Sometimes, when you fall in love with a breed, the dogs have a way of making the decision for you.

Vogue is one of those dogs.

Vogue is from Max and Roxy's third litter together. By that point, we should probably have known better than to think we could raise another litter without falling completely in love with at least one of the puppies.

And then there was Vogue.

She got her name because, from the very beginning, she was a little bit of a diva.

We are those crazy grandparents who take an absolutely ridiculous number of pictures of our puppies. Costumes, silly settings, whatever we can come up with—we photograph them, share the pictures with their families, and generally embarrass them before they're old enough to object.

Vogue didn't just tolerate her photoshoots.

She performed.

Every time the camera came out, she would strike a pose as though she knew exactly what was expected of her. Before long, we were calling her Vogue, and the name simply stuck.

And yes, there was usually a certain Madonna song playing somewhere in my head.

But the thing that really makes Vogue special isn't her looks.

Although, goodness, she certainly has those.

She's got that gorgeous, big Rottweiler block head, a beautiful build, and the kind of presence that makes you stop and look twice. She inherited plenty of her daddy Max's good looks, and she has grown into an absolutely beautiful girl.

What really captured us, though, was what was going on between those ears.

Vogue is smart.

Really smart.

She doesn't simply learn what you teach her—she watches, thinks, figures things out, and sometimes seems to make up her own mind about how things ought to be done. That intelligence, combined with her sweet and affectionate temperament, is exactly what we have always wanted in our Rottweilers.

Around Handley Ranch, beauty is wonderful.

But brains and temperament are what matter.

Vogue has all three.

We originally weren't sure whether she would ever have a place in our breeding program. We already had Ruger to carry on Roxy and Max's bloodline, and we knew that eventually Roxy would retire.

But some dogs have a way of making themselves indispensable.

Vogue is one of those dogs.

She is one of our girls.

She is one of the reasons we keep falling in love with this breed.

And somewhere along the way, the little puppy who used to pose for our cameras became our very special girl.

Vogue isn't just beautiful.

She's intelligent. She's affectionate. She's independent. She's got personality to spare.

And every once in a while, when she looks at you with that big Rottweiler head and those knowing eyes, you can almost swear she's thinking:

"Yes. I know I'm pretty."

And she's right.