The Face Behind Endachs
Hello everyone, my name is Victoria Lee and I am the main face behind Endachs. The husband plays a part too but, for the most part, he's in it for the puppy snuggles. From a young age, I've been passionate about dogs, literally my whole world has revolved around animals in general. The idea of showing, sporting, and breeding dogs has always been of great interest to me. In 2015 I took part in my first dog show, a small show from a less than reputable kennel club, but that was all it took - I was hooked! I like to think I am living my dreams every day, getting to own and compete with amazing dogs, and sharing that joy with others in the form of wonderful and promising puppies. I have a love for canine genetics and animal photography.
A Love for Dachshunds
I was 15 years old when I got my first Dachshund. Prior to that I'd had an interest in the breed but thought for sure I wanted a large breed. However, at 15 I decided I was getting a dog (despite my mom not wanting me to). I'd saved up money and scoured the newspaper weekly for new puppy ads. I told my mom that if I found something smaller that I liked first, I'd get it instead of a large breed. Let me tell you - It was pretty close on me getting a Great Pyrenees instead, but then there it was, an ad for Dachshund puppies. They were unregistered, nothing fancy and really the kind of thing I'd guide people away from these days but at that point in time I knew no better. That same day I welcomed Finnegan to the family. A smooth red dapple, miniature.
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Finn was no show quality dog, not by any stretch, but he had amazing prey drive and a good nose. The kind of dog who would follow his nose anywhere. He was a chow hound and whiny when he wanted food or attention. And he taught me how amazing the Dachshund breed is.
I hardly know how to describe it, but you just know when you've found your breed(s). Dachshunds are it for me and specifically Standard Longhairs. The versatility of Dachshunds... there aren't many breeds out there that can do everything that they can. They are used all over the world for every type of hunting you can image. Below ground and above ground. By land and by water. They flush game, hold game, track game, retrieve game... From badger to fox to rabbit to boar to deer, the list is extensive. Lest we not forget their other capabilities, with so many sports and activities out there that the sky is truly the limit.
Underdogs by nature, ready to overcome any obstacle regardless of their size. "Courageous to the point of rashness."
A well-bred Dachshund will always take my breath away, any size and any coat.
My Villian Origin Story - 4/16/24
I didn't start in dogs. Not even close. I grew up lower middle class and couldn't even afford the time or money to make it to 4H events the one year my sister and I got to participate in it. I've always loved dogs and, through the years, we owned an assortment of dogs pure and mixed.
My first Dachshund was Finnegan, a mini red dapple that I purchased out of the local paper for a whole $100 and I paid them an extra $50 to have him brought to me the same day. I was 15 years old at the time and $150 to put toward a dog was a lot of money! My family didn't even want me buying a dog, it wasn't like we didn't already have several at home. Regardless, I saved and was determined. Actually, I'd wanted a big dog! I was between a Doberman and a Pyrenees if that tells you anything of my scope of real dog knowledge at the time. I'd told my mother if I found a smaller breed that I liked available first, I'd get that instead - as a means to appease her not wanting me to get one at all.
And so, Finn came to be. I met them at McDonald's and walked all the way across town with him in my arms to where my mom was having lunch. Not even thinking about the fact that I couldn't bring a dog into a food establishment, I charged in with him. My mom lit up from ear to ear and it was instant love. She'd grown up with a Dachshund and my grandpa still had one, Heidi, to that day.
Finnegan was not short of problems. He suffered a wide variety of ailments over the years from seizures to tarry diarrhea to sprains to being obese, but the dog could hunt and everyone was completely in love with him.
My love for the breed was sparked. I loved that underdog nature since most people don't expect much from "weiner dogs". Finn may have had a lot of problems, but he was a tenacious hunter with a lot of heart but my limited knowledge of the dog world at that point left me with no clue on the opportunities out there for honing those instincts. Heck, I didn't even know he was red or dapple for years, to me he was just "tan".
