God's Paint Brush

Looking through cookbooks this afternoon and ran across this poem in Joanna Lund's Cooking Health with Kids in Mind. Enjoy....





I watched God's paint brush sweep across a winter sky one early morning, as the brightening sunrise came into view.

No artist could ever duplicate its splendor or even try to blend the gorgeous colors of eveye shade and hue.

Because no one but the Master has the paints to touch to paint a perfect sunrise amid the drop of the majestic sky,

Likewise, only He can create the world and such and in His infinite greatness, creatures like you and I.



-Agnes Carrington McAndrews, Joanna's mother

Later gators....
C

Rainbow bridge

Today I write about the loss of a good and reliable friend, no not my sanity and no not one of the dogs(yet) but my cherished carpet cleaner. Yes indeed, I killed it. Motor finally gave out and well, it had a long and productive life.

Fairwell good friend.

PS-it's already been replaced. With a certain puppy and teenager dogs in the house plus the hormone crew and a very incontinent oldie but goodie dog, we couldn't be with out it long. Next year-carpets going and tile comes in.


Later gators....
C

Friday Foto for Skywatch

http://skyley.blogspot.com/

Enjoy!

Later gators.....

C

That went well

Borrowing the title of a book, well seems that yes indeed, That Went Well. It only took me a week to find a time when her head wasn't slimed so the tape would stick. Or a time when her partners in crime weren't available for reconnaissance. Now she's pouting on the couch, next to Hope. I think she's trying the sympathy points now?

Later gators.....

C

Frankie Baby

Poor boy, don't think he will ever out live that nickname but he is a baby. Just got his North Star win photo in today. Not bad for a red dog, is he? I also compared his photo to Russ at about the same age. Egads! They look so much alike. Good Ol'Margie, well worth all that time, money, blood, sweat and tears to get her back in one piece, she's producing some nice puppies.

So here he is, Sumjammin's Five O'Clock Somewhere FB aka Frankie Baby.

Later gators.....
C

Ah, heat wave!

It's a balmy 30 degrees here, based on the barn themometer. Birds are all over the place searching for tidbits, horses are laying around in the snow, getting some rays and the furnace isn't coming on near as often as it did last week. Took some photos of the lazy heat wave residents. This is Glory, Torey and Laredo soaking up the rays

Torey going "OOPS, Can't let them see me laying down on the job!"

Meredith's "pony", Phoenix, Rosie and Toast. She's not really a pony, but the smallest equine in the pasture so that's her nickname.

For those of you who haven't met our newest resident, this is Toast. He's hanging out here until spring when he can go back to Mom and Dad's. This shows his missing right eye that was removed due to cancer. He's no worse the wear and a very big baby if you ask me.

And last but never least, my 30 yr old baby, Moo. Not bad for an old horse, is he?

Later gators.....

C

Time to paws-----Form and Function

Going to revisit this a little as it became the topic of quite a discussion at the show this weekend. Form and function, how a breed is built was the determining factor in how it worked, or so it used to be.

Let's look at the breed and it's history a moment. A long and low dog that was kept around the farm yard to work stock in the pens, out in the low pastures and help the farmer in many tasks. They hunt-I have two who point, one of which also flushes and can be shot over. They rat-killing mice, voles and the like are a thrill to my dogs. They guard-this taken in context explains why a cardigan will appear "reserved" around strange people. Once the owners acknowledges that the person is one of good standing, the dog is friendly and inviting. And they herd-working in tight areas, making spins, turns and running at break neck speeds only to stop on a dime. A very multipurpose dog that had to be agile, smart and willing.

With the knowledge of it's creation, we know that form now plays a vital part in it's function of long ago. A sturdy dog that had clearance to run over rough terrain. Agile to turn quickly and be efficient in movement. Wasting nothing in it's gait to be able to work all day long. So let's talk about today.

We or at least I, have been hearing this mantra over and over again about how bad the fronts in cardigans are. We have the hardest time correcting the bad ones, but as our discussion and subsequent demonstration of this weekend, we also can't have correct movement without a good rear. As stated, we have focused so hard on the front, we now have lack of rear. Similar to a horse and most living creatures, propulsion happens with the rear. The push, the drive, the action and reaction. A correct front provides the rutter to stabilize the motion and to steer it but not the power behind it. So without a good combination of the front and rear, we can't have a properly functioning dog.

Okay, so the rear, what causes it to function. One item that was discussed was the tail. Why are we such tail phobic people? I learned so much one year at the CWCCA judges education-the one thing I didn't know as much about but came away with knowledge of was the angles in the hips. I will not go into the HD discussion here, but all the pieces of the rear-tail set, croup angles, hip angles etc., are all vital in getting a dog that has proper center of balance to drive off the rear and propel the dog forward with out wasting too much energy. Tails, unlike our distance cousins the pemmies, our breed has a distinct drop over the croup that allows for a medium tail set at the end of the body. The dog is supposed to move with it's tail streaming out behind it or slightly above horizontal. With a high tail set, notice I am not saying carriage-two totally different things, but high set, the dog can not extend under as far because his center of balance is not correct, though the dog can show a nice back "paddle" - ie, when watching a dog going, he will kick back with his paw and the pad will show towards you. I hope I said that so that you can understand it. A dog that has incorrect center of balance in the rear, will tend to shorten it's stride and it's wasting energy on movement that is inefficient.

So what's my point in all this? It's a whole dog. We have talked about size, about color and coat. But for a the lack of a better word, we have piece mealed the dog so that we don't have a nice overall balanced dog but we have breeders know for their blues or their b/w dogs, or their great fronts and laybacks or their type heads or dogs that work, etc. We seriously need to get back more to this form and function aspect and have an overall balanced dog that works, loves and is healthy enough to live a long life. The more we emphasis on one aspect, the worse the future looks for our breed. Unfortunate for us, the art of breeding is just that. It's an art that requires years study, knowledge and learning. For those that claim to breed to the standard, I beg to differ on that point. Until the perfect dog comes along, we hope to breed as close to the standard as possible. And when that perfect dog comes along, we will cease breeding as there is nothing better then perfection. But as with all humans, we have opinions, we have our own way of interpreting things. Such is the CWC standard. We all have a different way of looking at it, therefore I don't believe we will ever have perfection. What we do as breeders is make every attempt to breed a dog that will be an exemplary example of what the standard says, but there will always be room for improvement.

So the new challenge is-look at your dog. Can it fit the form and function mold? Can it do what it was bred to do those many moons ago? Is it smart and willing? Is it sound and of proper size? Can it move, can it drive, can it be a cardigan? Boy, isn't breeding fun?????


Later gators........
C

Friends and Family

What a weekend! Did you know you can go to a dog show without even entering one of your own dogs and still end up as busy as everyone else? Yes I missed the entries-been so goofy at home that I forget what day it is or even the time. I'm wearing my watch religiously now. So I went with the GSP, Dove, hopes of meeting up with a new client dog and plans of having fun.

Everyone in the new client's house is sick, so no little toy dog this weekend. No biggy-the entry entry pulled as there was only one point anyway. The GSP named Promise is a riot and totally sold me on NOT having one of those as a family dog. Alec showed the over exhuberant boy and then handed him off to another handler who is showing him down south for a month. And the cardigans, Ms Dove came along for the ride and do the fun match, which we ended up blowing off. Helped Rus, Sherilyn, Kim J and the rest of the gang with showing those all weekend. All in all, it was a blast and no worries on my part about having anything but fun.

