Hi all, things are rolling along nicely here and I wanted to get the title down for my next and perhaps most important post to date. John and I were talking tonight about how important it is to try to match the personality of the puppy to the lifestyle and situation of the new family that they will become a member of. Too often choices are made on looks, cost, or even the effectiveness of the seller and this aspect is overlooked completely. Even when it is brought up it's almost as an afterthought after a buyer has made their choice of which puppy they want to take home. Honestly it's not really the ideal way to go about making a decision that will affect the next decade or so of yours and your puppy's lives. It's similar to finding a potential life partner and basing the decision to marry strictly on looks, 5 minutes of interaction, and some positive input by a dating service. Bringing a pet into your family is a huge deal, bringing a mastiff into your family is both literally and figuratively a huge deal as they aren't tea cup yorkies.
As breeders we're learning more about all that is involved in the process of breeding, raising, training, and then placing our family of puppies into new homes we have realized more and more just how important it is to get this right from the very beginning. Part of that is trying to match successfully our puppy and his or her personality to the different prospective families that are looking to add one of them to their families. Placing a reserved dog that likes to attach herself to one or two people and who is perfectly content to lay down and watch the world go by in relative peace through observation isn't exactly the type of dog a breeder should send home with a family who has 4 young children and who are extremely active with constant action and new people coming and going into the house constantly (kinda like our house gets at times with our teenaged girls & their teammates and friends). Mastiffs love their families and are very adaptable but at the same time a very outgoing explorer of a pup who is a bundle of energy is much more likely to thrive in that type of environment than a reserved and very calm one is.
A quiet family who enjoys being around the house or spending time as a small family unit on hikes or walks in a quiet suburb, on trails, parks or in the mountains is going to enjoy a more reserved/laid back puppy much more than one who goes 100 mph with their ears on fire trying to figure out what they can get into next.
The obvious point of the post is that we feel that too little attention is placed on personalities, both human and canine, and we feel it should be the first priority for both the breeder and potential owner to address. John said he'd ask the pups their preferrence but he hasn't mastered their language yet. Maybe it's because he's been so good lately that he hasn't had to share the doghouse with them enough to pick up puppy! Ha,ha. We attempted to give the wonderful families who adopted our last litter all the information we could about the tendencies and the personalities of the pets they would be taking home and we could not be happier for the families that they all belong to now. Each family got the perfect dog for them and they nurtured their pups to develop into the type of dog they were looking for. I'd love to say that we could take all the credit but in thruth we didn't focus specifically on personalities, it was more secondary, but in truth Kelly adopted Rayne and she was the only one with a vastly different personality so that also made it easier. The real credit goes to the puppies themselves for being so adaptable regardless of the situation they were introduced into and to the parents who did an amazing job of loving them and letting them know that they were safe and an important part of their new "pack". This time we've got personalities that are as different as night and day so we've got to do our best to help you find the pup that suits your needs and your lifestyle the best.
I don't know if it is because this litter is the second so we were much more prepared for it, or if we have just spent more time from the very beginning with each of the pups, but something has definitely been different with this litter. We did our best to interact, socialize, and provide a wide variety of experiences to our last litter which included the beginnings of crate and potty training but we saw that we could do even more at an even earlier stage this time. The result is that we have noticed that each of our puppies have definite and distinct personalities and have had them from almost the day they were born. For example the smallest of the litter was almost half the size of her siblings at birth but even before she could see she would push, pull, nudge, and do anything in her power to place herself right where she needed to be to get the biggest meal. As she's grown her forwardness and her fearlessness has become even more prominent, she makes it clear that if there's any pushing around to be done it's going to be done by her. It's amazing that by 5-6 weeks that the major aspects of a young puppy's personality is so evident but it is cleary the case. We know that our goal is to nurture them, socialize them, and to help provide a very solid foundation for their future personalities and that the ultimate work is going to be done by their new families. Still we want to make sure that we are doing everything we can to acheive our goal of being excellent breeders, who provide excellent puppies that not only can become wonderful pets but also dogs who improve the overall health and diversity of the mastiff breed.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
OUR FUTURE GOALS FOR FAIRVIEW HILL MASTIFFS...
Not required reading, just an F.Y.I. post to give everyone an idea about where we are and where we hope to be heading in the future with our little Kennel.
