Certified AKC CGC Evaluator and S.T.A.R
Puppy Evaluator
This page is for those who would like to contact people we have placed
Puppies or trained dogs with in the past, I have always hesitated to post
letters etc. Because so much of that can be fabricated. In the interest of
Privacy, I will only provide a first name and Email address that way our
FamilyDobes family members can contact you if and when they have time.
My Name is Francy. I was adopted by Abi who lives in my house with me in
Utah. She waits on me hand and foot and I get anything I want out of
her. My little Rat Terrier Friend Bailey helps me rule the house as
well. Mostly I am just a great companion, but I also have a protection
job to do as well. Abi tells me all the time how great I am and how much
I am loved. We are very lucky FamilyDobes brought us together. Feel free
to meet us, or send us a line, we have 4 paws up for Family Dobes!
abi_hayes@yahoo.com
My
girl, Heidi, is 16 months now. She was Steve's answer to my request for
a "real" dog that I could compete with in schutzhund and develop into a
trustworthy protection dog. We started her schutzhund training within
days of receiving her as a puppy and at 15 months, the earliest
allowable age, she passed her BH! That’s just a first step and we're
not slowing down at all! We hope to get her SchHI title yet this year.
At an early age she was a star of our hard-training club showing a great
aptitude for the sport, fast learning, and crisp obedience that matched
many of the adult dogs. She has exceptionally strong drive for the
protection work while, at the same time, keeping her wits and control.
When she was about a year old I couldn't wait any longer to test her
mettle as a real world protection dog. A club helper wearing a hidden
bite sleeve under a sweatshirt made a mock attack on me without warning
me, or her, what he was planning. She sprang from where I had her
"downed" and nailed his arm without hesitation! My experience is
limited but I will say that not all dogs.. you could maybe even say that
not
many dogs.. transition from protection sports to "real"
protection that seamlessly. She did equally well on a man in a bite
suit. When we added pressure and chaos to the scenario she only stepped
up her intensity! Now,
before I frighten you, let me introduce you to Heidi the sweetheart who
I would trust completely in any social situation. She lays, and
exchanges grooming licks, with our cat. She's gentle with our young
child and his friends. And she's working on ignoring our loose chickens
(working on it). We've made an effort to socialize her to crowds and a
wide variety of situations and that has paid off. She is neutral
towards other dogs and wiggly friendly to anyone who asks to meet her.This
dog is intelligent and fast learning. As an example, I thought one
night that it might provide an interesting training challenge to teach
her to shut doors. It was certainly not a challenge. Within about 15
minutes I could point to any door... bathroom door, cabinet door,
refrigerator door.. and say, "shut that door" and she'd go paw it shut.
It's come in handy ever since. Just today we passed a children's
playground and I wondered if I could get her to go down a long tunnel
slide. Again within just minutes, she had overcome her slight initial
apprehension and would, on command from me on the ground, climb up the
equipment and jump down the slide... all wiggly and proud of herself!
You can tell I love my Family Dobes dog but actually the best thing
about the Family Dobes kennel is Steve. He has gone above and beyond
for me in every way imaginable. He has patiently guided me through
every step of puppyhood.. even the frustrating days.. and has mentored
me tirelessly in my training, taking my calls at all hours and answering
my emails thoughtfully and promptly. He knows Dobermans and I like his
approach to training them. Any buyer who's considering one of his dogs
but is unsure about the cost, or considering another breeder, needs to
appreciate the quality of lifelong breeder support that comes with the
Family Dobes package. I'm already looking forward to when I can get my
second Family Dobes dog!
Krieger
is everything I hoped he'd be! He's crazy about flyball, running faster
than I ever expected him to, and earning titles quickly. He's a natural
in agility, and even though I don't compete in this sport, we do this
during performances at community festivals. He's got incredible energy
and drive...good, because he loves to work...but he keeps me busy,
because he NEEDS to work! (Of course, that's exactly what I wanted!)
He's handsome, strong and healthy, great natured, and gets along great
with our other dogs and with the other dogs in our club. Best of all,
he's a glued-to-you Doberman who just wants to be with you all the
time. Love him!
Steve
has been great from day one...from inviting me to visit his home and
kennel, to making all the transportation arrangements, to keeping in
regular contact after we got Krieger, and answering any questions I've
had. I like that Steve wants to form a long-term relationship, not just
sell a puppy.
