Do you have assistants in the kennel? What is their task?
No, we do all by ourselves

What kind of breeding dogs, in your opinion, should be:
- male,
Should be a typical male with strong bones, masculine head and no doubt that somebody would confuse him with a bitch.
- bitch.
Should be of very feminine type. Smaller but strong. Character is of importance because this gets passed on to the puppies.

What do you emphasize in the breeding?
a) Health (HD free, yearly eye check),
b) Confirmation: construction, angulation and proportions should be close to the breed standard, the coat must be harsh and of correct texture.
c) Performance (energy, endurance, cleverness, the dogs should still be capable to work and not react as a "sleeping pill")
d) Glamour: the bobtail is a beautiful and glamorous dog and should make everybody smile.

Was there a litter which remained in your heart and which you are especially proud of?
It was the first who gave us our Tina (Int., Dt. Jgd. Lux. Ch. Aylabear's After Daybreak Thyme) our first homebred champion and our last litter who gave us Tina's - daughter Dotti (Aylabear's Dot Com, German Junior Ch. and Club Junior Winner) a powerful and intelligent beautiful young lady.

How important is the eye pigment?
Wishful to get it, but less important than construction and the correct coat.

Are the champion's titles obligatory for dogs' breeding?
No, when looking for a good male. Yes for our own dogs. They come by itself when you keep dogs with outstanding quality and you show.

What do you do with a dog which gets too old for breeding?
They stay with us.

What is the happiest moment in your life concerning bobtail?
Every time after health checks when we find we have bred and kept a healthy and beautiful dog.

Did you experience misfortunes and how did you avoid them?
Rarely. Before breeding you have to study the breed and try to get as much information about the dogs you have in mind. This is the best way to avoid problems. But it is no guarantee. After all, we deal with life and we have to accept that once in a while things can go wrong. With the health of your dogs or the puppy buyers.

What criteria do you use to choose the best puppy 
in the litter?
Watch, watch and watch. After they are born you can see angulation and learn from experience (how does it look in 24 months?). Later, study their character, movement and watch how the teeth develop. Make an early x-ray, eye test with 8 weeks and decide after you have gathered all this information.

What forage do you feed your puppies and adult dogs with? Do you give them additional forage and what kind of?
Puppies get everything: dry food, cream, fish, noodles, canned food, so they get a taste of everything.
Older dogs get quality dry food (nutro's choice, pedigree pal, etc).

Do you do make selection among the future owners of the puppies from your nursery? What can be a reason to refuse to sell a puppy to a particular person?
We always check carefully. The conditions have to be right. The dog must not be alone for a longer time. Access to all rooms in the house and garden. Enough exercise. Is it to be expected that the owners still are capable to care in 10 years?

The dog breeding for you is:
- your life;
- a hobby;
- an art;
- a way to earn you living?
A hobby which takes and gives a lot to our life.

Could you give a piece of advice to a beginner breeders?
Read, learn, ask, watch, try to understand what this breed was developed for. Try to get all kind of information. Every book/magazine/video you can get. Listen to other breeders but be careful about what they are saying. Some need the breed for their personal success. Show winning is everything for them. Get different opinions. Go to the big show events: Crufts Dog Show, Euro-Show, maybe the American Specialty, when you can.

What is you opinion about what had happened to the breed in the World and your country for the last 15 years?
We have dropping interest in dogs in general. The number of puppies is getting lower and lower. We still have quality dogs but many are also rather averaged that makes selection of good dogs difficult. And now we have a docking ban. Our OES have a tail. We see the public opinion is changing almost everywhere in the world. People like tails now.

Breed clubs. Are they necessary in your country? Why?
They function as a quality control. They check the puppies and the kennels. How good they do their jobs depends very much on the people who run the club.

What is an exhibition for you?
It is prove that you have quality dogs. It can be a fun day too, depends very much on the other people who exhibit. Now we are very selective with judges. Those who tend to give favours or do not really understand the breed get crossed off from our judge list. It takes time and experience to understand all this.

Beginning from what age should a dog start being prepared for a show-career? What is the best way to do it?
From the beginning (8 weeks) on. Teach him to stand, to move. Go to training classes when available. Socialize your youngsters correctly. And exercise him carefully. Your dog needs muscles too!

Please let us know your attitude to usage of lacquers during the dog's preparation for an exhibition?
We never use anything else but water when grooming to keep the coat elastic and potato starch to clean dirty mouths and feet. No hair spray. It is not necessary when your dog has the correct coat quality. Using artificial things is
a) not allowed,
b) deceiving other exhibitors and the judges.

Would you like to wish something to the Russian OES owners?
We wish that "our" common breed will be successful in your country. Whenever possible come to the big shows in Europe. Search for contact with other breeders. Import quality dogs to improve your breeding. Don't just look for titles, they are less important.

14.08.2002