Aspenleaf Shelties

04/20/2024

"Mack" Powder River Peterbuilt x "Birdie" Aspenleaf's Robin Me Blind

Puppies at 7 weeks.

Kelly Davidson

03/22/2024

02/04/2024

This boy will be growing up at Aspenleaf.

I so look forward to see how he matures.

BISS GCHB Aspenleaf's Shangri-La TKN, BCAT, CGC, CGC-A
X Aspenleaf's Ivy League ( Arson x Ebony )

02/03/2024

The awesome duo. Sleeping peacefully.

02/02/2024

Beautiful tri female. Going to be on the bigger side ( 16" to 16 1/2" ). Well socialized around kids and other dogs and cats. She can already tackle climbing stairs. She loves the outdoors is ready to be your companion.

Visit aspenleafshelties.com

Please complete a questionnaire to be considered for this lovely girl.

02/02/2024

Tri colored male 8 weeks old ready for a loving family. I’m in NE Georgia.

He is very socialized, he will be about 15”. Wonderful pedigree, neuter contract, age appropriate vaccines, rear dew claws removed, breeder support, parents are champion or major pointed in conformation. For more information visit my website. Aspenleafshelties.com.

A completed Questionnaire is required to be considered.

08/30/2023

I wanted to touch base on a common issue that breeders come across with new owners.

Realistic Expectations

You go to the breeders home. The pups are all social. They are quiet in the pen. The breeder shows you videos of them being totally relaxed at a dog show. All looks amazing and you bring your puppy home.

Then reality hits. The puppy may cry in the crate for the first few nights making you tired and agitated. The happy social puppy is refusing to greet the half dozen overly excited friends you invited over to see your new puppy. The puppy refuses to walk on a leash. Many are wondering how did my perfect puppy turn into a nightmare.

So let’s discuss realistic expectations of when a puppy goes home. First of all the puppy has been in the breeders home since birth. They had their mother and often littermates. They had their routine, were taught expectations and were completely in their comfort zone.

Now suddenly they are taken to a totally new environment. Picture yourself being dropped into an unknown country, often in a different part of the world. You know only a few words of their language. Differnt trees, animals, smells, temperature and people. Now in the middle of this we are switching up your routine, decide to have a party with people you dont know, and ask you to do jobs you have no idea about. Overwhelming to say the least.

This is what every puppy goes through when going to their new home. Stress manifests in different forms. From not eating, reluctancy to play and greet people. Being apprehensive at the vet’s office or as strangers reach for them. Diarrhea, vomiting and being depression can occur.

So what can you as a new owner do to help your little one acclimate?

- most puppies take 3-4 weeks to acclimate to their new home. Repeat after me THREE to FOUR WEEKS! Not a 1-2 days. I can’t stress this enough about how much time is needed for a dog or puppy to feel comfortable in their new home!
- limit guests during the first week. We understand you are excited to show off your new baby but they need time to adjust. Plan on waiting 1-2 weeks before inviting people over
- ask guest to sit on the ground and let the puppy approach them. No squealing and grabbing the puppy
- set up a good routine
- restrict the puppy to a small area of the house. This not only reduces them being overwhelmed but also allows you to watch them
- don’t expect a 9-13 week old puppy to walk on a leash. Instead work at home with a leash where they are comfortable. Let them drag the leash, use treats to encourage them to walk with you
- if your puppy is refusing to walk give them time. My first trips to town with puppies a walk around a small block took 1 1/2 hours. We only move when they initiate the movement as they need time to take in the different environment
- understand your puppy needs time to see you as family. Expecting an immediate bond is unrealistic
- train your puppy. This not only helps you to bond but the puppy to look to you for direction and input
- lastly be patient. Don’t declare “omg there’s something wrong with this dog”. Nothing occurs overnight. Outings should be planned at puppy sp*ed. So while you might imagine a fun walk around the lake in reality your puppy might only be able to handle walking a short distance that day.