I learned over the last almost 2 years, how important friends are and what real friends should be. Sherilyn and I laughed last night about our "family" and how nice it is to have such a diverse group yet so caring and loving. We don't really care who wins, we cheer for everyone and since it's "all in the famil", we all benefit in the end.

So this weekend, I bunked at Hotel Mumme. And was it a full house? YES! Garrett and his girls, Marla and Pongo the Puli and Cindy B and Emily. Add in the Chili Supper guests and some great food, well it lasted till late in the evening both nights. Thanks to Rus and Sherilyn and can not wait until February-and yes I have my entries in already!!!

Anyway, we have dogs all over, puppies running crazy, food, spirits, conversation and how many AOM's was that Emily? Watched dog show DVD's, and laughed even harder at the moments caught of people doing things outside the ring then inside. The chili was great as well as all the other goodies. Enough to take for lunch on Sunday.

Again, thanks to everyone who came, showed, ate and conversed. That's exactly what it should be about, Friends and Family. To those that won--congratulations!!!! And yes, we made it home in one piece, but this weather thing has got to stop. Iowa City to Cedar Rapids on the way home was ugly as well as the drifts on my road. Pulling in the driveway was such a relief. Though I am already packing for the next show!!!!

Later gators......
C

We did it!!

And I'm not proud of this win either. We recorded the coldest temperature on record to date in Cedar Rapids last night. And yes it was warm compared to what Garrett posted this morning for Perham, MN. But for us, -29 below is well, cold enough. Windchill was around -52. All the stock horses have blankets, Torey's begging for his boots. The clydes are taking it in stride-don't even seem to notice that it's colder then you know what. I swear hell froze over, it's that cold. The cat has her hay tunnels and is very happy, the ducks are not. The dogs, stir crazy as they have nothing to do and no place to really run. They are in and out in less then 5 mins. Too darn cold.

And what am I doing this weekend, yeap, dog show. Go figure, I must have completely lost it. I might arrive in my sweats and several layers, but I am sticking to my pledge of keeping it professional and will have my suit at the show site where it will all nice and warm.

Been running the Tahoe every 12 hours or so, love it, starts right up. But a victim has been found-forgot I had some CAW in the truck from the last show. Planned on taking it this weekend, but it too got too cold. Now my truck smells like peaches. Luckily it was in the compartment between the seats, so not much spilled. Guess I have to make another run to the store before I leave for Rus and Sherilyn's.

Keep warm!!

Later gators.....
C

Where in the world?

Okay, now you have to scroll down to the post from first thing this morning and look at the one with the tractor and our front yard. Remember those fox and goose trails? 3 hours later.......

Yeah it's just a little windy down here!

Later gators....

C

A must read for any breeder

I highly recommend that you read the following blog post. It's a little long but well thought out and makes some outstanding points.

http://rufflyspeaking.wordpress.com/2009/01/14/cardigan-hip-scores-a-dose-of-orthopedic-reality-cardigan-ofa-pennhip-di-etc/#comment-717



Later gators...
C

Beat the record, again?

I'm not happy about beating this record, honestly, we have had enough of the damn record book!

This morning the local weather man informed his viewing audience that with the snow fall last night-offically in Cedar Rapids of 6.8 inches, that we have passed last years total to date. Great, just great, that means more mud, more ick and a gravel road that is like mud bogging it, this spring.

Now let's talk about recording this snow fall. Did you know that the National Weather Service has people who measure all the data and did you know that the Cedar Rapids measurements are taken 15 miles SOUTH of the town center in Swisher, IA???? Hello, what in the heck are they thinking? The reason I know this is at work last year we did a promo where you bought a spa or pool and if it snowed a certain # of inches on a certain day, you got it for free. Unoffically in downtown CR we got the required 4 inches, but when the NWS total came in at around 2", well the insurance company that we did the promo through, said nope! It finally got resolved, with some help from the local tv stations.

For the most part, our little black hole corner of the county gets more rain, high winds. tornados, snow, ice, you name it, we get more here. Thank God we aren't another 15-20 miles north, 'cause they get it worse then us, then 15 more miles north, nothing ;0) We have had tornados pass 2 miles to the south and 4 miles to the north while the Parkersburg one from last spring, died out just along Hwy 20 and the Hwy 13 corners. Close call but that's what you get when living in the county.

So with that note, Meredith and I are playing hookie. Haven't heard if David got to work or not, hoping he did. Dogs are fed up with being contained in the house and only 15 min little runs outside. Too damn cold. Garrett and I were talking yesterday and it was -35(without windchills) up in his neck of MN. Told him to keep it up there. We hit -11 below with -25 or 30 windchills last night. So yes the dogs are unhappy but would turn into pupsicles if left out any longer. Trying to find ways to amuse them and running out of ideas.

Here's a few pics of the drifts and of course, the cut outs the dogs have made. I don't scoop trails for the cardigans or the toys, they're smart. They let the collies and GSD run out first and follow behind.

Top of the page is the long drift that runs the length of the backyard. Gate and fence are 6' tall. We have to watch out that the drift doesn't come too close to the house or it shuts off the vents for the furnace, water heater and dryer-wake up very very cold some mornings.
Second picture is more of the back yard and the fun little drifts out along the edge.

3rd is the back door through the garage. And yes, the dogs run to the door and put the breaks on. David has to lift them over the drift as he usually hasn't gotten dressed and has no boots on to shovel. Heehee, the little object out in the yard is Meredith's old yellow wellie. Doesn't fit anymore and the dogs love to play with it. Amazed it's sitting there but I think it's froze to the ground.

Lastly, the front yard and if you blow it up, you can see the trails. Waiting for the snow to bury the tractor, considering we don't have a plow or blade on it yet-all of the ones we have fit IH and are too small. Oh and that fence is just a little over 4' but the gates are 5'.

Stay warm and enjoy the pristene landscape, mud is just around the corner.

Later gators....
C

Form and function

Now before you think this is another post on the cardigans, nope, well, sort of nope. I was reading the latest and greatest edition of Susi's KnobNots and she had a small paragraph at the bottom that went like this:

"In Parting........

Someone I know used to wear french heels in the dog show ring. She groomed in these shoes, ran in them, knelt in them, and as the day follows night, routinely fell in them. Naturally, we always assumed her heels were to blame for some spectacular splats. In time, skinned knees and twisted ankles trumped stylishness and she took to wearing sensible flats. But when her epic falls continued, we came to decide that the woman was a klutz
I, myself, rarely fall. Not on the ski slopes, not on icy sidewalks, and not in the dog show ring My American-Indian name, however, could be "She Who Walks Into Walls, Tables And People." So intent am I on what I'm doing at any given moment (besides walking, that is) that walls and other immovable objects jump in front of me out of nowhere and account for the bruises I later wonder how I got. I was once so intent on my dog while showing him that I walked full bore into a tent pole, tripped over the rope attached to it, bounced off a grooming table and resumed my place in the ring only because I ricocheted off the judge. This prompted the humorless judge to ask if I was blind. Well hardly, I thought to myself. I'd hit the damn thing, hadn't I?
Getting back to French Heel Woman, I will say that despite the wholly impractical nature of her footwear, she still brought elegance into the ring, and I miss that. So few people have real style anymore. While it's not practical to harken back to the days when ladies wore gloves and men wore hats, I am "up to here" with low rider pants, "hoodies" worn in July and an overall attitude that when in doubt about what to wear, wear sweats because they're comfortable.