Kida
is our first doberman. At 8 months old now she is more than we could
have hoped for. She is doing wonderful at "puppy circle" showing off
her powerful bite. And most recently we have found out she is a natural
for tracking. Kida is a perfect family dog, friendly, and insistent she
sleeps under the covers in bed every night! We are inpatiently waiting
to begin her Schutzhund training, and eager to see her in action. Matt
& Michelle Monroe,
laufmanmonroe@yahoo.com
My
name is Hank S. and my family & I reside in the metro Atlanta Georgia
area. My wife & I are the proud parents of 5. Two of which are 4 legged,
Jewell & Kimi, both Doberman females which are the results of our
breeder's hard work and dedication to the Doberman breed who is Steve
Parsons @ FamilyDobes, in Payson Utah.
We have known Steve for a little better
than two years now. Before we viewed his web-site or even spoke to him,
we researched and talked with many other Doberman breeders. They were
for the most part professionals, but the overall feeling we got from
them was not in our 100% comfort zone. So we continued to look until we
happened upon the FamilyDobes web-site.
When we first contacted Steve Parsons at
FamilyDobes, his interest in us was sincere, his questions were a little
in depth as far as our family, habits, schedules, but I now understand
why he went to great lengths to find out who we were as we wanted one of
his cherished offspring. He was interviewing us, as he wanted to make
sure we were going to undertake the responsibility in owning one of HIS
dogs in a correct manner by providing a good loving home, proper
conditions were to be met and we would be dedicated Doberman owners. We
even had to fill out a questionnaire that provided him an in-depth view
of who we were.
We felt very comfortable with Steve from
the first conversation and as we talked several times during the first 2
or 3 weeks, we decided to the commitment of buying one of his dogs (our
first Doberman) as we had owned other dogs in the past. The
comfortability factor grew as we reviewed our options from a specific
liter of beautiful European Dobes and that is how we became the parents
of our Kimi, now 2 years old.
Our intentions were not to show Kimi as
we did not have the time to commit to such an endeavor. Although she has
the grace, agility, calmness and the stamina to be a great show dog as
her dad (Fedor del Nasi) and her mom (Black Jewel von Wolf Stamm) are &
were. Our goals and wishes were to have a great family pet, teach her
good manners, and to train her for protection. At this time those things
are coming nicely together as Steve is now in the process of working
with Kimi at his facility in Utah. She will be there for about 6 weeks.
(We miss her dearly right now).
We were also fortunate to become the
parents of 5 year old Black Jewel von Wolf Stamm. She became a member of
our family about 2 months ago and has been a wonderful addition as she
is so gentle, affectionate, well behaved, loves kids, trained for
obedience and carries several conformations and titles. She also came
from Steve @ FamilyDobes. She is our Kimi's mom.
If you are reading this you obviously
like the looks of the FamilyDobes dogs. Steve has been a mentor, he
calls you back, answers your questions, follows up with everything &
anything. He loves his work and it shows…………Just look at the end
results.
I
cannot say enough good things about Steve and Family Dobes. I had
always wanted a dobie and found Family Dobes through an internet
search. Steve happened to have the perfect male puppy to fit into our
family and get along with our 12 year-old golden retriever.
Our dobie,
named Blaser, after the German rifle manufacturer, came to us at the age
of 7 weeks. My husband, who did not want me to have one of those
“dangerous dogs,” after being cornered by two, snarling Dobermans when
he was in his late 20’s, relented and allowed me to get Blaser.
Blaser is
now 9 months old. We are working with a professional trainer and he has
been learning quickly. My goal is that Blaser will be a highly obedient,
family dog. My husband refers to him as a “600 horsepower,
turbo-charged” puppy.
These
pictures are of Blaser, at 10 weeks cuddling up to Chief (the old
golden), at 13 weeks after licking mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving and
at 8 ½ months on a walk with my husband. My husband describes his
experience this way: “Lizzy, it’s official, I’ve fallen in love with
your dog.”
