Hi! I am Skylar Copeland, the person behind Fireside Fernweh. My love for these dogs began in 2013 when I got my first sport prospect, a white coated German Shepherd whom I named "Athena." Athena was the perfect first sport dog a girl could ask for and tolerated my complete lack of training competency with ease. Together, we achieved 30+ titles in agility, rally obedience, obedience, and tricks and qualified for nationals a number of times. As Athena was beginning to get a bit older, I began considering my next dog. Knowing that white color is a DQ in the German Shepherd breed standard and that I wanted a well bred dog next, I knew another like her wasn't a viable option. In 2017, I met Jean Reeves // Royal Acres at UKC Gateway Nationals in Missouri. Very few know this breed like Jean does, having been breeding them long before they were ever considered to be "Swiss." Jean answered my million questions and I purchased Furrari from her in 2018 after my Athena broke her leg, ending her agility career. Since then, Jean has been a heavy influence in my learning - going on six years later and we still talk daily. I am extremely grateful for Jean so openly and willingly sharing her wealth of knowledge about the breed.

​

Since I brought Athena home in 2013, my life has begun to revolve around dogs, beginning with training and photography and then moving into breeding as well. When it comes to my dogs, no corners are ever cut. It is extremely important to me that I work and title each dog as a way of building our relationship and getting to truly know the dog in and out. My dogs are my teammates and life companions - know that they are each cherished family members to whom I have dedicated much of my life. Though I am young, I am incredibly lucky to have an extremely supportive family who assists in daily care of the dogs and partakes greatly in the socialization of our puppies. Though I am the sole person in charge of breeding decisions, training and titling, and communication with buyers, I could not do it without the help of my parents with the "behind the scenes" tasks.