The Story of Itsi.

[Dan_Ashley]

Itzi and The Ultimate Dog Breeding Software
Itzi. He caused it. He caused it all. Without Itzi, there would be nothing. Itzi was the start of a truly wonderful time, one filled with joy, wonder, excitement, and accomplishment.

So how did Itzi start it? If you have a moment, I will tell you.

Itzi started out life as a German Biewer Yorkshire a la Pom Pon. He was born in Germany, and immigrated to the United States about 5 years ago. Once in the U.S., Itzi joined a family in Virginia; then Itzi found us. By us, I mean my wife, Dee, and myself.

Dee has a life-long commitment to helping people. When she was a young woman, first out on her own, she would invite strangers to her home for holiday meals. “Nobody should have to spend holidays alone,” she would say. So, when she discovered the “German Biewer” (pronounced “BEAVER”), Dee knew immediately that she wanted to introduce to America the love, joy, and happiness that only a little puppy can bring. So she purchased a mating pair, and started to raise Biewers. It didn’t take long for Dee, as well as others, to realize that “Biewer Yorkshire a la Pom Pon” was too snooty.

The breed was developed by Mr. and Mrs. Biewer, so after a trip to Germany, and several letters back and forth, the breed’s name was shortened to: “Biewer”. Of course, there was a little drama in all of that, as there seems to be in all dog clubs. The dogs did not change; only the breed’s name was changed.

Dee began her breeding program and sold most of her puppies to other breeders, or “Breeders-to-be”. Itzi was the stud, or perhaps he should be called: “Stud-Puppy.” Itzi also became a champion. Imagine that, we owned a champion show dog! But that was not all; soon Itzi was a National Champion, then an International Champion. But Itzi loved the show ring, and became the only breeding Master Champion Biewer in the United States. …and he was a “stud-puppy.”

About 50% of Itzi’s progeny became champions. Some in ARBA, some in NAKC, some in IABCA…but champions all the same. Itzi was very proud of his progeny, and could be seen during off-days teaching his puppies. For example, he made a special effort to teach his puppies how to climb the stairs in our house.

One day, Dee asked me if I could help her predict when her females were going to come into season. She also wanted some kind of a technique for predicting a puppy’s growth and ultimate adult size. I thought, “This should be easy…I’ll just search the Internet and find some good software.” I searched. I searched some more. I looked and looked. Yet, everything I found was…well “lame.” One software didn’t have expenses, another didn’t have photos; another didn’t have coefficients of inbreeding. One software appeared to require the users to have a Ph.D. in computer science, and another program didn’t have vet visits. None of them had a decent predictor of adult size.

I had retired about 5 years before this. I had been a computer programmer by trade, so I decided to write a program for Dee. I worked on it day in and day out, week in and week out. I worked on it for a year. Finally it was done.

Dee told me that she really liked the software, and shared it with some of her friends. Her friends really liked it too. …and so did their friends…eventually they convinced me to set up a web site so other breeders could download and use the software. So, I did. I set up a web site, and now you can see Itzi, because he became the logo for the software. If you go to www.dogbreedingsoftware.com, you will see Itzi’s picture in the top right of each page.

Itzi is still a “Stud-puppy.” He is still the first breeding Master Champion Biewer in the United States. He is still proud of his puppies. And, now, he is proud of the software that bears his likeness.