Today, I am going to discuss our wonderful Heidelberg’s Patriot v Atlantan (Patriot) a Grand Champion, Champion (GCh.) (CH.) Heidelberg’s Kodiak v Queirdad (Kodi) son.He is also the son of Heidelberg’s Atlanta Natashac, a Daughter of Champion Heidelberg’s Natasha Cheyenne that produced GCh. Ch. Best in Show (BIS) winner Heidelberg’s Oklahoma Natashac.
A Two-Year-Old Patriot playing in Pine Bluff, AR at Dog Show in February 2013
Patriot is 2.5 years-of-old and is finally maturing into a fabulous dog.He is sweet and smart and extremely confident.He is the perfect size German shepherd at the top of the height standard at 26 inches and at around 100 pounds he will be a trim solid dog.
Patriot does very well at the dog shows, and as he matures he is starting to get a lot of second place and reserve wins.I suspect that he will reach a point in his maturity where when he starts winning, and once he starts winning he will fly through to his championship.He will be finished, and we will look back and say, ‘wow that was fast’ as it has been with most our great male champions.
Patriot is a true joy to travel with.He never has an accident in his crate and when he really needs to be let out of crate he has whine that is distinct.When he needs an unscheduled bathroom break all we have to do if we are driving is find an exit let him out and he immediately takes care of his business and then he wants to get right back in his crate.
When we are at scheduled breaks, he is great to let out with our girl German shepherds because he romps around and with his playful nature he encourages everyone to run and play fight.When Patriot is at the shows everyone gets good exercise breaks.
Patriot Playing (left) With Daphne at a Dog Show in Wichita Falls, TX in February 2013
Please continue to check out our web page as we post updates on this litter and future available litters: https://kgsd.inventivehorizons.com/PuppiesForSale.htm. We currently have Wally and Walter, two male puppies left.Both are wonderful puppies and Walter has developed in to quite the show prospect.Remember that we do ship puppies.
Ask me a Question and I will provide my opinion. Also, please see our web page: KeystoneGermanShepherds
Today, I am going to switch gears to discuss an issue that has developed with one of our long-time friends.Monday, I will continue my discussion of our new family members.
We received a call about 12 1/2 year-old Rocky, one of my all-time favorite German Shepherd Dogs.Rocky has stopped eating and drinking and is throwing up bile.He has rapidly gone down health wise in the last month and it is time to say goodbye until we meet again.
Rocky started his life out as a promising show dog and was sold to Connie who lived in Mannford, Oklahoma.Connie and Rocky were extremely close and did everything together.Connie after a year and half was diagnosed with breast cancer, and so Rocky was boarded out here at Keystone German Shepherds & Kennels while Connie was going through treatment and too sick to take care of Rocky.We got to become very close to Rocky.Connie lost her battle to cancer, but her love and fighting spirit was not lost on Rocky.Connie’s husband gave us Rocky after her death because Rocky presence was just too painful of a reminder of Connie.
When Rocky came to stay with us he was not the same after Connie’s passing.Rocky was very depressed and grieving.We decided the best thing for Rocky was find him a good home with children that could take his mind of his loss.We re-homed Rocky to such a family, and Rocky began to recover from his grief.Now ten years later after a wonderful and spoiled life, Rocky will be reunited with Connie.I imagine that they are taking one of their long walks along a beautiful mountain stream.
Losing your best friend after 12 years is the hardest part of owning a German Shepherd Dog.It hurts as bad as losing a close family member and the grieving process is very similar. I am comforted in knowing that because God loves us that we will be reunited with all our companions someday in Heaven.He will not withhold any joy from us including being reunited with our best friends. I am not going to start preaching in this blog, but there are several Bible verses that support this hope of being reunited with our beloved German Shepherd Dogs.Personally I believe Heaven will be filled with cats and dogs.
A young Rocky and Younger Me On a Walk
Please continue to check out our web page as we post updates on this litter and future available litters: https://kgsd.inventivehorizons.com/PuppiesForSale.htm. We currently have Wally and Walter, two male puppies left.Both are wonderful puppies and Walter has developed in to quite the show prospect.Remember that we do ship puppies.
