#she went from barely novice to getting closer to advanced in six months with not a lot of work i'm really proud of her

[gar-a-ash]

Breeding goals for 2024:

Producing a high quality sporting and working dog that is capable of being a pleasant companion on quiet days provided needs are met (Tassie is a med-high drive/low energy shepherd, expected sire was chosen for also being high drive/med energy and able to settle in the house)

Continuing the breed standard of producing a dog that is owner-oriented and aloof with strangers, though not unfriendly (Tassie is paranoid with strangers and asocial, very much a one-person dog, expected sire is selected for sociability to offset this. Tassie's pedigree has social dogs so I suspect that she's a one-off)

Not focusing on bite sports/protection; the goal is to produce a dog that is capable of doing more than just biting. The shepherd should be an all-around working dog capable of doing anything it's trained to do. (Tassie struggled with learning sports where independent thinking was necessary, though once she picked it up she's a rockstar at odor detection. Sire is a bite sport dog and titled well, chosen for good pedigree and environmental soundness. Pups will probably excel in bite sport avenues, though they should be stable enough to perform at anything)

Steering away from insane drive, part of producing a dog capable of living in the house. Also helps the goal of producing an all-around working dog, so the dog is capable of slowing down to learn new things without having an anxiety attack (Tassie struggled with this through adolescence but settled very nicely as an adult, sire is about the same)

Producing a dog that is environmentally sound and confident in new locations (Tassie has always been excellent, sire is said to have strong environmental soundness and has titled well. Puppy program planned to help pups with environmental confidence. Some adolescent reactivity is expected, both dogs had issues though have been successfully managed out of it. This is a known breed issue)

Producing a dog in good physical health (Need to finish Tassie's OFA's to confirm but pedigree has excellent rated hips/elbows throughout, sire is the same. Tassie is DM free, sire will carry. Chance for DM carries in the litter, waiting for a response back from a different stud dog just in case that would negate this but is chosen for same reasons above)

I have more thoughts on this but this is what I'm aiming for, potential for holding back a bitch from this litter to pair with future pup but I'm not sure if I want to raise two pups of similar age together so it would have to be a really amazing puppy. I CAN do it, I just don't know if I WANT to do it. But Tassie will most likely be three by the time this litter is born and I don't want to wait too long.

#tassie #german shepherd dog #gsd #puppy stories #dog breeding #i actually do not have a good picture of her #because she's always looking at me and i can't get a pic of her standing square lmao #she should have at least one working title by this point if not two #rally novice will be done virtually as soon as i can put stakes in the ground and i have a non-windy day #and hopefully a rally intermediate this summer later on #she went from barely novice to getting closer to advanced in six months with not a lot of work i'm really proud of her #showed me that she just wasn't mentally ready for her last trial #my biggest problem is going to be curbing the high velocity kisses lmao