Please
feel free to contact me via e-mail at
burleliz@earthlink.net if you have any questions for me about Family
Dobes. Elizabeth Burlew
We
purchased Zeus from Steve in June of 2007. Our original intention was
to use him as a Search and Rescue dog and perhaps Schutzhund. He is a
very intelligent dog that adjusted well to our environment in Colorado
Springs, Colorado. He went through 4 stages of obedience training
winning one blue ribbon for obedience. He was use for basic Search and
Rescue but has not continued when we moved to the desert of AZ, one year
ago Our main purpose for obtaining Zeus was to assist my wife through
her cancer recovery. He is her therapy dog, and what a companion he has
been. He is very protective of her and will sit between her and people
who confront her until she releases him at which time he sits on her
left side. He actually does the same for me. He loves long walks,
retrieving, swimming, socializing with other pets,people, in fact he
thinks he is a lap dog at 75 pounds of pure muscle. Much research was
done before we purchased from Family Dobes and Steve knows his
Dobermans! No question about it, Zeus is the finest Doberman we have
owned, he is our third. We can be reached at
herrzeus@gmail.com
Our
pup was born on
Valentine's
Day!
Roughly 7 weeks later
my husband flew from Massachusetts
to Utah to pick her up.
He spent the
day with Steve experiencing first
hand his commitment,
care and love
that
he has for his dogs
as well as
the training he provides them.
He observed
a Search and Rescue
class as well as Schutzhund
training sessions.
Later in the day he was able to see
firsthand the
Family Dobes Kennel facilities
including the whelping areas.
He
also
met
many of the dogs in the
magnificent Family
of Dobes.
In the end he
was more than impressed with the
man, his family and his
dogs.
He
left for the airport
feeling very confident about the pup and the home she had been
born. Our
pup
is a well balanced dog with an even temperament
and beautiful
structure.
Loving and admiring her is the easy
part but owning her and
training her requires a lot of
our time energy.
My husband says owning a
Doberman is
not for the faint of heart and spirit.
But like many things you get
what you pay for; and, more
importantly you get back what
you put into it.
We
are thrilled and captivated with Ruza.
She is lovable, smart, feisty and full of herself. In the short
amount of time we have had her we are beginning to reap the benefits
of our training and she has taken a special place in our hearts and
family .
We have had many email exchanges with
Steve prior to buying the pup and continue to ask
questions about
her progress on a regular
basis. His responses back are
always quick and to the point.
He
also enjoys
simply
hearing about her and
seeing her
latest pictures
and we believe he is there for
us in the long run.
Our
experience with Steve and Family Dobes
has been wonderful.
I am
inspired by his knowledge and love
for his dogs and
have great
plans
to bring our pup up to her amazing
potential. However,
with my next Family Dobes
pup you can be sure I will be the
one making the trip to Utah! I can be reached at
Bloom1432@gmail
Melinda
and Greg
Cohasset,
MA
July 19,
2010
We
purchased our puppy from Family Dobes located in Springville, Utah.
Though our puppy, Andre, is only four and a half months old right now, I
have been completely impressed with his willingness to obey and learn
his basic obedience. Though he is younger than our female puppy, he
picks up more quickly when we are working on his basic training. He
loves to be praised and often that is enough for him. He loves treats of
course, but he really responds well to a scratch behind the ears and
positive reinforcement. He is quite playful with our little kids (ages
7-months to 5 years old) and though he is still jumping every once in a
great while, he knows he needs to be a little more calm when he’s with
our little ones.
He no longer plays in our strawberry patch, for
which we are all quite grateful, and is even staying out of the rest of
the garden, for the most part. We have been working on that quite a bit
and he will usually take the path he is allowed to take to get through
the garden area to the other areas he’s trying to go.
On his conformation, this was one of the reasons
I really liked buying our puppy from Family Dobes. HE LOOKS EXACTLY THE
WAY A DOBERMAN SHOULD LOOK. I had been looking for about 18-months while
we were finishing our house and had looked quite extensively at
different breeders. One of the best parts about this kennel is their
dogs look correct. I have seen so many that just don’t quite look like
Doberman’s are supposed to look. They are too skinny or lanky or the
markings aren’t right, but these dogs were all exceptional. Anytime I
take Andre where there are a lot of people, I get comments on how good
he looks. I was camping with him a few weeks ago and he became the “camp
dog” as everyone came to know him during the week. I had a couple of
different people approach me and say they had Doberman’s in the past,
and that this puppy looked like one of the best they had ever seen. I
really can’t portray the amount of compliments I get when I’m out with
him. He is near perfect, just like his dad “Zenny.” He is already
developing a large, full chest, and he is so strong, at times it feels
like I’m working with a full-grown dog. He loves to go on the leash,
which we are working on, but when he pulls, he pulls!
Though I haven’t met Steve, the owner, I have
talked to him on several occasions and he is helpful and responsible.
