12 Days of Breeders 2025 - #12 - Dana Filatova of Kismet Labradoodles

About this episode

Dana Filatova shares her experiences and lessons learned from her first litter of eleven puppies.

In our final episode of the series, we hear from Dana Filatova of Kismet Labradoodles in Ashville, NC, as she recounts the essential, sometimes challenging, lessons learned from her very first litter. Dana's debut litter was unexpectedly large—a "bonus-sized" group of eleven puppies! She takes us behind the scenes, sharing the unexpected obstacles and triumphs that came with managing such a big group. Most importantly, Dana reveals how the experience of raising those first eleven puppies forced her to redefine her ideal puppy buyer, shifting her focus and strategy to ensure the perfect fit for every single puppy. This interview is a powerful reminder that sometimes the biggest lessons come not from research, but from the actual process of breeding.

People in this episode

Host: Julie Swan

Guest: Dana Filatova

Topics covered

• breeding lessons
• puppy management
• ideal puppy buyer
• challenges in breeding
• Labradoodles

Keywords

• breeding
• puppies
• Labradoodles
• challenges
• lessons learned
• puppy buyer

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Kismet Labradoodles

Places: Ashville, NC

More episodes of The Honest Dog Breeder Podcast

• #132 - Purposeful Chaos in Your Breeding Program · March 21, 2026 · 11 min
• #131 - Why Dog Breeding Feels So Overwhelming - and what to do about it · January 30, 2026 · 42 min
• #130 - The Breeder You Need to Stop Being · January 23, 2026 · 11 min
• #129 - What Actually Makes a Good Dog Breeder · January 16, 2026 · 13 min
• #128 - Q&A - All About Puppy Deposits · January 8, 2026 · 13 min
• #127 - Setting Up Your Year for Success · January 1, 2026 · 13 min