Breeder visits day trip

Okay... so yesterday we had to get up early (not what we usually do on a Sunday) and leave the house by 08.30. We picked up Michaela and her dog Stukki at the train station of Winterthur. Stukki made a very good first impression on us. She seems very calm, balanced and sweet. She jumped into the back of our car without hesitation and we never once heard her during more than 2 hours drive to Couvet. We had one "pee stop", but that was on Tina's request, not Stukki's. It was nice to have Michaela with us, because we could ask her lots of questions and she patiently answered them all for us. She is also "BARF-ing" and she said it is really not a big deal. Quite easy. Stukki is her first dog and she got her from the breeder that also BARF's, so she didn't know any better.

The last bit of the drive was on winding roads over hills and ... there was fresh snow! It had snowed all Saturday.

The arrival at the Wittwer's was chaotic to say the least. They have 5 tollers themselves and with Stukki in heat, the dogs were overexcited, LOL! Especially of course the two males. We were standing in a hall way, 6 dogs and 7 people. There was lots of action. Lorenzo was a bit overwhelmed and he pulled up his hands when one of the dogs got too curious about him, of course the dog reacted by jumping up and we told Lorenzo to keep his hands down. But that was somehow hard for him to do. After a while, Mr. Wittwer let the male dogs out into the garden and then it slowly got a bit more quiet. The dogs each found a spot to lie down (plenty of dog beds in the house) and we could talk and have lunch. The house was cold, because the heating was broken, but in the living room there was an old wood burning stove and it was warm in there.

The tollers all looked different, only Stukki and her mother are so alike that we had a hard time to keep them apart. Tina knew all the dogs by name in no time. Amazing! The dog that is to cover Stukki is a large, dark red dog called "Baxx". He has a very long back and to be honest, he was the only dog that I didn't like the looks of. He was friendly enough. But his dimensions were just off the chart.


We had lunch with Michaela and the Wittwers. (Yummy "finnish" sandwiches) Mrs. Wittwer was talking a lot and Mr. Wittwer was quietly taking care of the dogs (letting them in and out of the house) and after lunch he smoked a pipe. They made a really good impression on us: friendly and very competent. We learned a lot of new things, like: male dogs are more into cuddling than female dogs for instance. I really didn't know that. And that dogs really only shed twice a year if you don't castrate them. Once they are castrated, they shed a little all year round. (That was an "aha" moment for us).
Mrs. Wittwer told us that she doesn't let people choose a puppy from a nest themselves. She first spends a lot of time with the people that want one. And then when the puppies are getting a bit older and show their character, she matches them to the people. So we wouldn't have a say in it. I was surprised by this, but I trust her to make the right matches and I wouldn't have a problem with that.

After lunch, there were suddenly 7 Tollers in the house! The Wittwers also have a dog hotel and the 7th Toller was staying there. Later, another 5 dogs (all different breeds) were let into a room too. There was a small wooden fence in front of every dooropening and when I came to greet those dogs (from labrador to spaniel to tiny mixed breed), they all were very excited. I had not enough hands to stroke them all, LOL!

All too soon, we had to leave again, because it was a 2 hours drive the next breeder and we had to be there around 15.00 hrs. We said our goodbyes and drove through winter wonderland for the first few miles. Snow, blue sky, sunshine. Gorgeous!





Once it went down hill again, we were back underneath the fog in a gray world without snow!

It took us 2 hours and a bit of searching to get to the second breeder. The word "boondocks" comes to when to describe where they are living...
We were welcomed by Paul Hulbert and taken into the house. We took our shoes off outside and stepped right into the living room. Part of the living room was made into a dog pen, with a low gate surrounding it. There were 2 grown up dogs in it and 7 puppies. The grown ups were the mother and the grandmother of the puppies. When we walked in, there was another family visiting and they were sitting in the dog pen, with puppies in their hands and on their laps. Soon they left and it was our turn. We had to desinfect our hands (and in hindsight we shouldn't have visited another breeder before, because of the puppies) and then we could step into the dog pen. The puppies were born on 27 Dec 2007. Their eyes were open, they could crawl a little and they were of course adorable. To my surprise, I wasn't immediately melting at the sight of them. They were still so small... I think they are cuter when they start running around and playing. The kids had a ball (as you could see on the pics yesterday). Reto and I talked a bit with Anna Hulbert.

Somehow, it was a totally different visit than with the Wittwers. When we left after about 1 hour, Reto and I both didn't have such a good feeling about it. We couldn't really say what it was. I guess we just didn't really "click" with the breeders.

It was another 2,5 hours drive back home. On the way, we stopped to eat dinner at a McDonald's and we were back home by 19.30. Very tired! As soon as the kids were in bed, Reto fell asleep on the sofa and I woke him up at 22.30 to go to bed. (Wake up, it is time to go to sleep... LOL!)

When I checked my email (while Reto was sleeping on the sofa), I was surprised to see an email from Anna Hulbert. She said that her feelings were, that we should try to get a puppy from another breeder. Her gutt feeling told her that would be better. So it seemed we had the same feeling. I told her that and that we wished them lots of success and fun with breeding.

While we were there, she had told me that another breeder, Nicole Molenaar, is planning a nest this summer. And when I got home, I looked her up in the internet and had a look at the dog that will be the mother of the puppies. It is a beautiful dog, dark red with white on the face. So I emailed her and we made an appointment for Saturday 26 January. I called her to make that appointment and she sounded very nice. (She is married to a Dutch man, btw)

So ... now we wait again. We did really enjoy our time with the Wittwers and we would like to order a puppy from their next nest. But I didn't like the looks of the dad-to-be. So that is keeping me from doing that right now. Both Stukki and Baxx are very big for the breed and we were more looking for a small Toller. But then again... you never know how big the puppies become exactly. Mrs. Wittwer told us that the small male dog they have, has "made" big tollers. And even within one nest, the difference in sizes are big.

I am curious to see Dazhitaa, the dog that Nicole Molenaar is going to have a nest of in summer.

Reto and I have now decided that we don't really care whether we have a male or a female dog. There are pros and cons for each of them. And by not choosing one or the other... it is also easier to get a dog from the nest that you want.

Tina and Lorenzo would of course have loved to take one of the puppies home, LOL! I explained them that the dogs would be a lot bigger before they could be taken away from their mother and they had peace with that. They also liked Stukki a lot and said they would want one of her puppies.

Patience, patience...