Hallo to all Dog Lovers
Everything and more about Swiss Mountain Dogs
On this page you will find descriptions of the four Swiss Mountain Dog
breeds: the Entlebucher Mountain Dog,
the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog,
the Bernese Mountain Dog and the Appenzeller
Mountain Dog. At our kennels we breed Entlebucher Mountain Dogs and
Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs, but we share the homepage with an Appenzeller
and Bernese breeder so that the quartet is complete.
If you are interested in buying a puppy, you will find up-to-date puppy
information at this link.
Mountain Dogs are traditionally working dogs and the larger breeds especially
are suitable as carting dogs. We are very pleased that we are now an official
Carting Centre.
At our organic farm we breed dogs, but we also produce organic products
(Harvest for Life) such as milk, eggs, poultry, beef and pork, cheese,
curd cheese, bread etc. These products are sold every Saturday on the
farm. And as we also have a small joiner’s workshop, we have recently
started up the production of wooden Rocking Horses.
But, we haven’t even introduced ourselves! Our names are Hans and
Grete Stadlbauer. If you would like to really see what it is like at our
organic farm, just come and visit us in Gramastetten.
Hans and Grete Stadlbauer wish you a lot of fun with these pages.
About us
Hans
Living with animals and breeding animals have been life-long interests
for me. As a Primary School pupil, I bought some thoroughbred pigeons
with my pocket-money and started to breed them. My first job with the
Austrian National Association for Livestock Breeding Performance Tests
(Leistungsverband für Leistungsprüfungen in der Tierzucht) meant
that I started to concern myself intensively with genetic tendencies,
hereditary transmission and selection in cattle breeding.
At the age of 22 I built up my own breeding herd from a domestic herd
and the hard work started to pay off; my cattle were vigorous, long-living
and high achievers. High quality offspring were achieved and I sold cattle
as far afield as Africa.
In recent years, breeding Swiss Mountain Dogs has become very important
for me. We decided upon the Swiss Mountain Dogs as these traditional farming
dogs are faithful, affectionate and good with children. They are excellent
family dogs and easy to train, but also vigilant. They have little hunting
instinct. For me it is vital that the dogs are of good disposition and
free of canine hip dysplasia. We do not inbreed.
Apart from the yearly statutory vaccinations, before mating both dogs
undergo veterinary examinations. My motto is: Only breed from healthy,
stable dogs that correspond to international standards. The good results
that we have achieved at international dog-shows have proved that this
is a good motto..
Grete
Soon after our marriage, Hans expressed the opinion that a family is
not complete without a dog. I was not that enthusiastic about this at
the beginning as I had not had much experience with dogs and what I had
experienced in childhood had made me fearful of them. However, as soon
as our first dog moved in, my attitude towards dogs changed. The dogs
now take up a lot of our time and can be tiring. All the same, I experience
the dogs as a wonderful pastime and enriching to our lives. For me it
is very important that the puppies grow up with people and our puppies
are in close contact with children and grown-ups from the beginning.If
you are thinking about buying a puppy, you should definitely consider
the following questions:
- Do I have enough time and enough room for a dog?
- Am I really interested in concerning myself with the dog and his needs?
- Upbringing and keeping have a great effect on the dog’s behaviour.
- Even a breed that is naturally “good with children“ can
bite as a result of bad experiences.
- Dogs mean responsibility and are not toys.
This is the Gänsewiesen Swiss Mountain
Dog Farm
There
is a lot for children to do here and dogs love to have so many children
to play with. Our farm is in the hilly countryside amongst the fields
and the woods near Linz in Upper Austria. There will soon be further
pictures of our farm on this page.
Visit our Photogallery
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