We have talked A LOT since we bred our first litter of puppies last year about if and how we want to proceed as breeders of mastiffs. The experience was wonderful, we were able to meet 4 wonderful families, and know that the young puppies who were born here are all living in loving and happy homes. Obviously we chose to breed again but at the same time we decided that in order to become the type of breeders that we want to be we need to set achievable goals and work steadily towards reaching those goals. Simply put we LOVE our Mastiffs, we LOVE the breed and we are in this for the long haul. We want to establish our kennel as one of the most reputable in the Mid-Atlantic region. Our foremost goal is to improve the breed by breeding through championship bloodlines and provide dogs that possess all the wonderful qualities that this noble breed has become famous for. We want to produce dogs that become beloved by their families and who are the greatest pets that their new families have ever had. We want to be available to every person who has purchased a puppy from us to assist them with any questions they may have and to stay in touch as the years go by to see how both our puppies and their families are doing. We hope to provide assistance and information to individuals who are considering joining those of us who have learned the great secret of what an amazing breed the mastiff is regardless of whether or not they choose one of our puppies. We want to gain and keep the respect of every person who joins our extended family which has begun to branch out here on the east coast. We hope we're on the right track! Ultimately we want to breed dogs that will be able to attend judging shows put on by the AKC and regional Mastiff Clubs and who are of a high enough quality to win championships and other recognitions if their families were to be inclined to show their dogs. To date we feel that each of our puppies from both litters have all met every AKC standard for show potential and we want to only improve as we move ahead. We will not breed our male with a female whom we feel is not up to par and rely on his genetics to produce a quality litter. When the time comes we will search for the finest male available to match with the females we may keep as we grow our kennel. In an effort to begin taking steps toward that goal we have decided that we are going to keep one of the females of this litter and begin the process of training her in order to gain the recognition which will allow Fairview Hill Mastiffs to produce a new line of mastiffs of superior quality which hopefully one day will be spoken of alongside some of the legendary lines of mastiffs in the US and Great Britain. It's a lofty goal and one that we'll need assisstance and advice from others from time to time but it's a noble goal that we feel we can accomplish given time and patience. As a testament to what a great litter we had this time around the girl we chose is not the largest (although she like her siblings are going to be very large dogs), is not the darkest, nor the lightest. She's also in the middle personality wise, not being the most active, or forceful and she's not the most reserved either. She's pretty much right down the middle which suits perfectly for us and doesn't take the pups with the "strongest" specific traits which will be reserved for those of you looking for your new family member. This allows for our potential buyers to have the dogs who most strongly display each of the different colors and traits that separate the looks and personalities of the rest of the litter. The fact that we took the "middle" dog and still are confident that she can and will be able to score enough points to become a champion in her own right shows to us and hopefully to you the potential buyer that each of these puppies have the potential needed to be show dogs. Still, in the end it came down basically to her personality! See our next post! We understand most of you are looking for a pet/family member and we feel that our dogs are the greatest in the world to meet that obligation which honestly is the most important function that canines have served since they first branched off from the wolf family and settled down with humans to become our best friends in the animal kingdom. This post wasn't really needed but we wanted to throw it out there to let everyone know where we stand and what our plans and goals are because we feel it is important to know the motives/plans/and experience of the people you're trusting to provide you with a new family member, specifically one that you are going to spend a significant amount of money on.
If you made it this far thank you for reading.
