Puppies and So Much More - A Life In the Doghouse

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-20T20:05:00.001-05:00

It’s been a busy few months here. Dad continues to improve and is now walking about 6 km a day. He takes Becca (Am Can Ch Shomberg N Partridge Run Tribecca) along with him. I’m beginning to think that this quadruple bypass is the best thing that ever happened to him. He’s quit smoking and he’s exercising. What more can you ask for?

Lucy (Can Am GCh Nuthatch’s Awakenings - Delceg x Kaylee) qualified for the big Eukanuba show in Florida in Dec as both a new American Grand Champion and also as one of the Top 25 GSPs in the US for 2011 at the cutoff date. She is the only solid liver GSP on the latter list (making her the #1 solid liver GSP in the USA J ). We are extremely proud of everything she and her handler, Sarah Crepeau, have accomplished. Unfortunately, a trip to Florida just wasn’t in the cards for us this year.

Dundee (Am Can Ch Nuthatch’s Snowy River Rider - Cruise x Sally) also qualified for Eukanuba due to his being the #5 GSP in Canada last year in all breed points (he was #2 in breed points - and all in only 3 weekends of showing). We’re hoping that perhaps we can go next year and that he will qualify again - this time as a new Am GCh. He is heading down to Sarah to finish off his grand championship in the new year. His cousin Pepper (Nuthatch’s For Yr Entrtainment - Delceg x Bug) is already down there getting ready for her show debut.

Dundee’s been busy. He became a father again early in December. He was bred to Can Ch Topthat’s Raw Sienna FDJ (Sienna) and she gave birth to nine beautiful babies at the start of the month. Sienna went Best of Opposite Sex to her littermate Sparky (Can Ch Topthat’s Electric Lime) at this year’s Canadian National Specialty. We have decided to breed Dundee’s aunt Bug (Can Ch Nuthatch’s Truly Madly Deeply - Charlie x Spirit) to Sparky early in the new year as well. This will be Bug’s last litter and I am very much looking forward to it.

We are also expecting a new litter in January (yeah, January is shaping up to be a busy busy month). Beans (Nuthatch’s Black Coffee In Bed - Dundee x Becca) has been bred to Mac (Am Can Ch Nuthatch’s Chase The Sun - Morgan x Emily) and is due mid-month. We bred Limerick (Nuthatch’s Funny Girl - Frost x Jeannie) to Charlie (Mex Latin Am Can FCI Int Ch Nuthatch’s Presumed Innocent - Andy x Cassie) but I’m not sure she is pregnant. It was a last ditch chance at Charlie puppies but the vet tells me those sperm looked mighty tired so this one is flying on a wing and a prayer. I’m kicking myself for not having frozen his sperm earlier. It’s one of those things that you mean to do and never quite get around to. Lesson learned. Mac and Dundee will both be having sperm collected and frozen at some point this year.

In the meantime we have visitors for Christmas. True (Can Ch Nuthatch’s The Princess Bride - Charlie x Becca) is vacationing with us while her family visits other family abroad. Buddy (Kenny x Jeannie) is also coming for a visit this Thursday and will be spending the holidays with us. Although we don’t board commercially, I love having dogs we’ve bred come back for a visit and it means that when their owners go away they can go with peace of mind, knowing that the dog is staying in the house with GSP experienced family and friends. We offer it year round but summer and Christmas are when it gets the busiest.

I likely won’t get another update in before the big day so here’s wishing you a great Christmas and we’ll talk in the new year. May it bring great things for you and yours. Love the Nuthatch Gang.

Pictured Sarah & Lucy having some downtime :)

Happy Hallowe'en

2011-10-29T22:18:00.003-04:00

From Jo's pug Gizmo:

I Found This On Facebook and I Loved It...

2011-10-23T12:30:00.004-04:00

It's been such a hard year with losing Ziggy, Chanel, Spirit and Delceg. I fear that Charlie and Mr. Big are not too far behind either. Surely the pieces I've lost this year though are not half as big as they pieces they gave me over the years.

Speaking of new dogs coming into your life. We had tried to breed both Dalwhinnie (Nuthatch's Q.E.D. - Morgan x Emily) and Willow (Darnelle's Makin' U A Believer - our GWP) in June but niether got pregnant. It was very very disappointing and admittedly very very expensive. So, there were very few puppies born here this year. Puppies whether they stay or go on to new homes make you feel better. There's something about sitting on a floor and being swarmed by hot little bodies that are doing their best to drown you in kisses that makes it impossible to be sad for long. Buffy is in season (Am Can Ch Nuthatch's Unforgettable - Kenny x Jeannie) but I have told her that if she escapes her crate even once there will be no forgiveness. Buffy is a liberated girl and firmly believes you should grab your fun when you can, regardless of Mom's hard planning. She's not being bred this time as she just had a litter earlier this year. Limerick (Nuthatch's Funny Girl - Frost x Jeannie) though is looking like she is coming in to heat. I am really hoping to breed her. I dearly want more Charlie children so we're going to try a fresh semen AI (artificial insemination) as Charlie's back end is too weak for me to be willing to let him try to do it au naturel. As Limerick is a solid liver (Charlie is ticked), there is a possibility of having both solid and ticked puppies in the litter. Solid is a dominant gene and so one parent must be solid liver in order to get solid liver puppies.

It would be really nice to have some puppies around to play with as I'm worried this winter will only get harder when it comes to losing my beloved seniors.

In the meantime, I'm house hunting - now what kind of crazy person wants to move with all these dogs ... and who wants her to move next to them???

Facebook

2011-10-19T21:03:00.005-04:00

Ok, I'm determined to rejoin the technological race and start updating regularly. I'm even going to check in on Facebook periodically. I remain on dial-up so don't count your puppies before they bark :) In the spirit of trying though, I have been updating our Facebook photo section. For those of you interested in seeing the pics the links to the albums are as follows:

General Album:

Lucy's Album:

Dundee's Album:

Hopefully, there will be more to come.

In the meantime, we are experiencing wet and muddy weather here :( Pepper (Nuthatch's For Yr Entertainment - Big x Delceg) decided that I should not remain dry in the house. She came in - soaked to the skins - and lay down beneath my legs (I was at the kitchen table) and then stood up and dragged her back across the underside of my thighs. Uggh!

Delceg - Am Can Hung Lux World Jr Ch Malomkozi Delceg

2011-10-03T07:57:00.006-04:00

Peacefully, in his 11th year, while sleeping by my bed. Although Delceg didn't come us until he was almost 7, he quickly became an integral part of the family. His goofy smile, the incredible hugs, snoring in your ear when he shared the pillow, his whole body wag when he brought you a toy. I think I'm still in shock.