I'm guilty, too. My "uniform" is a pair of blue jeans. I dress them up with tweed jackets, or dress them down with Ugh boots and a fleece top. But they are, nonetheless, blue jeans. Call me old fashioned, but this year I'm going to try to do better.

Susi
KnobNots "

If you want to enjoy more of Susi, join Showdogs-L or subscribe to her monthly column or go to her website at KnobNots.com


So getting to the point, when I was first introduced to showing dogs, I was told there was a certain pattern of dress and decorum to follow. First, gentlemen wear coats, ties and slacks. Look as professional as you can and no, you may not take off your coat, unless the judge does. For ladies, skirts, nice top or even a nice suit. Again, wear something professional looking.

These days, it has become more appropriate for ladies to wear a nice set of slacks-weather or breed might dictate a change in attire. Not an issue with that at all, as long as it looks the part. Or GSD people, wear snazzy short sets and tennis shoes. With all the running they do, they need to be comfortable and have one clothes that don't restrict their movement. Kind of funny, reading Susi's comments above, there used to be some sort of elegance in showing. Look back 50 or 60 years and see the women in their furs, hats and gloves. I think as society has relaxed, we have taken that to the extreme. Like Susi, I have seen more and more denim, dressed up with a jacket or sweater. I see grungy old shoes(I too am at fault for that one, but it's usually because I am in such a hurry, I forget to change out of the tennis or pink clogs). A pair of knit lounge pants or ill fitting clothes.

Professional, that's the term that I had drilled into my head. We aren't a bunch of backwoods bumpkins just out for a good ol'time and bringing some of our hounds out for a romp. We are serious people, who take our dogs and the breeding, raising and training of them very seriously. I guess the best way to say it, is we walk into a ring with ill mannered, slinking dogs, are gruff, rough around the edges, dressed like we are heading out to the woods after the show and don't give the judge an impression of being prepared and at our best, then what are we saying about ourselves? Our dogs? or what impression are we giving to the show viewing public.

So for this year I challenge you to look the part. Care about what you wear, what impression you give to the judge and above all what impression you give to the person ring side, viewing our hobby for the first time. And, make sure that your dogs act the part too. Goodness, the lack of or lack of care taken by some exhibitors is unreal. If you are going to enter the ring, make sure the dog looks like it should be in the ring. Not just pulled out of it's kennel and thrown in the vehicle and go to the show.

These days it's so easy to not spend a fortune. I love the consignment stores in my area. I've gotten some awesome suits for pennies. I think my dear Randy gets most of his pieces at Goodwill! And with growing kids, I know it's a pain to continually get new outfits as they grow a size between shows. But we manage with out breaking the bank.

Here's to Rus, Kim, Meredith, Emily, Ferris, Wanda and Garrett. I'll add in Alec too as he is usually looking pretty sharp, but he got a hard time about forgetting his good shoes on the first day of the last show. Heck, I'm going to add in Sherilyn, who looks the part outside the ring but we can't drag her in the ring if her life depended on it! Seriously folks, look the part! Form and function, it's not just about our dogs, it's about ourselves.

Later gators.....
C

Next holiday

Didn't take long, did it? Walking through Walmart and yeap, the valentines are out, the chocolate prominately displayed and I think I might have seen some St Pats and Easter stuff creeping in. At what point did we become a society that couldn't wait?

We just took down the Christmas tree last night. Ornaments in their boxes, garland off the cabinets in the kitchen. Scoured the house for the knick knacks in all the corners and creaves. We waited as long as we could, but you know a live tree can only hang out in the house for so long. So this morning it's vacuum the needles up, I'll be picking them out of the furniture and carpets for another month yet. Tote the boxes down stairs and store in the back of the basement. Sigh, why did it come and go so fast.

But that's okay, there's only 346 shopping days left till Christmas!

Off to get the Ms at school, wouldn't you know it, Blizzard warnings today? Heehee, 17 years ago, the weather was almost exactly the same! Warm weather the week before, gave us a gorgeous day to get married on, then held off the winter storm so that we could fly to the east coast to honeymoon for a week. 17 years, can you believe that? In a day and age of instant, want it now and throw away as soon as it's gotten old, we've managed pretty darn well. Heck we even made it out to dinner on Saturday. That's a milestone in itself-homebodies that we are, we usually just get a pizza and a movie and cuddle on the couch, or fall asleep ;0) Hugs and kisses to my best friend in the world-Happy Anniversay!

Later gators....
C

And now for something completely different....

I started out with a grandfather, grandson and grandmother photo but as soon as the camera came out, Tuli said no way! So here's the resulting photo. Amazing to me, Frank can walk over the top of Fred, sit on him, lay on him and the old guy just ignores him. If anyone else tries it or ever looks like they are thinking about it from across the room and they get the death glare and grumble. Silly old boys.

Later gators.....
C

Time to paws-four score and... this is a long one....

Alrighty now, here comes the most delicate discussion today. And so funny, it's a debate on a cosmetic item, not structural.

Color. There I said it. Color. Our breed is blessed with a wide variety of colors. Brindles in all shades from black to chocolate, to red and some so light in color that it's almost impossible to see their stripes. Then there's the reds and sables. I lump those two together because we usually have an issue with what really is a sable and what isn't. Then the black and whites. And last but not least, the blues. Oh the blues.

Standard: All shades of red, sable and brindle. Black with or without tan or brindle points. Blue merle(black and gray; marbled) with or without tan or brindle points. There is no color preference. White flashings are usual on the neck (either in part or as a collar), chest, legs, muzzle, underparts, tips of tail and as a blaze on head. White on the head should not predominate and should never surround the eyes. Any color other than specified and/or body color predominately white are disqualifications.

Let's stick with the actual color of the dog today and I'll dance the fine line of white markings and points next post. That's if I survive the slaughter of this one.

First on inheritance, there is so much to go into on this that I will refer to some great posts on Showcardi-L if you want more information. Also, Phi-Vestavia has an awesome article that I send all newbies to. Here's the link for that: http://www.phi-vestavia.com/cardigan_colors.htm

Now to the nitty gritty that I know we all want to discuss--the actual colors in our breed, and why we only allow what we do.

History, in almost any breed, will tell you that in it's beginning, color was not a prerequisite for a working dog. They just basically had to do what they were being bred to do. Preferences then came into play as the farmers or hunters wanted to make their dogs unique amongst the pack. In cardigans we need to look back at the history of the breed first to see what was put in the mixing bowl to create the dogs we love today.

I'm going to rely on the CWCCA for most of the history part with other information I have gleaned over the years from various people and books.

The Cardigan descends from the Teckel family of dogs-those are dogs similar to the dachshund. There is also, due to the dwarf stature of our breed, some inclination that they are also related to the bassets, PBGV's and like breeds in France. The theory is that a relation to our cardigans, was around during the viking invasion, where the Spitz type dogs were introduced, leading to the creation of the Pemborke Welsh Corgi. The Cardigans remained unchanged.

During the time that followed, the Bronant Corgi-the original corgi, was bred with the brindle heeler. The colors prior to that were in the reds and sables, so now we add in the brindle. Okay, so where does the blue come from??? I can't seem to find a definitive answer to that, though I can theorize that if the relationship to the Teckel dogs is correct, that the merling pattern may have from come that direction,. ie the merled dachies we see today.