We have talked A LOT since we bred our first litter of puppies last year about if and how we want to proceed as breeders of mastiffs. The experience was wonderful, we were able to meet 4 wonderful families, and know that the young puppies who were born here are all living in loving and happy homes. Obviously we chose to breed again but at the same time we decided that in order to become the type of breeders that we want to be we need to set achievable goals and work steadily towards reaching those goals. Simply put we LOVE our Mastiffs, we LOVE the breed and we are in this for the long haul. We want to establish our kennel as one of the most reputable in the Mid-Atlantic region. Our foremost goal is to improve the breed by breeding through championship bloodlines and provide dogs that possess all the wonderful qualities that this noble breed has become famous for. We want to produce dogs that become beloved by their families and who are the greatest pets that their new families have ever had. We want to be available to every person who has purchased a puppy from us to assist them with any questions they may have and to stay in touch as the years go by to see how both our puppies and their families are doing. We hope to provide assistance and information to individuals who are considering joining those of us who have learned the great secret of what an amazing breed the mastiff is regardless of whether or not they choose one of our puppies. We want to gain and keep the respect of every person who joins our extended family which has begun to branch out here on the east coast. We hope we're on the right track! Ultimately we want to breed dogs that will be able to attend judging shows put on by the AKC and regional Mastiff Clubs and who are of a high enough quality to win championships and other recognitions if their families were to be inclined to show their dogs. To date we feel that each of our puppies from both litters have all met every AKC standard for show potential and we want to only improve as we move ahead. We will not breed our male with a female whom we feel is not up to par and rely on his genetics to produce a quality litter. When the time comes we will search for the finest male available to match with the females we may keep as we grow our kennel. In an effort to begin taking steps toward that goal we have decided that we are going to keep one of the females of this litter and begin the process of training her in order to gain the recognition which will allow Fairview Hill Mastiffs to produce a new line of mastiffs of superior quality which hopefully one day will be spoken of alongside some of the legendary lines of mastiffs in the US and Great Britain. It's a lofty goal and one that we'll need assisstance and advice from others from time to time but it's a noble goal that we feel we can accomplish given time and patience. As a testament to what a great litter we had this time around the girl we chose is not the largest (although she like her siblings are going to be very large dogs), is not the darkest, nor the lightest. She's also in the middle personality wise, not being the most active, or forceful and she's not the most reserved either. She's pretty much right down the middle which suits perfectly for us and doesn't take the pups with the "strongest" specific traits which will be reserved for those of you looking for your new family member. This allows for our potential buyers to have the dogs who most strongly display each of the different colors and traits that separate the looks and personalities of the rest of the litter. The fact that we took the "middle" dog and still are confident that she can and will be able to score enough points to become a champion in her own right shows to us and hopefully to you the potential buyer that each of these puppies have the potential needed to be show dogs. Still, in the end it came down basically to her personality! See our next post! We understand most of you are looking for a pet/family member and we feel that our dogs are the greatest in the world to meet that obligation which honestly is the most important function that canines have served since they first branched off from the wolf family and settled down with humans to become our best friends in the animal kingdom. This post wasn't really needed but we wanted to throw it out there to let everyone know where we stand and what our plans and goals are because we feel it is important to know the motives/plans/and experience of the people you're trusting to provide you with a new family member, specifically one that you are going to spend a significant amount of money on.
If you made it this far thank you for reading.
DEUCE & KAI'S 5 GENERATION RESEARCH PEDIGREE
This is Deuce's 5 generation research pedigree obtained through AKC. I believe AKC charges $12 per pedigree for your own print out, but I will be providing a copy of his and Kai's to the new owners.
Kai's research pedigree - All print in RED are champions in Kai's and Deuce's line.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY FIRST LITTER!!!
Today is Rayne, Reese, Ember & Braith's birthdays. If you haven't already read through the entire blog, you can click on 05/02-05/09 on the lower left side of the page. On May 7th, I posted pics of the first litter for anyone interested in one of our puppies, so you can see how well they've turned out. Keep in mind that those mastiffs are not finished growing. They still have another year, year 1/2 of growing and filling out and all the females are heavier than the average mastiff already and I have no doubt the male will be as huge as his father, Deuce (he's only an inch shorter than him right now). As you can see in the pics every one of them are beautiful and meet the standards and beyond what a mastiff is to be.
The owner of Rayne was so kind to leave me a special comment and I wanted to share it with everyone (you may also read it below Rayne's photo)
**********************************************************************
Happy Birthday to Deuce and Kai's first litter!!
As a Breeder myself, let me tell you How impressed I am at the job Amber is doing with this breed!! It is not easy to find a breeder that cares and put's so much time into their pups before they reach their new homes. I can only say, if you are lucky enough to get one of these pups, you will NOT be disappointed!
Kelly Webb "Rayne's mom" :)
The owner of Rayne was so kind to leave me a special comment and I wanted to share it with everyone (you may also read it below Rayne's photo)
**********************************************************************
Happy Birthday to Deuce and Kai's first litter!!
As a Breeder myself, let me tell you How impressed I am at the job Amber is doing with this breed!! It is not easy to find a breeder that cares and put's so much time into their pups before they reach their new homes. I can only say, if you are lucky enough to get one of these pups, you will NOT be disappointed!