Ask me a Question and I will provide my opinion. Also, please see our web page: KeystoneGermanShepherds
Today I am going to introduce you to Heidelberg’s Hardy v Casinoe (Hardy).Hardy is out of our Champion (Ch.) Heidelberg’s Tundra v Heath (Tundra) and Heidelberg’s Casino Royale (Cassie) who is out of Heidelberg’s Emerald (Emmy) a daughter of our Ch. Heidelberg’s Oliver v Diamond a Ch. Heidelberg’sGunter v Whipero (Gunter) son.The reason I am excited about Hardy’s breeding is the divergent lines that his two parents come from because Gunter was Ch. Heidelberg’s Rocky v Kaito (Rocky) son and there are very few of those out there and I only believe one Champion, our Gunter.The reason is because the owner of Rocky refused to continue breeding Rocky because she wanted him to be totally focused on her.
Heidelberg’s Hardy V Casinoe (Hardy) at 12- Months-of-Age
Our Ch. Tundra is a Ch. Heidleberg’s Dargo v Angeliq son and our all-time best producer. Now that I probably bored most of you to death talking about my Grandchildren, let me just suffice that Hardy provides us a lot off diversity in our breeding program, thus allowing us to line-breed without inbreeding.
Hardy is not our largest male unlike his sire Tundra and while he is only 19 months old and has a lot of growing to do, I believe he will finish up at approximately 85 to 90 pounds lean weight. His size will be much more like his Grandfather, Ch. Dargo, who is our smallest stud dog.I have found that our smaller studs out produce themselves in size producing unusually large offspring and then these huge studs tend to produce smaller offspring, and through this cycle, we maintain balance in the size of our dogs where our males average 100 pounds and our females average 85 pounds.For example our Champion Natasha Cheyenne was our all-time largest Champion bitch; however,she produced our smallest bitch, Grand Champion( GCh.) and Best-In-Show (BIS) winner GCh. Ch. Heidelberg’s Oklahoma v Natashac (Kay).
Heidelberg’s Hardy V Casinoe (Hardy) at 12- Months-of-Age Showing His Perfect Front
Hardy has been shown several times in the puppy class accumulating several blue ribbons and it is obvious that the judges like him.He is not yet extremely happy in the show ring, but that will improve and he will start winning once he starts expressing charisma in the show ring.Hardy has perfect structure and form and a nice even gait.He has had a high rear-end as a puppy, but that is not uncommon where the front shoulders grow slower, catching up to the rear later much as with horses.I have been concerned with his turn of stifle but that has also improved with time to where he is almost fault free.In addition, he has a perfect coat, not too long but very plush.
Hardy is a sweet and very confident puppy with a very playful personality.Several people that have come out to see our puppies have said that they want a male just like Hardy.Look for puppies out of Hardy next year as we move forwards with his Championship and get him OFA’ed certified.
We have some wonderful new additions to our kennel including Nelson, Patriot, Sword, Daphne, Journey, Winter, and Serenity.Tomorrow, I will choose another puppy to discuss on this blog.
Please continue to check out our web page as we post updates on this litter and future available litters: https://kgsd.inventivehorizons.com/PuppiesForSale.htm. We currently have Wally and Walter, two male puppies left.Both are wonderful puppies and Walter has developed in to quite the show prospect.Remember that we do ship puppies.
Ask me a Question and I will provide my opinion. Also, please see our web page: KeystoneGermanShepherds
Exploring the vast prairie of the Washita National Wildlife Refuge
Hi everyone,
We just returned from the February 2 and 3, 2013 Pine Bluff, Arkansas dog show. We did not do as well as we had planned, but we were able to get Select German Shepherd Dog and Select German Shepherd Dog Bitch. Therefore, Ch. Heidelberg’s Zeke v. Gennyh owned by Terry and Spencer Cline won two majors and 6 Grand Champion points towards his Grand Championship. In addition, Ch. Heidelberg’s Kelsey Queridad won two majors and 9 Grand Championship points towards her Grand Championship.
We did not win any class points, but Heidelberg’s Kaito v Carlief owned by Kristen Brian got a major reserve under Judge Roger Hartinger. On the bright side, at her first show, Heidelberg’s Daphne Oklahoman being shown in 12 to 18 class showed very well for a puppy and placed both days. Daphne will likely finish her Championship very quickly.