I know, I know, I'm beating around the bush here, but having laid the foundation that real working dogs centuries ago didn't rely on color to work, then why is it such a big deal today? Because we now show dogs and they now have to conform to a standard, aka a cookie cutter form in order to evaluated fairly. Fair is far from the truth these days as I could wander off into the whole style, type and pretty vs working and correctness for the job debate, but I won't. I know that you really want me to voice my opinion on the whole correct color debate, ie, the any color is a good color in a cardigan. So here it goes.

Because I belong to the CWCCA, I have to abide by the Code of Ethics, which means that the written standard is the one that I have to follow. There are only five accepted colors and only certain combinations that I am allowed to breed. Black and whites can be bred to any color. Blue merles can only be bred to black and whites, any other color-red, sable, brindle, can be bred to any color other then blue merles. I don't agree that that is the correct way to do it as many other combinations of the right genetic material can be bred to create a far superior dog, but I wont' cross that line. I might also add that it is well known fact that many of the corrections in the standard over time have been made due to dogs of unusual color or markings, doing so well in the ring. Not because of their color, but because the judge overlooked it and went for the most structurally correct dog. This in turn outraged many who then lobbied for change and won it. Change which was nothing more then a political move.

Having been involved in an other breed that also includes blue merles in it's color palate, I can, with first hand knowledge, tell you what can happen with so called "off color" breedings. Blue merles when bred to blue merles can create what are called double dilutes-dogs which carry both the merle genes. In the collie breed, this can spell disaster. DD's can carry multiple health risks such as blindness, deafness, other physical defects. What this comes down to is an ethical debate, not so much a color debate. Do you risk that health and well being of untold # of puppies in a blue/blue breeding, in order to maybe get a far superior puppy? Are you willing to cull that defective puppy or are you willing to keep it for it's life or place in the appropriate home, so that it will live a long and fulfilling life?

DD's health issues are limited to that dog. Unless it is rebred to another blue, there is no chance of it passing on it's defects to another generation. That is the limiting factor which is a good factor. But again, are you responsible enough to be ethical about the treatment of those puppies you produced. Just culling them to me is totally unethical, because as a responsible breeder, you place the health and well being of those dogs ahead of your own personal gain.

Okay, lets now talk about the other off color breedings and the effects. Merles to any other color. Again, I agree that there is no bad colored cardigans. A ginger, sable or brindle merle dog can do the job just as well as the red or black and white. One of my concerns in a health related issue and it's about pigment. Other breeds do allow the chocolate or brown pigment-dobermans, dachies, aussies, etc. No issues there. What I do have an issue with is that the lightness of the pigment can drastically change as generations progress to the point of having not brown or chocolate noses but in the case of the labradors, pink! If many of you remember, years ago the lab breeders were breeding chocolate to chocolate or to yellows in ever increasing rates, to get that "white or cream" lab. The lighter the better. What they lost was their pigment and in turn ended up with dogs with pink noses. Dogs with lighter coloring around their eyes, mouth and nose are at higher risk of cancers and other aliments, then those that retain a dark or black pigment. This is especially true for dogs that are out in the elements and working in the sun. If you want to argue with me on that, then look at the piebald clydesdale I have in my pasture that is missing his right eye due to cancer of the third eye lid. I can give you lots and lots of research on that. The lighter the coloring on the face and the less black pigment there is, the greater chances of facial cancers there will be.


So now that we have talked about the ins and outs of it, let's hit a lovely little note called popularity and it's evil cousin, uniqueness. We live in a world where instant is best, having a one of a kind is even better and the latest craze is gotta have! Designer mutts-labradoodles, teddy bears, what ever the latest and greatest name is, the better, or the worse. What I am hinting at is that if we as a parent club give free reign to anyone to breed any color with out disregard, well, then I am happy to report that our Rescue Trust will be doing overtime. In recent years I do know of a few breedings of brindles to merles. The puppies that resulted were advertised, by "responsible" breeders as unique colors, unusual and that this was a breeding that most breeders don't do. So let's hop on the bandwagon and have that most unusual color and one that will be the envy of your neighbors and friends. Okay, I might be going a little overboard, but there is another hitch to this. And luck has it, we do have a genetic test available for ...hidden merles. These are created when the overriding color, say a brindle, on the outside shows where the merle might not. We call that a hidden merle. Happens in black and whites too.

The hidden merle debate is one that we always bring up when the merle breeding discussion starts. I am not going to dive more into it then this, if the club would put forth a rule that states that any merle to other color breeding that happens, that all, all, repeat, all puppies are tested for the merle gene and then that DNA marker is attached to it's AKC registration for permanent identification, well then I might feel more comfortable about it. Many other clubs require that you have a DNA profile on record-I think the vizla club has something to that effect, don't know the reasoning but I noticed it when I do my online entries for the shows. Basically if someone wants to do that breeding, then they also need to be responsible for the consequences.

I've driveled on and on here. Judges will always have their preferences in the ring. Many can't look at a red or sable cardigan and not think pemmie. That's where it's hard to finish a nice red cardigan. Many judges fall back on a familiar color-brindle mostly, and that's their standby in case they can't make a decision. Then there's the oldies but goodies that love a blue. Any blue, even if it can't move correctly or slinks around the ring. That gets into the whole style, type and preference post for later.

What ever it is, I agree that there is no bad colored cardigan. I also agree that in order to maintain our breed, if "off color" breeding is allowed that we should regulate and document all puppies. I also state that color is the least of my worries as a dog doesn't herd, or guard or hunt or do therapy work or lay on my couch, based on it's color. It does all those things based on it's structure and brains.

Later gators...
C

Introduction to one of the new breeds

Pam was kind enough to send me some photos of her Owen-a Leo. He lived a very full but short life and we determined that he was there to bridge the gap until Arlo could enter her life, and thus began her journey into the Potato Chip Syndrome. Yes, Pam is anxiously awaiting a little brother to join Arlo and well, hoping she also gets a case of the show bug.

Chequamegon's Arthur Owen 12/2/4-10/1/08 as a baby, a 5 1/2 mo old baby. Eeee-gads! That's one big baby!

And at about 3 years old.

Gorgeous guy, isn't he? Makes me want one.

Later gators....

C

Friday Foto for Skywatch....

Gosh I almost forgot it was Friday and well been absent for a few weeks. Once again, Iowa going to sleep, just outside the back door.

Enjoy!!

http://skyley.blogspot.com/

Later gators....

C

By Faith there is Hope

Hebrews 11:1 " Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."


My first older adopted dog was named Faith. A lovely GSD that we loved till she was 13. Upon our moving to the first farm house, we then agreed to adopt a 14 mo old black lab. She had been injured during training as a pup and the gentleman wanted a good farm home for her. Her name-Hope.


My mom and I were going through a year long bible study(did it for 5 years total) called-Bible Study Fellowship and we came to a discussion one week about one of my favorite passages in the bible-1 Corinthians 13. We joked for a long time about our next dog will have to be called Love. We had Sophie, Clairee, Addie, etc., but no Love. Then I took to really discussing the Corinthians chapter with my group.


We all know this chapter as it's the standard at weddings. 1Cor 13:13 "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." Oh how I figured that my greatest dog would be Love. I was wrong. What God was and is still trying to tell me is that Love is not the dog, but love is the greatest act that our canines show us. That bottomless devotion to us. Real love as Paul talks to the Corinthians is not just an emotion that we randomly throw around but it is a spiritual gift. Great faith, acts of dedication or sacrifice and miracle working power can produce little without love.


