~ World Class Working German Shepherds from the Mission Valley ~

SAPPHIRE SHEPHERDS NEWS

~AUGUST 2010~

~JULY 2010~

We have lost  a couple of very fine stud dogs this summer, Balli earlier in June and Lary Bret-Bett in July.  Lary was killed in an accident. I will remember Lary for his "larger-than-life" persistent personality, and his great enthusiasm for all areas of work. Rest in peace great Lary Dec 20, 2000 - July 2010.

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A photo taken during a recent 18 mile hike in Glacier National Park, MT.  No dogs, but a wonderful experience it was!

~JUNE 2010~

Another very positive report on the Santo / Foxi (Jetta's mother) litter:                                                            Recent email from Mr. Chafe, owner of a Santo / Foxi pup in Canada:                                                            I have a female pup from the Santo x Foxi litter and am very happy to say she has it all!! I have trained dogs in the Schutzhund sport for 10 years or so and have started the pup on the beginning steps she learns fast. She is a very out going pup I don't know if it is careless or fearless. I have never had a Czech dog before and I do see some differences between the German dogs. Would you be so kind as to enlighten me on any major difference so that I do not get caught of guard?  Thank You, Graham

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Rest in peace great Balli.  July 10,1996 - June 2010.

Balli Panta Rei, 2005 at Sapphire Shepherds

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A couple nice e-mail's from working owners ( members of sport clubs ) of my recent Natasha / Mambo litter:

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~FEBRUARY 2010~

The Donner's of von Feldhaus, Canada stopped in this month to breed their Foxi to Santo. I enjoyed their visit and hope they soon have a nice litter on the ground.

~JANUARY 2010~

Below is a very kind email received from a possible future client on the west coast.  This gentleman is experienced with the German Shepherd breed.   I had to smile when I read his requests in a pup, he is like all the rest of us, searching for that "perfect" German Shepherd.  I "thank" him for his support and appreciation of my work and hope to come "close" to fulfilling all of his requests soon.

Dear Ramona,

I'm writing to tell you of my continued interest and appreciation for your excellence in German Shepherd breeding, especially in your understanding and ability to produce strong, indomitable and incorruptible Breed Character in your dogs - a Working Character that goes far beyond Schutzhund scores.

I was delighted to see one of your dogs pictured on the cover of the March/April 2009 WDA Magazine. These dog's exude in a natural setting a wonderful sense of spontaneity, aliveness and happiness.

Needless to say, keep me in your thoughts for a future male puppy - balanced drives, (especially for the home), a strong self-assured disposition, a working discriminating intelligence, and a versatility of training abilities - with heavy bone, very dark sable or, bi-color with dark eyes, and as close to a V-conformation as we can get.

Lastly, in the current supermarket of every conceivable marketable type of German Shepherd Dog, including, the steady loss and deterioration of the remaining East German Dogs, I know of no other breeding program, or breeder other than yourself, that has stayed the course as true to the von Stephanitz "blueprint."

Stay in touch,

Ron

~OCTOBER  2009~

NATASHA of Sapphire Mountain passed her AKC Tracking Dog TD title  in Lincoln, MT.  Natasha completed her title track flawlessly, with praise from the Judges. Natasha is trained and handled by her breeder, Ramona Helmer.

~JULY 2009~

Czar has been able to spend some time with me this month and I have started him in tracking.  Czar works with a very deep nose, is methodical and demonstrates very good intensity to his tracking.  Not real surprising when you study how his parents work and what they have produced in their offspring.  I have enjoyed again spending time with Czar and plan on a litter from him in late 2009 and/or early 2010.

OK Mark Miller!   Here you go- per your request more photos of your and (my) favorite dog's,  Rocky and  Balli's son Czar.  I also changed my offspring page to reflect that you own 6 not 5 of my dogs-sorry getting older-memory is shrinking:). And we will all try our best here to get you that "perfect" Balli/Czar look-a-like male soon.  You have good taste in dogs Mark and I hope to change that 6 to a 7 real soon:)

Rocky-July 2009 - Still enjoying life at 11 - 1/2 years old!

Czar & Jetta                                                      Czar & Brook

Czar & Brook                                                     Czar 

Czar & Jetta                                                          Czar

Flame & Czar

Brook, another passionate tracker and joyful worker like her parents Rocky / Ajsa :) Brook is  working 2  plus hour old tracks with solid  article indication. Hopefully working our way to a tracking title soon...

Below are photos of Flame, a young female from Lary Bret-Bett and Ajsa.  Flame is still early in her training, but demonstrates a love for tracking, similar to both her parents. She is methodical and tracks with a deep nose, except for that darn distraction of a cat who takes great pleasure in messing with Flames head!  See photos below.  Anyway, I am attempting to prepare Flame for a title in tracking hopefully late next year if my time allows.

darn cat distraction.........