Most outings for me take a long time, as I am often just standing still as the puppy cautiously explores the new environment. Patience is key!

Remember if the puppy was wonderful at the breeder’s house but now struggling you as the owner need to help the puppy adjust which takes time, patience and training. have realistic expectations and give the puppy positive experiences. Each puppy is an individual, don’t compare your current puppy to past pets and judge their behavior based on how another dog handled things. Lastly, try to see thing’s from a puppy’s perspective and adjust situations accordingly.

Author unknown

07/23/2023

JD on the move. I'm enjoying this boys exuberance of life.

Kelly Davidson

01/25/2023

Hey dog show newbie!

I see you so eager to learn, but that you are also having trouble finding the ground to jump off of. As I near my 20th anniversary of my first AKC show and bringing home my first sheltie, I've been reflecting a lot on my journey that continues to have me be a serious student of the breed, the sport, and dogdom.

In the chatter of how we support you, there's a lot of focus on the importance of finding mentors, and I believe that is absolutely critical. Many of my mentors have become family members where they were there for me first in the dog world, and continued to be mentors and my support community through college, marriage, building my career, and having my own children. As human beings we are biologically incentivized to have community and support each other as a village rather than stand alone as individuals, and our modern society has a long way to go to remember our true nature-- dog world not with standing (more to come here at a later time).

Of course, deep relationships take time. As you are looking to connect with those people stumbling through the people who tell you you're in the wrong breed/sport/game don't despair! (trust me, I know it hurts... interestingly, the ones who told me I couldn't the goals I shattered don't play anymore) There are other ways you can still build up the platform you'll leap from.

I learned about dog shows as an 11 yr old by reading a book called "kids and dog shows" when I finished reading all the other books about dog care at my local library following the acquisition of our family's first pet- a standard poodle with an AKC limited registration.

In addition to learning about the world of dog shows, and a place I could play with our poodle in junior showmanship, the library taught me the depth of what I could learn on my own. I self studied how dog shows worked, basic anatomy, basic dog behavior, basic dog care, and the specifics of my breed before I even owned a sheltie, which greatly built my credibility when establishing relationships with the many mentors I have had over the years. Of course, these were enhanced over the years through conversations with my mentors and p*ers, and hands on experience. I realized it might be helpful to have a list of where to start self seeking knowledge, especially when these are still ways I find myself getting richer inspiration and knowledge still today.

The dog world is a complicated one, but let me let you in on a little secret… success is simple, just do the little things well.

Ground yourself in the basics, so when you connect with the masters, you know what to ask them, and you understand the lingo they're using. Set us mentors up for success in helping you by making it easy to help you where we can use basic terminology to animal husbandry, and the dog show industry. We all want to help, but many of us are doing this as our full time passion. We have careers, families, kids, and more dogs back home, and getting to a dog show is our chance to get away. The tough love is we can't babysit you to do your homework, but we'll gladly invite you into our circle to talk dogs if you can actually talk dogs (or at least know enough to listen).

------Learn the mechanics of a dog show. ------
Don't get a general sense. Know every detail, even for the champion, group, and best in show classes you don't think you'll be in for awhile. You should know every class, corresponding ribbon color, award, shorthand for that award, pattern the judges move the dogs in, who moves to the next level. You should know how to read a premium list, judging program, and catalog.

------Learn basic animal husbandry------
You're looking to learn basic training concepts. Maintain ultra comfortable living conditions for your dog. Know how to access weight. Know basic canine behavior, how to take vitals, and recognize signs of distress. Keep your dog clean. The fancy stripping, sc******ng, and shaping will come with time. Learn how to prevent matts and packed hair, how to appropriately brush and/or comb your breed's coat, how to keep nails short, and teeth clean. If you haven't found someone yet to help with this, find a local all breed handler or even a groomer who can show you the basics as a lot of these skills go across breeds (just avoid cutting hair without talking to your breeder).

