Has anyone heard of this kennel? Does anyone own any of these dogs?

they have some nice dobie nothing major but nice

I received this e-mail in response to some of the negative feedback I gave the breeder of my Doberman pup. The gentlemen asked that I post it to this thread.

Date: Thu, 26 Oct 2006 18:18:24 -0700 (PDT)
From: Mario Tristany <mar_lin_pro@sbcglobal.net>
To: thejolleys@gci.net

I read your recent post and I am quite surprised. I purchased a male dobe from Kathy 5 years ago. Prior to deciding on Legard I researched Legard Dobermans from the town level all the way up to and through state government including the Dept.. of Consumer protection, Department of Health, Dept. of Agriculture, local and area vets and even the local sheriff's office. I did not find, nor was I given any negative feedback from all of the people that I talked to.

I also researched several name brand Doberman kennels i.e., Kimbertal, Lewellyn and a few others. We decided on Legard. When my wife and I drove to Kathy's home to pick up our "Nico." We spent at least 10 hours with Kathy her husband Charlie and with their sons. We met several of their males and females. When she brought Nico out he was absolutely perfect and as healthy as a 12 week old dobie could possibly be. We were supposed to receive Nico via the airlines as Kathy had planned to ship him to us on September 11, 2001 - Yes on 911! How ever all of the airlines were shut down and were only allowing shipment from FAA registered air carriers. We called petair and even petair could not give us a date. We had to delay driving to Kathy's for about 10 days due to previous work commitments that we could not change.

We drove from Connecticut straight to Kathy's kennel. We only stopped for fuel. We had a tremendous time with Kathy and her family. Nico was an extremely adjusted pup. He was extremely alert, curious and focused. His coat was like a mirror. He was exceptionally clean and well groomed. We hated to say good bye to our new found friends. We were treated like family. Kathy refunded the air fair fees which to be honest I was not expecting and quite frankly had forgotten all about the air shipment charge that we payed.

When we left Kathy's Nico slept between the front seats of our van and never woke up until we entered Tennessee. Nico was well adjusted to traveling and never got car sick. When we arrived home Nico, in true Doberman form, checked out every square foot of our 3 acre property and our 3,000 sq. ft. home. Nico was well adjusted to carpeting, laminate flooring and ceramic tile flooring. Loud noises only peaked his interest. Gun fire (I shoot a lot) never phased him one bit.

As part of our contract with Kathy we took Nico to our vet for a thorough check up. Our vet remarked what a handsome specimen Nico is.

We took Nico to a local trainer for a one on one obedience training. This trainer raised Rotties, Sheppards and Belgium Malinoirs. He competed in French Ring Sport and was also a certified decoy. Our trainer remarked on what a beautiful specimen Nico is. It is important to note that our trainer flat out told us that he was not a Doberman fan! Nico excelled in the obedience training.

A few months later we decided to start Nico in French Ring Sport. After a few sessions our trainer referred to Nico as a Lamborghini of Dobermans. Nico's drive was superior and his bite work was powerful and literally left marks through the bite suit.

Nico is now 5 years and has more energy and drive than when he was a fully developed pup. Right now we have at least 13 regulation basketballs throughout our property that Nico has punctured. He can fit a regulation basketball in his mouth. Nico plays extremely hard and only stops when we take him inside. Nico is built on the exact standard that Heir Louis Doberman breed approx. two hundred years ago. Nico has a solid neck, powerful thick hind quarters and powerful legs. He has miles of heart and stamina.

I have had Dobermans all of my adult life. My previous dobes were extremely intelligent but Nico's intelligence is far superior. I used to tell people that my previous dobes could understand sentences. Now I tell the same people that Nico understands paragraphs.

Nico is as perfect a Doberman that anyone could ever dream of let a lone own. Nico is everything that Kathy said he would be and more! I am seriously considering purchasing a female from Kathy as it would be a travesty to not allow Nico's traits to continue.

Nico is super with children of all ages yet he will defend his home and his love ones like a mother tiger protecting her cubs.

As I type this email, Nico is at my side and occasionally he raises his head and hits my right arm as if to say just want you to know I'm with you.

I have attached a couple of pictures of Nico for your view. The picture of Nico with our goddaughter was taken at about 16 weeks or so. Zhou -Zhou brought Nico a Shirt as a gift.

In closing, I personally find it very difficult to believe that Kathy would sell a Doberman pup that was not in perfect health. Oh, I almost forgot to mention that Nico's ears are perfect. We have had dobe owners and local dobe breeders comment on his ear cropping. We have had dobe owners stop their cars and inquire about Nico when we are walking him or on vacation with him.

I would without hesitation recommend Legard Dobermans and in fact I have to several that have contacted me.

Lastly, Nico's temperament is solid. He has never growled or snapped at anyone. We recently adopted a 3 year old Min Pin that we rescued from a dog pound. We named her Bella. Bella is a tough little girl. She is constantly biting Nico and nipping at him constantly yet Nico tolerates her. I could go on and on about Nico and his abilities and his intelligence.

I hope that you have a better understanding of Kathy and Legard Dobermans. I attempted to post this message on the Leerburg site however, when I attempted to "log in" as a new member, It would not recognize my email address because it has two "underscores" "_" in it. Could you please post this for me? I would sincerely appreciate it.

P.S. I named Nico "Nico" after the Steve Segal character in the movie Above the law - "NICO." I consider Nico the Steve Segal of Dobermans.

