dog the brand of dog food he was selling.

We requested that Jamie do all her health testing before she was bred and he out right refused. We refuse to let Winsome Kennels breed our dog with out the required health screening of X-rays, eye testing and blood work ruling out the health problems known for this breed. He said if this was important we had to pay for all her health testing.

Even after we informed Jamie that she had been limping on and off for days he still wanted to breed her. We have since taken her to the vets and she believes she has elbow dysplasia. I am glad this site is here and that people are not afraid to come forward and expose this man and his kennel.

After we hired a private investigater to investigate Jamier once we also started having problems with him. We then learned about the 12 pages of law suits against him, I'm sure it has grown since we checked over a year ago. We found Alena from Labradoodle Passion as one of the people suing him. We have seen the details over the outcome of this case and how Jamie was ordered by court to pay Alena, victory for her not him. I have spoken to many people and know the postings here are all true many things are not been said yet, I think people should get together and do a class action law suit against him. It is clear that Jamie's sales and breeding practices are something to question.

He clearly admits to sending the wrong breed of puppy to a lady, but yet another person gets a black golden doodle and Jamie ever selling or sending such a puppy. It is clear he can not keep track of his puppies, and send the right breed to buyers.

He brags about getting Alena banned from Kijiji which I'm sure Kijiji would like to hear about his harassing and flagging another breeder. Did he ever think that she might not have any puppies for sale and does not need to advertise. Not everyone has 10 litters of puppies year round for sale. His comments show his intentions to cause problems for Labradoodle Passion. I do feel sorry that Alena was mislead and recommended this kennel. Even with Jamie admitting to other dissatisfied buyers that have it out for him he continues to attack this poor lady.

I'm glad this site is here and other people are not afraid to come forward about Winsome kennels and Jamie Sheppard. He can only try and hide or blame others for so long before the truth comes out.

Jamie does have motive to scam people, just read his comments about making a million dollars. I wonder if Revenue Canada is aware of the money he has made. I wonder if his staff is paying taxes for their income.

If you have any doubt about this kennel, I recommend doing what we did. Hire a private investigator or go to any court house and search Jamie Sheppard of Roberts Creek BC Gibson Island this will confirm the pages of law suits against him.

Jamie it is time to stop blaming others and take responsibility for your actions.
Playing the poor me, look at my cute puppies is not working. Blaming all your problems on a person that won settlement against you is disgusting. Buyers just need to do their research on this kennel before they are suckered in like us and so many others.

Keep this in mind.
- A court recognized expert wrote our kennel should be used as the industry standard
- We are open to the public 7 days a week.
-Scam artists or con artists don't invest close to a million dollars and work 7days a week so they can rip people off.

What is behind these attacks?
We went to Small Claims Court last fall and won a clear victory against another breeder. All of a sudden there are 10 Rip Off reports maliciously attacking our kennel. You can see the commonality of the threads even though they are written anonymously. Several people went to court on behalf of our kennel including the SPCA. The author of these threads wrote a racial slur in one of these reports towards the airline manager for stating the truth. The SPCA manager admitted the other breeder was the one making the complaints against our kennel saying our dogs were matted and covered in fecal matter. The SPCA testified in the court case that there were no matted dogs or other infractions at our kennel. The author of these malicious threads then wrote that the manager was a friend of mine and was fired for helping me.

Every new year we give away 4 or 5 puppies as a good will gesture and only ask for a donation for the animal shelters. The author twists this around and tries to make it a negative.

As for the consumer who writes about getting a Goldendoodle instead of a Golden Retriever, this is true. We offered to exchange the puppy immediately. What she fails to mention is that she told me she would defame our kennel if I didn't refund the cost of the puppy even though she wanted to keep the puppy. The fact she did receive a puppy of greater value didn't matter. She warned me she had seen the negative threads in Rip Off Report and would contribute to my down fall. I think that is called extortion!

Commercial kennels are not Puppy Mills. This is just more fear mongering to scare people away and exact some kind of perverted revenge. Commercial kennels provide a healthy environment with quality care and experienced care-givers to tend to the dogs needs. We receive about 300 families a year and 99% of visitors adopt a puppy. The author of these malicious threads would have you believe they are all idiots.