Some kennels will give away the breeding rights without knowing if that
puppy is going to be right for breeding. Since Steve requires
health-testing and performance goals to be met, he is truly trying to
better the breed. I have seen so many parents that should never have
been bred because they are passing on genes of a dog that is losing the
proper characteristics that a Doberman should have.
I am excited for the road that lies ahead as we
continue working with Andre. I have loved Doberman’s since I was in
elementary school and that love and admiration is growing every day. So
many people have such a bad taste for Doberman’s as they are often
portrayed as viscous guard dogs, but I want people to see the
magnificent breed of dogs that these are. I truly believe this is the
best breed that there is, whether you’re looking for a loving, playful,
family-dog, or if you are looking for that protection dog. Doberman’s
will amaze you. When you think you’ve ‘house-proofed’ your home or
‘yard-proofed’ the yard, these dogs will outsmart you. They are truly
brilliant animals and Steve is only passing on the genes that have made
the Doberman what it is today.
I got my boy Nash from Steve two years ago
when Nash was 7 weeks old—and I can never say enough good things about
either of them to give a true picture of what they mean to me. Nash is
actually my 7th dobie—that is a lot of wonderful dogs—and my
first from a professional breeder. I think that Steve came into my life
because karmic forces made it happen—so many things fell into place and
I will forever be glad that they did.
My girl dobie had enough medical issues to fund a
small country so I had thought about finding a “real” breeder whenever I
got my next dog but was in no hurry since I had the most wonderful two
dogs already. Then my 12 year old boy died suddenly and my girl, who
despite being a medical black hole had been the most exuberantly joyful
dog I have ever known and a champion at agility, was lost. Her playmate
and best friend (besides me) was gone—and so was her joy and zest for
life. I began looking for a puppy but quickly realized that I knew no
more about pro breeders than I did breeders in local newspaper ads.
Then two unrelated people gave me Steve’s card within a couple of days.
He had just moved to Phoenix so had not been part of my previous
searches—and when I saw his web site I knew that he was special.
And he was—from the first time I talked with him he
was different from other breeders. Not only was he clearly dedicated to
his own dogs, he was concerned about my wonderful girl and understood
how much both she and I were suffering—and when I met him and saw his
puppiesall four litters of them—I knew I wanted one of his Dobermans.
Any further convincing was taken care of when his then 2 year old son
climbed in the pen with a day old litter and snuggled next to the
mom—and one of those infants became my Nash. Steve had puppies right
then and he needed help—then he broke his leg so needed even more
help—and girl dobie medical expenses had created cash issues for me—so
we were a match—I helped with two of his puppies while he survived the
rest of the puppies. Steve helped me find the perfect mix of future
agility dog and family dog and the sunshine came back to our world.
Nash is awesome—and it seems
everyone who sees him at least smiles and more often laughs—not because
he is funny looking (except when his ears fly out as he clears a jump)
but because he so happily goes through his life. He brought me back my
wonderful girl, restoring her joyful zest by running and playing and
letting her boss him around. He traveled with us to agility shows from
early puppyhood and kept her happy and entertained. Sadly my girl died
last October—that time Nash and I helped each other get through. Last
year over New Years I entered him in his first AKC trial—he was barely
legal age and for a big boy considered REALLY young since their brains
don’t fully arrive for awhile—but he was great then and now has official
letters after his name. Still, even when running a course he has the
gift of creating laughter—whether because his legs still fly wildly out
of control at times (still hasn’t quite grasped that they are always
attached) or because he has taken a detour to lean against the judge for
a bit mid course. He isn’t the most driven dog (although he did exhibit
prey drive for the first time recently when he discovered a skunk in the
yard) but is so happy to work for me that he has surpassed his peers at
earning titles for now—plus understands the importance of making the
judge feel loved. Most of all, he is just a wonderful boy who makes my
life richer.
Steve left Phoenix after a living here a little
over a year—I think he was just here long enough for us to meet and form
a connection. Nash gets to be am ambassador for Family Dobes since
everywhere we go I am asked where I got such a wonderful dog (don’t
worry, Steve--if he is bad I make up some other breeder’s name)—I feel
truly blessed by meeting Steve—I would without question recommend him
and his dogs. Feel free to contact me any time at
drbetsyg@aol.com
In
late 2008 I lost my thirteen year old Doberman”Chewbacca” to health
complications. Finally my wife and I were in the position to add to the
family. We considered a rescue; unfortunately we have other small pets
and determined a puppy may be the safest transition. I spent several
weeks and dozens of phone calls, looking across the country for the
right breeder and litter.