By the time I was in high school, I had found a love for science and learned that I was just fascinated by genetics. So, color genetics became my point of interest. I soaked up all the information I could find and at the same time, I graduated and moved out so, now that I had a choice on what and when they ate, I was learning about pet nutrition as well on the quest to provide my personal dogs a better diet and help Finn slim down.
10 years ago in 2014, I bought Ender. My first dog with real papers, granted they were APRI and a pedigree to look at on paper. By this point, I'd made friends who were more dog-savvy and was starting to learn about structure. One of my favorite times of year was watching Westminster alongside them listening to everyone's early picks and seeing what lined up and then really LOOKING and evaluating to the best of my ability why or why not those predictions were correct. Of course, my picks were all poor at the start; more with my heart than with any kind of eye for a dog. Each year I got a little better at it.
At that point in my life, showing was this alluring, mysterious world that I had no idea how one even came to be a part of it. I'd found the MOE group by that point so the world of dog sports was just becoming tangible.
I also lived in Missouri by that point and my boss at the time one day in 2015 suggested I come to the dog show with her and my co-worker. How exciting was that? I had the interest and there was the opportunity. Despite my nerves I dual registered Ender with this other registry that was hosting the show, ACA. In the pictures attached, peep the tie-dye t-shirt. That was that show. We walked away from our first show weekend with more red ribbons than blue but I was instantly hooked.
I attended more ACA shows over the years, and APRI. I made more dog friends and learned of AKC and it just seemed like the logical goal of it all. Friends offered help but in large I taught myself to show. No handling classes, just observations and learning how to present my dog and myself from the ground up. Additionally, Ender was doing extremely well showing in these venues but he was limited on where else he could go to show. We did international but I wanted more. I just loved it so much and was making a slow progression upward: ACA to APRI to IABCA to UKC to AKC.
So, at that point, I'd shown in 3 out of the 5 with Ender. I knew from his pedigree that he had basically all AKC dogs behind him and with a push from friends started to look into registering with AKC. Of course, I knew AKC wouldn't just dual-register him. AKC does, typically, have SOME level of standard for registering dogs. I hit wall after wall but eventually, my persistence allowed me to talk to the right people at AKC. The ones who didn't just say it wasn't possible but who actually looked at the info I'd provided and did some research on those dogs. They found that his sire was already AKC conditional which meant that all that Ender needed to be 2nd generation conditional registered was DNA on him and his mother. It took a while to get it arranged but eventually, I was able to go to his breeder, collect the sample from his dam, and mail it to AKC.
At 3 years old Ender became AKC Conditional registered. 2nd generation, which meant that offspring he sired would be conditional as well but his grand puppies would be eligible for full/regular AKC registration. He couldn't show AKC himself, but one day his grand babies would be able to. I was now able to register him UKC, so I did and he went on to get his UKC champion.
Nearing the end of 2017, before his conditional being worked out and before I ever got into standards, Ender sired his first litter (stud service). They were eligible for conditional registration as soon as he got his. Over the years he did a small handful of stud services having 4 litters. He was health tested with a grade 1 luxation of the left patella that I was always very upfront about and always requested any girls he bred to have proof of nice tight patellas. He also carried dilute and yes, had some dilute puppies which in itself is not such a big deal but when it became clear that his dilute puppies were developing color dilution alopecia I moved to no longer allow him to be offered as stud to any female that even carried dilute. In more recent years, he had two daughters (that I have knowledge of) come down with IVDD and eventually was diagnosed with it himself, though he still to this day has not actually gone down in the rear and has, thankfully, not had sort of flair ups in the last two-ish years. I retired him immediately from any stud services and made very public announcements of his IVDD as well as encouraged those with dogs related to him to cease using them since there was already proof of IVDD in his next generation.
Now, all this time I was growing myself. Maturing, learning more and more about the breed, structure, health, etc etc. I still felt Ender was a nice enough cream to stud out prior to his IVDD diagnosis but I had realized that I wanted a standard and already knew that Ender was not going to be any foundation to my own kennel unless I wanted the conditional and strings that came with it.