Please feel free to email me with any specific questions that you might have.

Thanks for allowing me to access your email.

Mario & Linda Tristany

I am a novice Dobe owner. I readily admit that, however, my experience was not like yours! When I got my pup, her ears weren’t done at all! Kathy told me that I had requested uncropped ears. This isn’t true! The dog had an appointment to be cropped and for some reason Kathy cancelled it. There may have been a miscommunication when there even was communication between myself and the breeder! When I got Annie from the cargo, she was terrified! I would be too if I was 8 weeks old and put on a plane for 10 hours. I live in Alaska, I’m active duty military. Annie is down on her pasterns and has been to several vets for this. I discussed this with Kathy and she stated that it was a calcium deficiency in Annie’s diet. I feed Annie, The Honest Kitchen, it is one of the better diets around.
Also, Annie had what looked like fly bites all over her when I received her and she was skinny to boot.

I only wanted a companion animal, but I didn’t think this is what I would end up getting.

I have my dog and I am making the best of it because I love her and wouldn’t give her up.

I’m glad you had such a good experience.

Hmmm, let's see:

Uber-rich client gets a showy super-dog & VIP treatment, while single active military mom gets a cull & the cold shoulder -- Merely a coincidence, I wonder ???

It IS pretty interesting, isn't it? <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

I don't know what's up with this whole deal, but it is one conclusion that does stand out as a possibility <:-(

I met a couple from GA that has a sister, brother pair from Legard that were very pleased with their dogs and said they chose that kennel after all their research. I don't know them personally but their dogs had nice ears done and had decent conformation, though not from working stock. They paid 1200 each. Just my knowledge but I don't know what conclusions you can draw from it.

Well we don't have Kathys'input but also you have to take in consideration that the Tristanys' went in person to get this pup(now Dog) , while Cat had her pup shipped.It can make a huge difference on what you are going to get(sadly). Also it was 5 years ago since the tristanys got their pup, things can be different today in her breeding, different dogs ,her code of ethics could have changed than what it was 5 years ago, also her reasons for selling pups, maybe $ is more important than her reputation as a breeder(just an assumption) .I also think that some breeders (not all)hear "I just want a pet" will send you the ones that they would never be able to sell in person for the same amount of Dollars that someone is getting via_shipping.They figure they can ship whatever they want.We see that happening here all the time and it is so sad. Cat, good luck and I hope your pup grows up to be a healthy dog.

Thank you ladies. This gentleman, Mr. Tristany, e-mailed me because he couldn't post here at leerburg.com, something about it wouldn't read his e-mail. Yep, I feel like I got the wrong end of the stick and the next time around, I'll be picking my pup up personally and I'll be more experienced. I will post his response...

"Annie sounds like a fine dobe. In fairness to Kathy the "bites" could have occurred during the flight. I'm sure that Annie was terrified from the flight and I am even more sure that when Annie saw you and you comforted her, the resulting bond between the two of you could not have been stronger. I am not familiar with the diet that you referenced. I would strongly suggest putting Annie on Eukenuba food. I use the lamb and rice formula. I buy a bag of the adult food and a bag of the high performance food and mix the two. Nico is extremely active so he needs the extra fat/protein that the high performance food has. There are no chemicals in the eukenuba food. The food is preserved with vitamins. Believe it or not you can see Nico's ribs and he tips the scale at 98.5 pounds. Puppies that are usually chubby have worms and all puppies have worms. Whether you by a $5,000.00 pup or a $50.00 pup I guarantee you that they both will have worms from when they are born and until they are wormed. Since it has been 51/2 years since we got Nico I am not 100 percent sure but I believe the paperwork that Kathy forwards has information regarding the ear status. I do specifically recall stressing to Kathy that I did not want the long "show" crop and that I wanted a crop that "fit" the dobes head and preferred a "short" "utility" crop. Nico's ears are perfectly symmetrical. each one is a mirror image of the other one. As far as Annie's pastern problem I would agree that it is diet related. As I said previously I would switch to the Eucanuba or PROPLAN if the Eucanuba is not available. I would also give Annie regular milk not 1% or 2% for the calcium. I would also probably get her a calcium supplement as well. Are Annie's nails short? Sometimes long toe nails will cause the pup to lean back on it's paws. Dobes have a unique stance compared to most other breeds. If Annie still has "hair" missing from the "bites" I would dab the spots with preparation H. that's right preparation H. I learned this from a horse breeder because horses are always getting "horse fly" bites and breeders / handlers used the prep H to get the horses in shape for shows. I did discuss this with my vet a few years back and she confirmed that there Is a chemical in the prep H that promotes hair growth.

In closing, I hope that Annie becomes everything that you were expecting in your dobe. I guarantee that she will become everything that you were hoping for and more. In one of the posts on the web site that I saw your post, it showed a dobe supposedly at Legard, I can guarantee you that that picture was not taken at Kathy's kennel. Again, I would sincerely appreciate it if you would post my earlier response on that web site. Kathy is not perfect and neither am I or you or anyone else in this messed up world that we live in. People that view that site need to hear the positive experiences that people have had with Kathy.

Please feel free to email any questions that you may have regarding Annie as I will be more that happy to share my experiences and knowledge with you. I have a deep appreciation for my fellow Americans that are in military service. May God Bless you and keep you out of harms way!"

Mario Tristany

I have NOT edited this e-mail in any way shape or form and have informed Mr. tristany of this.