He excelled as a show dog, completing championships everywhere he went and Best In Shows in his native Europe as a youngster. In the litter box, he proved just as powerful. His gorgeous, multiple group-winning daughter in France, Dutch - Belgian - Luxembourg - German VDH - Swedish - International Beauty + Champion International Show Champion France Champion working "Championne d'Automne of field-trials" Malomkozi Sjelsa, was only one example of several. I'm comforted by the fact that I have some of his daughters, sons and grandget here with me.

Many will count the above as his legacy but for me he will always be the goofy guy I fell in love with at the airport. He could never have produced another puppy or won at another show and he would still have become my bed hog. He will be very dearly missed.

New Email Addy

2011-09-25T21:25:00.000-04:00

Due to ongoing issues with Aztec, our new email is nuthatchkennels@gmail.com

Catching Up After a Long Absence

2011-08-09T10:26:00.012-04:00

OK, so it’s been ages since I’ve updated the blog. I kind of have a good excuse although it’s not a totally great one. Grandpa ended up having a quadruple bypass and then picked up that C.difficile bug while he was in the hospital. This all started at the beginning of June and he’s only been home for a few weeks as I write this. It’s been a long haul and he’s lost thirty pounds (and unlike me he didn’t have thirty pounds to lose) but he is finally doing better and slowly but surely getting well.

Much has been happening with the canines. I’m just going to cover the highlights for now.

Dundee – Am Can Ch Nuthatch’s Snowy River Rider (Austr Ch Zigeuner Nimrod R (Cruise) x Nuthatch`s Charlie`s Angel (Sally)) was the #5 GSP in Canada in 2010 – and he was only shown in Canada for three weekends!

True (Can Ch Nuthatch’s The Princess Bride – Charlie x Becca) had a beautiful solid liver girl, named Jessie, who has gone to a great new home in Ottawa. Hopefully we’ll get some new pictures of her to post soon.

Lucy (Am GCh Can Ch Nuthatch’s Awakenings – Delceg x Kaylee) has finished her Am Grand Championship. Along the way she has picked up a Best of Breed at the New England Sporting Group Specialty under breeder judge Ruthann Godfrey-Freer, a best of breed followed by a group 2 under breeder judge Steve Keating, a Select Bitch award at the Canfield, Ohio specialties under Michael Dachel and a best of breed in Canfield again under Steve Keating. It’s been pretty thrilling. She then went on to three more Best of Breeds, a group 3rd and a group 4th in August.

Fox (Nuthatch’s Fantastic Mr Fox – Delceg x Bug) made his US debut and has 5 pts so far including a 3 pt major. He’s starting to get lanky though (just like a teenage boy lol) so it’s time for him to come home for a bit.

Finally, on July 1st, Buffy (Am Can Ch Nuthatch’s Unforgettable – Kenny x Jeannie) and Dublin (aka the Monkey Man, Gamebourne’s King’s Ransom) became proud parents to two little girls – North & Free. They’re now 8 weeks old and hilarious bundles of mischief. I found a cat tunnel that they love to run through.

Free

North

Things That Go Bump (and Oof) in The Night

2011-04-25T20:01:00.003-04:00

There’s nothing like getting into clean pyjamas after a hot shower and then sliding into your bed, under nice clean sheets. Your foot slides down the sheet and, suddenly, it encounters something wet, cold and slimy. Needless to say, you scream and jump out of the bed. The dogs all stand up and start barking while they destroy your bedding in their attempt to root out the intruder. Finally, it is subdued as you carefully peel back the covers, anticipating the worst. If you’ve had dogs for any length of time, the worst has found its way under your foot more than once, why should your bed be any different? You breathe a sigh of relief as you discover the remains of a very dead stuffed toy. It is removed and peace eventually ensues. You get to climb back into bed; ignore the cold nose, still searching for more toy remains.

I know that some feel that allowing the dog(s) on the bed is not good policy. Apparently, they feel it encourages dominance in the dog. Around here, they share the bed if they wish. To make it fair and since there’s only so much room for me and dogs in the bed (and that number isn’t even close to the number of dogs here), we take turns deciding who gets to sleep with me.

Delceg has become a huge bed hog. He’s not small to begin with and he takes great pleasure in curling up by your head, with his head as close to your head (and your ears) as possible. Thus when he begins to snore at a volume that rivals that of a World Cup soccer final, you are in a prime spot to fully appreciate his nasal arias. This is quiet though as compared to the racket that ensues if some hapless rabbit should cross the lawn when one of the dogs is awake.

The other night, I had a case of the guilts. I felt like I had been neglecting the two youngest members of our canine family – MG (Kaylee x Mac, 7 months) and Pepper (Bug x Delceg, 9 months). They can be very high energy and you tire of their antics a little faster than the dog that curls up at your feet for a snooze while you work. As a result, they get lots of time out running in the fenced field as opposed to fooling around in the house with me so their quieter when they come in. A tired GSP has a happier owner. As a result, I’ve been trying to do lots of bonding activities with them to make up for them being outside on their own so much. The latest was letting the pair of them sleep with me. Why I felt the need to have both sleep with me on the same night I do not know. I can only put it down to wine and temporary insanity.

After some quick inspections of the room and its contents, they settled down on the bed. Relieved, I got in bed, turned off the lights and aimed for sleep. Then the obligatory rabbit passed by the picture window that borders the bed. Rabbit 1, Heather 0. Finally I got them quieted down again and curled on my side with a reassuring hand on MG. Then Pepper spotted an old rope toy that had fallen between the bed and the wall; likely courtesy of Dublin or Delceg. This was fine. She retrieved it and fell to chewing on it with calm glee. No problem. At least not until MG realized that she was missing out on a toy and set out to steal it from Pepper.

You can guess what came next. After the necessary tussle which ended when I got up and threw the toy out of the room, accompanied by a great deal of cussing; we tried yet again. This time I got to fall asleep. Now there are lots of downsides to sleeping with the dogs (but fewer then sleeping with the fishes), but there is much comfort to be found in that warm body (or bodies in this case) curled up against you in the night. Neither girl snores and both love to snuggle. When they’re sleeping, like small children, they’re really rather angelic and sweet looking and you forget all the frustration they caused you earlier.

You remember them when fifty pounds of puppy suddenly lands on your stomach in the middle of the night. Apparently, Pepper woke up and had to investigate the dust bunnies under the bed. Her return to the bed could not happen at my feet. No, she had to jump right onto my stomach and shove her dusty face in mine so we could share the experience. Ain’t love grand.

The dynamic duo out playing in the yard: Pepper has the solid liver face and MG has the big blaze.

Charity

2011-03-18T16:15:00.008-04:00

First, I'd like to thank everyone who took the time to write after we lost Chanel, Spirit and Ziggy. I can't explain how much your support helped during a very difficult time. I still get pretty teary, so we're not going to discuss it further other than to say thanks.

