Starkehre

Thanks Roova. I could not be happier. All the puppies are doing so well, all happy, healthy, well behaved and easy to live with

Thanks so much mowliandme :) Absolutely. https://www.puppyculture.com/ Puppy Culture is the raising protocols we use. If you join the Puppy Culture Discussion Group on fb, there is no end to the wonderful tips and discussions there. It is firmly kept on topic and the mods are all closely trained by Jane Killion Lindquist who formatted Puppy Culture. I would highly recommend any breeder to get on board with Puppy Culture. The proof is in the puppies. Their confidence, learning ability, maturity, recovery, smarts is something to behold. I have never seen anything like it. They behave like miniature adults. One of my puppy people, a close friend and breeder who has bred Rottweilers for many years tells me she has never experienced a puppy like the one she has kept from this litter... and her puppy is line bred on her older bitch, so she is very familiar with the lines. She bred the sire and dam of her puppy.

Thanks so much AL. Packer is doing brilliantly. His new owners are just fabulous. They are driving an hour to training each Sunday morning and are really excited about implementing things they learn each week. I am so proud of them.

Bonn, 4 month

Sage 4.5 months

Story 4.5 months, looking much like her mum Seven here

LOL, I hear ya. But seriously, really well now that Packer has gone. The puppies are very good and really easy. For example, currently Legend is down the side in the puppy area on his own, not a sound from him. He has probably finished playing and will be laying in the kennel or in the sun. Dance is in the main yard area with Jag and Seven and I am comfortable with these 3 being together (semi supervised) because they are calm and there is no shananigans LOL. I can also put Legend with Jag. But Legend cannot be left with Seven if he is wide awake cause he won't leave her alone and plays too rough. I am working in the office right now and I have literally 2 seconds to get into the yard if I hear anything I don't like. I take each puppy out every day or every other day and do something - either obedience training, novel socialization, swimming etc. They are really coming along very well. I do one training school with one puppy on Sunday mornings and the other puppy at another school on Wednesday night. it is a lot of work, but I am really enjoying it. The puppies can now spend time together inside and not constantly launch into full blown play mode, their impulse control, training and maturity is kicking in and they will down stay on their mats in close proximity...sometimes. At one point my hips were so sore from constantly bending over pulling puppies apart and leading them by their collars here and there doing the shuffle. Now they come when they are called and will stop playing if I say NO or give them an AARRGH just prior to them launching :D All that said, I doubt I will ever do it again.. run on two I mean. I think I've done a pretty good job, but it has been so much work and I am getting too old for this shit https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=wp_20160729_001.mp4 Aha, I just discovered these links can be seen through fb... I learn something everyday LOL

4.5 months on.... Legend & Dance photos

Kjk, Sorry to hear about your Amstaff not doing so well. This is a very sad time for you. Regarding getting a medium to large breed puppy, with the primary purpose as company for an existing small breed dog, I would not be suggesting any breed. I will explain where the red flags lie in your opening post to me... You say you are prepared to put in training and socialization, yet your JRT has never been alone. This indicates that you either had a different perspective on training when your JRT was younger or perhaps you don't realise how much work and commitment is involved in proper socialization and training with a new puppy. Any dog purchased for the purpose of being primarily as another dog's mate is a recipe for disaster. Best scenario is that you will end with more of what you already have, which is one or both dogs whom are overly dependant upon one another. Worst scenario is that they don't get along how you thought they would and either one is injured and has to have surgery, be rehomed, euthanased or permanently separated. Something else you may not have considered is that larger breed puppies should not run freely unsupervised with other dogs, particularly high energy types. The smaller, older dog may get injured from a heavy paw or heavy puppy not being able to stop when flat out. The puppy will almost definitely be injured from all the running about, banging into things, falling over and being too highly stimulated for prolonged periods. The puppy is likely to damage its joints and have on going soundness issues throughout life. Two such dogs should be spending much of the first 12 months separate or together for short periods under strict supervision. This will teach them to be independent of one another and safe from injury from hard and/or too much play... which sort of defeats your whole intended purpose for getting the next dog. My recommendation would be that once your Amstaff passes, you invest a lot of time and dedication into teaching your JRT to be comfortable and confident in its own company. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a dog being an only dog. If your JRT does have dependency issues after your Amstaff has gone would be the perfect time to work on this and ensure this does not happen again...as it would if you bring in a puppy and raise them the same way you did previously. Once your JRT is a perfectly fine being alone, then and only then is it time to introduce a new dog. And even then you will still have to do a lot of separation. For socialization the new puppy must leave the property (without the JRT) for experiences with novel people, dogs, situations and places every day until 12 weeks. And then every other day until 6 months. then on going a couple of times a week. This is over and above obedience/general manners training. The JRT also needs to be leaving the property without the new puppy. I wish you all the very best :)