One
day I came across the familydobes website. After reading it for about
two hours, I decided to give Steve a call. What struck me the most is he
wasn’t giving me a sales pitch or trying to push his puppies. He was
simply being very open, honest and eager to share knowledge about the
breed. Shortly after my initial introduction with Steve I knew my
search for the right breeder was over. I filled out his application
witch lead to a more formal interview, insuring that we were right for
one of Steve’s dogs. We have no intention of ever pursuing advanced
training in any specific field to create a “working dog”. We were just
looking to add a loyal family companion. At this point Steve put our
application on file and we waited for the litter that would best fit our
family.
It
was only a few short months when I saw the pairing that we were hoping
for Farra and Zenny. During the pregnancy and after the birth it
quickly became apparent how much extra effort Steve puts into his dogs.
The ability for my wife and I to be able to watch daily from our home
was so exciting. Every day before and after work we would login to see
how the puppies were doing. For the first few weeks there was
constantly a sitter looking after the puppies wellbeing, at the same
time acclimating them to humans. Before we knew it the time had come to
pick a puppy. Steve had made the recommendation from the puppies’
personalities and we trusted it 100%.
Two
weeks later My Wife and I made the seven hundred mile road trip from
southern California to meet Steve and his dogs in person. Steve had been
out training with some of the dogs all day. When he returned home he
truly went above and beyond, spending hours away from his family. Steve
went well into his personal time to meet with us; he showed us his
facility and dogs. After some demonstrations with the adults, he brought
out our puppy, we then spent another hour just sitting and talking while
Lily explored her new surroundings.
In
April of 2010 our family was fortunate to be joined by Lily, a seven
week old bundle of energy and love. Lily is now almost nine months old
and is growing fast. She had done very well in basic puppy obedience
class. Her favorite things to do are chasing tennis balls and digging
holes at the beach. Lily has the biggest heart we could have hoped for.
It is easy to see that with her drive and energy Lily would have been a
great candidate for any type of advanced training another owner may have
selected. She absolutely loves every person, dog, cat and bird that she
has ever met. Socializing her was a simple natural progression. We are
fortunate to live in an area that is very accepting of dogs. Lily joins
us at most restaurants and she can play daily either at the beach or in
the mountains, some days both. Lily has become a great ambassador for
the breed. It is simply amazing the reactions she receives. People have
stopped their cars to come pet the most beautiful Doberman they’d ever
seen. Other Doberman owners have admitted their envy for Lily’s physique
and markings.
After we received Lily from Steve our relationship still continues. He
has always been available for questions or concerns, even at off hours
“thank you Steve”. We also receive periodic updates by email. I am more
than happy to tell everyone where I got Lily. I am also certain that my
next dog will be from Steve.
To
Those Who Are Looking For a Great Doberman/Breeder:
I felt compelled to write this note on behalf of
those in the market looking for a great Doberman...
If you are in the market, no doubt you started
via the internet. And if you have been on the internet researching
Dobermans, you are most likely as confused as I was which is why I am
writing you this note...
Every breeder I found online and had an
interest in, I would conduct a search on "user experience" or
"reviews". What I found was shocking. For every good thing one
individual had to say, there were two others who had the opposite
experience. It became clear these reviews were tainted by competing
breeders or those posting emotional comments/responses with no
supporting data. With that in mind, I knew I would not be able to use
these internet reviews as a component of my evaluation process so I
started dialing.
I cannot tell you the exact number of breeders
I spoke with but it was many. I selected Steve Parsons (Family
Dobermans) and could not be happier with my decision. Steve was the
one breeder who could not share enough with me about his dogs and
returned every phone call promptly. He answered my every question and
more importantly took the time to understand my diligence in selecting a
dog and breeder given I had just lost my beloved dobie Sam to cancer.
He loves the Doberman breed and his passion come through in the dogs he
breeds...
He delivered on his promise of a true
partnership when the first dog I received from him did not work out. I
bought an 11 month old puppy named Heika from Steve and she was
everything he had promised she would be. She was house trained,
beautiful, athletic and fantastic with my three young children. The
only problem was my smooth fox terrier would not accept Heika into our
home and would attack her on occasion.
After speaking with Steve about this issue, we
mutually agreed that Heika would not work out and arranged an exchange
for one of his newborn puppys. This wasn't written in a contract, Steve
did this because it was the right thing to do for all. To me, those
actions speaks volumes about an individual you are considering when
evaluating a breeder!