Kelly Webb "Rayne's mom" :)
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Purchasing a Fairview Hill Mastiff - Deposit - Price - Delivery is Available
What Comes with Your Puppy -
A Health Guarantee
AKC Litter Certificate (copy)
AKC Mother’s pedigree certificate (copy)
AKC Father’s pedigree certificate (copy)
AKC Mother’s & Father’s 5 generation pedigree (verifies the championship bloodlines)
Folder with information (AKC application, breed info, shot records, bill of sale, etc…)
Shot Record (all puppies will receive 1st shots and be wormed @ 6 wks and 8 wks with panacur, a superior wormer)
A $50 Visa Gift Card towards your 9 wk vet checkup & shots.
A small bag of Puppy Chow to get you started for the first couple of days.
A receiving blanket (for his/her kennel so they have a scent of their mom and siblings).
A Toy
A lifetime of support from us (breeders) to you (buyer) for any questions you may have, updated photos you’d like to share, etc…
Prices for Our Puppies are:
A $250 deposit is required if you pick out your puppy before 8 weeks of age. The first deposit will get pic of litter so on and so forth from every deposit made thereafter. Obviously at 8 wks of age total payment is required.
$1500 for FULL Registration -
Full registration allows you to show your puppy and/or breed.
$1250 for Limited Registration -
Limited registration prevents you from breeding. You have no breeding rights with this option.
You need to have your puppy spayed or neutered when they come of age. Check with your local vet to see when that is as different states have different standards.
If you don't intend to show or breed your dog, there is no reason to have Full Registration on your puppy, dogs with limited registration can be shown in any event except conformation. Full Registration does not affect the quality of the puppy, it simply designates the purpose for the puppy.
While looking for your future mastiff, you may have heard the terms show quality vs. pet quality. This simply means the potential a puppy has to go on to be shown and possibly become a champion based on traits that they display early on (before 8 wks of age). While there are traits that can assist in forecasting the potential show quality of a puppy NO BREEDER can guarantee that a puppy at 8 wks of age WILL become a champion. However, this does not keep many breeders from charging different prices for pups they deem to be either show or pet quality. ALL Fairview Hill Mastiffs exceed the standards for “pet quality”. In fact, we don’t believe there is any better breed to have as a pet than the English Mastiff. That being said, each of our puppies in this litter have displayed all the prerequisites for show potential if their new family were to decide to spend the time, money, and effort to have their mastiff attempt to become a champion through AKC. That was the long winded version of saying that these puppies are of superb quality. We do not believe in charging a different price by labeling a young puppy as pet or show quality. Therefore, the difference in prices we posted reflect the ambitions of the potential owner.
Delivery is Available
We are a family that loves to travel as well as our mastiffs. To be honest, we'd rather travel than ship a puppy by plane. If you don't have the time to travel to us or it would be better for you to do the delivery method, then let us know. Puppies are available for their new homes on June 17th. I know that I stated somewhere in the blog that it was June 16th, but its not. So, depending on how many buyers chose to have their puppy delivered (first to pay have first delivery rights). Your puppy may not be delivered on the 17th. Those details will be worked out asap with you. We charge $30 for every 100 miles in addition to the purchase price of your puppy (so if roundtrip is 200 miles it will be $60). We will travel up to 600 (possibly 700) miles round trip and if you live further away and can drive to meet us on the route, we can do that too.. If its less than 100 miles roundtrip, contact us for our rates.
A Health Guarantee
AKC Litter Certificate (copy)
AKC Mother’s pedigree certificate (copy)
AKC Father’s pedigree certificate (copy)
AKC Mother’s & Father’s 5 generation pedigree (verifies the championship bloodlines)
Folder with information (AKC application, breed info, shot records, bill of sale, etc…)
Shot Record (all puppies will receive 1st shots and be wormed @ 6 wks and 8 wks with panacur, a superior wormer)
A $50 Visa Gift Card towards your 9 wk vet checkup & shots.
A small bag of Puppy Chow to get you started for the first couple of days.
A receiving blanket (for his/her kennel so they have a scent of their mom and siblings).
A Toy
A lifetime of support from us (breeders) to you (buyer) for any questions you may have, updated photos you’d like to share, etc…
Prices for Our Puppies are:
A $250 deposit is required if you pick out your puppy before 8 weeks of age. The first deposit will get pic of litter so on and so forth from every deposit made thereafter. Obviously at 8 wks of age total payment is required.