Thanks guys I could not be happier. I slept in the living room with the dogs last night so Packer's new owner could message me through the night with concerns/questions and not disturb OH. We chatted for hours. Packer settled really well... once they cooled their house down for him a bit LOL. I didn't get much sleep but I am still smiling from ear to ear. :D And I have these wonderful photos of how well he is getting along with Minnie and his trip home in the car. He is such a happy boy, always happy. They even took a quick video of Minnie and Packer last night, just mostly ignoring one another and resting near each other. Packer adores Minnie and she is quite fine with him too.

Thanks so much guys. I am so so happy. all reports back that packer is settling in incredibly well, as though he's lived there all his short life. he has settled calmly with their little chi x and is doing as he is told. He's only been home for a couple of hours. Thank you Puppy Culture :D Oh seeing you asked so nicely Bianca :) soz no new photos of Packer, but I have been promised some will be coming soon. In the mean time here is Legend with his grandpa and his mum, Seven :D

Packer has just left. We found him a wonderful home, Melbourne based couple with their gorgeous young very dog savvy daughter. Bitter sweet moment for us, but so glad he has his new forever home, just as he deserves. His new owners will be attending the training we provide so I will get to see him weekly

I use the Talc one too, have done so for years. I slosh some into the machine when washing dog bedding too. makes the whole house smell awesome.

Puppies started their slurry according to their interest at 3 weeks. I didn't wean the puppies off mum at all, let her feed them when she wanted to. I ran on two puppies and she self weaned by creating a new relationship with them at 9 weeks of age. It was amazing to watch. She just played and kept on the move and within two days they stopped trying.

Hi Jack. I've owned and been heavily involved in the breed for 23 years. During this period longevity has ranged, mostly around 9-10 (with average being dragged down significantly owing to sadly having to euthanase a 4 year old dog through health and temperament issues, bred by someone else and totally unrelated to my dogs) but I will say that not one of my Rottweilers has succumbed to cancer of any sort. The most recent girl who passed away in November was 12 and a half and I chose to euthanase her because of the pain in her elbow, which was a long term injury. The dam of these puppies is not related to any of the other Rottweilers I own now (except for her puppies of course) nor any of my previous Rottis. It took me many years to find a bitch I felt worthy of breeding on with. She has solid longevity behind her. I believe careful and thoroughly researched breeder selection goes a long way to assisting with the health and longevity of any puppy, however of course husbandry, environment and luck will always play a roll. Have you asked all your friends what breeders they purchased their dog's from? That might be a good place to start. and if in fact some or all of them turn out to be byb dogs, this might lift your confidence a bit :) All the very best with your breed/puppy search :) Thank you for that information. The lifespan and cancer issues were the main factors making me worried about considering a Rottweiler, however this definitely lifts my confidence in the breed. I really appreciate the reply :) You are very welcome Jack. I am not going to lie to you various cancers are quite common in our breed, particularly from the age of about 7 years. That said, without a doubt the vast majority of cancers are in desexed Rottweilers and also byb Rottweilers. Cruciate ligament injuries are also relatively common place, again vast majority being desexed and also unfit and over weight dogs. I've never had a cruciate injury in any of my Rotts because they are always fit, lean, agile and strong. All the best :)

Nawwww, thanks AL. Very sweet of you. Yes, he does. He has the same sweet temperament as her also. :D

