Kathy,
Thanks for checking in with us! We are doing great and so is Jedi. He has
grown to be one of the best looking Dobermans I've personally seen, and
while I am biased, I think its just true. We attended a dog show recently
(the largest held in the state of Minnesota), and of the 25 Dobermans
shown, I can honestly say I think we could have competed with any of them.
I'm not trained as a judge, but he clearly is the result of true
professional breeding, and we thank you sincerely for that.
He is a brilliant dog--he learns as fast as we can teach him, and we often
get the feeling that he understands us when we talk to him. We've never
specifically trained him to know what "food" is, or what a "vitamin" is
(NuVet, of course), but he just knows. He knows the difference between his
"Rotty" (a stuffed rottweiler we bought him), his "Coon" (stuffed raccoon),
his "Monkey" (stuffed monkey), his "Bunny" (guess what that one is), etc.,
but we've never specifically taught him. A simple "Good Boy!!!" and he
learns. WOW!!! Our challenge really is just to keep up with him. He's a
sponge. A final comment on his learning--we never trained him to hold his
bladder during the day while we were gone. We had put out training pads
for him to use, and he did use them, but at about 5 months we came home one
day and he had held his bladder all day. We praised him for that, and he's
never needed a training pad since. He just learned to hold it--like he
knew it was better for him and for us.
Last, I need to mention his affectionate qualities. I've spoke with lots
of Doberman owners, and it sounds like he is no different--he truly is a
"velcro" dog. He loves to lean slightly against us when we are nearby, or
loves to just rest his head on our leg as we sit down. He's not allowed to
sit on furniture based on our knowledge about dominant dog behavior
problems, but we do allow him to do rest his head on our leg (unless we are
eating dinner). He goes everywhere with us, and loves it. We took him on
a 10hr road trip to see Ann's family, and he was just thrilled to be along
for the ride with us (of course he was allowed to go potty when we stopped
for gas). He's a member of our family, and our "only child". He's a great
watch dog, and has a truly impressive bark. At 9 months he's grown to be a
very impressive dog, and is full of muscle. He's a teddy bear, but sure
can intimidate people who come to the door. He melts when he sees
"grandma" and gets excited to see friends, but is very protective of the
house we live in, and we love that. We are thinking of starting Schutzhund
this spring to see if we can get him into that as we recognize that to be a
great thing for him and for us. We'll see where that goes.
I've included pictures. Feel free to use any of this on your website, if
you'd like. We can't thank you enough for such a great companion!
Very best regards,
Kathy-
Hi! I hope everything is going well. Jedi is doing great and getting
bigger everyday. He's a beautiful pup and we get compliments all the time.
He can now "come", "sit", "down", "shake", "shake other hand". He's
starting to "heel".
I was too excited to not email you back because I have pictures of Jedi!!! They are attached to this email. By the way, housebreaking has been great. We believe that he understands the indoor/outdoor method fairly well now. We've basically had no accidents in the house for almost two weeks now. Puppy kindergarten was fun. Jedi is not a very high strung puppy around other dogs, so we were really pleased with his gentlemen like demeanor. He's only high strung & bity around us! There are two other dobies in the class with us! I have to say that Jedi looks different then they do - good different. Blessings to you too,
Ann & Craig
Kathy,
By now you are not only exhausted by all of your responsibilities as a
breeder, but by the issue with shipping our little guy. I wanted to send
you a note to let you know several things to make you feel better about the
situation. First and foremost he is doing great. We were so nervous that he'd be
a upset after all of the screw-ups that occurred. Not only was he not in
bad shape, but he seemed like "no big deal, what's next?". He is such a
confident little guy! I was the first one to get to the crate as the
airline guy came in with it, and I stuck my face down to look it (very
nervous about his condition) and he marched up to the crate door and when I
opened it a crack and stuck my hand down for him to smell it he immediately
licked my hand as to say "hello there". At the bottom I attached a .pdf
file (so it would be less painful to download) as evidence of his great
condition. He is a wonderful little Doberman. He doesn't complain about anything,
and just loves us and spending time with us. We spent all day yesterday
outside playing, going potty, etc. (between naps). He chased a little
ball, by the end of the day was responding to the "come" command, and
really knew that we were his new best friends. I have to really compliment
your skill as a breeder in producing such a wonderful dog. He sure does show the results of your
investment into him, though, and we immediately recognized your had work.
Enough for now, you're busy, and no need to respond. This is mostly an
"FYI" message, and a "thank you" message. Have a great day, and we will be
sharing more as he develops!
"LeGard's King of Hearts"
_____________________________________
Craig Sykora
3M Corporate Research Laboratory
3M Center, 201-3N-05
Saint Paul, MN 55144-1000
phone: 651-736-8254 fax: 651-733-0249