We are now the happy owner of "Mac"...She is
now a 5 month old black female who loves to play with my kids and
Drew(Smooth Fox Terrier). I enjoy watching them all play in the
backyard and am thankful for what we have in her and the
partnership/friendship we have built with Steve Parsons.
I would highly recommend Family Dobermans to
anybody who shares the love and commitment we do for the breed.
Best Regards,
Chris Urbancic
Wilson started professional training last week
and I wanted to share a story with you that should make you smile and
feel proud. I found a guy that trains the local police dogs and I met
with him about doing some obedience/protection training for Wilson. His
wife is also a trainer and dobie fanatic but he works mainly with
shepherds. He sits me down and gives me the disclaimer about how dobies
typically don't do as well with the "working" sports and compares the
ones he has worked with to "arabian horses". Being a quarter horse guy,
he tells me thats why he prefers the GSD but says he could probably get
Wilson to bark on command and have an intimidating presence. I just
smile and nod my head. "Have you ever worked with one of Steve Parsons
dogs?" I ask. No he hasn't. Again, I nod and smile. By the end of the
first session, I could tell he has a little surprised by Wilson's
boldness and focus. I could see him starting to test Wilson a bit to
see if he was spookish. His final comment of the day was "This guy
doesn't back down from anything does he?" Still smiling, I tell him,
"nope." We had our second session this evening. He introduced Wilson to
the tug and Wilson was focused, driven and not letting go for
nothin'. The harder he pulled Wilson, the
harder Wilson pulled back.
Once we're done, he's grinning from ear to ear
and says to me "make sure you write down his breeders website for me
before you leave. I really like this dog. I gotta get my wife one of
these."
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Kida
is our first doberman. At 8 months old now she is more than we could
have hoped for. She is doing wonderful at "puppy circle" showing off
her powerful bite. And most recently we have found out she is a natural
for tracking. Kida is a perfect family dog, friendly, and insistent she
sleeps under the covers in bed every night! We are inpatiently waiting
to begin her Schutzhund training, and eager to see her in action. Matt
& Michelle Monroe, .jpg)
Our
pup was born on
Valentine's
Day!
Roughly 7 weeks later
my husband flew from Massachusetts
to Utah to pick her up.
He spent the
day with Steve experiencing first
hand his commitment,
care and love
that
he has for his dogs
as well as
the training he provides them.
We
purchased our puppy from Family Dobes located in Springville, Utah.
Though our puppy, Andre, is only four and a half months old right now, I
have been completely impressed with his willingness to obey and learn
his basic obedience. Though he is younger than our female puppy, he
picks up more quickly when we are working on his basic training. He
loves to be praised and often that is enough for him. He loves treats of
course, but he really responds well to a scratch behind the ears and
positive reinforcement. He is quite playful with our little kids (ages
7-months to 5 years old) and though he is still jumping every once in a
great while, he knows he needs to be a little more calm when he’s with
our little ones.
I got my boy Nash from Steve two years ago
when Nash was 7 weeks old—and I can never say enough good things about
either of them to give a true picture of what they mean to me. Nash is
actually my 7th dobie—that is a lot of wonderful dogs—and my
first from a professional breeder. I think that Steve came into my life
because karmic forces made it happen—so many things fell into place and
I will forever be glad that they did.
Nash is awesome—and it seems
everyone who sees him at least smiles and more often laughs—not because
he is funny looking (except when his ears fly out as he clears a jump)
but because he so happily goes through his life. He brought me back my
wonderful girl, restoring her joyful zest by running and playing and
letting her boss him around. He traveled with us to agility shows from
early puppyhood and kept her happy and entertained. Sadly my girl died
last October—that time Nash and I helped each other get through. Last
year over New Years I entered him in his first AKC trial—he was barely
legal age and for a big boy considered REALLY young since their brains
don’t fully arrive for awhile—but he was great then and now has official
letters after his name. Still, even when running a course he has the
gift of creating laughter—whether because his legs still fly wildly out
of control at times (still hasn’t quite grasped that they are always
attached) or because he has taken a detour to lean against the judge for
a bit mid course. He isn’t the most driven dog (although he did exhibit
prey drive for the first time recently when he discovered a skunk in the
yard) but is so happy to work for me that he has surpassed his peers at
earning titles for now—plus understands the importance of making the
judge feel loved. Most of all, he is just a wonderful boy who makes my
life richer. 
To
Those Who Are Looking For a Great Doberman/Breeder: