Litters

Litters

My breeding priority is to produce talented and hard-driving gundogs with a cooperative demeanor. I prefer dogs who are easy to train because they want to please you. And I prefer smaller-sized, tighter-coated dogs with the endurance to work at a quick pace all day in the varied weather conditions of south-central Nebraska.  Because of the strict breeding standards for the breed, you can be sure that your DD will hunt, be healthy, and be a loving part of the family.

I keep in close contact with my puppy buyers and assist in training/testing when possible. I do this so I can have a good idea of what I am producing. I have also written many training articles and filmed several videos to assist people in raising and training their puppies. And we are always willing to help people train at our house.  

Since both my husband and myself have strong science backgrounds, we really like to think about genetics. I spend a lot of time researching which individual dogs might best help me achieve my personal objectives for each litter. I evaluate my own bitches and potential stud dogs based on their hunting ability, health clearances, breed show ratings, and most importantly, temperament. I am lucky to be a JGHV judge who evaluates so many different DDs each year in VJPs, HZPs, and VGPs. I really want to find the stud dogs that best match up with my personal breeding goals and those of the Verein Deutsch Drahthaar-Group North Amerika (VDD-GNA; www.vdd-gna.org) in order to produce puppies that I can be proud of and happy to place in hunting homes.

VDD-GNA has very strict breeding standards that we adhere to. Before any dog can be bred, he/she must pass a VJP (natural ability test) and a HZP (advanced hunting test), in addition to completing a breed show evaluation. Finally, the hips and shoulders must be evaluated by Dr. med. vet. Schunk in Germany. To recap, before DDs can be bred (and subsequently have their litters registered), they must have:
  • Passed a VJP
  • Passed a HZP
  • Passed a Hardness Test
  • Hips rated as HD-Frei
  • Completed a Breed Show
With my breeding program, I want to go above and beyond the minimum breeding standards in my efforts to not only maintain, but try to improve this breed. I think the VGP is the most valuable test for determining a dog’s true temperament, trainability, and hunting drive. I will always run my personal dogs through the VGP before deciding whether they are actually breeding-quality dogs or not.  

I also like to perform additional health and performance tests for further evaluation of my dogs. I like running my dogs through the BTR, NAVHDA Utility Test, and the United Blood Trackers UBT-I and/or UBT-II tests if I can fit them into my schedule.  The NAVHDA Invitational is also a lot of fun. Preparing for and completing each one of these tests gives me a little more information about my dogs. And as a biologist, I want as much information as possible before conducting any breeding.  
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