It’s hard to believe that it’s time to start thinking about a boyfriend for Gaela. We got her hips x-rayed and they’ve cashed the check, so we should be getting the results back any day now. I have high hopes. Disa has good hips, but Reike has excellent, and I’m hoping he passes that awesome trait along to his daughter.
Gaela has many excellent qualities. She’s a doll. She’s gorgeous. She’s sweet. She’s funny, playful, silly. She loves to run. She’s a lap pup, a snuggler. She’s so scarily smart. She doesn’t wander away, at least not on her own. (She would follow Bjarki on his wanderlust, in a way that Disa never would. Disa has very strict rules about territory.) She’s very good with children. She’s not aggressive about anything, food, toys, bones, nothing. She loves everyone, especially her cat, Tara. She’s a bury fiend, also a great mouser.
Physically, she’s long and lean. I think her hips are going to be great. She has a great tail curl, nice and tight, but not too tight. Her eyes are lovely. She’s a bit taller than her mama.
In thinking about what I’d like to improve, I think I’d like to find a boyfriend who plays fetch better. Gaela has the keep-away gene from her mama. I miss having Bjarki, who always brought the ball back and dropped it so you’d throw it again.
Gaela is excitable with a high pitched bark that can split your eardrum, so finding a male who is a bit quieter would be helpful.
I think a male who wasn’t a lap dog would be a good match, make a more balanced puppy, maybe.
She doesn’t have double dewclaws on one of her hind legs.
She’s not a super herder like her mama.
Her ears were the last to go up from her litter, so early strong ears would be a good match.
I want to find someone nearby so that we can go visit when she goes in heat. I don’t want to try artificial insemination, especially not with her first breeding.
As someone with an interest in working farm dogs, here are some qualities I want my dogs to have:
Not overly excitable/nutty
Biddable
Territorial/stays home/defends territory appropriately
Not overly barky/barks when needed (goes along with not being overly excitable)
Smart/able to think
Good herding ability, but not driven like a border collie to herd ALL THE THINGS (this may not be a problem for Icies, I don’t know)
Things like ears and dewclaws I get are important in a breed standard, but functionally they are not important to a dog’s working ability, health, or quality as a pet. However, if you are breeding to a standard, it’s appropriate to pay attention to those things as long as they don’t overshadow other aspects.
So from what you’ve said about Gaela, I would focus on finding a mate who has at least as good conformation, if not better, has proven herding ability, and has biddability and a calm nature. I don’t think you can go too wrong if you can find a dog like that.
She is so lovely! I can’t wait to see her pups!
Also, props for waiting until after her second birthday to breed her, and for getting her hips OFAed. That is way more than many breeders do, and I am so happy to see it.
My breed of choice (Dobermans) are plagued with all sorts of dreadful health problems. It is sadly typical for their lifespan to be 8 or so. Are Icies as a whole pretty healthy?
Update: http://www.offa.org/display.html?appnum=1629184#animal
We got the results and her hips are excellent, as we expected. YAY!
I think Icies are a pretty healthy breed. I haven’t heard of anything in particular to watch for. I was worried when Bjarki fell ill and died so quickly, but he contracted leptospirosis which isn’t a genetic thing but rather a bacterial infection.
Now to find her a boyfriend!
Yay! Congrats, Gaela, and good luck on the search for Mr. Right 🙂