Unica's Venus Vanja
Judith Engeroff <> Mayerthorpe, Alberta, Canada <> 780-786-2710 <> nii@hughes.net
Can. CH. Unica's Lily
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Vanja carries the Gene for Long Haired or Longer Haired Shepherds and also Luca, that's why they have short and long haired Shepherd in their Litters!
Long Haired / Short Haired Shepherds
2.The Breed
What is a "long-haired" shepherd? Where does he come from? We hear these questions whenever we walk our beautiful dogs and meet people from other countries to whom these dogs are unknown.
Here is the history of these dogs:
The long-haired shepherd is actually the ancestor of the "short-hair." Before 1899, two kinds of shepherds were found in Germany, one with longer hair than the other. Both kinds of were generally used for sheep work. A person named Rittmeister von Stephanitz recognized the intelligence of these dogs. He strongly believed that they could be used for other tasks, and had an idea of how to enhance their body structure to turn them into all-around working dogs. At the same time, he believed that the coat of these new working dogs should be relatively short.
In 1899, he founded the "SV" Club - the world-famous "Schäferhund-Verein." Thus, the breed-standard for the German shepherd was set. Later on the F.C.I and VDH accepted this standard.
Unfortunately, in this standard the "long-hair" was considered undesirable and was no longer accepted in the breed, in the mistaken belief that the "long-hair" did not have an undercoat.
Even after many years of careful breeding, occasionally a few "long-hair" puppies are still born into a "short-hair" litter. This is usually an indication that the whole litter is a good one because the sires and dams who have produced it are carriers of the strong genes of their ancestors. Generally, the puppies with this gene have a strong-boned body structure, are exceptionally good-natured, and are of sound character.
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"Vanja" congratulates her half sister, Lily, on achieving her Canadian Championship.
presenting ...
Birth date: May 15th, 2006
(Dasko vom Geney (German Import) x Unica's Gaby
"Vanja" is Bred By: Annette Mayer
Shelburne, N.S. Canada
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