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.
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.”
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.
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.
Date added 28 May 2012
Last Updated 12 Oct 2012