Kennel Zeta Centauri - Polish Hunting Spaniels

30/01/2026

15/01/2026

We ask a great deal of dogs in modern life. We expect them to adapt to environments they did not evolve for and to tolerate situations that would be sensible to approach with caution. If we are going to ask that much, it follows that we have a responsibility to stack the odds in their favour. This article is about one place where that leverage exists: early life, before most owners are ever involved.

Every year, fireworks trigger the same conversations about dogs. Videos circulate of terrified animals, advice is shared about management and training, and people swap stories about dogs who cope and dogs who do not. The focus is usually on what owners can do now. What is discussed far less is what happened before those dogs ever came home.

Fireworks are a useful example, but they are not the point. Sound sensitivity is just one visible stress test of something broader: how a dog’s early life shapes its baseline for coping with the world. Noise, novelty, handling, movement, frustration, and recovery all draw on the same underlying systems. Early life is when those systems are first being put together.

By the time a puppy comes home, that process is already well underway. Puppies are not blank slates at eight weeks, and owners cannot change what happened before then. This is not a story about effort or intention. It is about what can only happen early, and what has to work with whatever foundation is already there.

The difficulty is that this part of development is largely invisible. Most people have no reason to learn about it, because getting a dog is a one-off event. Buyers do not know what to ask about, and breeders are rarely pressed to show work that happens quietly, long before problems appear. As a result, outcomes depend heavily on chance, unevenly distributed.

Read more:
https://busydoggie.com/2026/01/02/fireworks-puppies-and-why-early-life-matters-more-than-we-realise/

(Picture of our puppies Alba de Zeta Centauri and Atlas de Zeta Centauri)

We ask modern dogs to tolerate noise, crowds, novelty, and confinement—often without asking how prepared they were to cope. Fireworks expose the cost. This piece explains why early life matters, wh…

15/01/2026

This post is an expanded version of an article I was invited to write for our breed magazine, the PSM Bulletin.

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Hip dysplasia remains one of the most frequently discussed yet misunderstood topics in canine health.

Despite decades of research and screening programmes, misconceptions persist about what hip scores actually mean, how genetics and environment interact, and what constitutes healthy hips.

These misunderstandings matter because they influence breeding decisions, how puppies are raised, and which dogs are included in future breeding populations.

Read more:

Hip dysplasia remains one of the most frequently discussed yet misunderstood topics in canine health. Despite decades of research and screening programmes, misconceptions persist about what hip sco…

15/01/2026

I wrote this article a few week ago after a discussion about breeding to make my own stance explicit, and to invite more careful thinking about what breeder responsibility involves in practice. A little intro below, and more on the blog!

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Breeding is one of the few areas where people make far-reaching decisions on behalf of a future life that cannot consent. “Ethical breeding” and “responsible breeding” are familiar phrases, but they can hide very different standards in practice. I find it more useful to treat breeding as a set of decisions with long tails, where the test is whether those decisions do right by the dog and make a dog’s life easier rather than harder.

A dog does not choose its body, its temperament tendencies, its early environment, or the circumstances it will later be asked to live in. The consequences extend beyond the breeder and beyond the puppy phase, and they often surface gradually. They also do not stay private. They affect the dog’s quality of life, and they affect the long-term reality for the people who will live with that dog. That is why breeding deserves to be treated as a serious responsibility.

Read more:
https://busydoggie.com/2025/12/13/doing-right-by-the-dog/

(Picture is one of our puppies, Alba de Zeta Centauri)

Breeding is one of the few areas where people make far-reaching decisions on behalf of a future life that cannot consent. “Ethical breeding” and “responsible breeding” are familiar phrases, but the…

15/01/2026

I'm incredibly proud to share that the PSM is featured in this month's Gundog Journal - and I had a lot to do with writing this article 😅

And that is indeed a young Grace in the hero shot - photographed in October 2019 by the amazingly talented Doreen Hasenfuß.

03/12/2024

We had an opportunity to a beautiful early morning photoshoot with Grace and Astra - the pictures are just stunning! 🤩

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N.B. Original editing by the photographer, I have tweaked some images (dehaze/clarity/contrast) for Instagram because it looks better on *my small phone screen* and cropped from bigger pictures to my preference/Instagram ratios. In other words, if it looks GREAT, it's her editing - if you think it looks terrible, it's likely to be my editing 😅 Please see Tytti's portfolio for her full, amazing style!

https://www.instagram.com/photosbytytti

16/06/2024

A Polish Youtube channel has done a video about the history and current status of the breed. You can find a link to the video in this post, as well as instructions for how to watch it with autotranslated subtitles and also a transcript to complement the subtitles.

Some of the things you'll learn:
Historical origins and significance of the Polish Hunting Spaniel
The PSM’s role in modern hunting practices
Breeding efforts to revive the PSM after World War II.
Key characteristics and grooming needs of the PSM
Current recognition, popularity, and role in hunting and companionship
Highly recommended for everyone with a PSM and also those interested in the breed!

Discover the captivating journey of the Polish Hunting Spaniel in this informative video by the YouTube channel TropiDog.

26/02/2024

Happy birthday to our first ever litter - one year ago they came into the world and stole our hearts 😍

It's so wonderful to see these puppies who were the size of a guineapig a year ago growing into these beautiful youngsters - we are very lucky to have found such amazing families for all of them!

So proud of these 6 - so lovely, inside and out, and forever in our hearts ❤️

27/08/2023

Our first puppies turned 6 months old yesterday and we're so happy with how they are developing 🤩

We even have a WhatsApp group with our families, and everyone loves to hear how their puppy’s siblings are doing.

02/05/2023

First of the pups flew the nest this week with Ariadne moving to Switzerland with her new guardian Nadia to start a new life as Ambra ❤️

It was a bittersweet moment - of course, they all leave (except Astra) eventually, but until this week, we've lived in our bubble of 7 and it's the start of the end of this process.

Nevertheless, we are very proud of her because she made it all the way to her new home with zero issues like a pro traveller and settled in with her new "siblings" almost instantly. She is in such good hands with her new guardian- we are excited to see what the future brings for her, and how she will do in her grown-up job searching for human remains.

Good luck, our little love - we look forward seeing you again one day 🥰

02/05/2023

From 3 to 9 weeks old, week by week - how they have changed! 😍