Temperment Testing Preview
I know everyone wants to see their pictures from the many friends we had visit this weekend. They will follow tomorrow. As a breeder I was impressed with something that happened late yesterday, that I would like to share with all of you. As everyone knows, the purpose of this website is to showcase the beauty of our dogs and the level of care and love that goes into their development. Another part though, is education of the public into the care of dogs in general, and our breed’s traits more specifically. Months ago when we were planning the sire for our gentle Emma, we looked for many positive traits that we wanted to strengthen in our line.
These traits included color, conformation, size, abscence of genetic illnesses, and mellow personality. We had heard of Mulder the Westminster winner and admired his looks. Show dogs by training though, usually have that extra little fire or spirit that sets one apart from another in the ring of gorgeous dogs. That works well in shows but maybe not so well for families. I remember our mentor Sydney, cautioning us when we were choosing the sire. If you look at the celebrities in our society disgracing the media pages, you can see what I mean. Lots of fluff and energy, but no substance. I had a great feeling though when I met Mulder and brought him from the Cape for his romantic encounter. But this has been on the back of my mind in a small way until yesterday.
One of our last visitors, Sue, is an elementary school teacher. She and her husband Bob got right into the pen to help them decide on their top three picks. She put all of the males on their backs.
This is one of the most important tests that Sydney and her folks will be doing this weekend when the puppies are tested. It reflects a pup’s submissiveness and gentle personality. All six of the males accepted this position with no hesitation. So When I saw that, I smiled inside and felt very good about our long ago decision in picking Mulder. I think that the judges coming this weekend will be surprised to find how uniformly gentle the pups are. So I will go out on a limb before the testing and claim that we have been blessed with six boys that will have the swagger and looks of John Wayne in his prime, but with the heart of Jimmy Stewart in “Its a Wonderful Life”.
I won’t go out on a limb with our little females to compare them to movie stars, but they certainly have Hollywood looks from my biased perspective. They also have ball retrieving interest as well as a little fire when pushed.
Of course everyone is best friends when it’s naptime.
And what an unmatchable Valentine’s gift one of them would make for that special him or her…
