Sammy at One Year

Sammy's mom Liz sent me some wonderful photos of their boy at one year old and I'm happy to finally have time to post them! About Sammy, Liz writes:

"He really is a good boy. Well, he's a lover at least. We had to go through and Sammy-proof the house. He can open anything, quietly. He is a ninja. Any door, any cabinet, and fence gate unless it has been fitted with a dead bolt or slide lock. Thank goodness he does not have opposable thumbs.

An exterminator came to the house the other day just as we were finishing a walk. He would not get out of the truck until Sammy was put up, telling me that German shepherds did not like him. So, my mom took Sammy to the back yard while I talked to the guy. About 10 seconds later, Sammy tore into the entry hall, and leaned up against the guy, tongue hanging out, seeking pats. The dog is not shy.

That being said, if someone is not invited by us, he puffs up like a cat and starts stalking them until we give them the green light. I have seen it only a few times, but it is then that I remember he is someone to take seriously. He is usually such a big loveable goofball.

He has been an awesome addition to the family. He really is perfect for us. We are getting ready to go to the beach and he knows it - its all he can do to suppress his excitement."

Sammy's training center sent a report card that Liz forwarded to us!

We think that Sammy has grown into a very handsome guy, and are thankful that he's such a wonderful fit for his family! Thanks to Liz for giving "little" Boomer (at around 115 pounds now!) a great home!!

Bullet McNab at One Year

When the pups turned a year I asked for people to send me photos and also a story or testimonial if they felt they could. Here is the story I received from Kristen, who owns Bullet McNabb. Bullet was the smallest male (he is now 110 pounds!) and I felt that he had one of the best temperaments in the litter.

"A third bulldog just came into our lives.

She was a puppy mill dog (stupid people trying to breed a miniature bulldog), sold to an owner who badly abused and starved her. After carefully feeding her you can still count her ribs!

She is also deaf and emotionally scarred.

I'm a teacher of the deaf and decided to take her on, I just couldn't let her go to a home that didn't know about the effort ( medical, emotional and time) it would take to turn her life around.

When I got her, she was afraid of everything. She had never been around other dogs before. She had been left in a filthy cage. It goes on and on. I did what you told me to do with McNab, I tied her to me and when she wasn't tied to me she was tied to one of the bulls.

This advice worked well on McNab, but it saved this small bulldog. Within 2 days she calmed, within a week she started putting on weight and stopped showing food aggression.

Within 2 weeks she has started to learn how to be a dog and guess who is teaching her....her favorite dog in the world...not the bulls! McNab! She always tries to sleep with him, be by him, play with him.

We slowly introduced her to my daycare. This as a wonderful place that has up to 20 dogs running around 10 acres. She never left McNab's side and if the other dogs got out of line, McNab let them know and protected her (by the way her name is Peabody). Now she runs with the pack, but always near McNab.

It's amazing, he is teaching her how to be a dog!

How McNab's handles her emotional turmoil is to put his mouth over her neck and gently hold her, she calms right away!

This situation has really showcased how wonderful McNab really is, and how incredibly smart...McNab is amazing!

Peabody wasn't what I wanted or expected but that isn't always the point. She needed us and she needed McNab!

I feel McNab looks at me and says "Not another bulldog! You promised me another shepherd!" But then he picks up a stick and entices her to play.

This big wonderful dog that tries to sit in my lap and smashes me, is the most wonderful dog in the world! And now I have a bulldog that thinks she is a Shiloh Shepherd!"

A couple days back, Kristen sent me the following update with the photos I've included above. :)

"I've been trying to get pictures of McNab and the 3 bulldogs playing. The difference in size makes everything so funny.

He will be standing ready for the attack and they just go under him.

He will fall down and they all pile on him and all 4 roll down the hill.

My little deaf bull has finally learned how to be a dog and there is no doubt she and McNab have bonded tightly. They will play and then just fall over together and sleep.

What fun."

We at Sparta are pretty dang proud of Bullet McNab. :) And many, many thanks to Kristen and her husband who have given him such a wonderful home!

The Boys - 8 to 10 Months!

Hello again, everyone! Our puppy people have been awesome about sending us photos, and we thought you would enjoy an update with some of our favorites from eight to ten months. :) First we'll do the boys, then the girls later this month.

