Brian and family,
Hope your daughter is doing better than when we
last exchanged emails.
We have been working with Isabella and a
trainer for off leash obedience and she is doing very well. She and I just
took our AKC Good Citizens test and she graduated with ease. On to the next
step.
Just thought you could use a tiny bit of
good news. She is healthy and happy with no complaints; what a beauty with a
super disposition! She is making you proud of the quality dogs you produce.
We won't be getting hip X-rays until she is a year old. Will keep you
informed.
Best wishes and god bless.
Sue
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Hey Brian,
I've been anxious to provide you with an update regards to Mt.
Nesta. There is
so much to divulge that I’m afraid this could become long and drawn.
I've since slightly modified her name basically because she's as big as a
small mountain, but naturally gracious all the same!
She's done a magnificent job working with our flock O'
Icelandic’s, chickens and various other critters. Beings that she
is just over 4 1/2 months old, she is still coming in to her own (confidence
wise), but she certainly has an instinct for anything on the property that is
seemingly out of the ordinary. I
still marvel over her tactical "play" skills that she exhibits when playing with
Riley or other dogs. She has some sort of canine black belt in
jiu-jitsu, it's cool to watch.
Surely, she is working to hone skills needed when the competition
isn't buddy play. She's incredibly nimble on her feet
and has tremendous speed. I recently watched our Border collie
Riley attempt to catch Nesta in an open pasture, and he struggled to do so. Her wheels can really turn.
But as I mentioned at nausea when
discussing with you whether or not she would be the correct canine for me, the
Boz temperament is unmatched! She has natural manners when she's
allowed to enjoy some house time. Case
in point, the other day, Linkin and I were reading a book on the floor in
the tv room. Link was eating his
supper from a bowl at the same time.
Well something distracted the two of us (probably Kingston, our 1 1/2
year old domestic terrorist), and we both left the area. I returned a short time later to see
Mt. Nesta sitting a foot from the bowl that Link left unattended. I immediately summoned my wife
Stephanie over to have a look at what was occurring. Wanting not to drag Nesta's attention
away from what she was doing, Stef and I stayed at distance and marveled over
her discipline to not "help herself."
Well then enters Riley.
He obviously was intrigued by what appeared to be an easy catch. Stef and i watched as Nesta gave
Riley the look and a mild growl and Riley thought twice. She had
clearly been able to resolve the situation out in her own head. I then asked Link to go retrieve his
abandoned food bowl, and Nesta gracefully wagged her tail as he did. I couldn't help but give both pups a
skosch of chicken tetrazzini in their dog bowls. They both
deserved it. Just goes to show
the level of IQ that you’re dealing with when dealing with Boz, there isn't
anything like it, that i've seen.
You know there are many things about Boz that i'm in love with, obviously
the physical stature is simply striking, the muscle tone/mass, bone structure,
not to mention she's simply darling to look at, but I have to go back to the
temperament, it's just that amazing.
Kingston can throw food at Nesta that he pulls out of her bowl while
she's eating, and she acts as though he's not even present. Her instinctual set of rules for
engaging/dealing with situations are where it's at! It's been an absolute blast watching
her grow into her own. I can't
thank you enough for ensuring that I would be getting an animal that fit my
temperament criteria, but having said that, all one has to do to get an idea of
what to expect temperment wise from Boz, is to watch videos of Diva.
The consummate professional she is! Sincerely, watching
countless hours of videos of Diva really sold me on what the temperament
standard is, and Mt Nesta has not disappointed. Boz is truly king
of canine, one man’s opinion. We are looking forward to your next
Boz litter and am hoping that an unrelated male would be in my near future. I can’t get enough of Boz, it’s
frig’n exciting!
Brian thanks again for being so open with your knowledge and
allowing for detailed questions and requests. It was a refreshing
experience working with you throughout the process. No surprises,
no BS. You should be commended for executing on a your passion, and we feel
fortunate to be a part of it all.
V/R,
Mark. Washington
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"I first started with knowing livestock guardians as a teenager in the 60’s and 70’s when we had lost our Samoyed and my parents bought a Kuvaz Livestock Guardian Dog ( LGD) to guard the house after a dangerous robbery. As a dog lover I realized this type of dog is like no other – no one was allowed in the house without the permission of the family. We were never robbed again and no one was attacked.
