GERMAN SHEPHERD DOG THE
1. Where do you live? How many years in dogs? How many years as a breeder? 2. What is your kennel name? How many dogs do you currently keep? 3. Which show dogs from the past have been your noteworthy winners? 4. Which have been your most influential sires and dams? 5. Can you talk a bit about your facilities? Where are your pup- pies whelped? How are they raised? 6. What is your “process” for selecting show puppies? At what age do you make your decisions? 7. The GSD is uniquely presented, both standing and moving. How do you prepare your pups for the show ring? 8. Care to comment on the various coat colors of the breed? Any personal preferences? 9. What are your thoughts on the various “styles” of GSD seen in the US and around the world? 10. Do you compete with your dogs in Companion and Perfor- mance events? Are Specialties important? 11. In your opinion, is your breed in good condition overall. Any trends that warrant concern? 12. Is the GSD well-suited to be a family dog? Who are the best candidates to own your breed? 13. Do you feel that your breed is supported by a sufficient number of preservation breeders? 14. For a bit of fun, what’s the most amusing thing you’ve ever experienced with a GSD? DONNA CALABRESE
champions. Over the years, I have also consulted on many successful breedings with clients and friends, and have made suggestions that have worked extremely well! I am always happy to help! Can I talk a bit about my facilities? Where are my puppies whelped? How are they raised? My facility is “rustic” and “homey,” not fancy. I have a kennel with indoor/outdoor kennels, the inside flooring is cement with horse mats on top, and outside are 12 ft. wooden deck pens. I don’t allow my dogs to live on cement. I also have a smaller building that we call the puppy barn; same situation except that the outside footing is gravel with horse mats on top. I then have 70 ft. paddocks with chain-link, for them to run. They never stay just in one place. They move around the property for vari- ous reasons for self-conditioning, even when they aren’t being on a regimented plan. I have a nursery set up in my basement. We have three pens ele- vated; with heat lamps, heat mat, and a proper station to weigh, clean off, and label each puppy. We always have medications on hand and monitor them 24/7. As they get older, and the weather cooperates, they have the outside nursery pen where they go and spend time with momma at first… along with toys. They don’t go down to the puppy barn until they outgrow the nursery and need more space. In their outdoor pen in the puppy barn are various large toys, jungle gym, tunnels, activity boxes and, in summer, a baby pool. Puppies are raised in the house, getting proper socialization, mental stimulation to different noises/sounds, people, children, and eventually, other pets, including a cat. After they receive proper immunizations to keep them safe, they go to work with me… TSC, Lowe’s, etc. Their favorite is the custard stand in the summer where they get special treats! What is my “process” for selecting show puppies? At what age do I make my decisions? Keep it simple… I start from the beginning, just by watching; most of the time they tell you which are the best. Structure is there when they are born. Unfortunately, we have to go through many growth stages to finally return back to what they were. We video them from when they first get up on their feet; we are a moving breed, so for us, that’s the most exciting part! We spend hours doing moving videos and standing pictures… and then watch them in slow-motion, making sure our eyes aren’t playing tricks on us. We try to evaluate with the most critical eye. By 8 weeks, I know which are going to be sold as companions or to working/performance homes. On occasion, I also sell puppies to an organization that trains them for alert dogs and therapy dogs. The ones that I see have more potential, depending on the breed- ing, I hold longer. If they are super special, they stay till they are old enough to prelim/DNA test/teeth all-in/etc. If I’m keeping them for breeding, I’m also learning “their” growing stages and keeping it documented to have as a reference for the future. Sometimes I look back at videos on my phone of the grandparents and I say, “Oooooh my, that’s where they’re getting this or that from!” The GSD is uniquely presented, both standing and moving. How do I prepare my pups for the show ring? You just said a mouthful; we do present them uniquely… at the all-breed shows, we try to conform to the conservative way of presenting a dog, being that “double han- dling” is frowned upon and we get the brunt of it. However, recently, I witnessed many other breeds doubling… I almost wanted to give a doubling class (laughing) so that they could be more effective! (But that can be a different interview on a different day.) For the ring, we socialize like everyone else. We train to stack, go through a normal individual, the down-and-back and the go-around. The big difference are Specialties; when a dog is in training for those, we start to make them more dependent on the double handler instead of just baiting. We make a “special” noise, give a treat… repeat, play hide and seek,
Where do I live? How many years in dogs? How many years as a breeder? Hi, I live in a little town called Edinburg in Virginia, in beautiful Shenandoah County. I am the second generation of a three-generation family kennel. I’ve been in dogs for 50 years. Growing up, I spent all of my time learning from my mom and helping in the kennel. What is my kennel name? How
many dogs do I currently keep? Our kennel name is Aramist Ken- nels & Enterprises LLC. I own six GSD myself; I co-own many that come and go, and I also do training/conditioning, which makes my numbers change weekly. Which show dogs from the past have been my noteworthy win- ners? There are many, but I will name only my personal favorites: Am. & Can. GVX Futurity VX CH Aramist’s Ivana of Kolbrook ROM; Sel CH Breauhausens Titanic ROM; CH Covy Tucker Hills Fly N Jibodega HIC; AOE Can. GVX Am. Sel. BIS CH Jantar’s China Lake v Witmer HT; 3x Sel. Exc. GCH Scharo Ark’s Fire n Ice ROM; and 2x Sel Exc Rising Sun Bunker ROM. There are many more, but I’m not so sure how much space this interview would allow… Which have been my most influential sires and dams? “Ivana” (listed above) along with “Titanic” created a long list of Futurity and Maturity winners and many champions, putting her at the top of the Dam List for those years she was active. They have progeny now going 5-6 generations back, doing very big things for other breeders. More recently, the Fire n Ice x Bunker combinations; we did this several times and they too have produced amazing producers and
208 | SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, APRIL 2022
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