Author: beauceronsdesvents (Page 1 of 3)

At long last, we are excited to announce we’re expecting a whole crop of beans from Natchez (sire to Reaver, Sukuna, and Terror) and Nacho. With the joy that both dogs carry into this world, we expect a bounty harvest of smiles and butt bumps. Truly, though, the sky will be the limit as these magic beans sprout and we can’t wait to share them with the world!

Pedigree

This pairing is an interesting exercise in diversity. Behind both dogs are strong pedigrees and notable ancestors that excel in both show and sport. In fact, we see some our favorites that blend beauty and brains that we’ve worked hard to include in our program. However, none of these ancestors are shared within the litter’s 5 generation pedigree.

Behind Natchez, we have his sire, Furtif, who comes from a proven pedigree of bitesports and was able to apply that genetic potential to police work. We also love several of the French Champions woven in his lineage such as Ufana, Jody, and Bouba. This combination promised and delivered on a male that’s just as comfortable in a show ring as he is evaluating a threat against his family.

But we’d be negligent to only look at his ancestors. Natchez is also a proven producer, siring Reaver, Sukuna, and Terror within the BDV program. All display lovely drive and have had success in the show ring. Notably, we see Natchez’s focus and handler engagement in them all. When given a job, they take it seriously (if not with a bit of sass). To say we’re excited for more Natchez puppies is an understatement.

Nacho brings much of the same blend to the table. She shares a sire with Svajone’s Paname, who offers the same grin and joyful approach to life. We were thrilled to bring a Popeye daughter into our program, having seen how he lends both beauty and drive to his progeny. Jewel, her dam, has proven herself both in and out of the whelping box. Her progeny have excelled across many venues, showing off the versatility of the breed.

Overall, we love to see a pedigree combination that promises a dog that can go to work one day, float around the show ring the next, and then enjoy a slow day at home.

Phenotype

This breeding is a lesson in averages. Both dogs bring many strong features to the table, but a careful design of all of their best parts has the potential to be a powerhouse in the show ring. Both have that “it” factor that draws your eye, so we’re expecting the beans to be magical with sheer force of personality.

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Nacho floats, effortlessly covering ground. In profile, the balance persists with harmonious moderation and a strong, level topline. While we’d like to see a more compact dog, she still has lovely bone. We love how elegantly her neck transitions into her topline. Even at a stand, her tail is never without the trademark J hook. Her breadth of chest has come in beautifully with age and her loin has already filled out even without having had a litter. Her color has faded with age, but she still maintains some bright patches that highlight her shoulder layback phenomenally.

You rarely get to evaluate her expression without her trademark grin. When you do, you see lovely, dark eyes, vibrant rusk markings, and well set ears. In profile, you’ll notice some rounding of her top skull, a scooping stop, and a little lack of underjaw – all areas we hope to improve upon in her progeny.

Overall, she’s a dog with strong, functional structure and great breed type that has been well awarded in the show ring, though she spends most of her days enjoying her couch.

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Natchez brings substance and power to the equation. At 9 years old, he has never looked better – aging like fine wine. For all of his bone and density of muscle, he’s a dog built more for explosive movement than marathons. However, his balanced angulation can still be highlighted in motion. His front assembly allows for very flashy reach, which he has passed to his progeny.

He is unmistakably a beauceron in expression, though lacking a bit in refinement. He’s more likely to be gazing lovingly at his people with his tongue hanging out than to smoulder, but you can’t help but smile at his joy.

With his junior handler, he quickly finished his AKC Championship when he arrived in the U.S. at 5 years old. He continued in the ring to help her win many Best Junior Handler placements. Together, they also won in the veterans ring at our breed specialty shows. We are grateful to the judges who have found our boy well into his veteran years.

When Reaver joined the program in 2020, we requested health testing on his parents, which included Natchez. His hips were evaluated as HD-A, equivalent to Good/Excellent through OFA. We re-test all of our males at full maturity, so we re-tested him at 6 years old, discovering unilateral remodeling leading to a diagnosis of mild hip dysplasia. While we can list many mitigating circumstances such as time spent overweight, we recognize an elevated risk in this litter of orthopedic issues later in life. We are confident in proceeding given his evaluation at his ideal age for orthopedic health and his continued soundness into his later years.

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We are hoping to see balance and moderation in these puppies. With Natchez lending his compactness and Nacho lending floaty movement, we believe there’s potential for some flashy show dogs. Regardless, their pups will have strong, functional structure, ready for any job they’re given.

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Temperament

These puppies will be a joyful bunch. Both parents have a zest for life and a love for their families that is unmatched. To be smiled at by Nacho is to know love. To have Natchez shove his entire wagging butt into your lap for pets is to feel happiness. Neither of them have ever had a bad day and we expect their puppies to be much of the same.

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Natchez has demonstrated stability, versatility, and adaptability his entire life. When he came to the US at 5 years old, he stepped off of transport and into the arms of a child who he immediately claimed as his own. He carved a place into the Menard family that wasn’t there with his smile and desire to please.

Together with his new family, he proved himself in conformation, obedience, rally, and more. Every temperament test he took, he passed with flying colors. When tested for bite sports, he showed that he knew the game, and would play it with seriousness, but we focused in other areas. Every challenge put in front of him, he took on with joy.

His focus and biddability are lovely, a trait that he shares with his progeny. He will work happily for some kibble or praise, working hard to engage sometimes fleeting brain cells to learn new tricks or how to refine his free stack.

He’s overall a dog that exemplifies the “country gentleman” we adore within the breed.

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When it comes to describing Nacho, we hate to just say “She’s a damn good dog.”… but in all reality? That’s exactly what she is, in every stereotypical way we would describe a well rounded middle of the road beauceron. Social without being overly so, stable in literally any situation we step into, deeply thoughtful in how she applies herself with that mind of hers, and all with a humor that is hard not to smile at.

She greets those she loves with her trademark smiles, and likes to think that alongside full body wiggles that toothy grin will let her get away with crimes, or having to do things she doesn’t want to do. She’s a dog who loves deeply, who seeks out hugs, forehead kisses, and to be squeezed with affection by her people. She loves to be snuggled with full body hugs in bed, or used as a pillow, and won’t move an inch for hours, and in fact grumbles and grunts her protests if you move away before she’s done. Her emotions run deep, and she wears her heart on her sleeve.

A quick read of those she interacts with, she is gentle with those who are wary, and adores children. She is bold with those who egg her on, and knows who can handle all the usual beauceron bounces, bodychecks, and bulldozing she brings to the table. Still a beauceron, still a bull in a fine china shop.

She is the definition of dog neutral, and can join a household of new dogs like she has known them all her life. Big and small, intact and otherwise, male or female, it’s all good in her book. Though she’s also perfectly happy to be the center of someone’s world, she doesn’t mind sharing though.

She has excellent biddability underneath it all, but she demands a respectful partnership to properly apply herself. Her independent nature is not something to be stifled, but something to be guided, preferring to work as partners when navigating training. When you have a working relationship, she’s a sponge – picking up new behaviors with increasing criteria without much difficulty. Like most beaucerons, she gets bored with repetition, but that is usually a motivation issue. With a higher value reward, she can push through her boredom.

She is a brave and bold dog, though she has the thoughtfulness and self preservation we expect of an independent thinker in this breed. If you give her the gas and show her what you need, once she commits she fully commits. She provides a ton of trust in those she has a relationship with, and what you give her is given back in spades.

On stock, she’s intensely interested but fair. Her working style requires partnership and that is highlighted on livestock. She listens to her handler, watches and moves her stock, and shows great responses to pressure. While the sport isn’t one accessible to her on a regular basis, we believe she has excellent herding potential, and have gotten the same feedback from the trainer she did get to see a few times as she matured.

Nacho usually spends more time lounging on the couch than going on whirlwind adventures. But enjoys a good hike, and regular trips to favorite Chicago area haunts. However, even as a young dog, she handles change remarkably well – able to step back into a show or performance ring after months or years off. She doesn’t typically acknowledge environmental pressure – it’s hard to get her tail to stop wagging.

We’re confident that she’s going to pass this soundness and happiness onto her puppies and we can’t wait to meet them!

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In Summary

We are looking forward to happy, peppy dogs in this litter, suitable to take on any challenge that requires biddability, focus, and humor. Their ideal homes enjoy working with a dog as a partnership, figuring out challenges together. They will be excellent additions to any family, bonding closely with their people and offering casual sociability to everyone else.

For those approved parties interested in the pairing, please reach out to discuss if this match is the right fit. We are still accepting limited interest at this time. If interested, please apply below.

Please reference our policy regarding harlequin placements.

This breeding is one that we weren’t sure would ever happen, but have always hoped for. Shazi is our goofy little wild child – more likely to turn circles and trust fall than to retrieve a medicine bottle. One of the only females we own who is even less serious and far more silly than the boys. She’s the main dog we keep health insurance on because she’s incredibly talented at finding the strangest ways to give us a heart attack. Truly a dog whose personality cannot be contained, not even by a privacy fence, if she wants to be on the other side, she will be. She’s full of such character and has stunning structure, but we struggled when it came time to decide who her perfect match would be. We’ve been hunting an unshakable boy who would complement her zest for life with structure to match for nearly three years. When Kayla, with Svajonė Kennels, imported Ramses, we finally had our missing puzzle piece!

Pedigree

There are dogs across both pedigrees that bring excitement to the pairing, and who we have long admired. Jeremiah has been a formative dog within the breed in the U.S. – exemplifying beauty and stability. His sire, Beowolf, made his mark in the AKC show ring – achieving many firsts when the breed was first recognized. Scattered throughout the pedigree are many other conformation stars.

For Shazi, Shah (Momento Mistika), has always been a great example of the balance of beauty, drive, and stability. He achieved his IGP3 while living happily as a house dog, going to conformation shows, and hanging out with his family that includes other intact males. He’s truly the example of a dog that can do it all, which is what we see in Ramses as well. On her maternal side, there are several Alfa Sagittarius dogs that we have loved from afar – over and over proving they bring the same fluid movement and lovely fronts to their offspring that we hope to see Shazi herself produce.

Overall, the pedigree match is an outcross, but plays into the same fields of versatility, beauty, and drive. We are excited to see what traits they offer to their puppies, and crossing fingers for lovely dogs just as versatile and balanced as they are.

Phenotype

Given this was an outcross, we focused on a strong phenotype pairing in the same way we did with Seance’s litters. Ramses and Shazi especially match well with their balanced angulation and beautiful movement.

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The first thing that anyone mentions when seeing Shazi at her best is her movement. She truly is a dog who floats with a balanced topline from nose to tail without an ounce of effort in each and every step, and her trotting speed and efficiency can put some of our other dogs to shame when she really lets go.

Her front assembly is something we hope to see passed onto her offspring, with lovely layback and balanced length of upper arm. She’s had an impressive forechest and width of chest that made us jump up and down since she was a baby puppy, none of us could believe our eyes when seeing her puppy stacks from her breeder.

She has a coat that lays quite flat to the body, but is thick, lush, and oh so satisfying to sink your hands into. The texture is appropriately water and weather proof, and complimentary to the breed purpose as a tending dog.

She has matured into a dog with balanced substance to compliment her athleticism, though we had a heck of a baby deer stage for multiple years. She is a prime example of a “Let them grow” dog, and while her slow maturity has been a test of patience, it has all paid off in the end.

The faults we see in Shazi are the same we have expected since she was a young dog. Her expression, and in particular her rounded eyes, are her biggest weakness for a beauceron. She has quite the baby face and teddy bear-like expression, as well as a more narrow head for the substance she has matured into.

She is also a long dog when evaluated to the standard proportionally, with a high tuck up that we hope to see improve after her litter, as some girls do, so that we have a better idea of what to expect of her offspring.

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Ramses is described by his owner as follows:

Ramses is a wonderfully moderate male. He has plenty of length of body, I wouldn’t want to see any more on him. He has nice substance and bone. He is has a glorious correct coat that is rich in color. His feet are nicely shaped and tight. His shoulder is strongly set, though I wouldn’t mind seeing it more laid back just slightly. His upperarm is well angled, but slightly short. He has strong rear angulation with a correct length of hock. His tail is of nice length and correct set. His croup slightly slopes. His head has nice profile planes, but his top skull is slightly rounded. His eyes are of nice color and shape. He does lack cheek fill but has nice chiseling. He is easty westy in the front and lacks width of chest. I would even say he lacks depth of chest a tad as well. His ear set is correct.

