And since we lost Landis, there is a gaping hole in our house. I am constantly looking for the missing dog. So, long story short, we got on a list with this breeder. She is only doing two litters this year. She uses puppy culture in her puppy raising (hence why I purchased the videos 
) as well as some of Grisha Stewart’s protocols. She has raised several litters with this set up and has wonderful outcomes. She shows to get championships and then goes for working titles in hunting, tricks, Nosework, and dock diving. Mama is out of her own breeding. Dad is from England and a breeder there who also does a lot of enrichment. Both even and steady dogs. The mom’s brother is a working therapy dog at a therapeutic riding facility for children with profound special needs. He’s amazing (see photo below).Puppies were born yesterday just a couple of days early. I hadn’t shared because we are #6 on the puppy list and if she didn’t have 6 puppies, we wouldn’t be getting one. But she has 8 littles. And puppies are placed by the breeder according to temperament and family match, so order only matters in terms of whether or not there are enough puppies to cover the list. The first 24 hours are a little touch and go with any litter, but she is sending out an update with the babies’ info and all on Saturday or Sunday assuming everyone does well. I am both terrified and ecstatic. I don’t want to carry any Zeke fears into this new puppy. And I think I have done everything possible to avoid those pitfalls short of not getting the same breed. But in theory and on paper, we are still a good match for the breed. We just didn’t mesh with Zeke and there was so much about him that wasn’t typical. I can’t stand not sharing with my ODO peeps, but I won’t be sharing on Facebook until it’s final and even then, probably sparingly. So I will share pictures and stuff here. If the right match isn’t in this litter, we will wait for another. But I am hoping for good things!
Alex's breeder, who was instrumental in introducing the Finnish Lapphund in the USA, has a lot of contacts and experience with bringing puppies and dogs in from overseas, and she has told me in private discussions that if she didn't have the standing she does in the breed world, she would never go to a non-US breeder -- it is too easy to be taken advantage of, and the puppy owner's recourse is terribly limited. Unfortunately, I think your experience with Zeke proved that, and *huge* props to you for getting Zeke located in a home that suits him. 
But he is currently similar in size to a full grown HWV. And the dynamic was similar energy wise. And I loved it. So did Jovie. So I think this puppy will fit in well. There will be an adjustment training-wise. Landis was so push button that he didn’t need much work. I have basically trained one dog at a time for a while now. But these two will both need training daily so that will be interesting.
But they are very fair about things so long as their rules are followed!