In the 80’s I got a Komondor to guard the ranch. I have since had Great Pyr’s, Maremma and Sarplaninac. I HAVE ALSO SAVED LGD’S FROM THE POUND AND SEEN THEM WORK WELL.
I have a ranch with a “Bed and Catch You Own Breakfast” and raise and sell registered Lowline cattle (40lb calves), Hair sheep, chickens Palowania trees, and bees as well as honey from our hives We have a constant flow of “ strangers with children” here. I cannot afford a untrainable, snappy dog. On this ranch they are “put down” immediately – not sent on to cause problems elsewhere. And yes, I have seen this problem in other breeds of LGD’s.
At the moment I have 4 LGD’s I also have two housedogs as well - a Great Dane and a rat Jack terrier ( I admit a little dog poor!) two of which are from Brian Peckinpaugh’s stock.
Since I have had LGD’s I have not lost ONE lamb or ONE calf and we have hawks ,eagles, coyotes. wolves, mountain lion and now Louisiana bear are moving in. Without the guardian dogs this ranch would be a dinner buffet for all predators.
With the knowledge and experience of LDG’s that I have accumulated, I have to say I am most impressed by Brian’s dogs. They are gentle, well socialized, reliable but very serious regarding protecting their flock –AND STARTED FROM A VERY YOUNG AGE. As pups I have not had to worry about any “play behavior” at all. They show NO TENDENCY TO FIGHT THE OTHER DOGS THAT ARE PART OF THE RANCH. In fact they “back up” the other dogs alerts. I have and will continue to recommend Brian Peckinpaugh’s dogs as they are the best working dogs I have ever seen. None of these dogs placed have failed to impress their owners that I know of.
There are rumors being bandied about that Brian fights his dogs…WRONG… go and visit and be greeted by loose dogs all over the place! There are none penned alone except for females with pups and some of those aren’t either! Watch the neighbors Chihuahua pup run among them!
I have some knowledge of fighting dogs as I helped sew up a number in the veterinary field years ago. His place does not fit a fighting dog kennel. SHAME on the obviously jealous person who is saying this – better yet go and visit and be mobbed and licked by a number of large dogs!!!! Be sure and bring your kids!
By the way – the worst ranch dog killer I have ever seen was agreyhound that snapped the necks of ANY dog that came in that ranch.
Mine first invite a strange dog to leave before attacking – funny how they have all left! That means the neighbors cute longhaired Dachshund is still alive and an OLD lost Lab was returned to its owner who was visiting the area for a weekend. I have also witnessed them trip, roll and thoroughly attack a marauding coyote close to the chickens- it was not invited to leave first!!
I REPEAT, Brian’s dogs are excellent in every way. He is an honest reliable breeder who backs up his breeding- the dogs are what he says they are."
-Patti Seeley BS Animal Science Vet Tech, Melody Acres Lowlines
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"Howdy Brian,
It has come to my attention that you are having some naysayers hating on you, your dogs and your success... When you have dogs as iconic and amazing as the Boz its inevitable. In my humble opinion there are no dogs that can do the job that the Boz and Kangals do, as good as they do. Some might be as big but don't live half as long... few others can also go up against wolves but cant be around strangers or even your own children.... while most other LGD's have more than their paws full with coyotes so they would never be able to last 3 seconds with a wolf. The Boz and Kangals are the best that I have seen across the board.
When some people loose their lead in a race, instead of making themselves better, they try to make their opponents look worse.
This is what I see happening against you and your dogs.
I have both Kangals and Boz Shepherds... If I tell people how great they are they wouldn't believe me......UNTIL they meet my dogs, see them work and interact with strangers and toddlers. My Boz male Khan and myself were at birthday party of my friends 8 year old son last month. Two parents approached me. Their 7 year old daughter hadn't left Khans side for 1.5 hours. Actually she hadn't taken her hand off of him the whole time, except once when he got up to walk to a tree for shade....she was seconds behind him.... She was smothering him, she was in love... and he was loving it. The parents had to know what kind of dog he was. They told me their daughter was TERRIFIED of dogs. That she hadn't touched a dog for 3 or 4 years, since she had been bitten. And now here she is with this strange HUGE Boz dog and she can't take her hands off of him. Needless to say a Boz dog changed that little girls life that day.