I imported Rival in 2017 and by early 2018 was participating in my very first AKC show. He wasn't ready for it at that point, however. He was very slow maturing and compared next to a lot of the American-bred standards showing at that time was very small. So, we took to other venues for another year, quickly doing very well in UKC and earning his V rating at an NATC show – along with a slew of titles. He became my first Dual Champion as well.
There's a lot more between then and now but ultimately this is a story of how I've never stopped growing. I've never stopped learning. I always hold a principle of being honest about myself and my dogs. And I don't look back without being so grateful that my path diverged away from becoming a rainbow Doxie breeder. Doing right by this breed is such a huge driving force for me, because if I don't then how do I even deserve them? How do I deserve the time others have given me or the critiques I've received from countless judges? How do I deserve access to quality studs or the trust put into me by any of the breeders who have sold me a dog?
I grew from the ground up and have, admittedly, allowed people to use my dogs who the me now is very ashamed to say that I did. You cannot undo the past but for some people, the fact that I have ever even owned dogs of color is more than enough to make them hate me forever. Or for whatever reason they've chosen to dislike me (either through actual opinion or made-up drama). I was called kennel blind long before I ever had my own litter and I've been called and still get called a puppy mill by some. Never mind the champions, grands, back-end titles, extensive health testing, and that's without even getting into the extensive work and consideration I put into raising exceptional puppies and that go to outstanding homes. I've been wronged, thrown under the bus for things I didn't do, and screwed over more than once in the last <10 years but I'm not the malicious sort and I'm not here to drag names through the mud. They know who they are and they know how they treated me. Sadly, as stated before, “with love comes hate” and even within the community of well-bred dogs that still rings true. I would like to think that I have never really been the bad guy, but if I have, then I have never intended to be.
I am 6 years into the AKC world and TRULY well-bred dogs and I still learn every single day. My own accomplishments are so minimal compared to others but they are all so very special to me. There is so much I want to do with my dogs that I am just incapable of doing be it time and/or money-related (or heck, access related sometimes too). Instead, I can just do the best I can with the time and resources I have available to me. And there is no rush, no race, maybe someday I can add in more of sports and such that I'd like to branch into/be more active in. I still do my best in the meantime to produce well-rounded dogs who have the ability to do all the things even if I myself haven't proven my dogs to do all the things.
10 years since I got Ender
7 years since I got my first real show dogs
5 years since my first litter
3 years since my first bred by champion
And since that first? 10+ BB champions to date across 3 countries
Not a single second of this entire journey has been without hardship.
Not every litter has been a success.
I will never forget where I started and all the valuable lessons I have learned along the way. I am humbled for my program to be at a point where people think highly enough of it to recommend me time and again around the web. I've suffered imposter syndrome my whole life so who knows if there will be a point where I will ever feel truly deserving of the praise I receive. I mean, thank you all, sincerely, but I just don't ever feel deserving – like I've not and can't ever do enough. I'm not perfect and boy howdy my dogs aren't perfect. My program has its battles like any other. Bites are the biggest thing and I'm not afraid to say it and heck, most who it is relevant to already know it.
If you've gotten this far and you're looking at getting into the breed or any other, or maybe you're just looking to do better by your dogs...
It is an uphill battle. You will want to throw in the towel. You will have haters for little to no good reason. But if you can stick to it, and you truly desire to do right by the breed, you will find your people (trust, there are lots of great people out there) and your groove. Remember that an eye for a dog takes a long time to develop and real-world genetics, politics, and other influences can play into what you view as the correct dog. (and heck, what you think is correct now may very well be totally different years down the road) Find a mentor, if you can. My journey didn't have one set mentor but I have a handful of people through the years who have helped guide my path. And remember to take criticism. The dog world is harsh and really is built around breed standards and an ideal for each breed. When you go to a show you're asking a judge for their opinion of your dog. And others welcomed or not, will always have their opinions of your dogs as well. Lastly, it's okay to be wrong. Own it. Honesty is such a dying art