OK , back to work

A nice email all breeders like to receive: Hi Ramona,  Hope this note finds you well! GREAT NEWS!!!  We had Doogan (BRTA TOMUV SEN v Navar Hronovsky` pramen "D" litter) x-rayed this week to make sure his growth plates were closed before neutering.  We also had his hips and elbows x-rayed for a preliminary view. His hips and elbows were BEAUTIFUL! Just a testament to the sound working dogs you are breeding! Thanks again Ramona for your conscientious breeding practices!  Best regards, Karen & Tom Murray Crete, Illinois
 

~JUNE 2009~

Busy-Busy- Busy working dogs, playing with puppies and children and trying to grow a garden... hope to post photos up soon and hope you all are out doing the same!

Below is an email you may be interested in reading.  It gives us some idea of what a blind, Dog Guide handler/trainer experiences with a young dog in training.  We all enjoyed reading this here at the kennel- hope you do also-Ramona.

      Email received 5-26-09 from Khanh; owner/trainer of Griet (Mambo/Natasha), Dog Guide in training;

7:57 AM, “Aren’t they better trained than that?” asked the skeptical and ignorant courtesy clerk as my seven-month old German Shepherd’s nose thoroughly explored the ground around her. She then spun around as someone with a cart full of groceries came up behind us.

“She isn’t they,” I answered. “She is her own individual being and can’t be compared to another dog.”

I then told my young and seemingly rambunctious dog: “Griet, sit.”

Griet completely ignored me; something in another direction caught her attention and she turned to watch, curious as a typical dog of her age was, but also assessing everything around her, as is in her personality.

I knew I was getting some raised eyebrows and strange looks, and I tried hard to ignore people’s judgment; this was a store where all the employees knew me and many wondered what happened to my black Lab Golden Retriever cross, a seasoned and calm dog who was perfect in their eyes because she always did her job well and never made mistakes—that they saw, anyway.

I managed to get Griet to keep a “Sit/rest” for two minutes while I quickly paid for the few items I purchased. When they were securely stowed in my backpack, I picked up the harness handle and commanded, “Griet, right. Outside.”

Griet took off like a dog out of hell. A few paces later, she stopped and much to my dismay, her nose was rapidly sniffing someone’s cart. Administering a verbal “pfui!”, I repeated my command. She pulled me around the man and his cart, darting a backward glance as we passed. The man chuckled and I felt my cheeks catch on fire.

We made it to the door and I praised Griet, though I silently muttered death threats and was ready to strangle her. Once outside, I began to direct Griet toward our home using the commands “left”, “right”, and “forward”. Away from the store full of bustling shoppers, screaming kids, and constantly moving carts, Griet was more focused, falling into the role as my guide and leaving her puppy curiosity behind.

She wove me effortlessly between shopping carts, potted plants, piles of newspapers, boxes of water melons, telephone poles, and probably other things I was not aware of. When a lady called out to her, Griet barely gave the woman a glance; she was on a mission, and she was not going to stop until the mission was accomplished.

She stopped at every curb with perfect precision, turned at all the right places, and I felt as though the sidewalk was flying beneath me. This was the first time we had done this route and I had not used my cane at all, though it hung loosely in my right hand in its folded state.

All the embarrassment, frustration, and humiliation left me, and a feeling of pure joy and complete unity filled me. For during that walk, I was not Griet’s teacher, and she my dog in training, I was her charge and she was my eyes. It was up to me to give her the directions, and I was trusting her to keep me safe.

Even after ten years of working with a dog guide, I have never stopped marveling at the partnership that develops between my dog and me. How can I explain that it is truly an interdependent relationship, that we are both reliant on one another, and that at times, it seems we communicate telepathically because we are so attuned to each other? That when the partnership must end, it is like half of me just died?

Pillowing her head on my arm later that night, I listened to Griet’s soft breathing and smiled. I toyed with a pointy ear and it twitched under my touch.

“Hey pal,” I whispered. “You’re already well on your way to being the first Sapphire Shepherds  dog guide, you know that? What do you say? If we can get you to stop woofing at other dogs…”

She sighed. Unable to resist, I leaned over and kissed her nose, then gave her a hug. She hurrumphed and began to squirm vigorously. In another ten seconds if I did not release her, the hurrumphs would turn into squawks of protest.

“Ah well. You’re not a snuggler. But I guess one can’t always have it all, huh pal?”

In answer, Griet hopped off the bed, shook herself, then flopped on the floor in her favorite spot by my bedroom door. A minute later, she was fast asleep.

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~MAY 2009~
 

Last fall I was contacted by Ms. Hoang for a young Dog Guide prospect to be owner trained.  My first concern was being able to provide a pup with the correct drive level for this specific type of work. The solid nerves and trainability I knew would be no problem.  My next concern was the ability of Ms. Hoang to train her own dog guide, as her previous 2 dog guides were program trained.  I also questioned if she would lead an active enough lifestyle to be able to keep one of my pups mental and physical needs met being completely blind.  Through months of emails, and phone calls Ms. Hoang addressed all my concerns, demonstrated a very solid understanding of dog behavior and training skills, determination, commitment and intelligence, much like the pup I selected for her, Griet a daughter of my Mambo / Natasha "G" litter. Griet remained with me through 6 months until recently when Ms. Hoang visited our kennel and took her back to California to start training her. Below is a photo taken before we left for the airport.  I told Ms. Hoang it shows a beautiful owner with a beautiful dog.  I am sure you will agree; 

Below are a few words and an email I have received on Griet. I feel this is yet another testament not only to the German Shepherd breed, but to Mambo and Natasha's genetics. Sound nerves and the ability to be trained and used in a variety of real life situations. This is how the German Shepherd should be bred!. Griet is the first dog from my breeding program I have selected for dog guide work. There is much training ahead she has yet to master. I will keep you posted on how she progresses. After 1 week,  Ms. Hoang is reporting that Griet is;

"demonstrating a willingness to learn guide work"                                                                                                       "has already demonstrated that she has a very very basic understanding of guiding me and has started automatically stopping at some of the major curbs"                                                                                                                          "We went on a two-mile walk today and there were birds, other dogs, and probably squirrels. Griet didn’t lunge or go after them; she has a tendency to go into grass and bushes, and being a puppy still, her attention darts everywhere at once" "There were also cars that zoomed past us, some of them coming so close that Griet could have touched them with her nose. She was completely unfazed and at my encouragement, kept going"                                                              

Email received on; 5-9-09: "Last evening, we went for a walk around the block. The purpose was to walk in a straight line and to not sniff every time she saw a patch of grass. With the harness on, Griet feels a sense of purpose so she’s actually pretty good at keeping me in a straight line. In the beginning of our walk, Griet wanted to go after the grass, oh did she ever! But as the walk progressed and with redirecting her attention, she started to get better. There were two barking dogs we had to pass by: One behind a fence to our right and another on a tie-down or a long leash across the street and to our left. Griet completely ignored them and got lots of praise for her very good response. When we turned around to go back, I said: “Griet, let’s go home.” (This is a command that I have formally taught my previous dogs.) I’ve been saying it to Griet because she’s the kind of dog who absorbs things like a sponge; I can see this dog becoming very good at generalizing. As we got closer to home, Griet’s pull began to increase. Suddenly before my cane could tell me where we were, Griet made a sharp left, so sharply that I stumbled and nearly fell… Anyone wanna guess where we were? If you guessed home, you get a nice bullystick. It’s really amazing. She has a lot of growing up to do, but in many areas, Griet is way ahead of program-trained dog guides at her age. I mean, the program-trained pups don’t get introduced to a harness until they’re a year and a half. They’re not taught curb awareness until they leave their raisers’ homes and go back to the schools. When getting out of vehicles, Griet doesn’t sit bolt upright as soon as the door opens and go nuts to get out; she waits for me to go first, then call her. When she hops out, it is very calmly. She assesses her surroundings with calm curiosity. But OMG, does she have a pull! And once she gets going, that’s where her energy comes out. We’ll keep going, though. When she’s a little further along, I’ll teach Griet that she needs to start being aware of others’ movements and where we are in relation to them. (The other day in a grocery store, Griet was happily pulling along when a shopping cart passed by on her left. She sort of hopped inside the bottom of the cart for a few steps, then hopped out as if nothing happened.) I don’t think Griet is “better” than my previous dogs. But working with her, I’m learning that I need to approach training a little differently and go at her pace, not the pace I planned, which was much slower."             Khanh

Griet at 4 months.

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Below are several recent emails I have received on our pups.  The first is in regards to a solid black Lary/Ajsa male FALCON. This male resides very close to me.  If all continues to look good with him (health/temp/drive) there is the possibility of training/titling him and bringing his genetics back into our program.

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LARY / AJSA son:    Hi Ramona, Just got back from town and a sending you some pictures I took of Falcon. Bottom 2 are just to show you how strong boned, and wide this 8 month old pup is. Not good shots, but you can get an idea of what a good looking boy you sold me. He is every bit as good as my old Thunder was, who won every show he was ever entered in, from the time he was 8 months on, to the time I finished him in 3 majors for his Championship. in one photo, Falcon sent on a retrieve and the next photo is of him returning the stick to me. This pup has  a fantastic head, strong over the top line, even width throughout his body. He tracks well,  bite is strong, and  he is not cow hocked but, spaced evenly all throughout his entire body. Front end as pretty as the rear. He is a beauty in every way. He is deep, wide and I think quite a handsome fellow.
Thank you so much for breeding such a fine animal. If you can use any of these please do,  Hugs-Pat

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MAMBO / RHEA son:   Hi Ramona, Just an update. Erik's progress is excellent. I'm still training with a flat collar. Yesterday he "helped" me with some fencing and picked up a piece of metal gate hardware. I tossed it a couple of times and he retrieved it with bounce. Most dogs don't like to pick up metal. He didn't seem to notice any difference. His SchH training is going great.

I do have some great pictures of our doggie camp in February. Will do some picking and choosing and try to get them to you in the next few days.

In other news, my homebred from my one and only litter, George (High Five Bad to the Bone CD, BH), got his SchH 1 on 4/4/09. His brother High Five Bobby Goren got his BH at the same trial. And sadly, I lost an old Amstaff to cancer this past Saturday. Always a reminder that our time with them is all too temporary.

Thanks again for my wonderful Erik.
Kate Lamont, FL.
 

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NAVAR / BRTA son:   Hi Ramona, Hope this note finds you well! We went to the Seiger show today in Arlington Height IL., and just wanted to tell you that we would not go anyplace else to purchase a GSD but to Sapphire!

It was our first time to see Schutzhund performed and we were very impressed with their abilities BUT our idea and their idea of how a GSD should be structured are VERY VERY different!  We are SO happy with how Doogan is put together with the straight back and actually standing on the PADS of his feet!  He can actually perform the jobs a GSD was meant to do!  Thank you again for keeping true to the original structure of the GSD!!!! :~)

Also, there was a man there that was really into knowing GSD pedigrees and he actually knew Navar in Czechoslovakia!  He was very impressed with the Brta (Tom daughter) and Navar breeding!  We were SO proud!

The attached is the cover of the GSD Working Dog Association Magazine for April!  I snapped some random pictures of the dogs a month ago and sent it to a friend who is one of the editors on the magazine to just show her our
dogs. Teeghan is on the left and Doogan is on the right!  She liked it so much, she used it for the cover!!!!!!  Coming in the next e-mail is what's on page 2! Aren't you a proud Grandma??????   Best regards, Karen Murray, IL.

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ROCKY / RHEA son:  Hi Ramona, Here are some pictures of Gyver who turned 3 last December.  I was looking at your site and wanted to let you know  how much we love this dog.  He loves our kids and goes everywhere with us.  We can take him anywhere as he gets along with other dogs, enjoys people, and is very obedient.  He is built different than our previous shepherds, he is taller and has longer legs, but he is in proportion and has been healthy except for some ear infections as a pup. Gyver has had no lameness problems and has put plenty of miles in.  Thanks for being such a conscientious  breeder and producing such great dogs. Sincerely, Cathy Schelle, CO

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~APRIL 2009~

Spring is finally here!  We have a nice litter on the ground from Mambo and Ajsa.  We are excited about this litter and are looking forward to working with the buyers (some are repeat customers) on these pups!

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Good news of  very healthy hip and elbow prelims on ENZO, a Mambo / Rhea son owned by Officer Barkman of NY.

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~MARCH 2009~

Hello Friends!
Winter is still stubbornly hanging on here in Montana.  I am looking forward to the days getting longer, the snow leaving, and starting tracking with several of our young dogs.  Ajsa is confirmed pregnant with Mambo!!! We thank all who have shown so much interest in this litter, we are also very much looking forward to it here!
Ramona

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Thank you to Mr. Louie Delude of Calif. for his deposit on a pup in the Mambo / Ajsa litter.  Louie has been very evolved in working dogs for many years and is also actively involved in SchH.  He is looking for a "very real" dog that he can compete with.  I also want to thank Mike, Kate, Donald, Kevin and Lee for their time spent in speaking with Louie about their Mambo offspring.  Louie commented to me about how he appreciated speaking with all of you and the information you offered him on your pups was very helpful to him.  Thanks again to all above!

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A nice photo of Mr. Washburn, TN and his young Mambo/Natasha female GIA, getting in some bite training at their club, Cumberland Valley Schutzhund and Police Club.

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Ramona-Chip-Natasha-Rocky-pup Dec 08

Jewel -Jette and cat enjoying a winter nap by the fire
Dec. 08.

Chip with Lary starting a small cabin by the creek in Summer of 08
 

Chip and young dogs, Feb 09.

Griet and Annie practicing a nice sit and focus.
 

A young Ajsa/Lary daughter and Lary helping move logs.
 

Chip and Jetta

Jetta feeling right at home under the chainsaw.
 

A Mambo/Brta female and Ajsa comfortable
 on the log crossing
 

Jetta and a Mambo/Brta pup.

 Mambo/Brta pups getting in some rock climbing.

Lary/Ajsa daughter and Rocky.

A pile of tired pups.

~FEBURARY 2009~

Donald L. Mogan & Czar

A loving father, friend and lover of  horses and dogs.
Don died alone at his home on January 30, 09, surrounded by his 2 German Shepherds.
I will miss and think of you often dad.



 

~NOVEMBRER 2008~

The WUSV World Championships was held in Florence KY this year.  It was a once in a lifetime opportunity for many to watch a German Shepherd competition of this caliber.  Both Sapphire Shepherds and Diamond K-9  thoroughly enjoyed watching all the competitors and meeting many fellow GSD enthusiasts from around the globe.  Much fun was had by all!  I will try to post up some photos soon.

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We have 2 very rambunctious additions at Sapphire Shepherds; JETTA & JEWEL vom Feldhaus.  Breeder: Al Donner, vom Feldhaus kennel, Canada
Originally from Germany, the Donner's have many years experience in training/breeding working GSD's. In looking to expand our gene pool and produce strong working dog's, we share some of the same interest/goals. Thus, I now have the above 2 females of very interesting working blood which I hope to bring into my breeding program, and the Donner's will breed to our stud dog, CZAR of Sapphire Mountain. Much "Thanks" again to Al, Elise and JB.