My Boz dog Ayi, that you sold me last year has Khans same loving personality. I have attached a photo of Ayi with a young girl. They had only met moments earlier. These Boz dogs that you raise and sell are top notch. Your breeding program is putting out some amazing dogs. But don't take my word for it. Here are 2 different emails that I received yesterday. There are plenty more where these came from but I thought I would just forward what I found in yesterdays inbox......"
Below are emails I have received about your dogs.
"We have two Boz we got from Brian Peckinpaugh. We are looking for two more Boz, kangal, pure, mixed. The wolves have gotten here. Do you have anything available puppy-wise? The male and female are absolutely wonderful dogs. We are pleased to death. I need to up my LGD population. Even though the Boz from Brian are still quite young they are teamed with our great Danes and great pyrenees. We have had zero livestock losses this year. Calves, sheep, pigs or poultry. We see coyotes constantly, wolves several times a week please get back to us So I am branching out."
"Hi, I bought a female Boz x Kangal puppy out of Max and Kara from Brian at Natural Born Guardians. We are pleased with her and are thinking about adding more Boz shepherds to our farm in the future. I wanted to ask about yours. Could you tell me more about your breeding plans and upcoming Boz litters? Are your dogs related to Brians? Thank you for your time" - Tom Sundin
"Another Email about your dogs. Here is an email I just got from a potential buyer... They bought some Boz pups from you. Thought this might help explain what these dogs can become. (Paul has a13,000 acre RANCH in Nevada) ""Quick and a bit funny story. When the two pups came from Brian I put their shipping cage in our chicken pen and run with the cage door open, water and food. The next morning some of the chickens were roosting on them. No problems. That was six months ago. Last week some of younger chicks got out. As I was trying to round them up two of them decided to go out accross the field. The female saw me chasing them and took out after them. She got one with her mouth---OH SHIT. She ran back to the pen and SPIT IT OUT INTO THE DOOR and THEN WENT BACK FOR THE OTHER ONE. No damage to either one. She transported them like a bird dog. Only thing I can think of saying is DAMN!!!!!!!" I hear a few stories like this every month... some even more amazing... Way to go Brian, seems your breeding program is AWESOME."
"I get phone calls from some of your buyers every month... they are usually asking about getting more Boz dogs and come to me to find unrelated genetics. Every buyer that has contacted me has nothing but great things to say about you and your dogs... They love your dogs so much that some come to me looking for something to breed them with. That is the Ultimate Compliment, when somebody likes your dogs soooooo much that they want to use them as breeding stock.
Thank you for being so professional, helpful, honest and for selling me one of the best dogs on the planet...
I hope this letter and emails help put into perspective what kind of breeder you really are and how awesome the breed is you are trying to promote.
Keep up the great work Brian, and please, send me another Boz puppy :)"
- Vose IV, RockyMountainKangal.com
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"I purchased three puppies from Brian in February 2012. One is Boz and the other two are Boz/Kangal crosses. I wanted stronger dogs after one of my LGDs (Great Pyrenees) was badly injured and nearly died after a confrontation with a predator. In March, I introduced the pups to a herd of sixty goats, all does that were beginning to kid. I was concerned that the puppies would play with the kids and injure them, but I needed to know how they would interact with young goats. My concerns were unfounded. The pups were curious but they did not attempt to injure any of the kids. March was also the month that the pups began to show guardian qualities. For the first few days that they were with the herd, they would stay behind near the barns when the goats spread out into the woods to feed. That quickly changed and if I wanted to check on the dogs I had to find the goats. The Great Pyrennes and the three puppies always find me before I can sneak up to the herd. The pups are seven months old now and are doing great. If they hear barking dogs or coyotes howl they go on alert. Even though they are just puppies they are still every impressive dogs. I look forward to watching them mature into wonderful Livestock Guardian Dogs."
