Stalworth Kennels
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We, Lydia and Manuel, had lost our beautiful German Shepherd (GS), Marena, to a congenital kidney disorder at the age of only four. When we said that we wanted to get another GS, our former obedience trainer suggested we look for breeders of European working dogs, because we would have a better chance of finding a sound specimen. Lydia scoured the literature and searched the net, and came up with Stalworth Kennels, one that appeared to be a model kennel and one that had suitable available pups and young dogs. Lydia fell in love with 16-week old Bretta on the Stalworth website, while Manuel was more tentative. We arranged to visit the kennel near Cornwall, found that it was exactly as described on the website, and we liked what we saw. After a pleasant and informative seven-hour visit with the Woolley family and their dogs, we decided to bring Bretta von Stalworth home, armed with lots of good advice and information. The ten-hour trip went well, but we immediately faced disaster after we got home. We had decided initially to keep Bretta in the kitchen – the only room without carpets. Little did we consider that Bretta may not want to stay in the kitchen and that Max, the cat, would tease and incite our athletic new puppy. After some commotion, Bretta ended up on a tall cupboard and, later, on the kitchen counter. To keep the peace, Lydia slept with Bretta on the kitchen floor while Manuel recovered from the long drive in bed, oblivious to the world. The next day, Bretta - who became Bibi and then BiBi - settled in quickly and seemed content to stay in the kitchen and in the course of the next few days she also got used to us. However; BiBi was unresponsive on her first visits to puppy school and to the vet’s. We figured that she was being overwhelmed by novel stimuli and that she needed experiences in many different settings and with many people and dogs. After extensive socialization in malls, parks and with friends, she became very comfortable everywhere and showed only an initial brief reluctance when first meeting dogs and people. When we felt that she was house-trained (10 days without accident in the kitchen), she was allowed to live with us in the rest of the house. Almost immediately, she responded more positively to us with more tail wagging and interest and curiosity in what we were doing. . She also played more, and more actively, and generally seemed much more enthusiastic about life. We realized then that we had probably made her somewhat depressed by keeping her in the kitchen, where she was isolated at least some of the time. Now the positive changes we had first seen after we had begun socialization increased even more. She did better at school, and was sometimes even asked to demonstrate skills to the rest of the class. She has become a great and quite reliable walking/hiking companion both on the leash and off who is easily recalled almost 100 % of the time. Rather than mainly chasing the cat, she tends to play with him. She meets people comfortably, and enjoys playing and running with other dogs. She retrieves the ball and Frisbee ever more reliably. She is a very smart and emotionally stable pup. In one short month, BiBi has become a worthy successor to our late beloved Marena. We feel that much of the credit for this goes to her breeding and to her early background at the Stalworth Kennels.
(Above photos: July 2006, show BiBi at 7mths of age) 22 November 2006;
Six months with BiBi, the success story continues...... BiBi is now just over ten months old and has been with us for six. She was spayed shortly after her sixth month. A recent PennHIP test showed no sign of hip dysplasia, and that she was unlikely to develop that condition in the future. Currently she stands about 24 inches at the withers and weighs about 60 pounds. BiBi has made good progress in her training since our last report. She has been a consistently willing and eager pupil, and now responds reliably to a number of commands, including “Come”, “Sit”, “Stay”, “Down”, “Wait”, “Do it”, “Going home” (she returns to the house with her ball or Frisbee), “Heel” (both on and off leash), “Loose” (freedom to use the whole length of the leash without pulling), “Hop” (to jump onto something or into the car), “Pfui”, etc. She also responds well to recalls even at longer distances (30 – 100 meters). However, her recall performance deteriorates when in hot pursuit of deer, wild turkeys, or squirrels. We will enter BiBi into classes next year to make sure that her training sticks - even when there are distractions, such as other dogs, animals or people. She continues to be a delightful walking and hiking companion. She has become more coordinated and chases and retrieves a ball with more skill and enthusiasm than when she was a little pup. She also retrieves a Flying-Squirrel Frisbee, much of the time catching it in the air. BiBi would probably make a great tracking dog, because she is able to sniff out hidden goodies very quickly. However, her wonderful sense of smell occasionally distracts her from what she is doing and helps her find things we wish she wouldn't. Like a small child, she puts everything in her mouth and sometimes this makes her sick to her stomach. We have been able to control this behaviour by keeping a closer eye on her when on our walks, but we expect and hope that she will fully outgrow it. BiBi has continued to be a very friendly dog who gets along with people of all ages and sizes, and who also gets along and plays well with any dog she has met, be they a dachshund pup, young and mature viszlas, a young lab, or a full sized poodle. Melanie and Peter have been like wonderful godparents to BiBi. We have been in fairly consistent contact, with us sharing pictures of our baby, and with Melanie answering queries and making helpful suggestions about managing and training our energetic puppy. Too often we expected Bibi to respond perfectly. As it is, at ten months, BiBi is almost as consistent as our former dog, while showing more joy and energy. In summary, we are very happy with BiBi who has remained lovable and playful but who has become a well-mannered young lady, with only occasional outbursts of over-exuberance.
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