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Overall, as with any phenotype match like this one, we hope for the best of both and to see their ideal traits combine. Hoping to maintain their balance of angulation and substance. Hopefully seeing Ramses lend his lovely head and expression to the mix. As well as maintaining Shazi’s front assembly and breadth of chest to pull things all together.

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Temperament

In terms of temperament…

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Shazi is a massive goofball. She brings joy into every interaction with her people – turning circles and demanding attention. She’s a dog that’s always on the go and you better keep up! When she wants something, she’ll sit in front of you with the biggest begging eyes you’ve ever seen! When she doesn’t want to do something, you get the exact same look… She’s more pressure avoidant than we would like in a beauceron, but believe that to be primarily experience-based.

Her drive to please is endless. When working Shazi, the trick is to break things into bite size chunks because, as soon as she can understand them, you can chain behaviors together quickly. She will perform the same trick a dozen times in a row if it will make you happy, but does struggle with focus to build longer trick routines without fully learning the individual pieces.

Where she really shines it out on stock. Life in the Salley family has been constantly on the go the past couple of years, or should would have been out herding C course regularly. With as much as she loves running and spinning in circles – running circles around stock is her absolute favorite combination of activities. She has been shown to be gentle and mindful of stock large and small when exposed, but opportunities to get her out in the world have been limited. The pressure avoidance we may see in other venues is never present if there’s a sheep nearby, and we love to see signs that the instinct and love of working her stock is still there.

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Ramses reminds us all so most of Nyko, the Salley family’s first beauceron who is related to him through Jeremiah. He’s goofy in the simplest of ways – bouncing around and finding new and interesting spaces to explore where he was not invited. He settles beautifully in a crate or just hanging out, but has shown that he’s happy to go for as long as his people or his pack are ready to adventure.

He was imported to the U.S. as a mature adult and Erika had the opportunity to meet him when he first arrived. The transition didn’t phase him at all and he was all wagging tails when she offered a “Bon Chien!” to him after a successful “Assis” (sit in French). While he didn’t quite know English, his drive to please was evident and his environmental stability was exceptional. We believe he exemplifies the solid, confident, fun beauceron temperament we know and love and can’t wait to see how his goofiness comes out in his children.

In Summary

As a whole, we expect bouncy, chaotic, loving puppies from this litter. They will bring joy to their family’s lives with their antics, but you will have to be able to keep up with them. Active homes who want a fun, silly, and loving companion will likely adore these puppies. Truly versatile family dogs through and through.

There will be no prospects offered from this pairing for Bitesports or Service work, even as a secondary or tertiary goal.

We are accepting applications for this litter that are open to either sex and color. We only have potential harlequin availability if you have already submitted an application. If you have contacted us before please feel free to reach out again, we don’t want to miss anyone by accident!

We are delighted to announce our co-bred litter with Soleil et Lune Beaucerons: Tarque x Sukuna. Sukuna is from the same pairing as Reaver and Terror, sired by Natchez. When we all discovered we had relatives, we began to share our experiences which turned into this beautiful collaboration. The Mushroom Litter was thoughtfully planned to combine Obedience and performance abilities coupled with breed type. This breeding represents generations of proven Beaucerons.

Pedigree

The pedigree combination is an interesting one as both sides are familiar and beloved by our team, but it is a diverse pairing, sharing no common dogs between the two within the last 5 generations. That being said…

As we mentioned previously, Sukuna has relatives in the BDV program. Reaver was the first from the pairing to come over. He hit the ground running in the obedience and rally rings – working on his triple Qs for his RACH and training towards his CDX before he was even 2 years old. At the same time, he’s excelled in the show ring. We see so much of the same drive in their younger brother, Terror, wrapped in a sugary sweet package.

Then we have Natchez – the boy who came to the U.S. at almost 6 years old and, with his junior handler, was able to gather Obedience, Rally, and Conformation titles. Dogs like him don’t come around every day! And the pedigree behind him show a great balance of sport, work, and show. His sire was actually a police dog.

