A recommendation suggests I am endorsing someone’s ethics, their pairings, how they rear their puppies and the real standards behind their programme. Unless I have seen those things with my own eyes (and why would I have?), I cannot stand behind them. And lovely adverts, warm phone calls and tidy living rooms rarely tell the full story. Breeding is defined by what happens when nobody is watching.

I also have to be realistic about my own experience. When I look back at the last Bulldog I added to my pack from outside my bloodline, it was Gigi, whom I imported from Norway because nothing in the UK fulfilled what I needed for the future of my line. Before her, the last one outside LaRoyal was one of our foundation girls in 1998. That should tell you how little I am out there comparing breeders, viewing litters or forming lived opinions about other people’s puppies.

Yes, I'd agree I am more particular than 99% of Bulldog owners, and for good reason. I put real skin in the game for the sake of safeguarding the next generation. That seriousness also means I cannot casually point someone towards a breeder whose ethics or practices I do not truly know.

And, as you will have heard me say many times, the benchmark for breeding standards in this country is far too low to take anyone’s word at face value.