Though we all have our different gifts. Mine were Faith and Hope, it is selfish of me to want the greatest Love all to myself, for love is available to everyone.


Here's to a very Happy 14th Barkday to our Hope. May your couch never sag, may the puppies leave your toes alone and above all, may you be surrounded by love.



Later gators...

C

Diagnosis

On the human front, got an email from Mom today. They finally know what's wrong. She's a Weight Watcher success story, but in the last few months, she's been loosing too much weight, hair falling out and just not feeling well. After becoming a radioactive nightmare for a few tests, seems she has Grave's Disease. It's an autoimmune disorder that causes your body to attack your Thyroid, which in turn causes it to go into overdrive.

No cure but the treatment options are good. She just can't go near the Canadian Border for awhile as she will get her thyroid bombarded with mega doses of radiation in order to "kill" or semi kill it, to make it stop producing hormones. Then she gets to take drugs the rest of her life to make her thyroid produce the right stuff.

Of course when she first told me, I knew exactly what it was. Barbara Bush has it. Oh wouldn't Grandpa be rolling in his grave if he knew that Mom shared something in common with a Republican??? More research is needed, but they also say that the factors that might lead to this are heredity, sex, age and stress. One more to add to the list of things to check at the next phyiscal. Great!

Sending prayers Mom's way and hoping that she can put that cool wig in storage now!


Later gators....
C

Time to paws-threepete

Well, seems that I have some people reading the blog and asking more questions. Now let me say upfront, I still consider myself a newbie to the breed and always will. There will always be more people with more knowledge then I have and there is always room to learn. Kind of like my Christianity-I'm always a newbie there ;0)

So let's tackle size:

(think theme music here...) it's time for Cardigan Feud!!!

We have three items on the board and we asked random cardigan breeders across America this question----
What is the optimal size for a cardigan?

Seriously folks, if we are going to be picky on the seriousness of the coat fault in the standard, why can't we be just the same about the size?

Standard says: Dog and bitches should be from 10.5 to 12.5 inches at the withers when standing naturally. The ideal length/height ration is 1.8:1 when measuring from the point of the breast bone(prosternum) to the rear of the hip(ischial tuberosity) and measuring from the ground to the point of the withers. Ideally, dogs should be from 30-38 lbs; bitches from 25-34 pounds. Lack of overall balance, oversized and undersized are serious faults.

I have a 41lb male, who is 13 inches at the shoulder. He offers outstanding balance, his ratios are perfect. BUT he is oversized, which is a serious fault. I don't special him. He can do the job he is required to to. He can turn on a dime, work sheep, ducks and cattle. But per our standard, he is oversized. I consider it a structural fault and there for should be more seriously penalized then a cosmetic one.

I saw and know of dogs in the show ring that are over the 38lb male upper range. It's a trend in our breed. One person described to me long ago about trends in dogs. It's a pendulum effect. We go to the extremes more often then we go to the middle of the road. Why? Well when one type of dog wins and wins well, we attain that that is more correct, more apt to win. What we forget is that we are not out there to win. We are out there for an evaluation of potential breeding stock. Bigger isn't always better.

So let's talk weight and balance for a moment. A correct dog with balance at a higher weight can perform, but the breed was originally bred as a 24-30 lb dog with a little longer leg. Adding more weight to a dog does not increase his working ability. Gosh, I have seen 40 lb dogs that are in the 12" height range that are honestly too heavy, can't move correctly and will tire easily when worked. We have to honestly think back to the correctness via the standard and not about how they look in the show ring. Balance is obtained when all the working parts move fluidly, as one and you can't see one part out working another. I think we as breeders very often overlook our balance and ratios in an effort to emphasis something we feel is more important, say shoulders? A great shoulder will do nothing for a dog that has too long a back, incorrect rear angles and lack or overabundance of bone.

Right now our Russ is 34 lbs. That is perfectly in the mid range of the size for a male dog. But you know what? He constantly gets overlooked because he's the smallest male in the ring. Bigger is better in today's world. He fits more the picture of the mid range, correctly balance, proportionally correct dog that our standard calls for then most of the dogs out there specialing and showing from the classes today. He hark ens back to the dogs of 20 or 30 years ago, look at his pedigree and it says just that. But right now, every ones looking for the new and improved variety, such a shame as I think the old version was better.

Okay, now let's talk about weight vs proportions. Seen some big puppy dogs out there recently that look way out of place in the puppy class or even the 12-18. What I see as a huge issue is that even though they are within the correct height and size, they lack overall balance. Here's another thing to remember. When we look at the rib to loin, I was taught that it's 5:3. What's the reasoning for that? Think again about function. The longer rib area will cover more of the vital organs so if the dog is indeed rolled or kicked, there is a grander chance of that dog coming away with some bruised ribs and not damaged kidneys.

A dog with too long of a back or even not enough, can not move correctly. With a too long back you have bouncing toplines, rolls from the rear to the shoulder and the side movement indicates what looks like an incomplete stride. Our breed is supposed to have very close to a single track movement, but due to the shortness of the front legs, should not have a true single track. Side gate should be such that it is free and full. Dogs that can't reach under, push off and have a full extension of the leg in the rear, lack in correctness. Here's the best way for those of you near a beach or in a snowy area. Gait your dog to a certain point, then go back to the track laid and look at where the paw prints fall. What you should see is just shy of one paw print inside another. The correct stride from front to rear, with a dog that is correctly portioned, means that the rear paw will fall very closely into the print of the front. A dog with a back that is too short will not full extend themselves in the side gate and has a choppy look. A dog with too long of a back will full extend but the topline bounces-seen lots of that lately.

Again, returning to proportions, a heavy dog has more mass to move so that it tires quickly. It can't jump an agility jump efficiently and can't turn to move stock. The proportions also include the height of the dog and drop of the chest. A dog too low to the ground does not leave room for efficient leg movement, ie, working stock with a dog that is too low slung is, well, pointless. A dog with too much leg tends to be off balance and again, wasted motion attempting to keep itself righted, tires it easily.

I think we once again need to go back to the standard and read for ourselves. I really hate hearing but everyone else does it, well that doesn't make it correct, does it? If we or should I say judges, continue to encourage the cardigan breeders by rewarding structural faults over cosmetic faults, we will see a continued demise in our breeds overall functionality. Might as well get yourself a poodle ;0) A dog that falls within the range as stated in the standard for both height and weight, that carries the correct length ratios, should be the first dog placed up for evaluation, not the dog that's the biggest in the ring. A well put together dog has not only the correct front and rear structure, but also all the parts in between-height, length and weight. Everything else is just icing on the cake.

Next up--let's talk color and boy do I see that being a well rounded discussion--ouch.

Later gators....
C

Time to paws-part deux

Now on to something completely different. The new Cardigan Bulletin hit the mailbox and Garrett emailed me to say--Read it! So I trouped out there and got the mail. Tell you what, it's a great read this time-Bonnie you out did yourself. There are some great articles, wonderful tributes to the late Helen Jones and the ads are worth skimming.

Now I will openly admit that I was disappointed in not getting a more indepth critque on the individual classes at the National Specialty. I much prefer that over a general two page overview but I also understand with the number of dogs reviewed, unless you take detailed notes and get right to the review of them, an overview highlighting it is best.

I would also like to point out that yes, that is Eddie mentioned as the dog with the questionable coat in the Am Bred class. And yes he did place 4th. But take a step back and read what else she had to say-"This dog had a great many qualities that overrode the obvious poor coat". There it is in print. Yes he does have a long and soft coat-well not really any more. He's shed out and what's grown back is still long but it's hard and getting tighter every day.