Then on Tarque’s side, there are so many dogs as well near and dear to our hearts. His littermate, Emmy, was actually regularly shown by Robyn years ago. His grandsire, Jeremiah, was the sire of Robyn’s first beauceron. The movement, type, and structure coming from Jeremiah, Jaguar, Imposant (Indy), and many of the other dogs behind Tarque explain why he’s such a beautiful, solid dog. However, they also tell a story of show dogs that could work as well. The focus that comes from the des Monts du Lac lines (likely due to the kennel focus on Search and Rescue) makes its mark.

Phenotype

This was primarily a phenotype and diversity pairing. We looked for what Sukuna needed and spent the time to find the exact right choice. The first show we ever took Reaver too, the judge actually recommended that we use him on Tarque’s littermate, so this is just coming full circle!

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Sukuna is a well balanced dog with an athletic build to match her tireless energy. Her finely chiseled head and string topline help to make her both striking to look at, and a sound mover. We’d like for her upper arm to be longer, and for her to have a bit more angulation overall. And while her frame is balanced, more bone and substance would also be ideal.

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Tarque brings substance and bone in spades, as well as a masculine, typey head. He’s well balanced in angulation with a body that supports his mass and keeps working as many Obedience trials as his owner asks. There is no question that Tarque is a wonderful example of a male beauceron.

We are hoping he brings his balance, bone, and breed type to Sukuna to create the next generation of beautiful, well structured beauceron puppies.

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In a perfect world, these puppies will be a blend of their parents with solid, masculine boys and refined, feminine girls, all with moderate bone and substance. Well balanced angulation to make sound movers with a lightness to their step. Overall, we are expecting a less consistent litter, but will be keeping a close eye out for the puppies that show off their parents’ strengths.

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Temperament

In terms of temperament, the confidence, focus, and biddability we expect from this litter is one of the main reasons we proceeded with the pairing. Either dog could work all day (and has proven such with Sukuna’s service work and Tarque’s multiple Obedience Championships), and does so happily for their person (and for some nice coconut water for Tarque).

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Sukuna is often described as pushy and head strong, but is also the sweetest cuddly dog with her people and most strangers alike. She enjoys engaging with her people and enjoys knowing exactly what you want her to do next. She is biddable and if you know her, wouldn’t be seen without a toy in her mouth, forcing you to play fetch.

She is quite pushy with other dogs, but enjoys the company of submissive females or most male dogs. She has integrated into many packs with adult dogs she was unfamiliar with, but she does create space for herself as needed.

She is truly a confident headstrong dog and takes new environments and situations in stride, and with her temperament has excelled as a working service dog for her person.

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Tarque is the perfect example of the country gentleman the breed should be. He’s calm, polite, and unflappable no matter the environment or expectations. When it’s time to work, he’s going to work as hard as he can for his person. When it’s time to relax, he believes in a great weekend on the couch with some fun romps with Queue, his son and packmate. His steady energy is what we really hope to see in these puppies.

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In Summary

We expect incredibly attentive and handler engaged puppies from this litter with solid structure to support their busy minds and bodies. We will be prioritizing homes with interest in competing in obedience, rally, or other partnership sports that show of the focus we expect to see.

We are accepting applications for this litter for females only. If you have contacted us before about this litter and didn’t receive a message about the whelp, please feel free to reach out again, we don’t want to miss anyone by accident!

Your first litter is always a special one. Sometimes the road winds exactly as planned, sometimes you just have to trust you’ll end up where you need to be. Séance’s first litter has been in the works for over a year. After a failed AI attempt and difficulties traveling to studs of choice, we realized we needed to pivot. We reviewed some of the recommendations from her breeder and realized we had the perfect match for her first litter much closer to home. Happily, we reached out to Kayla about Ohkar for Séance’s first litter.

Pedigree

From a pedigree standpoint, they are a diverse match with many lovely dogs behind them. Diversity is a priority within our program, especially with the expected long term impacts of the importation restrictions.

Of particular note behind Ohkar, we are excited to bring more Aroun and Flash Gordon into our program. They exemplify the balance between beauty and work and have produced wonderfully. Ohkar has passed these traits on in the litters he produced before journeying to the United States. We had the opportunity to meet one of the puppies from his first litter here with Cynefin Beaucerons at the 2024 National Specialty and Journee and we were absolutely smitten.

