update January 3/09

Heather Del Rio (mated to Angus Del Rio) has just yesterday  had a litter of perfectly beautiful purebred Tervuren puppies who will be available free to good homes in about 10 weeks or so....please contact me if you want a puppy to start he New Year off right!

Please review section 'Philosophy'  on the menu to the left of this screen to see our preferences for adoption...we do not have written applications or contracts or site visits...but we rely on honor and the value of one's word when given

update  Dec 22

we have two very fine young adult Tervurens who are available for adoption at no charge.  They are gorgeous in appearance, energetic and clever.  They would serve very well as companions and guard dogs in almost any environment as long as they have a large fenced area to live in and exercise.  They are good natured and have been well-kept,  but are surplus to our needs. 

puppies  -  we are expecting a litter of exceptional puppies from Heather Del Rio in January.  These purebred tervuren puppies will be free to good homes.  We favor law enforcement, search and rescue, the disabled and returning war vets,  but anybody needing an exceptionally attractive and loyal puppy may ask, and if you have room for the puppy and a large fenced yard and shelter, we have a puppy for you.  We don't have questionnaires or contracts and we don't alter our puppies as we feel it is not essential for such fine puppies.

update Nov 30   22008

no puppies now.  Possibility of puppies early in the new year but not certain.  We are just getting ready for winter.  The dogs are strong and tough, won't have much problem.  The goats are slender and tiny, particularly the toy goats and they are sensisitive to rain and cold weather.  They are very vulnerable to cold rain and we are trying to optimize conditions for them.  Since we don't sell dogs we have limited income but we manage and the ranch accomodates us all.  We want to get into solar power next year, obtain a used motor vehicle for emergencies and continue with shed and shelter building.  We have enough wood to meet all our natural energy needs, but you still have to cut it and split it and haul it and organize it.  So we aren't petroleum free yet.

The dogs continue on a high quality meat diet mainly.  They are content and look very good.  They'd all like to run around more and cover 20 miles in a day every day, and we try to accomodate them in an orderly way.

Our new home here is a magical sort of place.  Hidden deep in the woods, I expect to find Hansel and Gretel knocking on my door sometime asking for directions to the witch's house.   The plants are odd....tomatoes and mushrooms just seem to leap right up out of the ground by the hundreds and into the salad bowl.  Two of the most difficult plants to grow nicely anywhere else except here,  tomatoes and mushrooms are....  Everything is more concentrated and intense here somehow.   The dogs are well.  They seem in a good mood.  The puppies are eager and explosively energetic like little grenades that go bang with curiosity and vigor 3 or 4 times every day.   They are all learning to become livestock guardian dogs and they live now with the goats and not with me.  The senior Alsatian mix teacher hovers over them all, goats and puppies alike, voiceless unapproachable and calm but deadly terrible if you ever try to cross swords with her.  Like an Archangel in our little heaven here. I am so grateful to be here with my puppies.

This picture is of Sandy and her new puppy Zac Del Rio.  Zac Del Rio is destined to become a SAR dog and I envy him his future.

The next picture below is an old photo of Ernie Del Rio,  gorgeous gorgeous Ernie,  when he was a puppy.  Ernie, of course, is the father to both Zac Del Rio and Bob Del Rio  who can be seen on this page.

update  Sep 22 / 08

we still have 3 male puppies now 12 weeks old, full of beauty, vigor, and curiosity. 

Update August 27/08

as usual our puppies are free to law enforcement professionals, SAR personnel, returning combat vets, and the disabled, as long as the puppies will receive formal training with their new owners.  All our puppies are 100% purebred Tervurens.  We raise no other dogs.  We have puppies at various times of the year, we happen to have some now.

To receive a free puppy certain conditions apply (nothing burdensome) and if you are interested we will give you the details.

If you are buying a puppy the prices are negotiable as we are more interested in a good home and good life for our puppies with a good fit to the new owner than we are in money. 

July 27/08

New photos of Bob Del Rio who is being trained as a service dog.  Age 9 months

JUNE 11 / 08  update                                                   This is a recent photo of Bob Del Rio at 8 months of age .  You can see he is enthusiastically attending his school lesson.  He lives with his Mom and Dad in Peru now, who take wonderful care of him.   Always my Thanks to Tom for his great update photos.  Tom has the best looking and smartest dog in all of Peru.

Bob Del Rio (age 11 weeks) and the veterinarian  (age 31 years)       Bob seems to have the situation under control....              

UPDATE   December 30   2007       the FORUM is open

CONTACT  BY  EMAIL  PLEASE

doreendelrio@brinkster.net

...anyway its worth taking a few moments to refresh our information by reviewing what the AKC experts say...

 "   ...(AKC speaks:) ...We feel the Tervuren is a "special dog". Those of us who own them are completely charmed by their intelligence, trainability, and, perhaps most of all, their sense of humor. They are suited to many kinds of activities. Their herding instinct is still intact. In Belgium, they are trained as police dogs. They are well suited to the precision, discipline and animation required for successful obedience and Schutzhund work. .... our first Obedience Trial Champion was earned within a few months of this title's initiation by the AKC. We are proud of the number of champions that hold one or more obedience title. The first recorded AKC Herding Champion of any breed was earned by a Tervuren. The breed is known for its loyalty and protectiveness. Their appearance projects alertness and elegance.

"   ...  The Belgian Tervuren, however, is certainly not a dog for everyone. Temperamentally, they are very possessive of their loved ones and extremely demanding of your attention - they want you to do things with them and love to be taught. Because of this, if they are not given regular time by you, they are apt to invent their own entertainment, which may not be what you would chose them to do. They are an active dog, as the breed standard states: "Always in motion unless under command." But for those who like to have a dog to do things with, they may well find the Tervuren fits the bill. ....  "