"I put all three in with the largest group of goats yesterday which are in the process of kidding. I wanted them to get used to very small goats. No problem for the kids; the does are very protective. The pups were curious but did not try to play with the kids(a good thing). Tonight when I went out to check on any new-borns, all three of the pups charged the gate growling and barking! It was great! I need to get my daughter to come out and take some photos of them in action." -
"Yesterday evening at just about dusk, the goats were beginning to bed down and
the dogs were snoozing with them. A coyote began singing down in the holler. The
pups alerted, began barking and tore off down the trail like their tails were on
fire. They were back in about fifteen minutes looking very satisfied with
themselves. I think that coyote decided to find a safer place to hunt. Thank you for providing me with such great protection for my goats."
A D Blair, Valley Rest Farm
(Aubrey lives in Kentucky, and bought One Boz male, and a male and female Boz/Kangal after his largest LGD sire had his throat ripped open)
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"I forgot to mention found a pretty big grizzly track 20 yards from my house. Our dog went ballistic.
I went outside to see what was up saw nothing but I could not calm him down.
Wow it was intense every muscle in his body was flexed. He was scrapeing the ground with his paws letting out this fierce bark/growl that was both scarey and ear piercing.
I just got out of his way." - Jim (Jim lives in Northern Idaho, and owns one of my Kangal Pups that is a year old, and weighs 145#. They live up against a National Forest, and have Wolf and Bear on a regular basis. He also reported that this huge dog was able to walk on top of the light snow, utilizing his large webbed feet.)
Jim T. Idaho
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"This is a wonderful breed of Guardian dogs and more people need to be aware of this breed's potential. Whether they want to use them to guard the chicken coop from foxes, guard you on country walks from wild hogs, or to guard children from strangers pulling up in your driveway . . . this is the dog for the job. Gentle, loving, and affectionate - but will take measures to protect the ones he (the dog) loves.
I love Titan and out of all the large breed dogs I've had in 38 years, he is the best. far more intelligent than the lab without all the extra energy I can't handle. I can't wait to find him the right girl to bring home. Thanks Brian for introducing me to this extraordinary breed. Now that I have Titan, I'm a lifer. I can't see me ever wanting anything other than him." -
Shauna H. Texas
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"I've been friends with Vose Babcock for a couple years through our connection with Kangals from Misty Acres and Boz Kennel. I have 6 dogs, 3 dogs and 3 bitches. One of my dogs is from BozKennel, his name is Tarzan. He is definitely more massive skeletally, from head to toes than my Misty Acres dogs which are good dogs. I'm an orthopedic surgeon/farmer. I got busted up in an accident a couple of years ago and I'm done doing surgery. Vose told me that you're an RN.
Of all my dogs, Tarzan, father of Conan, is by far the most laid back and great with people/kids after a brief introduction. He is also great with my goats and has not been dog aggressive. He was 'jumped' by two of my male Kangals and there was a brief skirmish but no real damage. We rotate the dogs between paddocks and perimeter and that's how it happened. Someone didn't keep a gate closed, but prior to that no incidents. Two males were doing perimeter and Tarzan was let out by the person who left a gate open. The point to this is he was not the aggressor and even now, 6 months later, is wary of the other two dogs but keeps his distance and growls if they come to close, but I keep the males separate now anyhow. My dogs are working dogs, I have a sixty head herd of Boers and Nubians and some crosses. I will probably do some breeding in the near future."
- Bob T. (Tarzan is a sibling to Natural Born Guardian's 'Diva')
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"I had my Sire Monster at my sons baseball game for socialization and company. As normal, he became the center of attention for many of the small children and parents alike.
Besides the normal crowding and in his face LOVE that he seems to always get from the kids, this night was different.
Aprox 5 children started an impromptu game of TAG, and Monster was HOME BASE. With all the children running and even sliding into him, I was concerned. The children then started jumping over him in a competition.
But in typical Boz temperament, all the play and activity was tollerated with a relaxed tollerance. These were children he had never met before."
- Natural Born Guardians
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"Güzel update - Want to send you some new pictures of Güzel. She was laying down with her sheep out on the pasture this morning.