That same balance is represented throughout Séance’s pedigree, and matches our goals for continuing her lines as well. Homme is an incredible Search and Rescue dog, continuing to work late into his veteran years. Her dam, Lilo, comes from well accomplished bite sport lines. Their mark on Séance is obvious in her zest to work and focus on her stock.

We expect this pedigree combination to bring the balance of rustic French type with the strong focus and work ethic seen throughout their relatives.

Phenotype

From a phenotype standpoint, at a glance you can see how similar they are. Both substantial in build though not overly so for the breed. Their rustic, classic beauceron appearance supports their confident, bold demeanors.

From Svajonė’s website …

“Ohkar is a substantial male. He has a nice strong topline, though I would like to a little more length of loin. His croup has a sharp slope to it that is undesirable. His tail set and length is nice. He has a nice underline. A correct width and depth of chest. His upper arm is a beautiful length and set. His shoulder is a nice length, but I would love to see just a little more layback; which would help with the appearance of a short neck. He has beautiful tight cat feet. His head is of correct proportions, though he has a slight Roman nose and I’d like to see a tad more underjaw. He has a nice tight flew and a very nice natural ear set. Strong pasterns and correct hocks. The femur is a tad straight and the lower thigh is a tad short. His coat is correct and his markings are desirable.”

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Séance brings her beautiful front assembly to the table, along with a full coat, bright markings, and kind expression. She does lack in rear angulation and turn of stifle, causing her topline can be a bit soft in a stack. That weakness disappears as soon as she’s in motion. Carrying herself naturally and comfortably, as she moves like a dream. She has lovely depth and width of chest, complimenting her overall balance of substance and strength, especially considering she is on the smaller size in height for the breed. We love her coat color and texture, it is correctly weatherproof. Drying quickly even after swimming or working in the rain and mud, it protects her appropriately in her daily life as a homestead dog. Above all, we love her kind and gentle expression, focused around her dark soulful brown eyes that suit her so well.

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Temperament

In terms of temperament, we were overjoyed as soon as we saw them both together. The match in energy and style was stellar. They get the same look in their eyes when they’re about to cause mischief – making Erika’s job extra fun while she monitored their courting rituals.

While both are willing to alert and move to stand between their bonded people and a potential threat, neither intentionally seeks confrontation from people or dogs, and both are social to new people. Neither is tolerant of rude or pushy behavior from other adult dogs, but with proper introductions do well with appropriate play groups. Both do have some reactivity toward dogs of the same sex, but it is easily managed and both coexist happily with their chosen friends.

They are both goofy and silly in downtime at home. Throwing out an array of clownish behavior when trying to get their way or get away with being a little naughty during training time. Ohkar’s signature move is to flop on his back and roll, Séance prefers to smile and air snap as she play bows. Both enjoy draping themselves across you to cuddle, taking naps at the foot of the bed, and watching you do chores from the couch.

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Séance has a unique personality, often described as intelligent, confident, and bossy. A little aloof when first meeting people, but quickly warms up, throwing her butt into knees and muzzle punching people she loves. You know she likes you when you start getting tackled in greeting. She enjoys independence and thinking for herself in various chores at home and the barn, but also has the versatility to thrive in formal obedience and rally. She is a road trip do-it-all dog, unbothered by trips to major cities, beaches, uncountable rest stops and gas stations, and many hotels, houses, and camping situations. Always taking the environment in stride and without a care. Truly our jack of all trades dog, even if she loves to try to throw her own brand of humor into everything.

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While Ohkar has mostly been a spoiled visitor during his extended trip to Ohio, he’s gotten a little bit of training time in as well. Showing a willingness and joy to work, truly so happy to be praised and get a little cookie here and there. Unphased by environmental factors, and always dying to meet all the new people he can for a head pat with a smile. He is a social and bubbly boy, complimenting her more serious and thoughtful attitude beautifully. While we have not worked him on stock directly, he has shown a lot of interest and appropriate reaction to beauceron-savvy goats.

In Summary

As a whole, we expect puppies with a similar phenotype to both of their parents – rustic and substantial without being overdone, with a build suitable for most chores, sports, and family activities. There should be no shortage of outgoing and confident personalities, who share the versatility of their parents.

All of these puppies have headed home. We are so proud of and adore each of them and what they’ve accomplished.