To digress a little in reflection of the previous blog post, let's look at what the rule book says and let's discuss other aspects of our breed. Leah mentioned just a few and after this weekend, I think there are a few people who should go back to the AKC standard, then to the illustrated for review.

One mention was bites. We all know of a recent incident of ribbons being withheld due to bad bites. Our standard says:
-Teeth stong and regular. Scissor bite preferred; i.e. innter side of upper incisors fitting closely over the outer side of the lower incisors. Overshot, undershot or wry bite are serious faults. Now my question is why don't more judges or better yet, breeders consider this?? Many just do a courtesy glance and move on. A dog must eat and with out a correct bite, it can't and won't live long.

Randy, dear Randy, and I had a talk long ago about the three most important aspects of a dog-bite(not head), feet as in movement and structure. Coat and color are the least of the worries. He said a dog must walk and talk, or eat in this case. With out those three items, it isn't able to function and live.

So bites--Leah mentions this- we are getting better at understanding that head qualities including underjaw and bite must come into play for a correct cardigan head.

Next: OMG, the topic of fronts will set just about anyone off the deep end. It's such a hot topic in our breed and always will be. What is actually correct, and how does the structure of the shoulder play into this along with the rib and keel. Oh Sherilyn, I can't but help giggle at "the boat" picture in my brain. Anyway, let's also mention that Leah openly addressed at the Annual Dinner, that we do need to concentrate on the fronts, but we also must not forget that we follow up with a substantial rear. If we concentrate on one part too much, we will loose other portions. So going back to Randy's comments-feet, ie movement, means two parts with a front and a rear.

Fronts-I've seen a wide range of them in the last couple of shows I've been at. Yes, hands on is an important part of it all, but we also need to stress more on watching the coming and going of a dog. The actual movement indicates more of the correctness then a still shot. I'm looking for a fiddle front picture but can't find one. Anyway, from the illustrated standard -pages 19 and 20, http://www.cardigancorgis.com/ISshow.asp?19 and http://www.cardigancorgis.com/ISshow.asp?20 I have been horrified by what some breeders are considering correct.

I'm going to step out and say a few things. My friends all know my opinion on this. I as a rule, single out cosmetic problems in my puppies first-I don't usually have room for just a breeding dog that can't be shown. I have a fluff carriers in my line. It's not in my best interest to keep a fluff puppy, knowing that if I breed it to one of my girls it will be a litter of mostly fluffs. Luck has it, with Eddie being blue and the fluff gene being a recessive(though we have not sent in the test to confirm his status), it would be at least one breeding or two away and that I can breed him to a fluff noncarrier, and viola! it's gone. SOOOO---same with excessive white. Yes my dogs do have a lot of white on them. Nothing that isn't acceptable but I have produced at least 3 mismarks over the years that are disqualifying mismarks. White is a little more fickle to deal with, so in the best interest of what I am breeding, I choose not to to go that route. Which is a damn shame as there is a gorgeous dog out right now that I would love to breed too, but I just can't justify the risk at this time.

With that being said, I will take a cosmetic fault over a serious structural fault any day. Structure is much harder to correct then a specifically a fluff coat, glamour coat. A nice shoulder lay back with a tight top doesn't do you any good it the topline is weak, the rear is high and the angles in the pelvis/hip and stiffle are off. And let us talk about faults. No one wants to be a fault judge, but in the end with a group of significantly similar individuals, you do have to take the dog must correct to standard and then look at the faults of the others. The problem with most all breed judges is that they don't know how to weight the faults against each other. Or in many cases, coming from a distinctly different breed, can't or won't learn about the differences in a cardigan to better evaluate them. Heck a judge with a background in collies, where the breed is judged 60% on it's head properties, will over look a weak topline, lack of correctness in a rear or a straight front, because the dog in front of them has perfect plains, overall correctness of the head and what every one thinks is best, the biggest ears of the group. I'm hear to tell you that it might fly with that judge, but in all honesty, are you doing justice to the breed and the breeder by winning with those qualities?

So faults-our breed has five disqualifing ones--can you name them? Don't peak yet...


Blue eyes or partially blue eyes in any coat color other then blue merle.
Drop ears
Nose other then solid black except in blue merles.
Any color other then specified(and what are the colors? red, sable, any shade of brindle, blue merle with tan or brindle tips, and black and white with either tan or brindle tips)
Body color predominatly white

Now the serious faults
Lack of overall balance, oversized and undersized(that's for another post!)
Small and or pointed ears
Overshot, undershot or wry bites
High tail set
Knuckling over, straight front and fiddle fronts
distinctly long and fluffy coat

Now of those serious faults, which are cosmetic? Amazes me that that the majority of judges will more seriously fault a cosmetic one over a structural one. And unfortunately, this is again a topic for another post, but our breed is one that is not taken seriously by judges wanting their license and as much as our judges education committee works, we can't seem to make enough of a difference. That leaves it up to us as breeders and exhibitors to do better, bring out to them the best and to be more critical of our own dogs. Time to step up is now, and not get high and mighty, shit don't stink and yes I am being blunt here. Get off your high horse and have the best interest of the breed in mind, not our own personal egos.

I have so much more, I'm on a roll, but I think I'll leave it here for the day with a quote from the great Helen Bole Jones:

" If we are not but caretakers of the breed now, it will have not future"

Well said Helen, well said.

Later gators.....
C

Time to paws-part 1

This last weekend, I had a really great chance to sit ringside and do some observing on various breeds. One was to watch some that were just new to the AKC in 2008/2009 and the other to watch some AKC rules be completely broken.

First the new breeds-wow! Dogues De Bordeaux, which is the same as the dog made famous in the Turner and Hooch movies with Tom Hanks. They are soooo cool. Not that I would ever have one, made that thought mistake a few years back thinking I could live with a PBGV. Neat to look at, be around but I just don't think I want to live with one. Yes they do drool, similar to a rottie or a newf. The deepness of the red in their color is beautiful and the one I saw this weekend had great movement. Here's the parent club link for anyone interested: http://www.ddbs.org/

Next the Irish Red and White Setters. Again, there was quite a group of them this weekend. I've always admired the ones in the UK and this really set my mind on the breed. Not over done, the furnishings, well for now that is. This dog could walk out of the show ring, into a field and start working right away. They are carring the correct weight too. The personalities are wonderful, especially for a breed that hasn't been show in AKC events for that long.

The last one I got a glance at was the Leonbergers--this is for you Pam!!! One of my puppy owners was previously owned by leo's. Neat neat dogs. All from the same breeder but that's okay. I hope to see more in the future. Big dogs with lots of presence. Pam, you need to send me more pics of your's to post on here.

Okay now on to the rules. I didn't call the super over as I should have, but considering the exhibitor got 3rd out of 3, it wouldn't have mattered anyway. But be assured that I will be watching. Here's the rule:

SECTION 8. The Bred-by-Exhibitor Class shall be for dogs that are:
• Six months of age or older as of the first day of the show;
• Not Champions of record on the date of closing of entries for the show;
• Individually registered with The American Kennel Club as of the date of closing of entries for the show;
• Owned or co-owned by any of the breeders of record as the date of the closing of entries for the show.

The person handling the dog in this class must be a breeder of record and an owner of record of this dog.
In any subsequent classes for which a dog from the Bred-by-Exhibitor class becomes eligible, there are no restrictions as to who may handle.

Okay kids, let's go over this. The dog is entered in the BBE class, that means that the only person eligible to show the dog is the breeder/owner of record. A double check on the catalog tells me that there is only one person who qualified as such and believe you me, that was not the person showing the dog in the ring! Years ago, the AKC allowed a family member of the breeder/owner to show the dog. Not anymore. Actually that rule has been changed for, I think, at least 2 years now.

So here's the scoop---it's in every dog show exhibitors best interest to read the rules. Go to http://www.akc.org/ and get a current copy to download. The show giving club has to provide this information free of charge, so you can pick it up at a show. The excuse, I just didn't know, doesn't fly. When you fill out an entry form, you sign, stating that you agree to abide by the AKC rules and have read them. Now this is coming from a dog show chair, moi, who has to know them.

And here's the last one for ya:

AKC CODE OF SPORTSMANSHIP

PREFACE: The sport of purebred dog competitive events dates prior to 1884, the year of AKC’s birth. Shared values
of those involved in the sport include principles of sportsmanship. They are practiced in all sectors of our sport:
conformation, performance and companion. Many believe that these principles of sportsmanship are the prime reason
why our sport has thrived for over one hundred years. With the belief that it is useful to periodically articulate the
fundamentals of our sport, this code is presented.
•Sportsmen respect the history, traditions and integrity of the sport of purebred dogs.
•Sportsmen commit themselves to values of fair play, honesty, courtesy, and vigorous competition, as well as
winning and losing with grace.
•Sportsmen refuse to compromise their commitment and obligation to the sport of purebred dogs by injecting
personal advantage or consideration into their decisions or behavior.
•The sportsman judge judges only on the merits of the dogs and considers no other factors.
•The sportsman judge or exhibitor accepts constructive criticism.
•The sportsman exhibitor declines to enter or exhibit under a judge where it might reasonably appear that
the judge’s placements could be based on something other than the merits of the dogs.
•The sportsman exhibitor refuses to compromise the impartiality of a judge.
•The sportsman respects the AKC bylaws, rules, regulations and policies governing the sport of purebred dogs.
•Sportsmen find that vigorous competition and civility are not inconsistent and are able to appreciate the merit
of their competition and the effort of competitors.
•Sportsmen welcome, encourage and support newcomers to the sport.
•Sportsmen will deal fairly with all those who trade with them.
•Sportsmen are willing to share honest and open appraisals of both the strengths and weaknesses of their breeding stock.
•Sportsmen spurn any opportunity to take personal advantage of positions offered or bestowed upon them.
•Sportsmen always consider as paramount the welfare of their dog.
•Sportsmen refuse to embarrass the sport, the American Kennel Club, or themselves while taking part in the sport.

I just highlighted the one part as it seems that I have been accused of purposely withdrawing(or attempting since the super didn't get the paperwork in time) a dog to break a major, for no reason other then spite. Sorry Charlie-I always consider the welfare of my dogs first and foremost. See, I have this posted on the door in the study, hand it out in my classes that I teach and remind everyone that you shouldn't show unless you behave like a sportsman. Isn't the motto for the AKC, in a simple tone, for the sport of purebred dogs?

There are several other parts of this code that I could go one about, such as those that talk with judges prior to judging then seem to win? Or helping to pick judges then show under them? One reason that I do not participate in the judges selection at our club level. I'm given the list after it's been confirmed and all I do is remind the committee as to their mission. Do you want me to go on? Not really, as I have just as good a post coming up next ;0)

Digest this and let me know your opinion, but just a word to the wise, I have a new copy of the rules in my show box and well, plan on reading it again as well as having it with me ringside, then next time I am observing.

Later gators....
C

Winter dog shows

As noted in the last post, we went dog showing in the winter. Kim keeps asking me why we do this, personally, I still don't know. But just about anytime it involves friends, dogs and food, we end up knowing all that walking the dogs in the below zero wind chills at hotels with no level spots, is well worth it.

Starting off-and no I have no pictures--check out Kim's blog, www.cardicorgicapers.blogspot.com and there will be photographic evidence of the whole weekend. We pile in the new Tahoe-yes I have new wheels. I can pack anything-enough stuff for three adults, one preteen, four cardigans and one GSP, to go months with out resuppling. Okay, not that long but we made it through the weekend. I will add that it was a little tail heavy and that will have to be looked into before the next mass migration. Chilly Thursday morning, clear roads and lots of caffeine for most of us, we headed off to St Paul, MN. Traveling with Kim is a blast. Can't ask for a better partner in crime.

Get to the hotel. Now here's the trick, let's see if we can get our hotel gear out without exploding the entire contents of the Tahoe. And we did it with out much of an issue. Some adjustments to make for the repack on the way home, but not too shabby. Off to the show site. Thank God for Sherilyn and reserved grooming! In like Flynn, set up and back to the hotel we go! An early night as the rest of the weekend would be a bear-8:00am ring times for one of us-GSP, Juniors, Pemmies or Cardis. Unfortunately, I don't think Kim will volunteer to sleep with Meredith again-poor Kim. Yes Meredith is not an easy child to sleep with, okay that's an understatement ;0)

Now an a seperate note, we were all back at the hotel, walking dogs for the last time at night. I made the mistake of taking the GSP. Let me add that the hotel parking lot had some seriously icy spots. As I see Rus take a dive in the corner of the lot, Ransom aka Chunky Monkey at the end of his lead, I attempt to walk over and make sure he's okay. Bad idea, bad, bad idea. Promise sees someone to play with, I hit the edge of the icy spot and weeeeeeee....... Kim's description was that we looked like a bad yard sale. Landed flat on my back but I also had a death grip hold on the GSP. Not that he would bolt if loose, but man, he would be running around harassing every dog in site and run laps till we actually got a hold on him. So on my back, head cracks the pavement. What happens next is pure slap stick. Ransom sits on my head, we are all laughing, GSP then weaves the leashes, Kim is near by and poor poor Music, becomes a footstool for the GSP-he sits on her. Remember I still haven't let go of his lead either. After all is said and done, laughing till it hurts, we untangle, get up, brush off and look for the aspirin. I had a wopper of a headache the next day and did not walk Promise the rest of the weekend-left that task to Alec.

Friday is the Herding Club specialty show. We had a blast! Yes it does help winning. Frankie and Bear are in the same class right now and I hate to see either of them loose. Bear is turning out so nice and so funny to watch. He knows just the buttons to push on his Daddy Rus. Frankie is a pro and just walks in and does what needs to be done. We walked away with a nice 2pt WD to start out his career. Then it was on to sweeps-da FB boys swept it clean. Russ and Frankie both won their classes with Russ going on to win the Open Sweeps and Dawn's lovely little Peace beating out Frankie for the Junior Sweeps win.

The big news was that Eddie's dad, Picasso, won the Specialty!! He had a huge cheering section and I think the judge even cringed when we hooped and hollared for him. That meant dinner and drinks down at the Mall of America and Bubba Gumbs. Good food, great friends and perfect conversation, what more do we need??? Though it did make for a late night, early Saturday morning and a serious nap at some point.

Saturday, we prepared for the worst with a pending storm. Please note, no where in this post do I mention taking the Terminator Puppy with us. I opted to leave the heathen at home, which was a good idea as Promise the GSP was more then a handfull as noted in the above incident. Though I think I owe my hubby something for watching her this weekend. Now, don't take this wrong, she is a blast, but it's going to take a little work to get her focused on the task at hand, though I know that she will be a great performance dog.