------Learn the winners of your breed------
Look up the last 20 years of number one dogs in the breed, and the Best of Breed parent club's National (20 years seems like a lot, but you definitely want to go back as the "old timers" often are the ones today sharing the most insights, wisdom, and also have more time to mentor… assuming you know your basics)

Also do a quick scan of the Westminster and AKC National group results and note any dogs in your breed that placed in the groups or even best in show at these shows.

You should know the registered names (including the kennel name), call name (this is how most dog people will reference them unfortunately), and what the dog looks like. Follow the breeders, owners, and handlers on social.

When you're ready for a level II dive, do the same 20 year study for kennel names that appear multiple times at your breed's national. This will catch the people to follow who have influence on the breed through quality of breeding program but maybe didn't choose to actively campaign a top winner.

------Learn dog anatomy------
While your breed has specifics, there's a lot that is just general dog. You should know the parts of a dog (topline, stop, croup, stifle), have a beginning idea of what a canine skeleton looks like and the angles they should be at for your breed, where the organs sit in relation to those, and how the muscle lays over all of that. You don't need to know that names, but you do need to be able to picture it well enough that you can take the generic dog in the anatomy book and extrapolate it to your breed. I personally have found it's easier to start with the general dog, and then look at specifics related to my breed so I can parse out what's specific to my breed, vs trying to learn this on my breed.

------Learn your breed------
The whole idea of the purebred dog game is to preserve the breeds bred for a specific purpose. Understand what that is, and watch some YouTube videos of a dog at work doing that job. Doesn't need to be your breed, but better yet if it is! Understand what makes your breed your breed. It's quirks and nuances, both in looks and temperament. Know the families the breed is good for, and who it is not good for.

Once you understand the function, know the form. Read your breed standard over, and over, and over. Annotate it. Make sure you understand the words. Look up the words first, and if you don't understand, then ask. It'll pay off to know what you know, and what you don't know here, instead of someone

------Remember... it is a "dog" "show" ------
Let's be real. If we were all amazingly naturally gifted people-people, would we have found ourselves at dog shows? They often say owners are like their dogs. I know my breed is aloof when not properly socialized, but fiercely loyal once they feel safe-- and I think many in my breed would agree we see that in each other--and ourselves (I know I do!). We also all have to have competitive streaks to want to participate in a competition, so adding that to our better-with-dogs-than-people-skills, we're bound to get weird. Bullying is not acceptable, and biting should absolutely be disqualified. But at least near the sheltie ring, remember, we're reserved towards strangers so don't expect us to come bounding over to you. We need a chance to sniff your outstretched hand first. And if we do something embarrassingly wrong like nervous p*e since we weren't as well socialized as our puppies, just give us a chance to clean it up before picking us up again.

You are a smart, capable, bright person who has everything they need to take the turtle steps to achieve your dreams.