Like everyone else, we here at Nuthatch have watched in horror the news coming out of Japan. There are a number of worthwhile causes out there to support in relation to relief aid for the Japanese and their animals. Although we missed out on the specific day, we'd like to add our vote to Paws for Japan and the World Vets organization.

On a closer to home basis, we are hard at work with the Pointing Breed Rescue Canada group. Everything progresses slowly at first but our hope is that this can become a real source of help for pointing breed dogs that are in need of assistance. I've got our blog up and running and it currently features Rocky, a young German Wirehaired Pointer in need of a new home. If you know of anyone who might be interested, please feel free to direct them to pointingbreedrescue@blogspot.com

We also recently got to do some smooching in support of Paws for Grace. All of the girls here got to kiss Booker, one of their favourite labs, and the boys got to kiss the incomparable Ms. Puddles, the dachsie with moxy. It was tough explaining to Mac that she could not come to live with us no matter how much he liked her pictures.

We'll end with some more pictures off Lucy (Delceg x Kaylee). The show pic is from her Best of Opposite Sex win at the Sleepy Hollow German Shorthaired Pointer Club Specialty and the other two were taken when she was in the ring at the Purina National. She did us proud again this past Sunday going Best of Breed under breeder judge Ruth Ann Freer at the Sporting Dog Group Specialty in Fitchburg, MA.

Spirit, Chanel & Ziggy

2011-03-10T16:19:00.013-05:00

The three girls, my sister and I curled up on a blanket this morning and said our goodbyes. It was very peaceful and very GSP with the girls heads on various laps and flanks and legs all tangled together. I know it was the right decision but my doG does it ever hurt. Words aren't going to do them anywhere near the justice they deserve but I did want to tell you about each of them.

Chanel - Can Ch Ersehnen By Design - Reo x Sage

Chanel was just over a year old when she joined the Nuthatch Gang. I had contacted her breeder/owner after seeing ads in a GSP Journal of her siblings. Betty Jane (Reece-Weaver) would go on to become a good friend and an excellent mentor. She sent Chanel out here on a trial basis. I think I fell in love with her at the airport before we even got home. She was so imperious and sure of herself. Everything was hers by divine right up until the day she passed. The Queen Bitch, she was nicknamed, and she ruled the house with an iron paw.

In the show ring, she cleaned up finishing easily with multiple Best of Breeds over specials. She would go on to multiple group placements with handler Sue Bain and later with either my sister, Joanna, or I at the helm. Joanna showed her to a Best of Breed at the Ontario All Pointing Breed Specialty under structure specialist Betty McHugh. Betty McHugh would later devote a day to having her photographed for use in a book on canine structure. Unfortunately, the book was never completed. I didn`t get to show her too often as she hated to share me and had no problem telling judges to back off if I seemed even slightly nervous or tired and wasn`t on top of things.

In the whelping box was where she really shone. She had four litters, three by Charlie (Mex FCi Int Latin Am Can Ch Nuthatch`s Presumed Innocent) and one by Chance (Nuthatch`s The Negotiator). The puppies inherited her elegance and the bitches, her incredible personality. Emily (Can Ch Nuthatch`s At Last) and Jeannie (Nuthatch`s Simply Irresistible) stand out in particular as top witches that have continued her tradition of excellence in the whelping box.

Chanel was lazy. She`d sleep on your legs and smack you with her paws if you tried to rise before she was ready. She grumbled if you persisted and gave you a look that said it was only her love for you that was saving your life. Everything was done with dignity. Most of all though, she never minded if you needed to hug her and would put her head on your shoulder to let you know she was there for you.

Spirit - Can Ch Ersehnen Blythe Spirit - Reo x Sage

Spirit and Chanel were littermates. Spirit was returned to Betty Jane when the couple who owned her divorced. When we learned about her return, we immediately offered her a spot here. We loved Chanel, who had been living with us for about a year at that point, and were eager to meet her sister.

When Spirit got off the plane, I kept looking at her and thinking - are you sure you`re Chanel`s sister? Where Chanel was tall and elegant with legs that went on forever, Spirit was shorter with broader ribs and a head more like her father's. I came to love Spirit and her build just as much as Chanel`s but at first I just wasn`t sure. She was so different on the surface.

What happened in Spirit`s first home we`ll never know but she arrived with a firm belief that women were to be protected, especially sleeping women. She would growl whenever any man came into the room where one of us was sleeping. This never changed even though she would at the same time be wagging her tail at Dad or Jacob or Alex. It was as though she needed them to know that she would always protect us no matter what.

In the show ring, Spirit finished with a Group 2nd, handled by her buddy John Glover. He would also handle her to a Best of Opposite Sex at the first ever Canadian National Specialty. In later years when she occasionally came out for Veterans, she would always wiggle in delight when she saw John.

Spirit's wiggle was a whole body wiggle that went from the neck to the tip of her tail. She greeted everything with exceptional enthusiasm with the exception of canoeing which she firmly felt was a fool's errand. She felt it was her job to round everyone up to go outside and could often be found barking at everyone to hurry up. Where Chanel was dignified, Spirit was a clown. A clown with huge brown eyes that you could fall into knowing she'd keep your secrets safe. She was special and everyone who met her fell in love with her.

In later years she went regularly to the chiropractor where she promptly pushed everyone else out of the way so she could wiggle up against Gloria and get her massage. If Chanel was the Queen, Spirit was the spoiled Princess.

Although she only ever had one litter, it was a great one. She too was bred to Charlie and out of them came Bug (Can Ch Nuthatch`s Truly Madly Deeply), Sally (Nuthatch`s Charlie`s Angel) and Spider (Am Ch Nuthatch BCK Alfa Romeo Spider - owned by Alice Richter & Mary Finley of Brush Country Kennels). Like Chanel`s kids, Spirit`s get excelled in the whelping box too.

Ziggy - Can Ch Robinhoods Ziggy Stardust - Michael x Darby

I drove down to the US with Ziggy`s breeder, Sherry Saunders, to bring Darby to Nichael. It was a fun trip that I still remember fondly. Ziggy was always an adventure right from the start.

Her best friend, who was also about the same age as her was Michael (Our Siberian, Can Ch Bain's Norther Riverdance). We used to tease them that they got their roles reversed. Michael was an off leash Siberian his whole life and had the obedience skills of a shorthair. Ziggy, at fourteen, was still not to be trusted off leash as she was always chasing the next adventure.

Naughty was a polite way to put it. If something could be got into, then Ziggy was there. If you could chew it or otherwise taste it - she had her mouth on it. She was trouble with a capital Z and everyone knew it and loved it. If food was missing from the counter, you knew who took look at (at least until Delceg joined the crew - then it became a toss up). When you called her name, she would stuff her head under the couch cushions - rear end sticking up in the air - as though that made her invisible.

