It all started with a darling puppy. Soft, gorgeous, black and white and cute as could be!

Nelson Hercules v Eagleheart came to live at Tall Timber Ranch in late 2015 and changed everything. Until this time, we had lived fairly happily as a family without any pets. We thought about the benefits of owning a dog but it just wasn’t practical for two working parents and three busy young boys.

Then, Nelson arrived. He was our graduation gift at the successful conclusion of a college degree for our middle son, an avid soccer keeper. James did the research but I stipulated that since I would be his main back up, caring for the puppy, I required a few selection criteria. There would be no drooling, no yappy barking and no fragile animals. He was looking for a loyal companion, an active and friendly dog and something a bit unusual and with style. With these criteria, he pondered many options and came upon the Entlebucher Mountain Dog. After visiting all of the dogs of this breed living within a couple hours drive, (there were about 7), he confirmed his choice and selected his preferred breeder.

Since that time, our life has revolved around Entlebuchers. We raised Nelson – he was an amazing frisbee retriever! and loved to ‘help’ with all ranch and household chores. I immediately thought we should consider breeding – I had experience with horses. We brought Nakita home in 2018, a beautiful female puppy from near Carcassonne, France. She definitely had a french attitude and would happily run the household if allowed. We bred the pair in 2020 and had our first litter of 8 puppies – the Tractor litter. These were followed by the Tree litter also in 2020, the Alberta Small Towns litter in 2022 and the Explorers in 2024. Nakita was an excellent mother, producing large litters and catching easily. Nelson was a very enthusiastic participant in the breeding. We branched out and used Rama for the final litter, famously bred at the Truckstop near Green River at the corner of Colorado and Utah.

We have since had to say goodbye to Nelson and then retired Nakita after a job well done. She is enjoying her ranch retirement. We are now searching for our new female matriarch and plan to breed her with frozen semen of Nelson as well as James and Dr. Bones, two pups we produced.

We are a small breeding operation and breed only periodically. I now try to whelp at our home in Cottonwood, Arizona to better access great puppy homes. We belong to the Canadian Kennel Club (CKC), the American Kennel Club (AKC) and their breed club, the National Entlebucher Mountain Dog Association (NEMDA). I lead the Health & Genetics Committee of NEMDA and belong to the Breeder Code of Ethics (BCOE) group within NEMDA. I am constantly learning about the breed, their history and their health and genetics. I enjoy interacting with other owners and breeders to share information and simply enjoy the dogs. They are an absolutely wonderful breed.

We have made many amazing friends through our dogs and puppies. I have high expectations of puppy buyers as I do my part to protect our breed and secure their future. If you have an interest in a puppy, read on and see if this is a good fit for your family.