I did not anticipate breeding dogs when I first began training dogs. In fact, when we purchased a German Shepherd Dog puppy in 1979, I did not anticipate training dogs for a career. My extended family had GSD’s and for me, I couldn’t fathom living with any other breed. We followed an ad in the local paper to a backyard breeder or ‘BYB’ in Illinois. I had no idea what BYB’s were or that there were such things as health screenings or working titles. When the ‘breeder’ mentioned she had bred her American bloodline female to a German import male and the astounding awards he had, that information went in one ear and out the other. My brain briefly settled on the 'Wow' factor of a German Shepherd Dog actually coming from Germany. In 1979, that was unusual.
Vashka, as we called her, was brilliant. Entirely too brilliant for my limited experience. She also suffered with horrible hips and health. Our second dog was purchased almost two years later as an adolescent with not much more success. She was of sturdy build but had been kenneled with siblings at a large training facility. Training had been harsh and learning remained difficult for her no matter how many treats or how much fun I tried to make it.
Purely out of necessity, I was becoming a competent dog trainer, seeking out effective as well as humane methods. When we decided on a third dog, (Three’s a charm!) I searched for almost three years, going to shows, visiting breeders and asking questions of health and temperament in my search for a healthy and mentally sound German shepherd. I, briefly, considered another breed until Peter confided he really only wanted a shepherd. So did I, to be honest. I just wanted one who was healthy.
In the obedience rings, I saw GSD’s who were eagerly complying with their humans’ directions, leaping over jumps, joyously racing to them on the recall and happily wagging their tails greeting people. This was the character I wanted but their looks were not what I was accustomed to seeing. Remember, this was in the early 1980’s and German import bloodlines were still uncommon. My eye, like most Americans, was familiar with the show lines of the American Kennel Club lots of black with silver or light tan pigment, long bodies, extreme angles and that all-important (albeit, exaggerated) ‘side-gait’.
These German dogs were square-ish with blocky heads that actually looked course compared to the refined heads I was used to seeing in the show rings. They had deeper tans, some with deep red pigment, or were sable. What won me over was the enthusiasm and frankness of the owners of these German dogs. They talked about hips, health and mental soundness. These dogs loved to be active partners in training and life. We eventually became such fans of these German dogs, that we decided to breed them so others could enjoy resilient, joyful, healthy German shepherds, too!
This world of the shepherd from Germany opened up for us and we enjoyed many years traveling to Germany, training and competing with our dogs there and cherishing relationships with people who shared their heritage and knowledge with us. As I soon discovered, breeding dogs does not add to one’s wealth. We did not breed large numbers of litters but indulged our dogs – and ourselves - with enriching experiences to prepare pups for their futures. I took on the hobby of breeding as a research project in many ways, always experimenting with rearing pups, the diet we fed and monitoring behavior and health as well as how best to assess adoptive families and the placement of pups.
The name of our kennel, Framheim, comes from the combination of Peter’s distinguished involvement as Antarctic explorer and research scientist and Joan’s Norwegian heritage. ‘Fram’ is the name of the ship which served as the base camp for Roald Amundsen, the Norwegian explorer who first reached the South Pole.