Ziggy was the difficult child, whose spirit you admired even as you shook your head and cleaned up the mess. She is one of three dogs that I have Michael Steddum watercolour portraits of from before he became famous. Her, Holly (Can Ch Robinhoods Always Forever), and Maggie (Am Can Ch Ersehnen Do U Believe In Magic FDJ). They've all passed on now.

I'm Home !!

2011-03-07T13:46:00.004-05:00

Who would have thought anyone could be so happy to be returning to the land of chaos and never-ending, stick-in-your-clothes hair. Did I forget the occasional bursts of noise in that description?

I'm finally home and I can't believe how much I missed it. Apparently, it missed me too :)

Charles is the only one of Buffy & Dundee`s pups not to have moved to a new home yet. His will come. In the meantime, he`s mighty cute and doing well with his crate training. I forgot how sweet GSP pups are when I compare them to Gizmo, my sister`s pug pup (who sounds remarkably like Cartman on South Park for some reason). He and Dublin have become close friends. Here`s a few pictures of him I took last night.

Unfortunately, not everything I have come home to is wonderful. Chanel (Can ch Ersehnen By Design), Spirit (Can Ch Ersehnen Blythe Spirit) and Ziggy (Can Ch Robinhoods Ziggy Stardust) all turned fourteen towards the end of January. When I left for my surgery Spirit wasn`t doing well. Her back end had begun to fail and I suspected that by the time I was home again there would be some decisions to be made. There are times when I hate being right. Unfortunately neither Chanel nor Ziggy is doing well anymore either. I don`t know if I can cope with losing all three of them at once but I`m not sure it is fair to ask more of them. Chanel`s decline in particular has been very fast. When I left she was doing the best of the three and now I`m tempted to say she is doing the least well.

It`s hard to think of the house without the three of them. None of them were bred by us but I did make the trip down to the US with Ziggy`s breeder, Sherry Saunders, to bring her dam to the stud dog for breeding. Although Ziggy isn`t in any of our breeding pedigrees anymore, she has been a unique and special individual her whole life. There are very few, if any, dogs bred at Nuthatch that don`t have either Spirit, Chanel or Charlie (Mex FCI Latin Am Can Ch Nuthatch`s Presumed Innocent) in their pedigrees. Spirit and Chanel are littermates that arrived here separately and Charlie is their nephew (bred by us), out of their brother Andy (Am Can Ch Ersehnen The A Thing). I still count meeting Betty Jane Reece-Weaver (Ersehnen GSPs) as one of the luckiest things I`ve done in dogs. Between them Spirit and Chanel have produced some truly stellar brood bitches including Emily (Can Ch Nuthatch`s At Last, Charlie x Chanel), Jeannie (Nuthatch`s Simply Irresistible, Charlie x Chanel) and Bug (Can Ch Nuthatch`s Truly Madly Deeply, Charlie x Spirit).

I think this is going to be a hard week.

Rescue

2011-03-02T17:44:00.009-05:00

Rescue is one of those topics that has always been near and dear to everyone here at Nuthatch. Our first GSPs were rescues and so were our first GWPs. We`ve had rescued, GSPs, GWPs, Siberians and various mixed breeds come through here as well over the years. I`ve got a picture of Tess and Dylan here - our first GSPs but not much else on the laptop. I`ll post some more pics later and tell you they`re stories too.

Tess

Dylan

We`ve fostered and placed several dogs over the years. As anyone who has ever participated in rescue knows, it can be very very rewarding and very very heartbreaking. For the past few months I have been working with a few people who are trying to organize a national rescue for pointing breeds and get it registered as a charity. While I`ve got lots of experience with rescue, I don`t know a lot about the workings of corporations or charities.

One of my contributions will be to run the blog. I would ask any of you who may be interested to check it out at http://pointingbreedrescue.blogspot.com Hopefully, I'll be able to update it regularly with information on how the organization progresses and also on ways people can contribute and dogs that are in need of assistance.

Lucy's Pictures

2011-03-01T15:02:00.003-05:00

I'm keeping this one short. Here are some of the pictures of Lucy that have arrived. They're from her finishing her US championship and a few Best of Breed photos from before and after, Lucy is out of Delceg and Kaylee.

New Puppy

2011-02-25T14:05:00.003-05:00

Well, my sister and her son have gotten a new puppy. A wee pug named Gizmo. He's very cute but makes some funny noises. We've always been a big dog household but Jo and Alex live in an apartment along with their GSP Roxy (Josh x Wicca). Roxy is older and fairly quiet as shorthairs go so she manages the apartment well but a GSP puppy wouldn't be a good choice for an apartment. So here`s a few pics of Gizmo and Roxy:

Saw the surgeon and things are progressing well with the leg. With a little luck and some hard work I should be home within a week or so. I can`t wait.

Quiet Sunday

2011-02-21T19:34:00.004-05:00

Mom & Dad came to visit today and brought Dublin along. It was so nice to see him. I can't believe how much I miss the dogs. It's been years since I've been away from them for this long. My sister lives in an apartment so having the dogs stay here with me isn't possible. Time to start working on handling stairs so I can go home and see them.

Today is for some pictures of Bedago (Kenny x Jeannie):

Westminster Photos of Rory

2011-02-18T01:34:00.003-05:00

I may have to persuade Karen to try to send whiskey despite the laws. Nothing like a good whiskey to cure what ails you. (My parents used it on teething baby gums with phenomenal success as you can guess.) For now, I guess I'll live without.

I'm most sorry that I won't be up to joining friends in Paris for the World Show. It's on my list of shows I would really love to attend at some point and what better combination than a trip to Paris. Sadly, that's just too soon.

I have received confirmation that I'm fully licensed now to judge half of group three, including my beloved Siberian Huskies. I'm on permit (similar to an American provisional) now for the balance of group three. I should be back on my feet towards the end of April and will be celebrating by judging in Montreal at the end of May. I`m looking forward to it. My sister, her son and the Music Man will be coming along for fun.

I got some pics today of Rory and Iris in the ring at Westminster:

Long Overdue

2011-02-17T00:13:00.004-05:00

It's been a long few months full of physical and mental challenges. I finally had the first surgery on my knee just over a week ago. It's a new year and hopefully a new beginning so let's give this another go.

I'm staying at my sister's for a few weeks as it is an apartment that is all on one level which is much appreciated when you can't put weight on one leg and get around in a combination of wheelchair and walker. They`ve been great and I spend lots of time with their girl Roxy (Nuthatch`s The Natural - out of Josh x Wicca). As I only have my laptop with me, I don`t have access to a lot of pictures but I`ll update you with lots of pics when I get home.

