Buster and Ashes in 1997
Our Story – I became interested in Weimaraners in the early 1990’s. I had lost my Dalmatian and wanted to move on to a different breed. Each year it was tradition in my home to watch the Westminster Kennel Club dog show. I saw the Weimaraner and fell in love with the look; it was so beautiful, the coat color, those eyes! Everyone had a Lab or a Golden but I wanted something different. I began doing my research and purchased my first Weimaraner, Ashes, in 1991. As typical of the Weim, she was my constant companion and was always with me. She lived through many important life changes with me: she was there when I graduated college, when I moved into my first apartment, when I met my future husband. Speaking of which, Scott was a ‘cat person’ when I met him but we’ve slowly converted him. And yes, his cats and my dogs lived together harmoniously. We added to our Weim family in August of 1997 when Scott surprised me with an engagement ring and a male puppy, Buster. I don’t know which I was more excited about.
It was very difficult when we lost Ashes in late 2001. It took awhile but we finally decided it was time to bring another puppy into our home. I started doing my research and actually contemplated other breeds, but I finally came to the conclusion that Weims were for me. I contacted many breeders and spoke to many different people. I was on several waiting lists when I finally got the call from Nadine Todd of Quantrels Weimaraner that she had a litter and there was a female puppy available for me. We discussed the potential of showing and decided that we’d give it a try, but if it didn’t work out that was ok. Having a new family member was the most important thing to us. So Nadine selected Ramblin’ Brooke for us. As Brooke spent time with us, it was odd how she was so similar to Ashes. Their looks, personality, temperament, quirks, it was as if Ashes was reincarnated. We began handling classes and showing when Brooke was 6 months old. Who knew I would get hooked? As it turns out, I loved going to dog shows and meeting all the wonderful people who enjoyed their dogs as much as I did. My competitive spirit did not like when we lost, but that was all part of it. You win some you lose some. Brooke is my ‘princess’ and we took many a road trip together to attend dog shows in several different states. Nadine became a great mentor to me in the dog world, and a friend. We continued showing Brooke until she obtained her Championship. Our next venture together was Rally Obedience and Competitive Obedience.
Our family grew again in 2004. Sharon was a temporary member of our family and then became permanent a few months later. She also participated in Confirmation and earned her Championship in both the U.S. and Canada. We earned titles in Rally and did some hunting before she took on her role as mom.
We decided to breed Sharon and had our first litter in the fall of 2007. Deciding to start a breeding program is not something you do without serious consideration. I probably would not have considered this if we didn’t have the help of Nadine. She is experienced and has the same goal of improving the Weimaraner breed, including both structure and temperament. It’s both an anxious and exciting event. It’s a wonderful experience to nurture the puppies for the first 8 weeks of their lives. As a breeder you are responsible for those puppies for the rest of their lives. You do your best to put them in the best possible homes and provide support to those families.
Part of the preparation of starting our breeding program was deciding on a kennel name. This is something we gave a lot of thought. There are many different methods of creating a name but the end result should be something meaningful. We decided we wanted to honor the Weimaraner that started it all for me, Ashes. At the same time Brooke is so similar to Ashes they are practically the same dog and she was my for foray into the dog show world. Therefore we decided to honor them both and will use Ashbrooke as our kennel name.
Much of my time is dedicated to my dogs. I compete and have earned titles in a variety of dog sports. I am a member or on the board of many dog clubs: President of the Garden State Weimaraner and Versatile K9 Sports Clubs, Delaware Valley Weimaraner Club, Twin Brooks Kennel Club, as well as a long time member of the Weimaraner Club of America. I’m also a Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA) through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers a Certified Fear Free Professional, and a member of the Association of Professional Dog Trainers (APDT) and an AKC Judge for ScentWork, and Temperament Test (#103183).
We hope you enjoy viewing our web site and find some good information about Weimaraners. Thanks to my husband Scott for his support over the years.
– Michelle
ashbrookeweims@yahoo.com