These 2 pups bounded into the UPS truck as if they expected to find a old friend in there. They thoroughly explored the truck and tried their best to help the driver with his packages. I hope my husband Chip has recovered from raising Santo as he is in for allot of work with these 2 females :~))




 

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I want to thank all the owners of our Mambo/Rhea pups that have taken time to update me on their pups progress and submit photos. I will try to get all posted up soon!

~OCTOBER 2008~

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Another nice email from overseas has been received concerning Mambo's offspring.  The following email is from Rene in Holland. Rene trains in tracking and protection and has plans to use his Mambo son in his breeding program:  www.ofdraccsclan.nl 
Hi there Ramona, here is Rene from Holland and we have a Mambo son! Cuando z Jirkova Dvora, great dog! High drives!!! And really honor to his nick name Crazy Cuando. Very very nice dog! Hope you enjoy Mambo!
Greetings from Holland
 

~SEPTEMBER 2008~

A Very busy month. Would like to thank all of the buyers of Mambo / Rhea pups!  Many went into experienced working hands!! And, we enjoyed a visit from Police Sergeant/Detective Mike Barkman from NY.  Mike went home with a very nice pup and we look forward to watching their progress over the years.  Thanks again to all!!

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A special "Thank you for your business" to the following purchasers of our Stud Service this month;

#1:  SFC James S. Reid CAFTT-AFTS Iraqi Flight Medic Program Instructor/ Coordinator. Mr. and Mrs. Reid has purchased a very nice foundation breeding female FATYMA. This breeding female is another of SAPPHIRE SHEPHERDS custom imports. The Reid's will bred this female to our Mambo z Ps and will be well on their way to having a breeding program their own of very nice working dogs!

#2:  Mr. and Mrs. McInnally have a nice Czech female and have also purchased stud service to our Mambo z Ps.  Should be a very nice litter for the McInnally's!

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~AUGUST 2008~

Diamond H Livestock and Sapphire Shepherds would like to extend a Thank you to Mr. Bill Jenkins and his associates at Texoma K-9 Training Center LLC on the purchase of our frozen semen from MAMBO z Pohranicni straze.  Mr. Jenkins has had previous experience training offspring of Mambo, and appreciates the desired working qualities that Mambo's genetics can produce. We wish all involved much success with this breeding!

~JULY 2008~

2 litters sired from Mambo have been born.  Rhea's litter produced 10 pups and Emise Venusina Sopka produced 5 pups. Emise was a female Sapphire Shepherds custom imported from Europe for one of our good clients.

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I received an email from Mr. Dariusz Janicki of Poland.  He provided me a photo of his Mambo daughter HESSI Canislog (from a repeat breeding).  He also provided this link to view Hessi in her training: http://www.vigor.p9.pl/team.html
HESSI Canislog: DOB.23.08.2006.  HD - A, ED - 0/0 PT.  MAMBO z PS x BASSIA Canislog

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~JUNE 2008~

Great weather has finally arrived here after weeks of much rain and a few days of snow in June! The Mambo / Rhea litter is due June 21st and Rhea looks to be carrying a good sized litter. I know all deposit holders are very pleased to read this.  I will be contacting all of you soon with good news I hope!

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I received an email and photos from Craig Calthorpe, Warlingham, Surrey, England.  Mr. Calthorpe is a Police dog handler for the Metropolitan Police, London and owns a 13 week old Mambo grandson. In his emails, he states that his pup FUZZ is showing great potential already, and is full of self confidence.  He already displays aggression over his beloved food and really loves to play. He also states he hopes that he has got lots of his Granddad (MAMBO) in him!!  If all goes well, he will end up working him on the street, putting the villains in their place.
 

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A BIG THANK YOU goes out to my husband for painting our barn.  Over 3 stories tall it was no easy feat and often dangerous.  It looks fantastic! This historic barn was built in 1936 by a group of men in 11 days time.  It houses my office with a bath and shower, 2 indoor whelping rooms and 4 pens, a huge loft that works great for puppy testing, training, campouts, and use to host many dances in its earlier age.

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Congratulations go out to the owners of Mirai of Sapphire Mountain another Rocky/Varna daughter with healthy hips and elbows! OFA Hips: FAIR #GS-78462F37F-PI
OFA Elbows: Normal #GS-EL21771F37-PI. 

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~MAY 2008~

A very busy month! Thanks to all for sending in updates on what you and your dogs have been up to.  It is great to hear so many have been busy training and having success and fun!!!

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SANTO of Sapphire Mountain ( Rocky/Oresta son), enjoying a couple hours of play with the family at the Mission Dam.  Santo is Chip' dog.  He is certified in Narcotics and Cadaver and will be replacing Rocky as stud dog.

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BROOK, a 4 month old (Rocky/Ajsa female) fun photos playing with Brook taken after a evening tracking session.
 

 

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Congratulations go out to Dave MacDougall and OTTO of Sapphire Mountain ( Rocky/Petra son) on passing their AD.  Was very good to hear all the positive comments the judge had to say about Otto!

