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Writer's pictureShawna

Understanding RMCD "Litter Groups"

Updated: Aug 8, 2021

'Round here....we do things a little different. We start our day with a little rhythm and end our day with a lot of melody. The canine species is our reason for being, and music lets us be.....Deadheads. Like any good little Grateful Dead fan...I have an outstanding memory for their trivia.

Rocky Mountain Companion Dogs must NOT be mistaken for a breed. We work with various purebred and outcrossed BREED TYPES; selecting and raising our puppies specifically for people who have asked for them. In our "standard", we touch on the various forms a "companion" can take. It largely depends on what the pup's owner needs from a companion dog.

The main focus of our breeding program is health and temperament. Some litters have been bred to suit active


families. Some litters are more appropriate for agri-tourism farms. Some are bred for folks with no children and a netflix-and-chill lifestyle. Keeping the pedigrees lined up with the temperaments they were bred for will be necessary as time and my breeding program move forward.

The best way for me to do this - Each of our litters are named after a Grateful Dead album, the pups named after songs on that album. Albums (litters) are grouped according to the temperament I am currently working with.

We are currently working with the Wharf Rats group. This temperament concentrates on a service potential in the higher drive dogs, and professional Therapy in the more mellow dogs. Next, we branch off into Europe '72 group. targeted particularly for interactive Professional Therapy. These are good family dogs that enjoy hiking and being involved.

After that will be the Shakedown group....these are more intense and intuitive dogs that will be appropriate for Medical and Alert Service. There will be some available for Therapy, but Shakedown pups will be very work-minded.

The career dog breeder needs to keep many facets of their pedigrees straight in their heads at all times. Things happen at lightening speed and I don't have the wear-with-all to keep going back to the papers and numbers to roll with the changes.

This method is much more fun. I am considering bringing poultry into our lives...if I do, my love of Quentin Terrantino movies will surface, and I can't wait to have a chicken names O-ren Ishii, and a Rooster named Bill.




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