Heidelberg’s Daphne Oklahoman
We may have done much better at this German Shepherd Dog Show if I was physically in better shape. During the holiday season, I had added some unneeded weight and due to the cold weather my activity level also declined. Because I got fatigued, I did not present our dogs as well as I could have if I were in better shape. Needless to say, I am very sore today.
In addition, because of the cold weather none of our dogs were ready to be shown in regards to their training level. This is entirely my fault due to my reluctance to work with the dogs in miserable weather. For our next show, I am committed to be in better shape and have our German Shepherd Dogs better trained and ready to be shown.
We had a blast exercising our dogs at the Mike Huckabee Delta Rivers Nature Center. The German Shepherd Dogs had serious fun investigating the old-growth hardwood bottoms of the delta.
Daphne and Patriot playing
12 month old Hardy
We will probably not enter under Mr. Roger Hartinger again. We have shown under Mr. Hartinger several times now without winning any points since 2009 when we won Best in Show and winners dog under him in Enid Oklahoma. For Judge Stephanie S. Hedgepath, we will only show under her again if she is part of more favorable judge panel for us even though last time we showed under her in 2007 in Gray Summit, Missouri, we swept all the points.
Ask me a question and I promise to provide my opinion.
Exploring the vast prairie of the Washita National Wildlife Refuge
Hello, today I’m going to provide a very important tip in regards to training and the correct use of choke chains. First, before using a choke chain the German shepherd puppy should be leash and collar trained. A choke chain should never be used to leash-break a German shepherd puppy. Choke chains are misnamed because the proper use of the choke chain for training is not to choke the German shepherd dog, but rather as a correction and control tool. The correct use of the choke chain is to quickly and sharply tighten then release the chain.
To have the choke chain to work properly it must be correctly placed on the German Shepherd puppy. Many novice are not aware that a choke chain can incorrectly be placed on the German shepherd dog. Below illustrates the correct way to place the choke chain on the German shepherd puppy:
If placed incorrectly on the German shepherd puppy as shown above, the choke chain will not release correctly. The choke chain will remain tight, thus the German shepherd puppy will not get the proper correction and will continuously be choked during the exercise.
The choke chain correction includes the auditory signal to the German shepherd puppy of the links clicking during the tightening and release, as well as the sudden tightening and then release around the neck. The rapid release also allows for several sharp corrections in a row, which is very effective in healing training if the German shepherd puppy is being distracted by smells on the ground or moving off the incorrect direction of travel.
In addition, it is extremely important to place the correct size chain on your German shepherd puppy. Too long a chain will allow the chain to slide down low on the neck during training and too tight is obviously uncomfortable and ineffective for correcting your German Shepherd puppy. Ideally for the most efficient control and corrections, the choke chain should remain high upon the German shepherd dog’s neck, just under the chin. This is why proper size is important to keep the chain high on the neck of your German shepherd puppy without having to make continuous adjustments to its position. Even a physically small or weak owner of a large and powerful German shepherd dog can maintain control with a correctly sized choke chain that is positioned high on German shepherd dog’s neck
Ask me any questions and I promise to provide my opinion.
Exploring the vast Prairie at Washita National Wildlife Refuge
We at Keystone emphasize placing conformation titles on most of our breeding stock. Attached is a pedigree from Grand Champion Champion (GrCh. Ch.) Oklahoma Natashac (Kay). All the names in red or blue are Champions. This pedigree represents a very typical pedigree from our kennel.
It is very expensive and competitive to win the title Champion on a shepherd. The better the dog, the less expenses towards the title. Kay finished in three weekends and cost us relatively nothing to finish her Championship title.
Nevertheless, there is no better proving ground for breeding stock than the conformation ring for shepherds. For the most part, only the best shepherds in country ever obtain the AKC Championship title. A Championship title requires a solid temperament, a beautiful shepherd, and correct, graceful movement.
As for the European or import shepherds most could never obtain a conformation title because they do not move correctly and are ugly. They have short choppy gaits with no extension. Therefore, they would struggle as a true herding dog because they would tire quickly if required to move across long distances. It always amazes me how critical most European or import breeders are of conformation dogs, yet my shepherds could readily achieve a schutzhund title 3, but their dogs could never become an AKC Champion.
While the conformation ring is not perfect, it provides, the potential puppy purchaser the best starting place to find the next member of their family, which was and still remains the purpose of AKC Championship titles, thus as the proving ground for breeding stock.
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