Whelping box

Vixen has come into season and we expect to mate her to Foxgrove's Moonlight Gunner in week 39. If we succeed, we expect puppies around week 48.

Read the Pokémon litter diary here

Background

The pups from Vixen's first litter - the Ben & Jerry litter - have evolved into fantastic dogs, so  of course we wanted to breed her again.

When the decision to breed Vixen Again had been taken, the next big step was to find a suitable male - a male that could fulfill the expectations and ideas we have in regard to our breeding.

We had several males in mind - all from abroad. However, when it came to making the decision, we chose a male that I have been in love with for several years: Foxgrove's Moonlight Gunner - aka Gunner.

Gunner was born in March 2009. He has sired several litters in Europe. According to his owner, Ute Nagl, his offspring is characterized by great working abilities and an efficient on/off button. Furthermore, they have a lovely temperament and are healthy. 

Gunner was breed by Diane Loiseau of Kennel Foxgrove in Canada and there are a lot of really nice dogs behind him. Diane and her sister, Sue Kish, are known to breed healthy, biddable and good working dogs. They use their  dogs on hunts and on hunt tests so these are characteristics that they hold high. Diane also is very active in other dog sports such as obedience, agility, flyball etc. Today, Diane has her own kennel, Kennel Redzone, with Fred Bergeron. 

Gunner himself has done well both on hunt tests and in the showring. He just qualified for the elite class in the Swedish toller hunting test system and he has passed the highest level in the hunting test system in Germany. He has also done well in the show ring and he is an international show champion.  Furthermore, he is used by Ute as a hunting dog.

When Ute and Gunner was in Sweden in 2011 this  video and this video was taken of Gunner working.

Here is a video from  2015 where  Ute was holding a tolling seminar in Switzerland where Ute used Gunner to show the elements of a tolling hunting test. 

You can learn more about  Gunner at the  Hunter's Moonlight's website.

We expect the pups from this litter to be amazing working dogs. For that reason we will only sell to people who are planning on working the dogs. They can be used as hunting dogs, for hunting tests, for tracking, obedience or anything that challenges and satisfies their desire to work.

Earlier this year when we went to train with Vixen's breeder, we stopped by Ute's place to have a closer look at Gunner. It was a very positive visit - as expected :-) Leif took these pictures of Gunner and Vixen:

And a couple of pictures of Gunner: