Our Breeding Philosophy

I am currently focusing on working Groenendael lines,  a Belgian that can be competitive in French Ring or IGP, able to do SAR, scent detection, and competitive agility. Stable, clear headed and social.

Breeding quality dogs you continually research dogs and pedigrees, and learn from every litter. You use knowledge of lines, individual dogs, genetics and gut instinct to try and come closer each generation to your ideal Belgian. You use the existing gene pool of available dogs, and try to avoid the pitfalls of recessive health issues cropping up, or infertility problems and just sheer bad luck. Genetic laws of inheritance do have probability issues, yes the probability of recessive problem X arising may be 1 in 100 but that does mean that is is possible, and it can crop in a devastating manner in that promising puppy placed in a wonderful family home, or the puppy I keep to carry on my lines. Yet just because there is a random element to problems showing up in any particular litter or puppy does NOT mean we don’t do our best with research and selection to reduce the both the likelihood of a problem arising in a litter, and reduce the incidence in our breed. A responsible breeder will balance all factors into their breeding decisions.

I tend to breakdown breeding decisions first into four broad categories to try and optimize, as much as possible, all four:

• Health – In the individual, existing offspring, if any, and close relatives. You don’t want to breed to the only healthy dog in an unhealthy family.
• Character – This can be complicated, the ideal character traits of a family pet may not be the same of a top agility competition or ring sport dog. All should be confident and stable and have a desire to work. Intensity of that desire will vary.
• Structure – This is easier to define. Belgians have a typical structure for a dog that needs to trot for extended periods of time and maneuver quickly. Correct structure is essential for a competitive ring sport dog to meet the demands of palisade, long jump and hurdle, and the same excellent structure is correct in the breed standard.
• Breed Type – Here we get some variation depending on how the breed standard is interpreted. How do you define “moderate”? I do want a Belgian that looks like a Belgian but not necessarily the look that is currently popular in the show ring in my working lines.

Sounds easy, but you have to work with the existing gene pool of dogs available for breeding. Many top performance dogs in the US are spayed or neutered as the owners are not interested in breeding. For example: if my girl is lacking in structure but good in the other areas then I try and find a male with excellent structure and at least ‘good’ in the other areas. Some breeders focus on one area or the other in their breeding program. It is easier to be successful if you just try and optimize in one area rather than four!

I have traveled to Europe to breed my girls, or imported frozen semen. I want to breed to the best male I can find for my girl, and goals, even it is is expensive or complicated. We have these puppies in our lives for 12 to 14 years, hopefully more, and extra cost and effort to try and ensure they are healthy, of good character and high quality is worth it in the long run. There have been disappointments along the way, Mother Nature has the final say, but I’ve never regretted investing in my puppies futures.

Our History

I purchased my first Belgian in 1977, Ch Brenna v Siegestor UDT TT WD-C ROM, from the Siegestor kennel in Southern California. Her sire was Am/Mex Ch OTCh Windstorm v Siegestor TD SchIII CH HOF . Brenna had a strong desire to work and please, she earned her UD in 4 trials and TD at our first try. I was primarily into obedience when I started out, we didn’t have agility then. Brenna was the foundation of all my early litters producing 2 working police dogs, several champions and obedience dogs, my lines today go back to her.

Her daughter, Ch Isengard’s Calendar Girl Select ’88, sired by Ch Van Mell’s Trademark, went Select at the BSCA 1988 National Specialty. I bred her to BISS Ch Rolin Ridge’s Fourteen Karat CD ROM in 1988 and produced Ch Isengard’s Front Runner CD NA. He was my first agility titled dog. I was fortunate to have his daughter come to me when her owner had to move. Ch Greenfields Zibelle OA NAJ CGC TDI Select ’96, was beautiful mover and worker. She produced multiple group placing offspring.

