Entlebucher
Mountain Dog Puppies
Are Coming!

 Some time later, while sitting on the beach, Karen saw the tall man walking towards her. She thought he had kind eyes and a beautiful smile. The man asked if he could sit down beside her. Karen said yes. He said his name was Jean-Marc, he was a Swiss farmer, and he would soon be moving to Quebec to buy a dairy farm. They started to talk, and talk ... and talk. That evening, they were still talking. As they sat together under the shimmering night sky, a shooting star soared overhead. They each made a wish. And their wishes came true.

 Two months later, Jean-Marc and Karen left Switzerland together to buy the dairy farm in Quebec. The puppy, an Entlebucher Mountain Dog named Barnabé, came too. The next year, their daughter Arielle was born. Two years later, their son Arlen completed the family.

 One day, Karen received a phone call from Jean-Marc's mother in Switzerland. She had purchased a female Entlebucher which she wanted to send to Jean-Marc as a surprise for his birthday. So Karen drove Jean-Marc, Arielle, Arlen and Barnabé to the airport to pick up Babiche, a four month old barking bundle of energy and affection. For us two-leggeds, it was love at first sight. Barnabé, however, didn't know quite what to make of her. He was already five years old and was used to being an "only dog". 

 In time, Barnabé and Babiche came to love each other. In our veterinarian's words, they were a "true couple", because when Babiche had her first litter of puppies, she allowed Barnabé to come and inspect them, which is rarely the case for female dogs who are bred with an unfamiliar stud dog. The puppies were born in the bedroom, next to Karen's side of the bed, where she hovered over them day and night for the first two weeks. Once their eyes were open, they moved into a plastic swimming pool in the middle of the living room floor where the entire family could hold them and play with them.

 When they started to climb out of the pool, we moved them to the kennel, where they met the barn cats, Dolly the donkey, and a herd of Holstein cows. We spent many an hour lying in the grass with puppies running over and around us. As they grew up and left one by one, taking the love we had shared with them to their new families, we realized we were smitten. We were becoming breeders, and we loved it with a passion. We enjoyed meeting new people from across the United States and Canada, whether by phone or in person at our farm. We enjoyed hearing the anticipation in people's voices as we planned together the new additions to their families. And most of all, we thrilled to hear stories of the puppies' first days in their new homes. All our time and effort in socializing the puppies had paid off. They were loving and lovable.

 Karen spent much of 1997 laying the groundwork with other conscientious breeders to form the National Entlebucher Mountain Dog Association, which supports ethical breeding and genetic integrity. Karen is one of NEMDA's Code of Ethics Breeders, who agree to breed according to ethical guidelines and to submit all breeding records to NEMDA's Breeding Committee.  

To better understand the breeding practices in the Entlebucher's country of origin, Karen has travelled to Switzerland several times since 1997. She has met with officers of the Swiss Entlebucher Club, visited several breeders, and even had the good fortune to see a dog show featuring the four Swiss Mountain Dog breeds (Entlebucher, Appenzeller, Bernese and Greater Swiss) during one of her trips.

 In our effort to obtain new blood lines for future breeding, we added two young females to our Entlebucher family in 1997. Vénus v. Stauffenfeld arrived by plane in September, 1997. The Stauffenfeld kennel is one of the oldest in Switzerland, and the breeder, Frau Verena Siegenthaler, is an international judge and was president of the Swiss Entlebucher Club for many years.

 During her 1997 visit to Switzerland, Karen was joined by Gina Thomas of Eagleheart Entlebuchers to bring home three Entlebucher puppies from the Slovak Repulic. We drove across picturesque Switzerland and Austria to the town of Bratislava, where we met breeder Jana Liptajova of Balihara Ranch Kennels. Blessed Love of Balihara Ranch now lives at Moratel Farm, while her sister Bliss lives in Oregon and brother Bailey in Washington. 

 Anyone wishing to purchase a puppy or just wanting to see some Entlebuchers "live" is more than welcome to visit us. We are located one hour southwest of Halifax in the picturesque province of Nova Scotia, and we can pick up anyone who flies into the Halifax Airport. For people coming by car, there is ferry service from Portland, Maine to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, a three-hour drive up a winding coastal road to our home. Numerous Bed & Breakfast accomodations are available in the area. Please e-mail us or call to arrange a visit.

 Upon written request, we can provide any of the following documents. Please include your mailing address and/or fax number when requesting information.

 
• full four-generation European pedigrees 
• certification that our breeding stock is free of hip dysplasia (OFA/OVC) 
• annual eye certification that our breeding stock has no eye abnormalities (CERF) 
• a copy of our sales contract 
• references from families who have purchased puppies from us 
• references from people who have visited us and met our dogs 
• list of owners who are willing to show their dogs to prospective clients 

NOTE: The Entlebucher Mountain Dog is known by various names: Entlebucher Sennenhund (German), Bouvier de l'Entlebuch (French), Entlebucher Cattle Dog, Swiss Mountain Dog. For more information on the Swiss standards for this breed, click here.