Cheering you on,
Morgan

~~~~~~RESOURCES~~~~~~
In addition to Google and YouTube searches, here are some places to get you started!
(This is a first quick pass, please suggest others in the comments and I'll add! )

Mechanics of dog shows:
--People: Superintendents at the dog shows
--AKC Rules Applying to Dog Shows (AKC rulebook)
--AKC Canine College: Conformation for Beginners (free)
--Local confirmation training class

Animal husbandry:
--Understanding dog body language (AKC blog)
--Purina Body Condition Score
--your vet
--local dog trainer
--AKC Registered Handlers
--Volunteer at your local shelter

Winners:
--Canine Chronicle Breed Rankings (current to 2001; their articles are amazing too)
--Westminster Conformation Records
--Your parent breed club (you might be able to reach out to someone on the board or national committee for a list if it's not on their website. For example, we always have a list published in the National catalog at our national, but I didn't see it on the website so I know it's out there!)
--Google and Facebook search will help you find photos and call names on a lot of the dogs

Canine Anatomy:
--AKC Canine College: ABC's of Canine Anatomy Course (free)
--Dogsteps (book)
--Dogs in Motion (book)
--An Eye for a Dog (book)

Your breed:
--Your breed's parent club site
--AKC Canine College has courses on some breeds for judges ed
--AKC.org has all of the standard and links to parent club's if you don't know yours yet
--Books at local pet stores

------ Written by Morgan Macdonald Manion

01/18/2023

Sharing... Worth a read and so true.

"THE IMPORTANCE OF THE BITCH
IN THE BREEDING PROGRAM
By Tom Coen

It is a matter of record that over the past 35 years we have housed many influential sires. Having an active stud force has allowed us the opportunity to live with and evaluate literally thousands of bi***es. Since there is not a lot for a person to do while holding two dogs that are tied, I usually spend the time studying the bitch and evaluating the combination of the two individuals, wondering whether it will be history in the making or just another litter of puppies.

My advice to others over the years has always been to LOOK TO THE DAMS OF THE STUD DOGS. Tail male charts are interesting but they leave out a very important element of the story and that is the bitch. It is the bitch who provides the complement to the sire and determines the distinction among his offspring, both in quality and producing ability.
Breeding dogs is a creative process that combines the eye of the artist with the laws of nature. Also included must be a large measure of common sense. Breeding dogs is a process of building generation after generation, of constantly gaining in one area and losing in another. The breeder is like a juggler trying to keep the pins for correct type, stable temperament, and good health in the air at the same time. The bitch is the building block utilized in the process of creative breeding.
When selecting a foundation bitch or planning a breeding there is one principal that I have witnessed as law: WHAT YE SOW YE SHALL REAP. If you don’t want something to show up, don’t start with it or add it to the gene pool. Recessive problems will slip by through lack of information, but to knowingly add a serious problem to your program shows no common sense. You may try to close your eyes to something but Mother Nature will provide a wake up call at some point up the road.
Quirks of temperament, tendencies toward physical weakness, and reproductive problems are inherited as well as physical characteristics. We have certain lineal descendants who get panicky during thunderstorms. Another family group gets violently car sick as puppies. These behavioral idiosyncrasies continue generation after generation. Thirty-five years ago I had a bitch shipped in for breeding who possessed the most beautiful eye and skull that I had ever seen. She was unshown due to a crooked front leg that she had fractured during puppy hood. No problem, I thought, as I was interested in the genes for skull and eye. I acquired a daughter from the breeding and at four months of age she broke her front leg but went on to be a very influential producer. She would have had more champions herself but one of her best daughters broke her leg as a puppy – a statement on the inheritance of physical weaknesses.

Not all great show bi***es are great brood bi***es. We had a multiple Best in Show bitch that looked like she would be a tremendous producer as well. She had exceptional quality, substance and great attitude. We bred (her) several times and each time she whelped perfectly formed puppies that were still born. This was particularly frustrating since we could feel the puppies moving a few days before whelping, indicating they were dying just before or during the birthing process. Trying to outsmart Mother Nature, we had our vet take the puppies by cesarean section several days prior to her due date. The puppies were tiny and weak but through constant vigilance and tube feeding we did save one bitch puppy. She was bred and produced one beautiful daughter who finished easily and in style. When this bitch was bred, she whelped litters of perfectly formed still born puppies. This was our wake up call and the bitch was culled. Again, what ye sow ye shall reap. Keep in mind that the tendencies toward skin problems, thyroid problems and other defects are also inheritable.

When evaluating a bitch from a breeding standpoint there are several key areas to consider: health, temperament, physical quality (phenotype) and pedigree (genotype).