Frankie beat Bear again for another 2pt WD. Emmie won her class and we were do hoping for her to get that last darn major. But Eddie's breeder won with her BBE girl and took BOB!!!! We stayed for group and raised a ruckus again-Ferris got a pull in group!! Weee haaa!! Due to the storm, we did decide to stay at the hotel and walked across the street for a burger, drinks and loads of fun. Tell you what, the 15 of us that did stuff this weekend are about the best group of dog show people around. The talk around the table was all about having fun, congratulating those who did win and keeping it all in the family. Special thanks to Jean, Susan, Garrett, Ferris and Joann for joining us regulars-Rus, Sherilyn, Kim, Alec, Meredith, Emily, Cindy, Marla, Bekka and myself. Tammy Johnston with the tailess cousins didn't get to join us for dinner but she's a great gal too! If and when I get a few dogs downsized here, seems that there's a pemmie waiting for Meredith at Tammy's house. And I would love to have a Chunky Monkey all of my own!

I'll let you check Russ' adventure in the Rally ring on Kim's blog, but let me tell you, if he can just keep his mind off girls for a few moments-it was a perfect run with an unexpected ending. Oh and check out his page for an announcement later in the week.

So Sunday rolls around-it's mass chaos, pack the truck, head to the show and try to do it safely. Weather wasn't as bad a predicted. Some sleet and ice, little bit of snow, but early morning traffic on the interstate isn't too bad, so slow going is acceptable. Frankie won his class and took RWD. I'm in no hurry to finish him as I want to enjoy this trip. Four points for the weekend isn't too bad for a 2nd weekend out. Emmie was so close to getting the class, but with 4 bitches in the ring needing only one major to finish, it was any bodies game. Luck had it, Susan and Panache got the nood and we were all so happy for her to finally get it after chasing that darn last major for so long. Wish the judge had given her the BOB too, but that's okay, we can forgive them for having a lapse in judgement ;0)

Amazingly, we managed to repack, leave some extra room and head home after hugs all the way around. It's sad leaving when we have so much fun, but so ready to get home to my bed and squeeze all my babies at home. Plus snuggle with the hubby-who bonked his head again in the barn. The man needs a hard hat on at all times. Seems though the weather took a turn for the worse the further south we went. Ice and freezing rain coated the roads, trees and driveways. Kim was rating the "ice rink" driveways and roads as we drove. It was scary for a little while, especially a stretch outside Rochester where it was 15mph, bumper to bumper and cars in the ditch every where. But we did make it home, in the expected amount of time, safely. Got unpacked, repacked Kim and off she went. I walked in to dogs happy for me to be home, a puppy very happy to see her playmates back and my own bed.

Will I go again? Right now we go, no, that's okay, but when the entries roll in, betcha I send mine in again ;0)

So here's to friends, food, fun, wine and lots of great conversation. I had lost the fun in it due to bad situations but now it's back. Honesty, sharing ups and downs, and accepting that each of us has our own way, that's what creates true friends. Thanks guys---the ride this year is going to be above and beyond!!!!

Again, check out the website for some updates in the middle of the week and go over and see what Kim, Russ, Shaker and Musey have been up to lately.

Later gators.....
C

Sidenote

Someone asked me this weekend, what happened to Shaker and why we didn't have him there? Well, chalk it up to Onofrio and not getting their heads on straight. His entry was cancelled but they didn't get the correction made in time.

Now let me back up a little for the history on this. Yes we did originally have him entered and yes we did show him in Skokie. Susan showed him one day there and I can't thank her enough for taking over that day as he needed someone with no knowledge of his history to work with him as well as me getting a little better view of what's going on. He did a little better but needs a little more work.

As for his removal from the show this last weekend, unfortunately Shaker had a run-in with one of the neighborhood big dogs in early December. Talk about fear stage tragedies. The poor boy is taking a nice walk with his mom Kim and two huge ill mannered Saint Bernards coming charging from behind a house at him. Luck has it that their underground fence stopped them, but barely and right at the edge of the road. That's another post about those evil fences. Then let's talk about the airedale and lab the tried to get him when they walked the other way in their neighborhood. This has set up a series of off timed events that have left him shaken and us humans trying to bring his confidence level back up. Taking him to this busy show would not have been in his best interest. All we needed was him to get excused or even worse, freaked out even more.

Most dog owners or at least those with a heart, understand that we have to put our dogs safety and sanity first, not the show, the wins or the points. It's been done before, it will be done again. We were pretty open about his entry being pulled and the super just didn't get his act together. There's always another dog show, another weekend and more points out there to win. Break the major and save the dog or wreck the dog just for someone's ego? Choose the latter and what kind of dog person are you?

For now, Shaker is just being Shaker and working through private lessons, more obedience classes and not going to dog shows until we feel he is in a mind set that the world is not out to get him. Let me tell you, dog attacks are not something to be laughed at. Meredith almost got bit in the ring when another junior lost control of her dog. Now I have a collie that is always on the look out for evil St Bernards and it makes it hard for Meredith to show her-over protective dog is not always good. I was a show chair when a dal tried to eat the judge, a special of all things. Again, sanity and safety first. Not egos.


Later gators....

C

New Year and starting fresh

Sitting in my robe with my hair in a towel, I'm debating on what I should do first. Should I get dressed, sweep and mop? Or do I throw some laundry in then start vacuuming? It's always hard to get started off on the right foot each morning. Same with the new year.

I promised myself that I would make attempts to improve myself-exercise, diet and spiritually. I would also look back at my errors, learn from them BUT not dwell on them and say how can I change it for the better? Honestly, I think I am making the move in the right direction, at least making a small step.

We went to a big dog show this weekend. Trundle off like the Beverly Hillbillies, stowing just about anything we could in the new Tahoe. Seriously, I am looking for something bigger but haven't found the right one yet--that's another blog post. Up to the cold and snowy north of St Paul, MN. Now let me remind myself that it's either been nasty cold or extremely enjoyable weather when traveling up there. Started out nice but turned ugly by Saturday night. But I digress to the point of this post. I love to win, no doubt, everyone does, but I am just as gracious when someone else does. So this year I was going to go out of my way to make sure that who ever won, I said a sincere congrats to.

Isn't there a theory called pass it on? One good dead leads to one if not two more. Which in turn makes those who do the good dead pass on the spirit of hope, the spirt of love and the spirt of faith? That's my goal-my sincere congrats will in turn make that person feel better about themselves, then be able to pass it on. Now can I be blunt? I will continue to pass on this hope to others, but after this weekend, I know that there are a few people out there in this world that are so cold and hard and genuinely lost, that it won't ever affect them. I was looked dead in the eye by people such as this and sneared at when I won. I was openly thrown an upturned nose, bumped into and rudely blocked and made to go way around people, by such people. But you know what, looking down at what I had written- to become a better person in the New Year, I sucked it down deep, asked God to look after those lost souls and when they won, made sure it was heard loud, how sincere I was and happy that they had won.

Funny thing is, all it got me was a bite in the ass. Go figure! I hope that those wins make you happy and it should. I hope and pray that you take them as a treasure and cherish those times during the bad ones. I know I certainly do. And I know what humble pie tastes like. Had a whole bunch of that.

Hoping that in this New Year that you have health, wealth and joy. Remember it's not all about I it's about us and that what we do for ourselves, not only reflects onto others, but also should be for others.

Later gators....
C