Have you ever wondered how we choose which pup goes to which home? Rewinding the clock a little back to the end of the year, let me walk you through our placements of Max and Wessa's pups. It might be fun for you to see how we choose who goes where.
We had six pups. Two males and four females:
Of our puppy families, we had a dear woman who had her reservation in for over a year, looking for just the right male pup with a calm temperament, affectionate, but also trainable and fun for AKC obedience competition. I was very intent on making a good choice for her. Of the two males, early on the Green collared male came across as big and calm, where the Blue Collared male was playful and rambunctious. But as we approached the seven week testing time, Green was proving himself to be quite the dominant working dog, even rolling over the other puppies. Blue, on the other hand, would lean his body against my leg and be perfectly content to stay there. If there was a pup by my side, I could almost guess that it would be him. The blue collared pup therefore has become Jerry who went to Christina.
Here is Jerry's update, from Christina in Massachussets:
See this angelic little face that looked up at me yesterday?
I love it! He can be so gentle and snuggly, yet he also is so fearless and he can be so full of himself, and all the while with his little focused gaze. He picks things up SO quickly and is always searching my face for a next command or just a smile. He's still doing fantastic and I can't wait to see how he does in Puppy K with the other puppies next week.
And more recently, she wrote me last week, “Hi Elizabeth, I have to laugh. Please don't be impressed with my training skills, this little guy is the easiest dog I have ever had to train! He virtually trains himself. Everyone marvels at his intent little gaze and, honestly, he is just so, so smart. To add to his list of commands, I decided to teach him "wait" before his meals yesterday. Now, 3 meals later, he's got it down pat! He gets sooo excited at meal time and gets "happy" jumpy and sometimes barking, but once I tell him to sit and wait, he calms right down. :-)
Jerry is the young dog on the left.
So Christina finally had her puppy decided on, but now we had a problem. The second family wanting a male had never had a shepherd before. They had small children and were looking for a nice family dog. The dominant male was simply not going to work out for them. After a phone call, rather than choose a female, they opted to wait for another litter. That male instead went to a home where the person was looking for a working dog, one that she could really do something with. Better yet, she already had experience working with the Canadian Mounties. This made the strong sable male a good choice for her.
Michelle writes her update on Pace, the green collared male: “ I have been taking Pace to the German Shepherd Club of Calgary since mid January. They do Shutzhund training. I have learned a lot by watching and listening. There is so much 'I' need to learn. The consensus is that Pace definitely has the drive and will be easy to train as he loves his toys and treats. This is a very different mind set for me than what I thought, the way I will be raising Pace, the socializing and such. I am committed to this training though as I can see that if Pace does not have something to work at and for his high drive level will 'drive' me around the bend. ;)
One of the men from the club has looked at Pace's parents pedigrees. I have been doing some reading on this, but have much to learn here as well. Wessa has an amazing background, having twice in her pedigree the BEST working lines there are, from the Czech border patrol. He feels that you should be advertising Wessa more along these lines as dogs from there are much in demand. I am not sure if you had that information, but thought I would share it with you.”
Here is Pace in Michelle's arms and Max kissing a friend.
Next we have the females. Our first family looking for a female had called last summer wanting a very soft tempered puppy who would be willing to please to do AKC obedience, but who would not be too wound up or overbearing. Of our four females, the sables were noticeably softer. Of those, the little one was sweet. In the 49 day temperament test, she ran to get the toy, but was just enough lacking in confidence that she did not pick it up to bring it back. But she came back, which shows a nice pack relationship. Here is Phoebe with her owner's message below.
Hi Elizabeth, Phoebe is growing like a weed. Attends her second puppy pre-school class tonight. Had no problem with the first night - not shy of people at all, but not fawning either. She's learning sit, down, and walk with me. Has done her first track - in the snow, and has a very good nose. Also likes treats, which makes training a lot easier. She also likes toys, and has hauled about half the toys out of the basket and box. Is very curious and knows what is in all the cabinets. We have so much fun with her! ...Maellen
Our next family was looking for a female pup who could do Search and Rescue. I thought Purple, the black and tan female, would be a good choice, because of her boldness and super focus. But they also were quite concerned that their pup have a longer coat and that if Search and Rescue did not work out for their family, that their pup would be suitable to be a family pet and housedog. Hmmm. That made it a more complicated choice. During the puppy testing, we noticed how the sable pup used her nose. With one family out, we were able to give Kim and her son a choice between the black and tan female and the remaining sable. After playing with both puppies, they chose the sable.
Kim writes: 2-13-09 “Auri is definitely our baby- we love her dearly. She is so smart- problem solving smart. Admittedly not always a good thing when she is figuring out how to get out of an enclosure. We can see her growing in mind and body and have no doubt she will be magnificent as an adult. She loves to tunnel through things, go under things, and be in tight spaces, as long as she is free to get out when she wants to. We try to go on a walk and "search" everyday. I don't know whether I'm doing it right, but she seems to pick up on it so I guess I'll continue. She will find me and Mackenzie by name command.”
With that puppy off, we had the two black and tan females remaining. The strongest female, black and tan with a pink collar, is one I had my eye on for several weeks. Of the two, though purple had great focus, there was a strength and quality to the pink collared female that doesn't come along every day. We had been discussing the possibility of keeping her to train and sell later…….which has now turned into a keep and possibly add to the breeding program later. She goes with my husband to work every day and I don't see him parting with her any time soon. Here is Piper looking up at my husband.
The purple collared black and tan female pup was snatched up almost as soon as I posted her availability by one of our families who has a 2007 Max and Wessa pup. Here are their two Candle Hill Shepherds, Priska and Jaffa, a matching pair.
Priska 2008, and Jaffa 2007
Beth writes: “ She is amazing. She will chase Jaffa, snapping and snapping at him. But just now, she had a chewie. Jaffa came and took it away from her. So she took another toy and brought it over to Jaffa and dropped it, then walked up to Jaffa asking for the chewie back. I know Jaffa surprised us early on, with the “trade”. I never dreamed Priska would do it as well. ”
We have more fun with the puppies. Though we are by no means infallible, we do care and put a lot of effort into studying their personalities and considering who will make the best match for each person. It's not so much about which pup is “the pick of the litter” as it is which pup is the best pick for you.
Elizabeth