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Below is a recent email and photo submitted by Julie T. Chapman, MT about SUKA of Sapphire Mountain (Rocky/Oresta female). 

Ramona, It’s been forever since I’ve written, and I thought you might like to hear more about how Suka is doing. Short story: we’ve found our calling in agility. Suka is AWESOME at it! Photo attached. Longer story: everywhere we go to trial, we get compliments – people want to know about her, what her breeding is, and so on. We are doing really, really well! We’re now competing at the top levels of AKC agility (in the Excellent classes), since Suka blew through Novice and Open with tremendous ease. She’s fast enough that we even sometimes beat border collies – the breed of choice for agility!! But generally, when we run clean, we win – unless my instructor is competing in the same class with her BC J. My instructor, Wendy Parciak, has been to the Nationals twice now, so it’s an honor to compete in the same classes with her!
We had a seminar here in Missoula a few weeks ago with Barb Davis, an agility World Team member. After watching us work, Barb suggested that we think about gunning for Nationals competition!!! WOW. That sort of took my breath away. I mean, Suka and I learned agility together from the ground up – I’m a total novice – but I have a talented, fast dog in my girl and we can go far. Last year when we were still competing in Open, we went to the spring trial in Moses Lake, WA. One of the trial staff, who travels up and down the west coast, said he’d never seen such a fast GSD – he loved her. And the trial judge, Dan Butcher, who is a terrific, well-known judge and goes all over the country, told me “Your shepherd is *awesome*!”.I’ve also just posted some videos of us at a trial a couple weeks ago in Idaho Falls on Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iK-xesPM34             http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_fR6VD2PmI

I’ve discovered the germanshepherds.com forums, and have been participating particularly on the agility forum – just discovered someone in Kansas who knows 2 Sapphire dogs there, a Rocky-Petra boy and a Rocky-Oresta dog. Small world! I hope your new digs in the Mission valley are suiting you – I see some new dogs on your website! All the best -

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Mark of AZ, submitted these photos of his dogs.  He owns 4 of our dogs and uses a couple of them for detection work in AZ. These 2 photos show his male KID ( a Rocky/Pearl son), playing around in the back yard. 

~APRIL 2008~

~MARCH 2008~

Daughter of our Rocky Venusina Sopka and Varna z Pohranicni straze; RHEA of Sapphire Mountain has just received an EXCELLENT Hip rating from OFA!

This photo was recently submitted to me by Glenn McDonald of OR. He is the owner/trainer/handler of SKY of Sapphire Mountain, Rocky / Pearl son.  Sky is a working SAR dog for Wallowa County.  Sky is a large male, in great shape at 98 pounds.  He is certified in Cadaver and will be testing for OSSA Trailing next month which requires a 1 1/2 mile 12 hr trail. Glenn states Sky is trailing almost exclusively off lead now and is doing great, loves his work!. Thanks Glenn for the email and photo.

We have just imported an excellent, breeding female for DIAMOND H LIVESTOCK;  EMISE. She is a proven producer of working Police and healthy offspring.  She will be an excellent foundation breeding female for our friends.  Information to be posted soon.

~FEBRUARY 2008~

I received an email from Jiri Novotny in regards to Mambo.  It gave me great news on Mambo's hip and elbow production for the past year.  According to the Czech registry, Mambo is one of the best producers of healthy hips and elbows!!

Diamond H Livestock was in Brazil during this month.  We thank them for the great job in promoting our dogs!

~JANUARY 2008~

A beautiful photo to get us through the next couple months of winter..

Click on photo to enlarge

~DECEMBER 2007~

All of us at Sapphire Shepherds send wishes to all our friends and clients across the globe for a very Prosperous and Healthy year ahead!  Happy New Year!!

Congratulations also go out to OTTO of Sapphire Mountain.  A Rocky/Petra son who certified OFA GOOD hips also received the highest hip rating after having the same x-rays submitted to Germany,  a NORMAL.  It is very interesting to get two different ratings on the same set of x-rays.  I was able to see the x-rays before they where submitted and they are a beautiful set of hips.

Condolences go out to Amy on the loss of her year old Lary/Pearl female.  Amy was close to certification in Wilderness Trailing and Cadaver with her dog when an unexpected accident happened.  Much time and effort goes into raising and training these dogs.  Words cannot express how we feel.

New information that you may find interesting on our ABOUT US web page.

MAMBO is here!!!!!!

~NOVEMBER 2007~
 

WINTER IS HERE!!

Young Daniel and Lary playing in the seasons first snow.

The following email and photos have been submitted by Mr. Lloyd Dorfman of NJ.  Lloyd purchased one of our young started dogs for family companionship and protection.  I "Thank" Lloyd and his family for providing a great home for ZARAH and his brother, Mr. Eric Dorfman of Dorfman K9 for helping us place some of our young started dogs this past year.

Lloyd P. Dorfman
  

~OCTOBER 2007~
 

Mr. Bill Caporali, owner of Beartooth K9 submitted these photos from their recent litter sired by Rocky.  A very nice litter of 6 pups, one male placed as a prospect for Police work, and a female in this litter was retained by Bill and will be prepared for detection work for his company. Bill had very nice comments about this litters working ability and temperament!  I want to "Thank" Bill again for his interest in our dogs!
Lornell & Eliska female
male pup.

