XX Litter
Whelped 7/11/22:  one black and tan male
“Degen” (Celhaus Xcellent Hope) went to North Carolina to compete in Schutzhund and to search for invasive plants.
XX litter background information
XX litter pedigree
XX litter police/narcotics test & photos
XX litter Search & Rescue test & photos

4/18/23:  “Degen clocked in at 89 pounds this morning, so no gain in recent weeks.  Much more coordinated and hungry for play.”

Degen (Celhaus Xcellent Hope) at 7 months
3/1/23 XX7mos-Degen:  “Another “happy vet” visit today as Degen weighed in at 79.8#”
2/16/23:  “Degen weighed in at 78.6# this morning.”
Photo 1:  “This afternoon with the flirt pole, momentarily distracted by the collies next door.”
Photo 2:  “Degen says, “Throw the ball!”
Photo 3:  “After weeks of growing longer, he shifted to putting on height.”
Photo 4:  “Ready for protection work session.”

Degen at 6 months
12/29/22:  “He’s showing great possessive drive with balls and his burlap sack, a good sign at this point. We’d exposed Degen in his earlier months to “puppy squares” as a good first step toward tracking. Come November he moved into that more distractable period so I gave him a pass for a bit, picking that back up late in December. He did get in a few trips to Palmyra VA that month for some early obedience and “protection” work, with burlap sacks, tugs and a soft sleeve.  The prep work you did for leash training has worked quite well, Cel. He’s really quite wonderful on a leash and prong collar, very willingly walking along side and sitting when I stop. Sits and downs are pretty good, with a quite nice ‘here.’”
1/14/23:  “Milestone:  Degen managed to jump onto the bed.”
Photo 1:  “Taller and longer than Chipper.” (their female GSD)
Photo 2:  “General interest in what we are having for dinner.”
Photo 3:  John:  “A bit more of a challenge with his down command than I’d have liked, getting both of these dogs lying down near each other so I can step back and photograph them.  Degen is shaky about holding a down but is getting there.”  Eva:  “He’s a spoiled brat but we love him.”

Degen at 5 months
“This year we opted to do a several-day vacation in Asheville, joined by friends from PA (Asheville photo). We were not yet comfortable leaving Degen in a boarding kennel as we did with Chipper and Kooper, so into the car he went. Road trip!  Of course, between his inaugural haul back East and the handful of trips to Virginia, he could not have been easier on the road. I was less sure about staying in an apartment in downtown Asheville, adding a bit of suspense over potty trips. He was (or we were) perfect on that front, proving “responsive” when walked to available bits of grass and frozen dirt.  Degen was also quite calm while in his crate in the apartment. That was handy as it got quite cold while we were there. I didn’t want to leave him in a cold car for very long.”

“Kitchen help.”

“Defending our house from a murder…of crows.”