April 10,
Pictures and Testimonials
Greetings from Candle Hill,
As many of you have noticed, we have new pups on the ground. Max and Wessa had their litter of seven on Sunday. All but one has been pre-reserved. The one still available to the right home is going to be one of the females, so if you have been longing for one of our softer, yet drivey dogs, very trainable, she may be the pup for you.
The winter's litter have all gone home. That is, all but the two we have kept. What a breeding this turned out to be: beautiful conformation, excellent temperament.
Here is Hunter, formerly the blue collared pup who showed such drive, off to his new home.
If you can believe it is still snowing each morning in Idaho. Undeterred, we have been out working the dogs. Here are some recent pictures, working with the dogs at Candle Hill.
Above is our son, Sam doing helper work with Ulrika in protection. We now have five handlers here, making sure that every dog has a job and is worked.
Because I know Ulrika as the sweetest and gentlest of dogs, I can't help but be amused by her other side:
She truly typifies what we look for in our Candle Hill Shepherds, that strong on/off switch, a dog who can be full fury when the situation calls for it, but who is sweet as can be when there is no threat.
Hero has been growing and growing. Because I work him everyday, I hadn't quite realized just how big he is.
Just picture him coming at you!
Below is Daila, fresh off her litter of pups and ready to get back to work:
We have several updates coming in daily now. I appreciate each person who makes the effort to write in as it helps so much in making plans for the breeding program.
Our dogs are not all the same. We have high powered protection dogs as well as softer, more willing to please lines. But overall, we are looking for a certain character, a connectedness, that ideal German Shepherd temperament bred to partner with mankind.
Listen to what Jim of Virginia writes about his Strongheart / Bree pup of the I litter, born May, 2007, " Elizabeth , Thought you might get a kick out of these pictures. Izzy actually climbed the ladder to get up on the swing set with our son Peyton. I wish we could have gotten a shot of her coming down because she actually followed Peyton down the slide. She was totally in control going up the slanted latter and coming down the slide, I was in shock and missed getting a good picture of it! I guess we should have been turning her into an agility dog instead of our other aspirations. We did nothing to try and get her to do it, I guess she felt the need to be closer to Peyton. -- Jim"
Below is Fuzzy, also Litter I of Bree and Strongheart:
Carolyn writes: "Fuzzy is doing awesome with his training and commands. Steve sometimes takes him to work with him.. He listens to him best. He is just a beautiful dog. Carolyn "
and from the Strongheart/ Baccara litter H from last winter,
11/13/2007 Lexi (Strongheart/Baccara)"I wanted to send you some recent pictures of Lexi so you could see how absolutely beautiful she is. I know these aren't the most "official" stances, but it shows how good she is with the kids. If one won't play ball she moves on to another. The baby tries to sit on her "lap" which she tolerates amazingly well. The picture of her with my oldest, you can see a little orange thing in her hand, that used to be a ball. We have one of those ballpits for the little ones and she thinks it's her never-ending supply of balls to throw and chew! That seems to be one of our only "problems" with her, she thinks she one of the kids and feels like they have to share their toys with her too...I'm working on that. She's going through a little testing period right now. I think it's a pre-teen thing. She also helps with the kids, if the baby cries, she licks him like crazy, which also helps clean his face, killing two birds with one stone. She's doing great though, just got spayed and came through that with flying colors. She is liking the falling leaves and since they're calling for flurries soon, I know she's gonna love the snow! I hope all is well, Deena" (Massachusetts)
Lexi with her baby
Let me conclude with a letter written from someone who did not get a puppy from me.
This testimonial is somewhat different from others posted on this site. Although I did not receive a puppy from Elizabeth, I wanted to inform others, who may be considering doing business with Elizabeth, of my memorable learning experience. Throughout the entire pre sale stage, she has answered promptly all my e-mails, as well as, questions over the phone. Elizabeth's top priority is determining what the customer wants in a German Shepherd and only then seeing if their needs match the carefully observed traits of a pup from one of her litters.
She makes you feel comfortable no matter what type question you ask, with a final goal in mind of possibly matching one of her pups with a caring/loving owner. With no holds barred, she tells it exactly as it is, which may not be what the person wants to hear. In my situation it became evident after numerous back and forth communication, that what I was asking for was not realistic and possibly beyond my capabilities. We mutually agreed that there was no match in the litter for what I initially thought I wanted and could handle. Again Elizabeth's top and only priority is to provide the best match and not just a quick sale.
It was an absolute pleasure dealing with Elizabeth, and I am sure that the many others who have received pups from Candle Hill Shepherds share my same opinion. I highly recommend this breeder if you are looking for a German Shepherd and you want to deal with someone that regards your comments and desires and at the same time wants to understand the traits of each pup in the litter and ultimately match the two. She is an extremely honest and professional person. If not for some of the strange things happening over the Internet, I would have provided my phone number and Internet address in the event someone wishes to speak to me. I offer these comments and request that Elizabeth post these on her site.
Bill {German Shepherd owner}, Pennsylvania 3/18/2008
Making good matches for puppies and people is what we are all about,
Best Regards,
Elizabeth