Without further ado, here's Sammy! Sammy has grown to be a real monster, 106 pounds at nine months--and he's super-handsome too! Here he is with his girl at around eight months:

And with his boy, at 9 months:

Sammy takes up pretty much the entire back seat of their truck now...

Aslan has been going to the shows with his sister Blazie, and has gotten several Best-of-Breed awards and Herding Group placements! We think he's turning out to be a very good-looking boy, and was almost 90 pounds at 9 months. I couldn't resist adding in some photos from a little earlier, of Aslan with his girl Leah--they are so cute!

Here are some photos of Aslan from the Hutto IABCA show in February. We love the reddish color in his coat; he gets that from his grandsire, Warba, and his great-grandsire Storm. :)

Next is Bullet! Wow is he turning out to be an athletic, great-looking dog. He reminds us a lot of Kyrie's brother Chester, with his golden coloring and striking markings! His family is having a ball training him, and they got some awesome photos for us!

And finally Baxter--stuck up in still-frozen New York! It's a good thing Shilohs LOVE snow (his sister Blazie is sure jealous)! His mom Jessica says that Baxter is turning into a real tank. We can't wait to see him in person this summer!

Thanks for reading, everyone! We hope you've enjoyed our update of the Kyrie/Piston boys at 8-10 months!!

Strauss Haus Baxter at 7 months!

Jessica sent along some new pictures of Baxter (formerly Blue Boy, Baker) at seven months, so I thought I would post them here! He looks a LOT like his momma Kyrie, and obviously enjoys all the snow they just got in New York!

Pups at Six Months!

Well we FINALLY got time to do an update! Welcome to the Kyrie/Piston litter at six months. :) All of these photos were taken between four and six months, though most are very recent. We hope you enjoy seeing how the pups are doing in their new homes! Thanks to everyone for sending photos and the great comments on how the pups are doing. :)

RED COLLAR BOY SAMMY (PREVIOUSLY BOOMER)

Sammy lives down near Houston. He goes to all sorts of places with his family, including riding in the golf cart! He appears to be the tallest of the pups so far (he has been biggest since eight weeks) judging from the photos. His mom Liz says, "It's amazing how good he is at such a young age - no barking, no digging, no jumping up on people, brave and social but he understands where we draw the line. We get so many comments from people on how good, smart, good looking he is. He is flat out a great dog."

BROWN COLLAR BOY ASLAN (PREVIOUSLY BROWNIE) Aslan lives south of us by a few hours with his family. He is very bonded to his three kids and mom Diana! Aslan got his first point toward his Puppy Championship a couple months back and we are hoping that he'll continue to do well in the ring! His mom, Diana, says that Aslan is great with kids and people he doesn't know. He was always a tail-wagging friendly pup!

BLUE BOY BAXTER (PREVIOUSLY BAKER)

Baker has settled into his place in New York at the new home of Strauss Haus Shepherds! He loves to play with "the girls" including Elektra, Kalamity, and Dutchess. He is mostly in motion, so Jessica didn't get shots that weren't blurry...but hopefully you get the idea! She says he is very solid and broad, especially for his age! He may be the heaviest pup even if he is not as leggy as Sammy. :)

WHITE BOY BULLET MCNABB

Bullet lives up north and east a ways with his new mom and dad and two bulldogs. Lately he has also had his mom Kristen's son's lab pup to play with--err, chew on? Kristen says that he is coming along very well and that they can see him turning into an amazing dog. And a photogenic one--we always thought he had a nice head, and he's sure turning out handsome!

PURPLE GIRL BENELLI (THE RAVENOUS BELLI)

Belli lives very close to us in Lake Dallas and comes over for play-dates with her sister, mom, and half-siblings! :) It is wonderful to be able to see her grow up. Her family is very much in love with her and her mom Lisa sends me frequent updates. Now if only they could get her to stop eating everything in sight (fat chance, Belli says!)!

PINK GIRL BLAZIE

Blazie is still with us at Sparta Shilohs and growing up into a wonderful girl with an absolutely perfect temperament! She has started her illustrious show career off on a good paw with two big rosettes already, and is about to start her health testing to see if she will be carrying on the Sparta tradition in a year and a half or so!

You can see more Blazie at six months photos over at her blog: Sparta's Blaze of Glory! We hope you enjoyed our update, everyone! All the pups are doing great and we are so thankful for the wonderful families they have found. :) Tune in next time to see more on how they've grown!!