January 23, 2010 : Litter Evaluation :: OVERALL Ahhhh, a litter with little to no drive, and normal energy levels. Although I like the drive and energy, they are certainly not for everyone:) Most of these pups will do great in just about any household. I was disappointed in ears...we got a lot of the taller GSD ears, with a wider set. And quite a few hook tails. Major bummer:( But, the good thing, is most will be very easy to train, and are right in the Medium range for temperament, so wont be "too much" dog at all.

RAINBOW: "Noel" Gray sable smooth female, Med-soft. She started off the testing as a very happy, independent puppy. She was right in the mid-range for submission and a bit lower on pain. She showed some independence when she ran off with the squeaky ball, and pranced around entertaining herself. She did NOT like the can, and that test seemed to ruin her day. She did not recover from that test. There was a total change in her personality. She did not hold a grudge with the tester though. She did perfect with the gunfire test, so we knew it was not the noise but more a fear of an unknown object. I confirmed this with Tina. She may have trouble with garbage bags rolling toward her in the wind, shadows, approaching barking dogs, etc. She will need to be socialized with unknown objects. She did the first part of the maze perfectly, then wanted her human to rescue her. She did eventually figure it out when she stopped to think. She is a happy, fun,playful puppy when not stressed. She will shut down if stressed, and takes some time to recover. Structurally she is well balanced for a smaller puppy. She reminds me a lot of Sassy from the 2008 Breeze/Gryphyn litter.

update: She is being tutored 3X a week in obedience and is coming along very nicely walking on a loose lead, sit, down and manners. She has about 4 weeks in now, of basic obedience.

update 4/29/10 : I'd love to give an update on Noel! She's outside right now with our Golden and our Shiloh, playing in the grass. We have our back door open to hear the birds sing, and she comes in every few minutes to give kisses and check on me, then she's back out for the fun of chasing the big dogs around. They've dragged a couple toys out there, and "capture the flag" is ongoing. Noel was housebroken easily, two accidents and some praise on the grass, watching the other dogs, and she understood. I should add the disclaimer that we have a doggie door that she actually has fun using, and she takes herself outside, coming back in with a flourish to brag and receive her praise. In a home without a doggie door, I'd still take her out regularly until she knew how to ask to go outside. She stays in the yard or laundry room (which connects to an outside doggie door, so she has her choice of indoors or out) with the other dogs when I'm at work, sleeps in her kennel at night, and has the run of the house in the daytime when I'm home.

Noel knows basic commands such as off (always an important command for dogs that are going to be this size!), sit, kennel up (go into your kennel), come. She walks on a lead, and we just moved her to a "big girl" collar. I don't ever hit dogs, and you don't need to with Shilohs. Noel's so smart she responds to verbal cues easily. She won't need a heavy hand at all. She stays off the furniture without question, in part because none of the dogs are allowed up. She prefers to sleep on my feet, and likes to be around people. She's not shy, has a great sense of humor, and enjoys remembering what she was taught. She would be good for obedience or field work. I haven't taken her to visit horses, but my neighbor's cows haven't bothered her ( I know, I know...not that similar). The goose next door honks at the dogs if they are too close, and Noel just watches him, staying close to Tau. She likes some support with new experiences, but if I tell her something is OK, she's ready to check it out ( I snapped a garbage sack too close to her, but she recovered to sniff the bag and relaxed). There is a pool club at the end of the street, so that's a good place to walk to catch kids at baseball practice or playing. The neighborhood kids adore Noel, and she returns their affection. We don't have cats, so I can't evaluate that one, but she hasn't chased the chickens or geese. I'm guessing she would make friends with a cat. She did bark at a boxer visiting next door, but he was barking and charging the fence, so I wasn't surprised she told him "what for!". She did stop barking and come when I asked her to, which is wonderful for her age.

I was putting on my tennis shoes to take the dogs for a walk yesterday, and I turn to see her dragging my sweatshirt down the hall proudly. It could have been coincidence, but I think she was trying to help get me dressed so we could go have fun! Shilohs are so smart! A quiet "hey!" is all you need to redirect her, and I haven't seen her make the same mistake twice. I think Noel would be easy to train to run with you, or run along side a bike. She has plenty of energy, but keeps it "turned down" indoors. A good combination!

Noel is eager to please, and learns easily. She put her teeth into one cookbook on the shelf in the kitchen, received a surprised "hey!", and hasn't repeated the error. She walked up just last night and sniffed the book and looked at me, then went and got a toy to share with me. I praised her, and she wiggled all over. Noel is beautiful, with a sweet expression that turns heads. She is feisty, chasing our Shiloh Tau (who weighs easily twice what she weighs, being older) and playing tug, wrestling, and "sneak attack Shiloh" with him fearlessly. He adores her. With our very old and cranky 85 pound Golden, Noel approaches differently...she's courteous, polite, and full of kisses. She won the cranky old lady over quicker than any puppy has! A note on protection. These dogs are impressive as adults. They don't need to be aggressive, their sheer size makes people question the wisdom of approaching uninvited. My dog Tau is a complete puppy still, but I don't worry about walking in the woods with him. No one else knows he's a puppy! The fact that Noel is so sweet and loving won't keep her from being a deterrent in public.

December 17, 2009 : We have named the puppies. A Christmas Theme was in order. The boys: Claus, Winter, and Angel. And, the girls: Merry, Faith, Holly and Noel.

December 6, 2009 : we lost one little girl today; we now have 3 boys, 4 girls

December 3, 2009 : 3 boys, 5 girls; sables & sabled bi's; plush & smooth expected

Strauss Haus Summer Breeze
is a sabled bi-black/cream smooth from our 2nd Siri/Jessie litter.
sire: bCHptd & iCH Strausses Sirius of Highlander | dam: bCHptd Zion's Golden Girl Jessie
hips: OFA Fair 15 mos

Gryphyn of Solace is a gray sable plush.
sire: Zion's Phoenix Rising | dam: Saber's Last Chance for Zion
hips: PennHip (L) 0.34 (R) 0.34

Breeze is our leggy Jessie/Sirius daughter. She has beautiful conformation, and Sirius's heavy bone behind her. Gryphyn will pump up the size in this litter. Gryphyn is a super-friendly, very people pleasing boy. He passes on his easygoing nature to his offspring. This is a repeat of our October 2008 litter.