Pawsitively Powerful

Hello! My name is Celeste and I own Dakonic German Shepherds. GSDs are my passion and I am a small time working line GSD breeder located in Northern California that strives to produce versatile, all-around dogs. I am always happy to answer questions about the breed, training, etc. I also feed my dogs a raw diet and train in protection work as well as other sports.

[pawsitivelypowerful]

Opinion on Blue Bay Shepherds?

Not my cup of tea, I have not heard good things about the breeding ethics and temperaments but I have no first hand experience to offer unfortunately.

[pawsitivelypowerful]

How are you & the dogs? We haven't heard from you in a while! I hope all is well!! :)

Hey! Thank you for asking about us!

I’m entering a new chapter in my life and I honestly just haven’t had the time. I finally moved out and moved in with a very good friend of mine who is now my coworker. So we’ve been focusing on work and fixing the place up.

We also live a bit farther out so our internet is terrible and I’m rarely ever on the computer anymore, so I do not know that I will update here often. Anyone is welcome to follow me on Instagram or friend me on Facebook if you want to see more regular updates. :)  That has been easier for me to keep up, but my posting has honestly decreased there too.

[pawsitivelypowerful]

Do you have a potential sire in mind for Rou's first litter, now that she's 2 and you've gotten to know her strengths and weaknesses? And what titles etc do you hope to put on her before breeding? She's a stunning dog with lovely structure, I bet it feels amazing to watch your first litter mature so well!

I’m quite happy with how Rou has matured overall, she’s a super reliable dog, genuinely likes to work to please you, that is her biggest goal in life yet she isn’t particularly handler sensitive nor is she needy, great work ethic, fantastic hunt drive she loves to find things for the sake of finding them, confident/good nervem super stable, natural mom/adores kids/puppies, I like her intensity in protection, she is fast and has a civil side to her, the more you fight her the stronger she shows. But I am not super happy with her grips so far, she can be shallow and chompy at times, other times she can be full and pushing. Hoping it will continue to improve with maturity but it’s definitely something I’m going to be mindful of in breeding.

Right now I’m looking at Force vom Quellwasser for her first breeding, strong young upcoming male, definitely would have the genetics to correct the grip issues. He’s a half brother (dam line) to the sire of my B litter and I’ve been incredibly happy and impressed by my B litter. I would like to use the sire of my B litter with her too.

And Rou already has a good number of titles. I’m not one to stress over proving things to others by pursuing titles that are not meaningful to me (assuming you might be getting at IPO/IGP). She is currently:

UWP SG Abyss vom Dakonic PD1 P1(H) OB1 UNJ CGCA

I definitely want to do more with her but I by no means feel like I have to.

And thank you! It’s been a awesome experience to see them grow and converse with all my awesome puppy owners. I’m incredibly excited for the B litter too, Kaiju is showing extremely promisingly and so is her brother. I am actually repeating the litter (co-owned litter with a friend however) and will hopefully be on the C litter in April.

[pawsitivelypowerful]

I dont know if you would have any recommendations given the difference in breeds, but do you know of any good Ibizan Breeders around? I've searched through a few websites but they're quite bare bones. Thanks in advance!

I have no idea I’m sorry :( They’re one of those breeds that I know nothing about besides their looks.

[pawsitivelypowerful]

I asked eightbigpaws and they directed me to you. How do you prevent your GSDs from becoming dog aggressive? My Swiss Shepherd has been attacked and chased down by nearly all GSDs that go to our local when he so much as walks or runs withing 10m of them, even if he's not going to the GSD specifically. We've only encountered 2 GSDs that didn't start being aggressive on sight. I don't have one but I had been planning on getting one before choosing my SS so I'm curious as to how you train them?

Did you mean to say local dog park? Because if so, dog parks are a horrible place.

And I don’t find GSDs to be particularly dog aggressive. Dog reactivity is definitely an issue in the breed but reactivity and aggression are completely different. It’s also possible it could be your dog, GSDs are very much a “policing” and controlling breed. They like to see order in their groups and want to keep things calm, so it is not uncommon for them to be corrective towards a dog who is either over the top or overly weak. Weak personality dogs are more likely to be targeted by stronger personalities.

Raising a Shepherd to avoid reactivity is a matter of doing your research and selecting the correct breeder, but also preparing to handle it appropriately (even GSDs from a very good breeder and GSDs who are very stable with dogs may go through reactivity phases as puppies which should be handled appropriately). I personally nip it in the butt, I will immediately correct any inappropriate reactivity and do a lot of engagement/play work around the other dogs to enforce that they should be background noise.

[pawsitivelypowerful]

How do you feel about crossbreeding projects aiming to reinforce and achieve desired traits (drive, temperament, physical abilities, etc) rather than adhering to a breed standard? What about outcrossing to bring in genetic diversity to existing breeds?

I’m very much in support of out crossing and cross breeding programs. As long as they are done with the same ethics and selectiveness as I’d expect from any responsible purebred breeder and there is a purpose/goal to the program, I’m all for it.

[pawsitivelypowerful]

Thoughts on alabamacanine(.)com?

I really like their dog Torr and Nash, but I unfortunately have no experience dealing with the kennel themselves directly.

[pawsitivelypowerful]

What’s your opinion of Dr Jean W Dodds’ vaccination protocol? I’m looking into breeders for Golden Retrievers but it seems every time I find one that has all the right hallmarks (appropriate health testing, puppy contract, socialization training, etc) they recommend the Dodds protocol. I’m wary; I want to give my animals the best possible care and denying them life-saving vaccines just doesn’t seem like the answer. Have I misunderstood how it works? Thank you for your time! :)

It’s been awhile so I could be wrong, but I don’t remember it involving denying vaccines, just vaccinating later than most.

I personally am not a fan of vaccinating dogs when they’re super young. 8 weeks is the earliest I would ever do it, and her starts at 9 weeks so it’s not that far off. Vaccinating too young can cause the dog to be more exposed because it can mess with the resistance that their mother has given them.

[pawsitivelypowerful]

I know they aren't your thing personally, but are there any WGSL breeders you favor?

I really don’t know many, but one I can recommend and know personally is von Den Baren kennels. :) She specializes in long coats but she could probably help refer you out. I’ve also heard good things about Haus Huro.

[pawsitivelypowerful]

Do you have an insta?

Yes! I’m @dakonicgsds

[pawsitivelypowerful]

Opinions on line breeding, and would you do it yourself?

Yes, I would, every dog that I own is linebred. It’s impossible to find a GSD that isn’t at some point. It’s important in breeding and trying to find consistency in the traits that you want to see. It simply needs to be done wisely, avoid linebreeding on dogs that bring concerning issues, etc. And obviously one should balance it and not overdo it either.

[pawsitivelypowerful]

Brazen vom Dakonic “Kaiju” at 15 weeks old

I just love this pup!

[pawsitivelypowerful]

Good looking group of dogs! ;)

[pawsitivelypowerful]

Beautiful Northern California

[pawsitivelypowerful]

did you ever mention kaiju's registered name? name nerds want to know :P

Brazen vom Dakonic. :) If you ever need to find them, they are listed on my website! ^_^

[pawsitivelypowerful]

iirc I think you once said you taught your dog(s) bite inhibition without conflicting their futures involving bite sports. How did you do that? I’m genuinely curious!

I don’t teach my dogs bite inhibition, if need be I redirect onto toys but I do not discourage it. : ) That’s just my bite sport pups though, for pet pups then I do work on bite inhibition.

[pawsitivelypowerful]

Little one decided she wanted to get involved today. ;) I love this little pup. She was originally just out for exposure/desensitization but jumped right in.