Puppy mills keep their dogs in sub-standard conditions with minimal care and they don't invest huge sums of money building a kennel that a court recognized expert wrote should be used as the industry standard. If we were a puppy mill the SPCA would have shut us down along time ago and certainly would not of testified under oath in court that they have never written a negative report.

We offer healthy, happy and well socialized puppies at greater value and this is the reason for the attacks. Prices for the breeds we produce have come down considerable since we offered them and some breeders aren't happy about this.

We are proud to produce quality pets in an amazing environment that one client called the Disneyland for dogs.

I am not a breeder, nor would I ever want to be. The sole purpose of breeding a dog should be to better the breed and NOT to make money.

Unfortunately sometimes people think they do all their research and in fact they don't know what to look for, what the red flags are. Whether or not this kennel started out with a passion for dogs I cannot say. What I can tell you is what I have known people who have purchased dogs from this kennel. A very nice family who wanted a purebred Golden Retriever ended up with a doodle pup. They asked for a pure bred golden, were told they got a golden, were given a doodle and after being informed by multiple people in the veterinary industry that there was no way the dog was a pure bred golden retriever they were told by Winsome Kennels owner they should consider themselves lucky because they would pay less for a retriever than a doodle. This is not the first time people have asked for a certain bred and ended up with mixes from this kennel. Also in response to not testing dogs for certain problems before breeding, those tests are to be done for a reason, even if you "think" your dogs "look" healthy. A good breeder is passionate about the breed and usually only breeds ONE type of dog. When you see multiple breeds and every type of mixture they combined to get that is a red flag......puppy mill. Anyone who has 300 to 500 pups a year????

Someone who properly raises puppies will tell you there is no way the dogs could get the quality individual attention need with only a few hands. Any good breeder cares about each one of their puppies as if they were their own dogs. If EVER a person was not satisfied or unable to care for their dog at ANY point in their lives a good breeder would willingly take that dog back with open arms and not scare you into not returning it by saying the dog will be put down. There are multiple rules to properly raising puppies and keeping them in the facilities at this kennel is not adequate. Yes I have seen the websites, and the live puppy cams. Really, that doesn't say anything except that the dogs are not exposed to the multiple kinds of environments and stimulations they need prior to leaving the mother. I have known people who received unhealthy dogs coming from this kennel and while i'm sure one in every 300 comes out "decent" there is no quality breeding in these dogs. This has been going on for years and only now are people getting the nerve to speak up. I do know the owner of this kennel and he is a very scary and intimidating man which causes people to shy away. I really don't know how so many people are sucked in. When you see Dog #1 view her litters A,B,C,D and so on you think you would catch on. Any breeder who has "pups available year round" is a red flag, and I do know that Winsome Kennels has tried to pawn off dogs he cannot sell as "donations" to the SPCA. The RCMP seems to have their hands tied as of now for the most part, but I think with sites like this we can prevent people from making the same mistakes we have. If only I knew then what I know now!! Here is to no more puppy mills, or crap quality breeding.

I do hope the owner of this kennel can find some way to support his family and have a good life, but this is definitely NOT how he should be trying to make his living.

It is unfortunate that very disturbed people are allowed to post malicious threads without recourse. The only thing that is misleading and false are the statements by Alena Strealeff from Labradoodle Passion. Alena even goes so low as to use racial slurs against anyone contradicting her lies. We are an open book and receive visitors 7 days a week. We never had a client call and say their Mini was 80lbs. We advertise our Minis being approximately 30/45lbs and sired by a Moyen Poodle who is 30lbs. A responsible breeder would never breed a Miniature Poodle with a Golden Retriever as there is to big of a difference in size and the health of the puppies to unpredictable. We have adult Minis that clients view before adopting. We have older puppies that clients can view. We never sold a black Mini Goldendoodle because we breed Goldendoodles with their colours being cream, golden and brown. Anyone who visits can see how healthy and happy our dogs are and the lack of any skin or hip problems as she suggests. If you read the other threads you can see these are from the same breeder in Victoria who has been banned from KIJIJI for her ongoing attacks. Search Labradoodle Passion on Kijiji and see for yourself.
Take a look at all the photos, the testimonials and check out the puppies on our live puppy cam. Visitors are always impressed when given the complete tour of the 5 1/2 acres that one client called the Disneyland for dogs.