Jo Ann Secondino & Jonathan Pickett | Fox Meadow & Alfagardur

Interview with Jo Ann Secondino & Jonathan Pickett, Breeders of Fox Meadow & Alfagardur

1. Please tell us a little bit about yourself. Where do you live? How many years in dogs? How many years as a breeder? What is your kennel name?
2. In your opinion, is your breed in good condition overall? Any trends that warrant concern?
3. As a Preservation Breeder, can you share your thoughts on the sport today? How’s the judging these days?
4. How important are Performance Events to you as a Preservation Breeder? As an Exhibitor?
5. In your opinion, is social media good for the sport? Is it harmful?
6. What are the biggest challenges facing the dog show community as a whole today and how can these be addressed?
7. What are some of the positive changes you’ve seen in the sport over the past decade?

Jo Ann Secondino & Jonathan Pickett

1. My partner, Jonathan Pickett, and I live in a tiny Maryland town with five generations of Icelandic Sheepdogs who have been part of our lives since 2003. I breed under the Fox Meadow prefix while Jonathan breeds under Alfagardur, which translates from Icelandic to “Elf Garden.”

2. In my opinion, the breed right now is in a good place, but we have to continually remind ourselves that we are a small breed and we need to avoid the same pitfalls so many other breeds have fallen victim to, such as popular sire syndrome. This can become a real concern in our breed if we do not carefully manage our breeding choices.

3. As a Preservation Breeder, I feel it is my obligation to mentor my owners and others in my breed community to help them dive into dog sports, giving them encouragement and the resources to be able to do more with their dogs. I am happy with the number of shows, but I do wish more of them offered more 4-6 Month Beginner Puppy Competitions and Pee Wee events, as not every cluster offers them. I feel it is important to get dogs started early in shows, and having youngsters excited about getting involved while young.

4. Performance sports are very important to the Icelandic Sheepdog. The breed is promoted as being a versatile breed, so performance sports help to prove that versatility and allow us to pursue every possibility with these amazing dogs.

5. I feel social media can be a beneficial communication tool for purebred dogs and the sports in which we participate. People just need to remember some decorum and manners.

6. The biggest challenge today is mentoring. Many don’t know where to start, so having a mentor helps to ease the anxiety and enrich those first experiences for the new canine sports enthusiast. Many who go it alone often don’t come back if they don’t have a
support system.

7. I feel, in the past decade, the inclusion of the National Owner-Handled Series was a great change, giving owner-handlers another opportunity to shine in the ring with their dogs. We have had great experiences with the AKC judges being helpful and supportive of our new exhibitors. They’ve made positive experiences for them, and made them excited to come back to earn that next point.