Alchazandis

Miss Briony Lazarides
Dumfries and Galloway
Dumfries and Galloway
Scotland

Breeder of:

  • St Bernard

I have kept Saint Bernards since 1996 with our first litter in 2001 producing Alchazandis Joalah.
I already lived with (and showed) Pyreneans Bernese, Newfs; although I only bred the Pyrs.. the Saints started with an accidental rescue and 'made up the set'!

My first Pyrenean, Nushka,a rescue dog in the 1980s, had many health and behavioural problems. The heartbreak I went through with Nushka sparked a passion to look into canine health issues, as well as studying canine behaviour.
Breeding was never my intention,I have always had a heavy involvement in rescue, as well as having worked in petfood nutrition, home boarding (as National Training Advisor for NARP, guide dog puppy raising and worn other doggy hats too. However, I had an Eureka moment after I chose a Bernese pup and met the first truly responsible breeder I'd ever encountered. That there is nothing wrong with raising a well-rounded healthy puppy and making all efforts to place that dog in the right home for life. Itwasstill another five years until I bredmy first litter. As you will understand if you read on,striving to get thst partnership right remains very important to me to this day.

All my adult dogs are hip-scored, elbow-scored, and heart-tested by a veterinary cardiologist. Most are eye tested. My aim is to produce healthy long lived and well loved dogs.
Most of our results over several generations have been clear elbows, clear hearts, and single figure hipscores per leg.

I have lived with many dogs who we have not bred from ..
in fact. most known occasional hobby/sho/sporting 'BREEDERS' breed farless often are far more selective than those owners who breed from whatever quality unshown, untested dogs they happen to have while loudly stating they are 'NOT BREEDERS. (please do your research, all these decisions affect the future of a breed)
..'Type' is also important, and comparing conformation when planning matings.

'Breed Standard' IS something every buyer of a purebred dog should be considering.. Pedigrees do mean something,, years in a breed, and watching the showring, mean when you read a pedigree, you can see those dogs.. you also remember whose dogs tend to make old bones.
Striving to produce the best physical health combined with a dog which looks like what people think of when they picture the breed.. are both important considerations for breeders. and the choices we make affect the 'type' we are each known for..

And for an owner? You want the right 'puppy sighs'!
So to anyone reading here looking for a Saint, I recommend coming to VISIT us , and any other breeder whose dogs interest you.

Also, part of breeding a mentally sound dog, does I believe, mean selling a puppy which is ready to live in a pet home. That sounds ever so simple, yet some breeders do not bring their pups up in the house once they reach a few weeks old, or they wean them from their mums presale. Our pups are in the house from birth to sale and never forcibly removed from their mums

The critical socialisation and habituation window is 3-12 weeks of age, I want Alchazandis pups to get the best education they can during that time; Puppy leaving age will be staggered according to the needs and experience of the families the pups are going to.
I encourage any buyer to watch the Puppy Culture film. Anyone who has usually is glad to wait until their pup is around twelve weeks when they see how much work goes into those early weeks!

If you enquire for one of my dogs, please understand my first responsibility is to the breed,(as the future of any breed rests with the puppies of the present) my second to our dogs, and buyers are in third place.. once you have an Alchazandis dog you will get all the lifetime support you need, including being able to return that dog at any time in its' life, under our 'umbrella of care' contract.. but I will only sell where I believe the dog's future looks secure,, and I ask a LOT of questions plus homecheck!

I look for;
Owners where every family member wants the dog, and with both time and space to welcome a giant breed dog into the home.

Giant breed experience is welcomed although not essential, and owners preferably will have substantial properties, large gardens or land; and at least the funds to change vehicle at will, or buy an extra car or van just for the dog; fully grown Saints plus family simply won't fit in the average modern car safely.
With the uncertainty of 2020 I'm sorry but I can no longer risk selling to renters or anyone who doesn't have sizable space at home if further lockdowns or resstrictions on public exercise happen.. that may change if we go back to the 'old normal' but I have to make decisions based on probability of secure lifelong homes for our pups.

Finally, if you would like to share your heart and your hearth with an Alchazandis dog, enquiries are welcomed at any time, I do tend to breed only when I have people waiting.

Thanks for reading :-)

...I was particularly touched by the following poem, written by experienced Pyrenean owners Valerie and George Terry. Little Bess replaced their adored Sebastian:

"Breeding" Remarkable
I am Best Baby Bear, "Bess" for short;
Briony bred and trained me and I do what i ought.
I've been with my new owners for fourteen days
And they're most appreciative of my little ways.
I come when I'm called and I sit, stay and wait;
I've every intention to continue this trait.
I'm but four months old, so I've been told
and though very gentle, I can also be bold.
I've travelled by car from really quite far
And so long journeys are not any bar.
I have every intention to be always like this
As i have come from 'Alchazandis'
Valerie and George are the names of my pets
I really think this is as good as it Gets.

'Delighted of Hyde Heath' 04.10.08

'Joalah' Alchazandis Joalah aged 11

'Joalah' Alchazandis Joalah aged 11

photo by: Briony Lazarides

Alchazandis Joalah was from our first litter in 2001. He was a returned pup and won best dog pup at Crufts 2002 and plenty more Crufts prize cards over the years. He also workd as a stooge dog and did a little film and TV work including work for M Al Fayed and GOSH as the body double for the Peter Pan dog . He lived to twelve years old

'Ozzy' Alchazandis Toffichocks

'Ozzy' Alchazandis Toffichocks

photo by: Briony Lazarides

'Ozzy'born in 2008, was the son of 'Precious'. I shall forever be grsteful to his sire's owners and breeders, Jim and Sue Cootes of Adelphi kennels for letting me use his father Robbie.

Ozzy's daughter Flopsy, crossed rainbowbridge late 2022 aged 11.5. Severl of his other pups re still live,all now veterans.

'Precious' Alchazandis Calypso Dancer

'Precious' Alchazandis Calypso Dancer

photo by: Briony Lazarides

Precious pictured here was daughter of Joalah and the great grandmother of Treasure, and even though I do not tightly inbreed, I do occasionally 'go back in'... to pick up certain qualities, or hope to.. Treasure was almost a clone of her great grandma in every way. Treasure's son and, grandson and gretgrandaughters are here in 2023

'Spanner' Alchazandis Ozymandias aged 10 months

'Spanner' Alchazandis Ozymandias aged 10 months

photo by: Briony Lazarides

'Spanner', seen here taking second place in the Puppy Dog Class 2018 at just 10 months old .. is a big boy now! Six years old,he is a fit, strong boy who has not yet been to the vet in his life except for health testing.
He is great great grandson of Precious above, son of Treasure and daddy ofthe late Bardot, pictured with me in my profile photo.
Spanner went on to take 4th PGD Crufts 2018, but I was prouder that he travelled on the train, 5 hrs and three changes each way.

Spanner is not at public tud, but u AM using him myself although I do not breed frequently :-)

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