An interesting article sent in from SAR K9 handler Glenn about his young dog SKY and their first find. Sky is a Rocky/Pearl son.  Click here to read: Page 1 of  2.

Big congratulation go out to Dave MacDougall and his dog OTTO of Sapphire Mountain for passing their BH!!!

Natasha' OFA results on her hips and elbows are in: Hips; GOOD and Elbows; NORMAL. Natasha is a daughter of Rocky and Oresta.  Natasha has now been bred to Czar.  Recent photos of Natasha and Czar:
 
 
 
 

~SEPTEMBER 2007~
 

Congratulations go out to OTTO of Sapphire Mountain (Rocky/Petra son) and AMARA of Sapphire Mountain (Rocky/Varna daughter), both dogs certified OFA Hips GOOD and Elbows NEGATIVE !!!!!

RHEA of Sapphire Mountain & SANTO of Sapphire Mountain are now
CADAVER LEVEL 1 certified. 
Both dogs Bred, Trained and Handled by Ramona Helmer, tested under Tri-State requirements.
And both dogs OFA certified Hips EXCELLENT , Elbows Normal!

A couple of photos we thought you all would enjoy that have been submitted by owners of our pups.  The first is a photo taken of the PAWS SAR group in Alaska. These beautiful photos of dogs and their handlers was sent to me from Rebecca Bullman, she owns NIKE  (certified Cadaver, Trailing, Air Scenting , Water and a littermate to our NATASHA)  shown seated in front left-dark black sable female. please click on this link to view photos:  http://www.akinthemomentphoto.com/-/akinthemomentphoto/slideshow.asp?cat=65580


Below are photos of Odin, a Rocky/Petra male. Odin and his owner Steve are currently training in personal protection and are doing very well!!

Early this month we had an enjoyable visit from Dave MacDougall of Prairie Shepherds.  We enjoyed several days of working dogs, much fun and had the pleasure of seeing OTTO again and the very nice dog he has grown to be!  I will soon be posting many photos within the next week of this visit.

~AUGUST 2007~
 

On August 29th. both SANTO of Sapphire Mountain and RHEA of Sapphire Mountain passed the first part of the Tri-State Cadaver Area Search test.  I hope to pass both dogs on the 2nd part of this certification (Bone Discrimination test),  by the end of September for completion of Tri-State Cadaver Certification.

~JULY 2007~
 

July has been a very busy month.  Temperatures have been exceptionally hot, even had a tornado touch down just 15 miles to the north of us, pretty unheard of for Montana. So its up early and out late in the evening for working dogs.  Rhea, Natasha and Santo are close to testing for certification in cadaver and I hope to accomplish this in the coming month. Oresta, even though she is retired from our breeding program is active as ever and still being worked.  She occasionally runs tracks and enjoys being worked in cadaver. Natasha is coming along fine in cadaver and is a blast to run trails with!  I hope to certify her soon in cadaver and later on in wilderness trailing.  Many thanks to Chip, Sarah and Daniel for putting up with my persistent bugging to help in hiding sources and laying trails for me!!
We have a exceptional new breeding female coming in and will post her within the next week along with her planed breeding to Rocky! We also have some very interesting working  litters coming up.  I will be posting these breeding in the next few days.
Hope all is well with you and your dogs!
Ramona

New trained dogs posted for sale on OUR YOUNG ADULTS web page!!

For all of you asking for more ROCKY pups - A new breeding female to be posted soon and she will breed to ROCKY by years end!!

New litters to be posted soon!!!!

Congratulations Rimrock Shepherds on Mira of Sapphire Mountain ( Rocky/Warna) OFA GOOD Hip rating!!! 

The Rocky/Petra "O" litter turned 2 years this month.  Happy Birthday to all!

 
Shasta at 2 yrs and one of my favorite action photos of Shasta at 14 months!

These are a variety of photos taken the past month:  Hope you enjoy!

Rocky and NATASHA of Sapphire Mountain
(Rocky/Oresta)
 

Rocky and NATASHA of Sapphire Mountain
(Rocky/Oresta)
 

Lary with just a "little" stick he found down by the creek.

Chip getting in some fly fishing on our creek. 
Lary and Rhea helping.

Rhea and Chip.

~JUNE 2007~

~

Big congratulations to MICHALLE McMILLAN and QUINN of Sapphire Mountain ( a Rocky / Pearl daughter ) on passing Cadaver certification!!!! Michalle and Quinn tested under Tri-State requirements and are members of Lake County SAR. Congratulations are also in order to Ann Wilson of Idaho and her dog SASHA on their Cadaver certification also!

Mr. Bill Caporali, owner of Bear Tooth K9 has purchased stud service to ROCKY VENUSIA SOPKA.  Bill owns a very nice, working narcotic detection female "ZAHRA VALTARA of SAPPHIRE MOUNTAIN" from our Chasinta z Pohranicni straze.  We "Thank" Bill for looking to our bloodlines to add more working dogs to his business. We are looking forward to seeing this litter!  Should be some very nice working prospects!