$1500 for FULL Registration -
Full registration allows you to show your puppy and/or breed.
$1250 for Limited Registration -
Limited registration prevents you from breeding. You have no breeding rights with this option.
You need to have your puppy spayed or neutered when they come of age. Check with your local vet to see when that is as different states have different standards.
If you don't intend to show or breed your dog, there is no reason to have Full Registration on your puppy, dogs with limited registration can be shown in any event except conformation. Full Registration does not affect the quality of the puppy, it simply designates the purpose for the puppy.
While looking for your future mastiff, you may have heard the terms show quality vs. pet quality. This simply means the potential a puppy has to go on to be shown and possibly become a champion based on traits that they display early on (before 8 wks of age). While there are traits that can assist in forecasting the potential show quality of a puppy NO BREEDER can guarantee that a puppy at 8 wks of age WILL become a champion. However, this does not keep many breeders from charging different prices for pups they deem to be either show or pet quality. ALL Fairview Hill Mastiffs exceed the standards for “pet quality”. In fact, we don’t believe there is any better breed to have as a pet than the English Mastiff. That being said, each of our puppies in this litter have displayed all the prerequisites for show potential if their new family were to decide to spend the time, money, and effort to have their mastiff attempt to become a champion through AKC. That was the long winded version of saying that these puppies are of superb quality. We do not believe in charging a different price by labeling a young puppy as pet or show quality. Therefore, the difference in prices we posted reflect the ambitions of the potential owner.
Delivery is Available
We are a family that loves to travel as well as our mastiffs. To be honest, we'd rather travel than ship a puppy by plane. If you don't have the time to travel to us or it would be better for you to do the delivery method, then let us know. Puppies are available for their new homes on June 17th. I know that I stated somewhere in the blog that it was June 16th, but its not. So, depending on how many buyers chose to have their puppy delivered (first to pay have first delivery rights). Your puppy may not be delivered on the 17th. Those details will be worked out asap with you. We charge $30 for every 100 miles in addition to the purchase price of your puppy (so if roundtrip is 200 miles it will be $60). We will travel up to 600 (possibly 700) miles round trip and if you live further away and can drive to meet us on the route, we can do that too.. If its less than 100 miles roundtrip, contact us for our rates.
The Puppies Are Growing Up!
They turned 6 wks old today. They are eating great and drinking water, but still nurse off their mother a few times a day. Honestly, I think it's good for them. The last litter nursed here and there up to 8 wks old and I intend to allow this litter to do the same as long as Kai permits it. I have to say though, they're teeth are like little razors, so it's amazing Kai continues to allow them to nurse...she's a great mom. She has so much patience with them and lately has been teaching them how to play. They'll crawl all over her, bitting her tail, ears or whatever just to play.
The puppies have so many different types of toys and they're finally learning they're a lot of fun. Even the squeeky toys no longer scare them. Its so funny watching the pups during free time in the yard running and chasing each other. Then they suddenly drop and roll in the grass, it's a really a cute sight. With the temperatures as high as they have been lately, they've been spending from late morning to early evening inside and boy does the air condition put them out. Well it puts me out too after being in the heat for a while :)
We've been working on crate training and potty training for a while now. They still hate the crate, crying for the first 20 mins. like a baby being put down for a nap in the crib. They'll get use to it though and before soon, the crate will be a place they'll walk into on their own for a nap. The potty training is coming. Some of them are very fimilar to the potty pads and go right to them while a couple still are missing them. I'm currently using OdoBan Pet Housebreak Trainer spray on the pads. It does seem to help as aposed to spraying nothing. The last litter I used a different spray, however its no longer made. When we have them out in the grass we say "let's go potty" so they can start associating the words to their action. We also praise them and provide treats when they go outside and even on the potty pads as its the first step in the right direction.
The puppies have so many different types of toys and they're finally learning they're a lot of fun. Even the squeeky toys no longer scare them. Its so funny watching the pups during free time in the yard running and chasing each other. Then they suddenly drop and roll in the grass, it's a really a cute sight. With the temperatures as high as they have been lately, they've been spending from late morning to early evening inside and boy does the air condition put them out. Well it puts me out too after being in the heat for a while :)
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