Our Breeding Goals
Drawing Out Traditional Temperaments and Top Conformation with Excellent Health
We believe carefully planned, and informed, genetic diversity in breeding can yield stronger, healthier, Bouviers. Line breeding can produce Bouviers who look very similar and win American dog shows for conformation, but do little to improve the overall health and longevity of the breed. As a result, we often mix imported European and domestic American gene pools after reviewing dominate and recessive traits as well as consulting professionals with over 40 years of experience in Bouviers.
We believe Bouviers are versatile, adaptable, and a uniquely intelligent breed capable of many tasks. They have long memories and learn (good and bad things, or things you wan tthem to know as well as things you accidentally teach) quickly. As a result, we strongly align our breeding practices with a deep familiarity of the dam/sire's temperament: their aptitudes and interests.
We believe in doing no harm to the breed and leaving it better than we found it - if only in our little corner of the world. To achieve this, we have acquired an extensive breed education, knowledgeable mentors around the world, and we are in the process of conducting extensive health testing (beyond genetic panels). We work with our buyers to place pups into homes where their temperaments match the "jobs" they are expected to do (roles in the family), and we provide access to health insurance, obedience training, dietary supplements, and other support free or at a discounted rate.
2024 Whelping Forecast
Updated 18 February 2024: This calendar is for rough planning and estimating purposes only. It is not fixed or guaranteed until a dam is positively pregnant and safely delivers a litter. Due to the natural cycle of breeding canines, ovulation, live births, gender(s), and such can only be projected on the basis of past experience with the sire and dam. We cannot control exact outcomes/timing. This calendar will be updated as soon as new information is known and available. Note the date of the image you are viewing.
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Our Breeding Lines
We classify our lines in (3) different categories:
1) High quality AMERICAN LINES with amazing home/pet, or Nanny Dog, temperaments. Various heights. Heads might be narrower. Feet may be narrower. Coats may be softer (easier to groom, but not show quality). Overall, very good Bouviers.
2) Champion EUROPEAN LINES with exceptional intelligence and athleticism: great for Nanny Dogs, home protection, herding trials, barn hunt (scent work), obedience work, AKC show, and agility work. Large heads. Muscular hind-quarters. Thick, curlier coats. Stockier.
3) Motivated WORKING LINES suitable for first responders, protection sports, security work, obedience trials, and homes willing to form a working partnership with a larger Bouvier who might like to relentlessly play fetch all day.
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Meet Our Dams and Sires
PROVEN SHOW CHAMPION LINES
I am a couch potato, but I produce highly intelligent, cuddly pups motivated to learn obedience.
(Imported from Poland)
50% AMERICAN LINES & 50% EUROPEAN
I am a hybrid, but considered American.
I love being a mom, and I produce exceptional companion pups. I'll be taking a break from whelping in 2024.
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PROVEN CHAMPION HERDING LINES
PROVEN SHOW CHAMPION LINES
I produce highly intelligent, cuddly pups motivated to learn obedience and agility.
(Imported from the Czech Republic)
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PROVEN PROTECTION SPORT CHAMPION
PROVEN SHOW CHAMPION: Netherlands
I am highly trained and self-disciplined.
I am large and in-charge.
(from the famous Dafzicht Kennels NL)
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AMERICAN SHOW CHAMPION LINES
I am a hybrid of many great American lines.
I love to fetch a ball and I'm easy to train.
I am a big, beautiful, girl!
75% AMERICAN LINES & 25% EUROPEAN
I am a hybrid, but considered American.
I produce big-boned and exceptional companion pups in a wide range of colors. Per my dna test results, my unique coat color is called "saddle fawn."
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AMERICAN LINES
I am a hybrid of many great American lines.
I am a big, beautiful, girl! I bond tightly and learn fast! 2024 will bring my first litter. Raisin is my mom and Nik is my dad!
AMERICAN LINES
I am a hybrid of many great American lines.
I am a big, beautiful, girl! If you want to see what my pups are like, look at Ellie! I'm her mom! Silver/Black brindle.
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25% AMERICAN LINES & 75% EUROPEAN
I am a hybrid, but considered American. 2024 will bring my first litter. I am a loyal companion and loving nanny-Bouv. Silver/Black brindle.
A European Breeder Model:
Indoor Dams & Sires (No Kennel Dogs)
Rather than have an impersonal, outdoor, kennel of Bouvs, all our Bouviers have indoor-homes and families to retain their health: physically and emotionally.
This European model also makes it easy to separate breeding males into different homes to avoid alpha conflicts.
Likewise, occasionally, we move breeding girls around when they have spats with their “sister-wives” and to keep a clean, safe, home environment for our Bouvie family.
For example, Ellie is currently (Spring 2024) with Trooper Williams to whelp and train. Emma needed a break from the intensity of their friendship. However, we plan for Ellie to return and permanently reside with us. When two girls have a hot/cold relationship, it can create a stressful environment for birthing (whelping). So, Ellie is able to enjoy a private "birthing suite" with no distractions.
George sometimes visits the Carter Family Farm in Indiana to run and play with three lady-Bouvs, and to visit his favorite people (the Carters!). George enjoys "overnight camp" while we appreciate a little time-out to keep him safely away from a girl who is in heat - a girl who is on a "pass cycle" (rest period) from breeding. Now, with George out, she can't possibly get pregnant! More fool-proof than kennels and gates that can break or fail to latch.
Below are two charts:
Dams in our lines, who owns them, where they whelp/wean.
We get all pups at The House after they wean to socialize, temperament test, vaccinate, vet check and care for them in every way through their Go-Home date.
Most pups are still born at The House. 2024 is our biggest out-of-House birthing period due to a little extra time, and space, needed to finish up BELCO: The Edmee Bowles Story, a historical biography about the World War II heroine who brough her incredible Bouv boy, Belco, with her to the United States in 1942.
Sires in our breeding lines, who owns them, where they live.
Sometimes, we import semen from “proven” quality, champion and health tested males. It’s a very involved (expensive) process, and the risks of doing it and getting dead sperm are real! However, we are venturing out there in an effort to preserve some of the great traditional qualities and health of the Bouvier.
This is why not all studs will breed to all females, or breed indefinitely, or even live in the USA. We add/remove studs as we watch lines develop and get a history of what we are producing to gain insights in how to focus our goals.
Hope this helps you to better understand The House Of Bouvs and our kennel-less breeding method! We look forward to speaking with you and answering any questions you may have about Bouvs or our practices.
Shana B. Webb, M.S.Ed.
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