Our Beginnings
Velvet was my first Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, age 3 when she came to me. Her first name had been Manon, but an intuitive 8 year old girl in her second home renamed her Velvet, perfect for her in every way. Velvet was the dog love of my life, and because of her, I finally heeded my calling.
Velvet needed some help with fearfulness and learning to accept strangers, among other things. We hiked, camped, played, and trained together – agility, herding, obedience, and draft, at every opportunity. Before long, work felt like a distraction to our time together! So, I decided to make training my full time occupation.
Diving in with both feet, I read extensively, went to Jean Donaldson’s Academy for Dog Trainers (known as the “Harvard of dog schools”), put in a 300+ hour internship at the SF SPCA, studied with Bob Bailey, Dr. Susan Friedman and many others, and the rest (some 8+ years of it now), is history. Velvet was by my side the entire way, and with brilliant dog-dog skills she was working as hard as I was to help other dogs and pet owners. Though gone in form for some years now, she is with me still, every step I take.
It wasn’t very long after I got Velvet, that I began to connect with other Swissy breeders, and Michele Slate of Ramsgate Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs was one of the first. After many visits with Michele, it was finally time in my life for a Swissy puppy, and in June of 2014, we brought 8-week old Mattie home.
Mattie’s sweetness stole my heart immediately, and her confidence and antics never cease to make me laugh out loud. With Mattie, I am blessed to love another Swissy in a way I never thought I could again.
So here we are. My long held desire to breed Swissys begins with Mattie. We have all paws, fingers and toes crossed for a healthy litter to begin this next chapter. I hope you enjoy learning more about this wonderful breed, and smile at the photos of the Swissys I love so much.
-Mac