A LITTLE ABOUT MYSELF

I am a retired elementary teacher with  35 years experience teaching children.   I have used my knowledge of teaching techniques to help me to train my dogs in obedience, agility and therapy work. My educational background in health sciences has helped me to understand genetics and dog health.   

 

My husband and I bought our first dog with the dream to show and train a handsome German Shepherd male named C.J.  We quickly jumped at a chance to buy a dog advertised in the newspaper without fully exploring the health checks and temperament of the parents.  C.J. was a wonderful family companion but was plagued by nervousness and hip problems that made show prospects impossible and vastly decreased his quality of life.   This heartbreaking experience helped us to realize how important it is to have reliable breeders who use only physically and mentally healthy dogs.  Determined not to repeat our mistakes, we did our research and bought a beautiful female German Shepherd named “Asta Star”.  She would go on to attain her titles in the show ring, obedience, agility, tracking and protection work.  

 

After testing her hips, eyes and temperament she gave birth to 4 litters of happy, healthy puppies before being retired.   Each puppy was socialized in our family home with children, other dogs and adults.  The pups were temperament tested and vet checked before they went on to carefully screened pet, working and show homes.

 

The birth of our son changed our breeding and showing plans as we become aware of his allergies to dog and cat fur.   We realized that we would have to consider transitioning to a breed that was hypoallergenic.   After much research we discovered the wonderful Havanese Breed and bought our first male puppy “Tugger”.

 

Our son was overjoyed to be able to cuddle and play with a dog that didn’t trigger his allergies. We soon realized that the Havanese Breed was not only a wonderful companion for children but also a playful, adventurous and easily trained small dog that could still be quite the watchdog when needed.  Havanese were everything that we admired about German Shepherd Dogs but in a smaller, hypoallergenic package that fit easily into our family lifestyle.    Havanese have been a love affair for all of us ever since.