Roxy is wonderful, but I really really miss the dogs. Over the last few months, Dublin has been my constant companion and I`m missing him terribly. I`m not used to sleeping without dogs either (I don`t know what to do with all this leg space!?). It's important that my leg not get bumped around. It's in a brace but any touch or knocking of it is very very painful. A Delceg hug would probably kill me at this point. That doesn't mean I wouldn't like one anyway. No ever said I was sane lol

There has been some great wins to report as well. The most notable being that:

- Buffy finished her American championship - becoming Am Can Ch Nuthatch's Unforgettable (Kenny x Jeannie).

- Lucy also finished her American championship with multiple best of breeds over specials and three majors. She is now Am Can Ch Nuthatch's Awakenings (Delceg x Kaylee). Lucy didn't stop there but has been continuing to amaze. In her first two weekends as a special, she won the Breed and then made the cut in the group over top winning specials. Then last weekend there was the Sleep Hollow Specialty - one of the biggest specialties, it's held along with two other specialties the weekend before Westminster. She ended up going Best of Opposite Sex in Specialty to one of the top GSPs in the country. All of this is very impressive but it becomes even more special when you realize that Lucy is a solid liver German Shorthair. Although the breed standard recognizes it as being as acceptable as the more traditional spotted/ticked, many judges are hesitant to put it up as they don't see it as often and are less familiar with it.

- Rory (Am Ch Nuthatch Edenstar Aurora - owned by Dr Iris Goliger & Rachel Glenn, out of Jammer & Bug) went to Westminster and had a fabulous time! Owner handled, Rory and Iris made the cut at the premiere show in North America. It doesn't get better than that!

All in all the dogs and their owners, regardless of what they've been up to have continued to make us very proud. I'll try to find some pics to update with, in the meantime, we have:

Chesna (out of Charlie & Chanel)

The Finding Nemo Litter

2010-11-03T22:57:00.010-04:00

This litter is out of Kaylee (Nuthatch's Firefly - Kenny x Bug) and Mac (Am Can Ch Nuthatch's Chase The Sun - Morgan x Emily). Kaylee is one of the girls we foster out. More on fostering in our next post (which will be sooner than the last post - I promise). She lives with the Talbot family and Avery and Sloane Talbot have very generously provided the theme and names for this litter. Huge thanks to them for doing such a great job! I have some really great pictures of them with Kaylee.

Now, on to the puppies ... they're just shy of four weeks old in these pictures.

The Girls:

Peach

Dory

Coral

The Boys:

Crush

Nigel

Nemo

Squirt

and some general pics of them in one of their sweeter moments...

I also have a few new pictures of Pepper and Fox (formerly Fanta) from the soda pop litter (Delceg x Bug). Pepper reminds me very strongly of her mother, Bug. She's got that same impish quality that led to Bug's name often being extended with a "ger". I should know better by now. Every time someone gets a name like Bug, Pepper, Beans, etc they invariably live up to it. I've got to start naming them things like Quiet, Peace, Gentle, Silence - think it would work?

Pepper

Fox

Although I really like both of them, I'm thinking that we will place Fox in a show home if one comes along. Of course if one doesn't...

Thanksgiving...

2010-10-11T22:43:00.004-04:00

For those of you unaware, this past weekend was Canadian Thanksgiving and we here at Nuthatch had plenty to be thankful for. For the first time in 8 years, my entire immediate family (parents, sister and her two sons) were all there together. Jacob, my eldest nephew who recently started chef school at George Brown College, did the cooking which was to die for. There was turkey, stuffing, yams and fancy potatoes, glazed carrots, caesar salad with homemade dressing, apple and blueberry pie. We also celebrated Alex's current football winning streak. He just started gradenine at a new school in Toronto and made the first string of his junior football team. The Team - The Northern Red Knights - are currently undefeated!

I know this isn't a very dog oriented post but the next one will be promise :)

To make this more dog oriented we present Mochi (Dundee X Becca) and City Life.

Well, we mssed the contest at Twinkie's but...

2010-10-04T22:47:00.004-04:00

Payton (formerly known as Rosa (Cruise x Shiraz)) felt it was important that we post what would have been our contribution in the show-some-tongue category.

Just Forty-Eight Hours...

2010-09-28T23:04:00.001-04:00

Sunday started well. I judged in the morning and had a great entry. I was particularly taken with a great dane bitch that I gave the breed too and I had a great Siberian entry. The quality was really nice which is reassuring. It was first thing in the morning and it was a chilly (and I mean chilly) morning and I had to control myself to keep from just burying my fingers in the dogs' ruffs. The samoyed in particular was just so tempting. The northern breeds were all full of beans like they could sense that colder weather was coming and they couldn't wait. Me, I could have waited at least until I had something warmer on lol

We got home and I got caught up in catching up on my paperwork. Realizing I was running late, I headed out to move dogs around. Lucy apparently felt like she was queen of the yard and jumped Jeannie. Now, Lucy may have felt like it but Jeannie is the queen and a tougher old girl is hard to find. So, it was off to the vet to get Lucy stitched up. She had a nice 1" gash right on her shoulder blade on her show side. She is going to the US in October to work on her American championship. Perfect. Well, it could have been much worse at least there was only one hole and it isn't serious, just funny looking.

So, we get home from the vet and start the evening routine and then ... Kaylee went into labour. First puppy was born at 10:50 and the last one at 4:50am, which means no sleep until at least 9am before you can give the all clear. Just before I head to bed Mom comes to let me know that Jeannie was standing on three feet. So, I go to check on Jeannie. Sure enough her front foot is huge and she won`t put it down at all. Careful examination reveals no holes that I can find so I`m wondering if she has broken her toe. I talk to the vet and decide to keep and eye on it for the day and see how she`s doing. There isn`t much you can do for a broken toe but keep her comfortable. I give her a dose of Metacam (pain killer) to help with the pain and then we both head to curl up on my bed.

Later that afternoon Dublin comes in from a run outside and he`s blinking a lot and keeping one eye somewhat closed. It`s very muddy outside so we figure that he has dust or something in his eye. A little Visine and hope it washes itself out. Alas, it doesn`t help and his eyes are both almost completely closed. You have to pry them open and what you see when you do is very scary. Off to the vets again.

His eyes are showing something called Horner`s syndrome, one pupil is smaller than the other and they are extremely irritated. A variety of things can cause Horner`s syndrome but most don`t fit his current age and health. Finally we settle on two possibilities. One, he hit his head very hard when he was outside (likely by running into something while going full tilt) or he has an inner ear infection. He gets a big dose of Metacam for his headache and some heavy duty antibiotics for the possible ear infection.

