From Aspen's Owner...
"Keith and I met with Carl Reif on Saturday to have him evaluate Aspen. He trains throughout the world, breeds German Shepherd dogs, trains for police depts, SAR, and various other activities. He evaluated Aspen, and wanted Keith and I to contact you to let you know that we have a great pup (we already knew this), and to make sure and thank you. In fact he mentioned this several times. He tested his prey instincts which he said were excellent. He basically told us that we could do whatever we wanted with him. After spending 4 1/2 hours with him, discussing many things, we have decided to start schutzhund training with him this week and begin preparation for search and rescue. He thought that Aspen would be great for this. We will be working with him once a week. He also thinks that Aspen would be a great candidate for taking to hospitals, nursing homes, etc, so he would like to get him certified in this... He asked that we give you his name and number as he was very impressed with Aspen, bloodlines, etc. and thought you guys had done a great job. We start training this week- we are so excited."
"Puppy is doing great! His name is Aspen. We are having a lot of fun with him. He learned how to swim in the lake this week, and loves to ride on a boat. He sits, stays (sometimes) and can go potty on command. No accidents! It is amazing how smart he is. We will be forwarding pictures to you shortly. He also walks with a leash pretty well. He loved the kids, and adapts well to new environments."
"I am so excited after training today that I had to write you to update you. We had so much fun. Aspen learned to Sitz-Revier today and figured it out within a few minutes. It took him a little longer to learn to platz and be quiet, when the sleeve was above the trainers head, but he did figure it out. He did a really good job tracking today. Our trainer stated that Aspen is a very quick learner and is doing quite well... We are having so much fun training him, but there is so much to learn. It can be a humbling experience trying to learn all this new stuff. I honestly believe that it is harder to train us than Aspen as he seems like a natural with this."
"I am starting him in puppy school August 20th. He should do fine. He can already sit, settle, fetch and retrieve a ball, come, and heel (sort of). He also is learning no bite, which is not a lesson he is enjoying. I bought him a stuffed monkey today, as when he talks he sounds like a little monkey. This is his new best friend...He is really a smart little guy, and loves to learn. We are also working on rolling over-still need work on this. He is so much fun."
"Aspen at this point is fully house broken, has almost stopped biting everything in sight except toys, sits and lays down on command, shakes and almost rolls over. He is learning with ease and will start puppy school the week after next. We will be able to take him through several classes at this school in preparation for search and rescue. We will keep you update on his progress. Thanks for the incredible pup."