while we wait

Although we are still awaiting the arrival of puppies, there are some traits we are confident we will see in the puppies. This will be Melody and Buddy’s third litter, and we have been impressed by some very consistent reports we have heard from the families of the previous litters. Based on these reports, we expect to find the following traits in litter #3.

the velcro / shadow effect

Both Melody and Buddy are extremely loyal and extremely people-centered. This is keeping in step with common traits within the breed, and we have seen our dogs show excellent examples of this trait. In every description we have had from the families of our dogs, we hear words like “velcro dog” and “my K9 shadow” and “rocket recall.”

smarter than the average bear

Another description we hear consistently is that these dogs are the smartest dogs we’ve ever met. This is also pleasant to hear, and not particularly surprising. Melody is a very smart dog; and Buddy is, in fact, the smartest dog that WE have ever met. He is just crazy smart. Parents and puppies pick up on new jobs and new commands quickly.

the purpose driven dog

Small children often find their first encounter with Melody to be a little disappointing. Although she is always attracted to children, and always very gentle especially with the smaller ones, she does not relish in their attention. As soon as a child enters Melody’s world, she takes them on as her responsibility and flips immediately into protective mode. As soon as she meets a child, she begins scouring their surroundings for potential dangers. Buddy, on the other hand, relishes in the attention of children and adults he has decided are not a threat.

We have seen their puppies blend both traits. They seem very aware of surroundings, and they relish attention. We have been pleased with the very gentle nature we have seen the dogs take with children.

the working dog

About half of the puppies are currently working on farms, and about half are working in urban environments. We have seen dogs in both situations work well in both situations. The dogs do seem to have instincts they can work from for herding and family dogs.

the tri-colored dog

Two tri-colored parents; four tri-colored grandparents; and every puppy has been tri-colored. Most of the puppies grew up to be average size English Shepherds (40–50 pounds) a couple of the girls are smaller than average (30 pounds). And one of the grandsons is larger than average (60-70 pounds) Some of the dogs have a smooth coat like Melody. Some of them have a more rough coat, but none that we know of have the rough coat of Buddy.

the bottom line

We expect these dogs to be: smart, eager to please, loyal, protective, task-oriented and natural farm and family dogs. And tri-colored.