I sleep with two sick dogs on the bed and I`m beyond wiped. All in forty-eight hours.

Thankfully this morning Dublin is doing much better although he will stay on the antibiotics as a precautionary measure as we still don`t know for sure what happened. Jeannie`s foot remains very swollen but the swelling revealed a few small punctures and it is an abcess rather than a broken toe. We managed to get some of the pus drained out although it looks like she will need a stronger antibiotic to get the infection out. Lucy is very tired of being kept quiet and her wound is healing well. Kaylee and pups are doing well. I`m starting to recover too :)

Last Bit of Updating...

2010-09-23T19:46:00.007-04:00

I have some final bragging before we go forward. July, August and September did have some very nice wins for the Nuthatch Gang and we are extremely proud of the following:

Frost - New Canadian Champion

Maelle - her first point and several Reserve Winners Bitch wins despite being only barely over 6 months old

Limerick - ok, I'm just thrilled that Limerick and I got in the ring

Aurora - Nuthatch Edenstar Aurora - owned by Dr Iris Goliger and Rachel Glenn - not only did Rory finish her American Championship (YEAH!!!). She then went on to take an Award of Merit at the Nutmeg Specialty and the following day went Sporting Group 1st in New Jersey!!!! We are beyond proud of Iris, Rachel and Rory.

Buffy - new American Champion - now known as Am Can Ch Nuthatch's Unforgettable - she finished with 2 5 pt majors taken at specialties and a specialty Award of Merit. We're very proud of her but honestly, I'm just really looking forward to having Buffy home again. She's been staying with our handler Sarah while in the US.

Dundee - picked up several points and two majors towards his American Grand Championship and also went Best of Opposite Sex at the Nutmeg Specialty

and Larkin - owned by Betty & Jay Weaver, co-owned and bred by me - took a trip to Canada (somewhere in the prairies) and picked up 6 points towards her Canadian championship.

Dublin demonstrated that he doesn't want to be in a show ring with anyone but me unfortunately which means he'll wait until I'm back on my feet. I did get some nice stacked shots of him though. He remains my faithful buddy and is spoiled rotten as a result lol You'll see his pics just as soon as I manage to get them off the phone...

More Pics of Michael and Continuing to Catch Up

2010-09-20T12:40:00.006-04:00

OK, big big news - I found a wireless stick from Telus that works at our house !!!!!!! I cannot explain how exciting that is to someone who has been stuck on dial up. It makes updating you a lot easier.

I found several pics of Mike on my desktop computer that I didn't have access to when I was away.

He really was beautiful guy.

September is a busy month here. I started off the month judging on the Labour Day weekend. It was a beautiful weekend and the show site is right on the water, so it is absolutely divine and very very picturesque. I had a great entry. I particularly enjoyed the Siberian entry. It was a booster and, for our area, we had a huge entry. There were some very nice dogs there but I absolutely fell in love with a senior puppy. He had these great, smooth lines with that effortless movement that screamed he could go all day without a problem. He made me think of an old fashioned working dog. I loved him.

The weekend after that is the weekend for the Oakville & District Kennel Club shows. I have been their show chair for several years now. The show went very well and I was very pleased to see that our entry numnbers were up. In the past few years many shows have seen their entries decline due to the economy and a variety of other factors. So, to have ours go up was a nice sign that we're doing a good job.

Last weekend was for puppy visits and next weekend I am judging again. Told you September was busy :)

Bug's puppies are doing very well. They turned 6 weeks this past weekend. I need to get some good stacked pictures of them but for now here are some fun ones.

Michael - Can Ch Bain's Northern Riverdance

2010-09-09T21:43:00.007-04:00

Michael was our last remaining Siberian Husky here at Nuthatch. Only a few days before his passing, I had run into his breeder at a show. I was telling her about how well he was doing and what great shape he was in and it was absolutely true. Michael went down very quickly and was gone only a few days later.

Michael came here as an 8 week old baby over thirteen and a half years ago. His best buddy was Ziggy, a GSP, who was only a month older. I thought we`d lose Ziggy first but she is still trucking along. We laughed and teased them that they had gotten their breed personalities reversed. Michael was an off leash Siberian from the beginning and was 100% reliable. Ziggy still isn`t safe off leash and she can barely walk on a bad day. On a good day she has an odd rocking horse kind of run as she moves around on her lead.

Michael had an incredible dignity and beauty and a very wicked sense of humour. A typical Sibe in that sense he loved creating mischief and you often swore he was laughing at you. He is dearly missed.

Last week I judged a booster (similar to an American supported entry) of Siberians. I thought of him of often as I judged. I found myself telling the booster organizers and the club`s new archivist all about him. He was one of a kind and a better companion you could not have asked for or received.

This is the only picture I seem to have on my laptop of him but I`ll post some more when I`m home again. Right now, I`m staying at a hotel while I do my annual stint as show chair for our local all breed show. More on that tomorrow.

Update Finally...

2010-08-28T23:07:00.006-04:00

OK, we fell off the wagon for a bit with the blogging for which we are extremely sorry and hope you will all forgive us when you realize how crazy it has been here :)

My sister and her youngest son moved back here in July and her older son (who will be going to college in the fall in Toronto) followed in August. Three additional people plus one additional dog and a whole lot of angst later and things are finally starting to settle down again. Oh, we also had to help them find somewhere to live permanently (they move next week into a great place in Toronto where they'll be close to Jacob's school and residence), furnish the place, etc. Actually, it has been a lot of fun having them here. The boys are a big help and Joanna founded the Nuthatch Gang with me many years ago before moving out west. I'll miss them when they go (but not the dramatic increase in laundry).

I have often found myself thinking about the things I wish to blog about but by the time I have time to do it, I'm too tired. We're in the midst of yet another medication adjustment so hopefully that will help keep me on my toes.

I'm going to do a lot of the updating in stages rather than try to pack it all in a single blog. Hopefully within the next week or so we'll also start to catch up with our blogging friends. Please be patient with us.

We'll touch on the following later in more detail but we finished Frost's Canadian Championship, Dundee continues to win on both sides of the border, Buffy has also found her groove. Aurora has been kicking ass in the specials ring. And of course, the puppies that I'm actually showing (rather than having the smart guys like Sarah and Iris show) having been having a great time making a fool of me and Dad :) There was one weekend that it will take a lot to beat in my history books that, from a dog winning perspective, was simpy phenomenal.

We lost our last Siberian, Michael. This deserves a post unto itself and will get one.

We welcomed a new member to our tribe - Cash. More on him soon.

Puppy news also deserves to be a post unto itself, so like I said lots to tell you.

