My main focus in breeding is producing healthy puppies with stable temperaments for lifelong family companionship.

Every litter that I contemplate is planned for the future of my own breeding program, NOT for commercial purposes. I take great care in choosing the prospective sire and dam of each litter with a purpose in mind. In other words, I'm not producing pups that I wouldn't want to live with myself!

I believe in breeding only when I have a list of qualified homes interested in my puppies. Each potential home is asked to fill out questionnaire initially as a tool to help me get to know you better. Believe me, there are absolutely no "right answers" and no "wrong answers" to this little form. I don't ask your annual income or want to know what kind of car you drive (as do some breeders), I just want to get some initial "chit-chat" out of the way before more formally discussing the purchase of one of my pups!

People ALWAYS ask me "How many people do you have on your waiting list"? I do keep a database (or "waiting list" if you prefer) of names compiled from submitted questionnaires and query forms noting who is looking for what type of pup (sex, color, pet, showdog, etc.) When each litter is imminent I start contacting people on that list to find out if they are still looking for a pup or not. What I have found over the years is that there is no way to predict how many people will "still be looking" when I start going down my list. Sometimes the first six people on the list are still looking for a pup and will be given first consideration and yet other times I get down to the nineteenth person on the list. When pups are born, of course, the best laid plans can be foiled and those waiting can be quickly disappointed (including myself!). As sure as I have five people looking for a female pup, we'll be blessed with a WHOLE litter of males. Murphy's law seems to rule when it comes to things like breeding!

All puppies from Katwala are guaranteed for their entire lifetime. This guarantee includes not only health and temperament concerns, but it also insures short term "babysitting" or full return and placement into a new loving home. If it becomes necessary for any reason (divorce, death, allergy, etc.), I will take back one of my puppies. I feel that I chose to bring these puppies into the world and am thus forever responsible for their love and care. Please feel free to browse my contracts for further information about my prices and guarantees.

My pups are all born and raised in my home and are all exposed to the sights, sounds and smells of every day living from day one. My babies are socialized early on with children and other animals. They are each handled on a DAILY basis to insure proper emotional and physical development. I was taught early on to expose my pups to many things during their development and have found that Pat Hastings summarized what I was always doing with my pups and called it "The Rule of Sevens".

By the time my pups are 4 or 5 weeks of age they are out with us every morning and evening in the yard (weather permitting) playing ball with the "big dogs". By participating with the whole crew they learn the rules of life not only from their dam but also from other members of the pack.

I welcome visitors to my home after pups have reached a certain age and prospective puppy parents are always welcome to come visit and play. My puppies do not get released to go to their new homes until they are 8 weeks of age or older. At that age I make my own pick from each litter and then invite prospective parents (already screened and reference checked) to come visit the litter and discuss which pup I feel would be best for their family situation and why. Everyone looking for a puppy is looking for different traits both physically and mentally and in most cases there is a pup that suits those needs in the litter.

This Fall we have several exciting impending litters. Speedy has been leased to Rose Jurain of Tanglewood ACDs and we have co-bred a litter that takes Speedy back to one of their boys Simon. We are also excited that Picabo's hip results are in and she is OFA GOOD so we are musing with the idea of breeding her to Colby late fall. We skipped breeding her this summer because of bad timing with our wedding and honeymoon.

If you are interested in being contacted when when my NEXT litter (or one of the above) is being more formally planned, please fill out my questionnaire and I will email you when there is more information to pass along.