ZAHRA, working narcotic detection dog.
 

~MAY 2007~

~

SANTO of SAPPHIRE MOUNTAIN (Rocky x Oresta male) DOB: 3-21-2006 passed his Narcotics dog evaluation.  A big "THANK YOU" to trainer Cris Goodhue of High Country K9 for the excellent job of training and caring for Santo!!  Santo was also given a 90% in a evaluation of making a good patrol dog given his age. We plan to pursue training for patrol work in the fall and to bring Santo into or breeding program of working dogs within the next 2 years.  Santo is owned by Chip Helmer. 


(scroll to the bottom to view training photos of Santo and Cris).

~APRIL 2007~

~

A big "THANK YOU" to Bacardi Rum for their purchase of a Sapphire Shepherd pup, and their donation of this pup, along with the cost of training, to the very lucky MICHALLE MCMILLAN of LAKE COUNTY SEARCH AND RESCUE!!!!!  We would also like to say 'Thank you" to Chuck of K9 Recourses in Colorado for the recommendation of our kennel. 

Bacardi Rum has recognized the serious need for reliable dogs and handlers in SAR, along with the tremendous amount of time and expenses that is involved in training one of these dogs who are often trained in a number of different search disciplines, and often work in very extreme conditions.  They have also acknowledged our breeding program as one that can produce dogs for this very demanding working field.  We hope other corporations and individuals with follow their lead of their generous donation.

Below are photos of our trip to beautiful Vail Colorado for their annual Spring Back to Vail Summer celebration. The young pup in the photos is a 4 month old male from our Lary Bret-Bett / Black Pearl v. Sapphire Mountain breeding.

     
         Pup with celebrity / Michalle receiving her pup during half-time show /  Ramona-Michalle                               
     


         

      
Ramona  and Vail CO      /       Michalle sound bite     /      Ramona and pup
 

~ MARCH 2007~

~

New information on ROCKY'S mother Hobby Venusina sopka that you may or may not know about. 
#1:  Results for World Championships FH track by Hobby Venusina sopka in Finland, 2003 where she came in 7th with a score of 186.  Top score that day was 197 out of 200!!!!   
http://www.sportdog.ru/cohttp://www.sportdog.ru/competition/2003/WM-IPO-FH-2003.pdf
PO-FH-2003.pd
#2: World FH Championships in Slovakia, 2002. Hobby Venusina sopka came in 10th with a score of 180.  The highest that day was only 193!!http://www.sportdog
.http://www.chienplus.com/championnat-du-monde-FCI-pistage-2000.htm
/competition/2003/WM-IPO-FH-2003.pdf
Big 'THANK YOU" to Dave MacDougall of www.prairieshepherds.com for finding this information on HOBBY!!!.

~

New update on our Stud Service web page!!
And the posted planned breedings taking place later this month to the following outside females!!

Thank You & Congratulations to Mr.& Mrs. Eenhuis on the purchase of Stud Service to LARY BRET-BETT for their wonderful female MIRA, a (Rocky/Warna daughter). We can't wait to see these pups!!  There will be some very strong working pups in this litter!!!

Mira, getting serious with a game of rag-play.

Mira

And, Thank You & Congratulations to Mr.& Mrs. Zink on the purchase of Stud Service to LARY BRET-BETT for their wonderful female AMARA, a (Rocky/Warna daughter).  Another litter that we will look forward to seeing!! There will be some very strong working pups in this litter also!!!

A big congratulations to Rebecca Bullman and NIKE ( Rocky/Oresta-daughter) of Alaska on certification in Cadaver, Trailing, Water and Air Scent.  And to Rebecca a even bigger congratulation on the "other" great news:) !!

~

SANTO of SAPPHIRE MOUNTAIN:  ( Rocky/Oresta son)  has started training for certification in Narcotics with trainer Cris Goodhue.  He is alot of dog, very confident, dominate and full of working drives. Santo is my husbands dog, they go everywhere together.  Santo is a very nice male who will be brought into our breeding program at a future date.
Photos are at 1 year of age taken at a training get-together.  Click photos to enlarge.

~

Photos below are taken from a recent day of training with friends. I brought 2 pups along, RUCAS (Lary/Pearl male), and his brother SAMSON (purchased by Betty Stoudt of www.amulettk9.com for a detection prospect in PA). I worked them in tracking, no photos of them. Fun Day had by all.

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~LAND for SALE~

2 - 10 acre parcels.  Property has 16.5 inches of gravity flow irrigation, 1 well, 2 septic approvals, is fenced, and fronts a paved road.  A country store which offers gas and propane is within 2 blocks, a wonderful K- 8 school is located within 2 miles along with a fire station.  Property backs a proposed community park.  This property is level and is located in the rural beautiful Bitterroot Valley of Stevensville, Montana.  Owner financing is available. Price 200,000 per 10 acre.  Inquires can be directed to the owner, Frank Mogan at 1-406-360-2105