The ideal bitch should be an easy keeper and a good doer. A hearty appetite that keeps her in good flesh with no coaxing is of great importance. A bitch who won’t eat, especially when she has a new litter of puppies depending on her, is not well suited to motherhood and can make your life miserable.

Avoid bi***es from families who require medication and supplementation to maintain their condition and fertility. The goal is to produce good sized healthy litters to provide selection within a creative breeding program and to keep the process as natural as possible. We are living in a time when veterinary medicine has become quite sophisticated in the area of reproduction. Thyroid medication and hormone therapy make it possible for bi***es who would not ordinarily come in season to do so and produce litters. There are tests to monitor silent or irregular seasons so that ovulation can be pinpointed and problem bi***es can conceive and produce offspring. Although it is impressive that we can overcome Mother Nature and produce litters out of such bi***es I question the benefit in the long run.
Ideally, the bitch should be as free a possible from hereditary defects. To be entirely genetically free of hereditary defects is not a possibility but it is in the area that common sense must be employed. Don’t breed bad eye checks, entropion, testicle problems, bad hips or other such problems unless you are willing to deal with more of the same. I repeat: WHAT YE SOW YE SHALL REAP.

The ideal bitch possesses a stable, sensible temperament with intelligence and trainability. These qualities of correct Breed Character, not only make good show dogs, but are what have drawn the pet buying public to the Sheltie for years. The bitch is the role model for the puppies and in the area of temperament accounts for more than her genetic fifty percent. There is no excuse or place in the breeding program for a shy, flighty or nervous Sheltie bitch.

When selecting for physical quality in a bitch, it is important to keep in mind which qualities are most difficult to achieve and maintain. While not every bitch can be a CH Larkspur of Pocono or a CH Riverhill Rare Gold, the purchase of a foundation bitch requires extensive study followed by careful thought and selection. This, by the way, is not the time to become frugal. Go for the very best bitch you can find as she can save you years of disappointment, frustration, and wasted time.
Head qualities are of great importance in the brood bitch. All will have some deficiencies but the degree of fault is what must be considered. It is extremely difficult to correct severe lack of skull, snipey muzzle, depth of head, lippiness and certain bite problems. While on the subject of bites, be wary of a narrow underjaw, missing premolars and inverted molars. The virtue of flat frontal bone, clean sides to the skull, tight lip line and roundness of muzzle will definitely increase your chances of producing exceptional quality. The greater the degree of virtue your bitch possesses the better are your chances of producing a great one.

It is almost impossible to radically change body type and structure through breeding in only a few generations. Therefore, it is necessary to select and maintain bi***es who approach your mental picture of the ideal as described by the Standard. Correct body type is a matter of the proportion and angles of the skeletal structure. While abundant coat is a real plus in a breeding program and can enhance a good outline it is still only the icing on the cake. It is what is under the coat that is important, i.e., arch of neck, a strong back, well laid back shoulders, long stifle, good definition of the hock joint and sloping croup. These are the qualities that your ideal bitch would possess and these are the qualities that create the picture of correct Sheltie type, standing and in motion. It is these same qualities that make certain individuals stand out in the huge classes at the National. Since soundness and elegance are priorities in our program we continually select for the curvaceous and sweepy body lines with deeper angulation and more neck. Just as the head naturally reverts to commonness so does the body and outline.

Unless you have had first hand experience with dogs in a pedigree the document is of little more value than a list of names. With study a pedigree becomes a valuable tool for creating and predicting quality. No where on the pedigree does it tell which dogs were strong producers or which were producers of problems which still haunt us. The title of champion means very little when evaluating producing ability. It is our responsibility to study and research individuals and family lines and to choose the ones who “look” appeals to you and who shortcomings you can abide. The qualities that a bitch possesses should reflect the qualities of her ancestors. She should be the physical demonstration of the strength of her pedigree. Bi***es who are the exception for a family rather than the rule cannot be counted on for predictability.

It is impossible to place a value on a bitch of extreme virtue and strength of a pedigree without taking into account breeder judgment. However, when utilized in a creative manner by an astute breeder, it would be fair to say her value is nothing less then the future of the breed."

01/06/2023

"We cannot obtain what we lack if we tenaciously cling to what we have." -HaanelI