In the meantime though, we thought we'd leave you with some pics of Sonnet. Sonnet is Frost's littermate, out of Delceg and Becca. She lives in Texas with NEWPoint GSPs. We co-own her but Nancy does all the hard work :) Needless to say we're pretty proud of them and their friend Gerry who often handles Sonnet. Sonnet has field, obedience, agility and show titles. An all rounder....

For the birds...

2010-06-25T13:29:00.000-04:00

This was forwarded to me and I quite liked it. It has the name Laska on it and I'm hoping that is who should get credit for it. You're getting it exactly as I got it so I apologize profoundly if the credit is not being given where it is due. Tell me and I will correct it ASAP.

Other than that I have some more pics for you. These relate to our bird watching activities here at Nuthatch. As you may know, our kennel name is derived from that of a little bird found everywhere here - the Nuthatch. (Pictured below)

In addition to nuthatches, we get a variety of other birds including (please note that none of the bird photos were taken by me with the exception of the fuzzy one taken through a window with an unidentifiable bird in it - the rest are taken by professionals - copyright on photos):

Woodpeckers

Cowbirds

American Goldfinches

Chickadees

Cardinals

Blue Jays

and many more not seen here.

At our house we are avid birdwatchers...

Lucy has to be watched when she birdwatches...

otherwise she tries to get close up view and not only destroys the screen window but also scares off all the birds as well as the chipmunks and squirrels (who have no problem giving her the rodent version of the finger when that window is firmly closed).

Wordless Wednesday - Miga (Frost x Jeannie)

2010-06-23T16:52:00.001-04:00

GSP Fun Day!

2010-06-18T12:46:00.016-04:00

This past weekend the GSPCC (German Shorthaired Pointer Club of Canada) held its annual fun day. We're very lucky that one of our members has what has to be the perfect place for dogs. She has ten fully fenced acres which are a combination of bush, creek, and manicured lawns. The dogs love it when we visit. I suffer extreme fence envy every time as well :)

Anyway, our fun day is an afternoon where the members and their dogs can gather to socialize while the dogs run riot over the property. This year we had approx. 15 dogs aged 10 weeks to 10 years running around. As you can see from the photos they had a blast. I brought Maelle, Limerick, Beans and Dublin from our crew with us. Below are some photos of the events.

Beans

Dublin

Limerick

Maelle

One of the things we do each year is a bobbing for hot dogs contest.
We started by putting hot dog pieces in the bucket and seeing who'd go for the dive but decided the water was too deep so we resorted to using the kiddie pool with much more success.

Spice had to be restrained as she is a champion chow hound and literally shovelled the hot dogs into her mouth every chance she got. Others were more tentative but got the hang of it.

And we had a party crasher...this is Sophie the Vizsla (she and Maelle got along well and are similar ages):

More fun day photos:

The Big Appointment and More

2010-06-17T02:31:00.001-04:00

I'm having trouble leaving comments for some reason. Not sure why but after trying on several websites I was a little too frustrated to keep going. The only one that seemed to work were Mayzie's, Honey's and Mango's for some reason. I flunked with Tucker's, Booker's and the 'Sploring Wolfies. Then I got frustrated and stopped trying.

I saw the surgeon last Thursday and he redid all my x-rays. Things have gone downhill in the last year unfortunately. I will be having the osteotomy (I'll explain what it is in a sec) but due to the length of the waiting list, it likely won't be until early next year. I'm on the cancellation list so keep your fingers crossed for me. It's good and bad news. On the one hand, the end is in sight but on the other it's a lot further off than I would have liked.

An osteotomy is where they cut a wedge out of my shin bone on one side and then close it with hinges, plates and screws. The idea behind it is that the arthritis has forced the bones outward, making my bad leg bowed. This will realign my leg so that my weight rests on the good part of the knee. It puts off a knee replacement by about 10 years. Unfortunately, once it's done I'm completely off my feet (think wheelchair off my feet) for 3-4 months. The bone has to heal completely before I can put any weight on it. No driving, no walking, nothing :(

The worst part is this means I'm probably looking at another year before I go back to work. I'm currently living on disability pay and as benefits go, mine are great. I've already been off almost ten weeks and my salary only just took it's first hit. It's 100% for the first 6 weeks, 75% for the next 6 weeks and then it goes down to 65% for the balance. This means my budget is tight. So, I've sent off a few queries to see if I can't up my income a touch with some writing. I'm feeling nervous. It's been quite awhile since I did any writing.

One of my clients brought me an orchid. If anyone has any suggestions on how to keep it alive I would appreciate them. The flower is absolutely gorgeous.

On the canine front, the pups are doing well. I had a great time at our Annual GSP Fun day this past weekend and will try to post the pictures tomorrow.

Although we do not commercially board we do take back dogs bred here when their family's go on non-doggy vacations. It's a great way to keep in touch and see how the dogs are doing.

A few weeks back Morgan came to visit us. Morgan is out of one of our very first Siberian litters and is 14 years old. She has come to visit every year when her family travels on vacations that she can't go on. (They have family overseas so for many of their vacations it is simply not possible for her to accompany them.) Michael, our last remaining Siberian here at Nuthatch, was thrilled to see another Sibe. He doesn't mind the GSPs so much but they aren't Siberians. Morgan stayed for a week and I think both she and Michael had a great time.

Morgan:

Sadly, Miss Morgan passed away a week after her visit. She will be greatly missed by her family and everyone here at Nuthatch. Morgan was a sweet and loving girl.

Wordless Wednesday - Kronk (Jeannie & Frost)

2010-06-16T22:36:00.004-04:00

Wordless Wednesday - The Babies at 2 weeks

2010-06-09T12:19:00.003-04:00

Another great few weekends!

2010-06-06T21:26:00.003-04:00

My sister is still here so our updates are few and far between as we don't get to visit with her anywhere near often enough. She is flying out tomorrow morning so things will be returning to normal soon enough.

Last weekend I went down to New Jersey for some judging which was a lot of fun. I saw a gorgeous young GSP puppy that I fell completely in love with. I asked for a picture of him and will post it when it comes in. Long drive though and it took me a few days to recuperate.

This weekend we were entered at a Canadian show. Frost went Winners Dog one day and picked up another point. Lucy went Winners Bitch/Best of Winners/Best of Breed teh second day which finished her Canadian championship. She then went Best of Breed the next day too. Lucy (in photo below) was shown by my sister Joanna, who hasn't shown a dog in about 5-6 years.

On the photo update, we are still working. Here are some of Willow (Kenny x Lucy).

I should have some new pics of the puppies soon as well. They're eyes have just opened and they are soooo cute!

It's Chaos Here As Usual ...

2010-05-28T15:14:00.008-04:00

As you know the last few weeks have been pretty busy... lol

I am way behind in my comments but hope to get caught up next week as things are starting to settle down (or so I hope).

