Xyta "Ellie" von Hügelblick

Hi Carrie,

After owning this wonderful puppy, I feel like I can adequately give feedback. Ellie is just over 14 months old now with a great temperament; a quality, as you know, that was most desired. When we looked into purchasing a German shepherd, we learned how important a stable temperament was versus the "look" of a show dog. She has proven that children, bikes, roller skates, cars, loud sounds, dogs, and other animals can't rattler her nerves. She does, however, run and bark like a mad dog when someone knocks on the door when the family is all in our home- as though she knows someone, other than her family, wants in. The vet has given her a clean bill of health from the first day we brought her in, and even commented how proud and confident she was. He said that he has seen may GSD cower in the corner with fear. She sat there proudly and took the shots that were given; even licking him!

Although she is a calm and attentive dog, we enrolled her in dog obedience classes to channel her energy and teach us how to challenge her. She knows the difference between a "casual" walk on command and the "heel" command, and adjusts her position and pace accordingly. She knows all the basic commands but now can sit for a long period, her "place" command, in a room if we have guests over, so to not nudge them for affection.

We take her regularly to the dog park where she plays great with all the dogs and loves chasing after her tennis balls. She really isn't too concerned about the dogs large or small around her. She is only interested in my first throw"¦ to my fiftieth. When she is running after a ball, she is only looking at her ball and nothing will stop her from catching it-mostly in mid air. At home we play with old soccer balls; we have gone through about 6 soccer balls -her passion! After about 20 minutes of this hard exercise, she is looking for some water, rest, relaxation and of course petting.

She has not exhibited any bad habits-chewing, biting, barking etc. At first she would sneak an abandoned, lone sock, but has since figured that a good, stern look and the command "drop it" will make her spit it out quickly. We have allowed and trusted her to roam the house at night while we sleep to keep an eye on everyone and everything. She waits patiently for me to wake up and know that she then can go outside. I have never been awakened by her to tell me when she needs to go outside.

At about the age of 9 months, she had figured out how to escape from her double, two-dimensional locked, crate. We haven't figured out how she does it. And she doesn't do it all the time- just when she feels like it. Matter of fact, we were greeted by her last night at the door. We got home about 10:00pm and had been gone for over 4 hours, and not a shred of evidence that she was concerned or worried. On a side note, she has perfected an interesting "trick". She can unlock the crate from the outside to reach her treat taunting her in the inside.

I don't remember if you recall talking to me on the phone when I mentioned that all I wanted was the "perfect dog". Well, I think you have delivered. We have all grown to admire the strength and beauty of this breed. Her intelligence is far beyond our expectations, her loyalty is striking, and her temperament cannot be overstated for such a dog that commands respect. Thank you for offering to us such a wonderful family dog. Atze deserves another "attaboy"!

Tricia and Gary Lallo