Shep's Heritage English Shepherds

05/10/2026

05/10/2026

Finally! It took me a bit to figure out how to post videos. These little pups are already tussling. 😍

05/06/2026

Week 2 Bloomin' Litter Photoshoot! Yep, those are puppy eyes peering out of those tiny little slits! With their eyes and ears opening, they're becoming so much more aware of their surroundings. They are also becoming very vocal - gotta test out those growlers and barkers! They are rapidly gaining weight. Jonquil is the smallest at exactly 2 pounds, and Clover took the lead this week at 2 pounds, 8 ounces. Mama Maya has begun to leave them for longer periods while she gets her fresh air and exercise, and is allowing the other dogs and cats to come closer to her puppies. We have only two more days of ENS to go. Most of the puppies aren't fans of the "head down tail up" and "cradled on back" positions in the ENS process, and Tansy easily holds the record for being the only one who's chill through the entire process!

05/02/2026

Yep, Marigold already mastered the ES art of sleeping on her back. 😆

04/30/2026

So thrilled to introduce you to the Blooming Litter! The puppies turned one week old today and are thriving. Their favorite things to do are obviously sleep and eat, and they all gained between 8-10 oz in the last week. They're such sweet, cuddly little things, but I'm still limiting holding time at this point so as not to overstimulate their tiny brains before eyes and ears open. I started ENS (Early Neurological Stimulation) with them on day 3, and will continue through day 16.

As the Blooming Litter name indicates, with this crew of mostly girls and springtime here we took the opportunity to use flower names, so go ahead and click or tap on each picture to see the name!

04/25/2026

Tonight's puppy pile. We are working on names. Puppy introductions are coming next Wednesday on the 1-week mark!

04/23/2026

The wait is over! Maya was hard at work last night while you all were sleeping, and by early morning 6 girls and 2 boys made their debuts. Mama and babies couldn't be doing better. I'm so thankful!

04/09/2026

I felt the puppies kicking today! Maya only has two weeks to go, and in the meantime, she's practicing her mothering skills with a newly hatched duckling.

04/01/2026

Only 22 days to go! Maya is not ashamed of her expanding belly and proud to show off her puppies. Her smile says it all!

Fun fact about Maya's name: its Greek meaning is "good mother", and she had definitely lived up to the name with her first three litters. The litters consisted of 7, 9, and 8 puppies, and the mothering instinct came completely natural for her each time.

We pronounce her name with a long "a" like May, and sometimes goes by the nickname of "Maisiegirl". Maya's second name is Summer, which was her birth name that was given by her breeder. She was part of Town & Country's Ancestor litter and was named after Stony Creek's Summer Luvin', her great-great-great grandmother.

12/25/2025

We are so excited to announce our planned 2026 litter between Orchard Hill Zeke and T&C's Summer Luvin' Maya! Plans have been a long time in the making and I believe that this is a great match that will produce eager to please, agile, loyal and highly companionable pups.

Meet the sire: Orchard Hill Zeke is owned by Janeen McMurtrie, an extremely knowledgeable English Shepherd owner and trainer. As she describes in her own words: "Zeke is a very sweet, incredibly agile dog. He is so agile that we call him Spider Monkey. Zeke is highly trainable and extremely eager to please. Because of this he has worked as a model and actor in the Twin Cities area doing TV commercials for Target and Hormel Bacon, and having a small part in the movie Good Spot. He's appeared in many advertisements as a model. Like many English Shepherds he takes time to warm up to strangers but he is affectionate and deeply devoted to his people. He has only had minimal exposure to stock but is very gentle and appropriate with our chickens. He helps move them in the coop when needed. He has a moderately light, athletic build, a fine textured, low maintenance "Teflon" coat, and an adorable crooked ear set (like both of his parents)." Zeke is currently 7 years old and is ESC and UKC registered. He is clear for MDR1, CEA, PRA-PRCD, DM, HUU, PRA-6, and OFA-GOOD.

Meet the dam: Town & Country's Summer Luvin' Maya is my (Joanna Rufener) constant loyal companion. She is extremely eager to please, devoted, submissive, quick to forgive, athletic and always enthusiastic. She is quick to action and is the eradicator for many unwanted varmints around the property, even guarding our free range poultry from hawks and eagles flying overhead. She has very little herding drive and has never worked stock, but has always gotten along wonderfully with all of the animals on our little hobby farm. She is gentle with baby animals and young children, often giving out sloppy kisses or rolling to her back in front of them to show her submission. She is extremely agile and throws her heart into running, jumping, swimming, or any other adventure. Maya is nearly 4 years old and is registered with ESC and UKC. She is clear for MDR1, CEA, PRA-PRCD, DM, HUU, PRA-6, and OFA-GOOD.

For any questions, to inquire about being placed on our waiting list, or just to chat, send me a message!

12/08/2025

Meet Town & Country's Summer Luvin' Maya! Extremely eager to please, this girl stays at my side nearly all of the time when possible. She is devoted, submissive, quick to forgive, and enthusiastic. She is quick to action and has eradicated many unwanted varmints around our property, yet there is not a mean bone in her body when it comes to other family pets or young children. She is going on 4 years old and is very agile. She is MDR1 normal/normal, CLEAR for PRA-6 and hips have tested OFA-GOOD. She is clear on all Embark tested diseases except for inheriting one copy of ALT. Stay tuned for a breeding announcement coming soon for this striking gal!