Her daughter, Ch Isengard’s Licensed to Chill CD RN ROM was owned by Ramona Kraft and Penny King. I leased her for my T litter, we traveled France in 2006 to the outstanding producer, sr RE Fr CH Rival de la Fuerer du Crepuscule. That litter produced some very fast agility dogs, Sota and Lance.  Her daughter, National Specialty winning, BISS Ch Isengard’s Taliesin PT AX AXJ,  has produced outstanding offspring. Two National Specialty winning girls, Indy and Dare. She was leased by by Ramona and Penny for a litter with Ch Isengard’s Oncore and produced National Specialty winning, BISS MACH6 GrCh Verseau’s Passage to India MX MXJ. Not only a top conformation dog but also a top agility dog. Another of her daughters, BISS Ch Isengard’s Dare HIC won the 2016 National Specialty.

In 1995 I reserved a puppy bitch from Sumerwynd Belgians as the start of a new breeding program. I had changed careers, married, and started a family and, at the time, did not have any bitches that went back to my old lines, Zibelle had not come into my life at that time. I wanted to find the right pup to provide a new start and that would be fun show and train. This little girl exceeded all my expectations. Dana became, Am/Can/UKC multi BISS CH SumerWynd’s Dana of Isengard CDX HX MX MXJ TD TT Conformation HOF Herding HOF Agility HOF WDC-X WD-H ROM.

I could not have found a better Belgian to provide a foundation for what I strive to achieve in breeding and training, a versatile Belgian that is sound in temperament, sound in structure and that has lovely breed type. Dana was a 3 time BSCA Versatility Award winner in performance events, a 5 time BSCA Select in conformation, she was HIT in Herding at the BSCA ’98 National Specialty and won the Top 10 in conformation at the 1999 BSCA National Specialty under a panel of breeder judges, and at the 2000 and 2002 National Specialties, she was Best of Breed under respected breeder judges Marcy Spalding and Barbara Swisher.

I started bringing in European lines and took Dana to Europe twice to breed to males in the Netherlands and Finland with much success. At 8 years old she won the Veterans Class at the 2004 National Specialty and went on to go Best of Opposite Sex to her son, Ch Isengard’s Joe Cool RE CGC HIC HOF with her daughter, Ch Isengard-n-Sumerwynd’s Nikola HSAs going Select. At this show another son, Justin, was HIT at both Herding trials and also won the BSCA Versatility Award. Jax, from Dana’s ‘N’ litter, was RWD and won HIT in Agility. At over nine years she went to the Canadian National and was again BOS from Veterans under breeder judge Jean Lawless from Ireland. A top winner and a top producer, Dana was truly a once in a lifetime dog. She produced two National Specialty winners and multiple National HIT winners in herding, obedience and agility.

In 2011 I again flew to Europe, this time to import a puppy from the Deabei Kennel in the Czech Republic. Ch Yum Deabei  AX AXJ is sired by sr Ch Int Charme-Noir de la Closerie de Yenda IPO2 and her dam is sr Delphine Erlander IPO3. She is an important part of the future of Isengard Belgians. I am very happy with her first litter with our Justin and her second with Intl Ch Aiko Deabei BH IPO V.

In October 2014 I imported Jacqui de la Vallée des Suessiones NA NAJ Ring 1 from Michel Desfosses in France. She comes from outstanding Ring Sport lines including some top Malinois kennels. We achieved our Ring 1 in French Ring in October 2020 after a long training break while I was show chair for the All Belgian National Specialty in 2018 and she raised 3  litter of puppies. The first sired by Greco De Las 4 Estaciones French Ring 3 selectif 2017, the second sired by Ginou du Musher Ring 3 selectif 2016, 2017, 2018, and the third litter was sired by Norton de la Rouquine PH-1.

I kept a girl from the first litter, Isengard’s Raikou Ring 2. She is outgoing, confident, stable, and very athletic. She was bred Spring of 2022 and her first litter is doing well. Planning her second litter for last half of 2023. We are currently training in French Ring in France and Raikou earned her first leg of her Ring 3 our first time out here in France with a 351 and 4th out of 9.

Lorra Miller 2023