Hi Jack. I've owned and been heavily involved in the breed for 23 years. During this period longevity has ranged, mostly around 9-10 (with average being dragged down significantly owing to sadly having to euthanase a 4 year old dog through health and temperament issues, bred by someone else and totally unrelated to my dogs) but I will say that not one of my Rottweilers has succumbed to cancer of any sort. The most recent girl who passed away in November was 12 and a half and I chose to euthanase her because of the pain in her elbow, which was a long term injury. The dam of these puppies is not related to any of the other Rottweilers I own now (except for her puppies of course) nor any of my previous Rottis. It took me many years to find a bitch I felt worthy of breeding on with. She has solid longevity behind her. I believe careful and thoroughly researched breeder selection goes a long way to assisting with the health and longevity of any puppy, however of course husbandry, environment and luck will always play a roll. Have you asked all your friends what breeders they purchased their dog's from? That might be a good place to start. and if in fact some or all of them turn out to be byb dogs, this might lift your confidence a bit :) All the very best with your breed/puppy search :)

The timing has to be right juice, absolutely :)

Hi guys, thanks for checking in with me :) Packer is still here. Some lovely people came out to see him on Saturday and will call today. It is challenging rehoming a slightly older puppy. Many people want the 8 week old version, which I understand. We've had loads of inquiries but again because I am pretty fussy about certain things, I'm not prepared to let him go just anywhere. I don't have a problem with kids, provided the parents are good at organising their time and their kids are raised respectfully. I don't have a problem with pet home only provided the owner is willing to spend quality time with their dog, continue on with at least some basic training and they are a balanced trainer. I am even very open to being able to negotiate price to the right home. This puppy is such a happy boy, non reactive, incredible recall, easy going, super affectionate, well trained. He really is super. Any home he went to would be so delighted with him. If any of you guys are interested, please contact me :D

Thank you bianca. Ah that is so frustrating about Vic isn't it. Still, you can train here and go interstate for trials. A lot of people do it.

Thank you TSD. I do hope I find some as wonderful as you did for Murphy TSD. I'm sure I will :) OMGoodness yes. And if they could play together calmly it wouldn't be a problem, but the second they have any contact with litter siblings the rough play starts LOL, so they simply cannot even have contact. I just don't like to risk them knocking each other and causing injury at such a delicate age. They are heavy and fall hard. They are all around 20kgs now but are small and floppy LOL.

I hear you AL. I am incredibly fussy and sadly now of course a but cynical and hyper vigilant LOL I have no problem with a puppy going interstate. Again it depends more of the individual owner than geographics. This entire litter all went locally, but that was more coincidental than by design.

LOL, yes Story is so cute and funny LOL The only criteria I have in place is surrounding training and basic care and raising. As far as what I look for in potential owners, I don't have an exact criteria. I take every and all inquiries on my puppies on a case by case basis. I almost look for "crazy dog people" like myself. Someone who wants more than just the average pet. I don't mind "pet only" homes but want someone who is crazy about their dog and raising it the best way they can, taking in interest in dog behaviour, responsible dog ownership, spending as much time as they can with their dog and including it their life a lot... most likely the way most DOLers are LOL There are very few deal breakers as such, like owners working, children, owning own home etc, I am quite open to most scenarios, but it is more about the whole picture. Yes, we are planning another litter late 2017/early 2018 Packer is very different in the sense that he is a far more mature puppy now. Even though it has only been 6 weeks, they mature so much in that time, that is I had not seen him regularly and spent time with him, it may have been challenging working out who he was regarding temperament. There is just so much more going on with them at this age. That said, he has the same amazing focus, recall, manners, intelligence and sensibilities, just all more developed. Packer has slotted straight in and is doing amazingly well. He has a little whinge from time to time, but that is to be expected, his whole world has just been ripped out from underneath him, poor lad. I would really love a working home for Packer (obedience, herding, tracking etc) since he has an incredible aptitude and attitude for work... however as mentioned will happily take every inquiry as seriously and openly as the next :) Yes, we have had several inquiries so far, most of which I have refused. Some we are still reviewing. We email puppy questionnaires to our applicants and go from there.

Thank you :)

Thanks guys. The right home will come along, he is a wonderful dog. A have a few interested parties already. Being so fussy though has already made me say no to a couple. Even a proven, excellent show home, but he would have been a kennel dog and that wouldn't be fair on him, coming from a household environment. I've already chatted to Chris, TTD, thanks for the suggestion. Alas we won't make it to club this morning... juggling 3 puppies and two adults, when we only have 2 outdoor areas is just a little too much to manage anything else but this full time Packer would make a brilliant moderate to high end obedience home. His focus and work ethic is incredible, and yet also so calm and laid back to live with.