ABOUT US

For me, raising these dogs is a dream come true. As a little girl all I ever wanted was my very own shepherd. I fell in love with The littlest hobo and would dream of having a companion like this. Not a birthday or Christmas went by without me asking for a puppy. In high school I was asked to write an essay on how I envisioned my life as an adult, and I wrote that I would love to be married with children, living on a beautiful property in the country surrounded by shepherds. I feel so blessed that this is now my reality!

We (my husband Todd and myself) lived in the Bancroft area for 12 years. In 2006 we moved to the country outside of Belleville Ontario where Todd is a teacher. We love our new home and have a fenced in acre for our dogs. We are blessed to be surrounded by forests and have acres of trails behind our home where we walk the dogs down to the Moira river to swim. I purchased Oliver (my BIG male shepherd) for my son’s 9th birthday. Oliver has proven to be the most amazing dog. He is incredibly obedient, and very gentle with everyone….the thing people notice the most about Oliver is his intense devotion to me….when we are out in public he never takes his eyes off me. When Oliver was younger him and I took time to volunteer at the local youth drop-in centre in Bancroft where he was a very popular guy.

Back in October (2004) I decided I wanted to add another shepherd to our household, so I started doing internet research. I knew Oliver was an exceptional German shepherd, both in size and temperament. I knew that my chances of getting another dog as gentle and HUGE as he was, without major health issues was going to be difficult. During my research I stumbled upon the shiloh…..and was hooked. I knew I wanted a shiloh…or maybe more than one… I went out to Kingston to view a LER (litter evaluation) on a litter that Jayne from Atlantic sable shilohs was having done. That was it! My mother came with me that weekend….and she went home with her very own shiloh baby- Autumn! Within a few months I became the owner of Faith and Hope from another breeder who due to illness found herself unable to keep them.

Since that time our Shiloh “family” has grown to include Faith, Hope, Trinity, Winter, Zeus and now baby Envy. Each one of our dogs is special and unique. Hope is Todd’s “girl”….she is very gentle and soft tempered which you can see in her eyes…Hope likes to “talk” to us, especially in the morning when she brings us anything she can find to carry in her mouth. Hope is happiest if she can follow Todd around and she loves going for walks. Faith is an incredibly athletic girl….she is a large female who loves intensely…Faith has produced some of the largest, most incredible shilohs I’ve personally seen. Faith is always happy to receive visitors, is always up for affection, a walk and something to eat! Trinity is my special baby…she is extremely affectionate and will cuddle beside me on the couch or bed, she has an extremely high retrieval drive and never goes in or out a door without a ball in her mouth. Trinity is also an avid swimmer. Zeus is a young buck full of energy and mischief. I think of Zeus as the spoiled baby as he gets away with things I’d never allow my older dogs. Zeus has a huge imagination and is bored easily…if left to his own devices Zeus can figure out a way to get into or out of most anything. He is always happy and loves everyone..he loves to give kisses and will cuddle (for a few minutes) on the couch during the day and lays in bed between Todd and I at night and first thing in the morning for his mandatory daily affection. It is very hard to get or stay mad at Zeus as he is always wagging his tail, even when being given a stern talking to. Winter is a lot like her mom (Trinity), she is extremely affectionate and is always happy but prefers to be in the area of her “people”….even when the other dogs run out the backdoor to play Winter hangs back to see if I am going outside too…if not she prefers to stay indoors to follow me around. Winter is also a huge retriever and fantastic swimmer. Winter and Envy are best friends. Envy is our “little” baby though she’s not too little anymore…she is the largest girl in our pack and the most impressive smooth female shiloh I’ve personally ever seen….Envy is a talker she has more to say than our other dogs combined…if we tell her “no” she stops what she was doing but also complains to us about it. She is cuddly, easy to train and affectionate. Envy is a fantastic retriever and avid swimmer.

It is my belief that dogs should be treated with love, which to me means a healthy diet, daily exercise, obedience training, proper grooming and affection. You will never come here and see an underfed, dirty, unkempt dog who is desperate for attention-I take pride in how my dogs live, all loose together, all in our home. As a breeder I believe I should set the standard by which I want my pups to live. My dogs are never crated except at bedtime when housebreaking, are all leash trained, have good manners and are well socialized. I believe puppies are best if raised with lots of handling and as a result I work from home with my dogs/pups to give them the necessary time and attention I think they deserve and crave. My pups are kept immaculately clean, are weaned on goat’s milk and quality raw food I prepare myself and are well socialized for their first 8 weeks. The pups are raised in our rec room with us and also spend time outside if the weather is warm.

We feel privileged to be able to share our lives with these beautiful animals..to have met so many incredible people through our extended shiloh family via our puppy buyers and the show venue and to have had the most amazing opportunity to be a part of bringing new babies into the world…many thanks go out to all my wonderful puppy buyers who share in our joy!

Michelle Bowler