Greetings from Candle Hill,
It’s been a while since I have written which of course means that much has been going on and keeping us busy. This year our puppies were very well received with more precious puppy families added into our fold. Each one of you is very special to us. You can read what our puppy families have to say on the testimonials page of the Candle Hill Shepherds website. What has been much of my focus in the past three months, has been placing several of our adult dogs whom you may know; a bitter sweet process. Bitter because we miss them, sweet because they are in good homes where they can get lots of attention and love.
You may remember that two years ago, we kept at least one puppy from almost every litter. It had taken us a long time to get the quality dogs we wanted in health and temperament so to continue those lines out of both our great stud, Strongheart, V Imo Vom Werraufer SCH III, FH as well as Max and Wessa so keeping their progeny has been our plan. This way we are dealing with known genetics as well as puppies raised according to our program with biosensory stimulation and puppy enrichment from birth. This year, was the year we needed to decide which of those pups to keep and which to let go. We also let some of our older dams go to forever homes. None of this comes easily to me. I’ve long held the position that only if a dog has the opportunity to a better life than the one we can provide here will we let that dog go. With the young ones it was easier. Grant, Magnum, and Luger, each found homes rapidly where they would be the one dog and the focus of their family. But the older females were harder. Daila, whom we imported, had always been a kennel dog, and though she has been a fantastic producer of working dogs for our program, she was neither housebroken, nor easy going on cats or small dogs. When I put an ad in the local paper, I was not pleased with the inquiries. Someone even asked, “Does she have a command to attack?” as if she were a loaded gun and not a dog. After that, I decided to withdraw the ad and keep her here forever. But that very day, a nice sounding woman called. She and her husband had lost their dear shepherd the week before. I started to protest, listing her special needs, when the woman explained that they live on 125 acres in the middle of National Forest. Daila would be theirs and their only pet. They came that day and Daila seemed to know that she was theirs. We have been so happy for her to find this loving home. When I told them that she wasn’t housebroken, they smiled and said, “She will be.” We have one more breeding from Daila, so look for puppies out of Daila and Hero in the spring. We also have Daila’s daughter, Legend, out of Strongheart to carry on her strong characteristics.
Next came Ulrika, the dog I refer to as the dog everyone wants but not everyone deserves. I refused to advertize her as she is such a special girl, but at the same time, I was waiting for the special someone to call. The day came in September. A fellow called who had lost his beloved eight year old shepherd suddenly to disease. He was brokenhearted and looking for a puppy. But you could tell that he didn’t really want to go through all the puppy stages again, he was missing his girl. I mentioned Ulrika, hesitating to use the superlatives that I think best describe her. When he mentioned that his previous dog had slept on the bed, I knew it was the right home. The next week, Ulrika was shipped to her new home. Look at her now!
She too gets to be the only dog, with her new family 24/7. Bob continues to keep in touch to let us know that she is doing great and is dearly loved.
We are very pleased with our upcoming generations of dogs. The daughters of Strongheart, V ImoVom Werraufer SCH III, FH are doing fabulously. Rubicon received a V1 (select) rating in conformation by two judges at the IABCA Dog Show in Spokane, receiving the Best of Breed Female in one show. Our other Strongheart daughters Legend and Indy are working on their performance titles. Their OFA hip ratings are all strong, with Legend getting an Excellent. We also have a few other promising females not yet listed on the website. And of course there is Kindra, both a Strongheart granddaughter as well as a Dagger granddaughter, Dagger being the sire of Max, our long-coated line.
In our other line out of Dagger, Tag, and Max, Chinook and Piper, the daughters of Max and Wessa, our very popular longcoats are reaching breeding age. Chinook is expecting her first litter in a few weeks.
As these youngsters were growing, as you would expect, we were looking for future studs. The search was arduous, but fruitful. Drago, V Drago Vom Abendstern SCH II, whom we presented to you in early summer, is beyond our expectations. He has melted into our family beautifully. Every day we are more pleased. Here he is playing in the yard, bringing me a log. He is beautiful, powerful, with lots of drive, but also bonded closely to us.
There are two more future stud dogs you may not have yet seen.
The first is Macho, barely a year old,
an import from Canada, with robust bloodlines of strength and stability,
boasting such notables in his pedigree as V Navar Hronovsky Pramen ZVV3,
KKl1, V Odin od Roubenky SchIII, IPO1, and Yska z Jirkova Dvora ZVV1
The second is Bentley, a longcoat male we imported from Germany as a pup.
Bentley’s sire is currently one of the most popular dogs in Germany, V 1
Bruno von Vierhundert Hertz Sch III, KKkl1. Google that name to see
Bruno’s pictures and video.
Each of these dogs offers something different and yet, they hold what we value, good temperament and good health. Of course, both Macho and Bentley, being only a year old, have more testing before they will qualify for our breeding program.
With these newcomers, we have let go all our Strongheart sons except for Raider. At just shy of two years old, he is magnificent, truly striking in his elegant posture. He is also a very dear boy, always ready for a belly rub, despite his work in protection foundation. I’ve kept him for the good genetics, especially hip health out of Strongheart, and yet, the fact that several of our females are his sisters, makes my justification in keeping him not as strong as I might have thought. We may be posting him for sale in the next year, so if you would be interested let me know before I post him.
Our current puppies out of Drago and Indy will be going home soon, and then we wrap up the year with two more litters coming in the end of October, both out of Drago. Be sure to check the webpage to see what is born. We are very impressed with what this fellow is producing in drive, temperament, and precious bonding as well as beautiful structure in his pups. Here is one at seven weeks old.
Keep in touch,
Elizabeth
208-818-3099