The long weekend (the weekend before Memorial weekend is Victoria Day weekend here in Canada and is our long weekend - we don't do Memorial day). It start with me judging a White Shepherd Dog specialty. I know there are some out there who disagree with the breeding of white shepherds and I have no intention of debating the matter here. This is the second specialty I have judgined for this breed and I really enjoyed myself. They are superb hosts and they brought me some very nice quality dogs. I was pleased to discover that I had been consistent. My Winners Dog turned out to be the sire of the Reserve Winners Dog and the Winners Bitch (who went on to go Best fo Winners and Best in Specialty - lovely bitch!). Afterwords I sat with them for a bit and enjoyed a bite to eat and participate in their raffle where I won tons of great loot. The dogs were thrilled when I came home with armloads of treats and toys lol

From left to right:

Winners Dog Winners Bitch/Best in Specialty Reserve Winners Dog

Winners Bitch/Best of Winners/Best in Specialty

Now I left my cell phone in the car the whole time we were there. To my great surprise, when we (Grandma came with me) returned to teh car we discovered that someone had called 15 times. Turns out it was Grandpa. Shiraz decided to have her litter early (like 5 days early which is a lot for a dog). By the time we got home, she had had 6 lovely puppies (4 boys and 2 girls).

Then on Sunday we went to help with the GSPCC (German Shorthaired Pointer Club of Canada) field test. Grandma plants birds and I help with paperwork. Field tests are a lot of fun. People are more relaxed than they are at shows and so the atmosphere is usually better. And nothing beats watching a bird dog do what it is bred to do. I'm not a hunter and never will be but it's a thrill to watch one of my dogs vibrating on point with excitement about the bird. It's worth seeing.

Then on Monday my sister came home for a surprise visit. Told you it's been busy here.

I'll end with some pictures of Kona (out of True and Dundee). I have tons of pictures people have sent me to post so we'll start here.

Finally we get to that good news!

2010-05-21T02:19:00.003-04:00

It goes back a few weeks but I'm still happy enough for a bit of bragging lol

We went to the Guelph shows in Fergus. On the first day Buffy (Kenny x Jeannie) and Frost (Delceg x Becca) both went Reserve Winners and Dundee went Best of Breed. Dundee then went on to a Group 3rd!

The next day Buffy finished her championship going Winners Bitch, Best of Winners, Best of Breed and taking a Group 3rd. Lucy took Reserve Winners Bitch and poor Frost did nothing.

The final day of the show Lucy (Delceg x Kaylee) went Winners Bitch (she now needs only 2 pts to finish her championship), Frost went Reserve Winners Dog and Dundee went Best of Breed and Group 3rd again!!

Yes, we hogged all the group 3rds for the Sporting Group that weekend and we loved every minute of it lol

Wordless Wednesday - Featuring Chesna (Charlie x Chanel)

2010-05-11T20:51:00.005-04:00

Cheyenne

2010-05-11T19:32:00.004-04:00

Today was supposed to be our happy post about all the great things that have been happening. Instead this will be about one of the great things that has happened to us and has now left our world for the Rainbow Bridge.

Cheyenne was born in 1998 and was sold as a puppy to a home in the US. A few years later the wife called to ask if Cheyenne could stay with us temporarily while she found a new home and got settled as she was getting a divorce. So, Cheyenne returned to us for a year. It became obvious after she returned to us that Cheyenne might have been a bit smarter than her owner - at the very least she had her owner very well trained and had no idea what the word NO meant. She challenged at every turn. If she didn't want to do something she wasn't afraid to show some big teeth. We worked hard on this as it's not something that is even slightly acceptable. When she went home it was with strict instructions on how to manage her behaviour.

Well, Cheyenne's owner's new home turned out to be in a busy suburb and Cheyenne quickly made a nuisance of herself with frequent escapes by jumping the fence and bursts of loud Siberian song. Personally, Siberian song is prettier than humpback whales singing as far as I am concerned but I admit that I hope our neighbours just write it off as the local coyote packs. Within a year she returned to us again.

By this point her behaviour had reached the point where I considered her unadoptable. I wouldn't risk her challenging an owner who didn't know what they were doing and have something truly tragic happen. So, left with a choice of euthanizing her or letting her spend the rest of her life here with us, she came home to stay.

Cheyenne was a very smart and pretty girl. She trained Grandma pretty quickly and I was always called to go get her from the pen because she would simply wait Grandma out until Grandma resorted to a bowl of soft food to catch her. Not too shabby, eh?

We had a love-hate relationship. While I had every respect for her teeth, I refused to let her have her way. So, you had to get creative to get her to do what you wanted and see the benefit in it for her. She was never a big treat fan and food was not successful unless you went whole hog and got a dish of soft food or a huge chunk of cheese. She also didn't care much for toys. She liked games though. Despite the fact that she would get all sullen if I won, we would find quiet moments to cuddle on the couch or have a good ear rub. We respected one another and for all our grumbling about each other, we both loved each other too.

Cheyenne continued her escaping ways every chance she could. If she managed to slip a leash or sneak around someone at the door, she was gone. Thankfully, she loved our neighbours place and their gatekeeper's lab. We're the poor neighbours in the area - the family in question was only in residence a few months a year but the gatekeeper is there full time.

She also continued to sing at the top of her lungs every chance she got. She was the opposite of her best buddy Michael. Michael is a quiet Siberian who is completely off leash trained. Mike turned 13 in February and is now the last remaining Siberian here.

Of course you know where this is going. We lost Cheyenne this morning. She passed in my arms on the way to the vet`s. Last night she was running and playing like there was nothing wrong and this morning she was gone.

It`s so quiet here. I wish Michael would sing for me.

Mother's Day

2010-05-09T19:52:00.005-04:00

Our internet is finally working again - yeah!!!!!!!! I don't know how long this will last but I'm happy for now. Another company recently took over our local provider and we've had several problems since then.

Anyway, we do have tons to update you on but for now we'll settle for sharing our mother's day with you. Now there are lots of mothers here at Nuthatch. Most are four-footed. The only two legged mother is mine lol So, we celebrated with some nice raw bones. Raw bones are one of our favourite treats here although we don`t have them too often.

In the afternoon, we went to visit my grandmother, who will be 90 in October, at her house in Guelph. She has an antisocial kitteh named Lucky that my uncle found abandoned in a field. Lucky refused to pose for any pictures. He hid himself in the basement as soon as we arrived. This may have something to do with Spirit coming with us. Ms. Spiri-doo is one of our oldest residents at Nuthatch. She and her sister Chanel celebrated their thirteenth birthday`s with us in January. A week later Ziggy also celebrated her thirteenth birthday. Spirit and Chanel can be found in almost every pedigree of the puppies bred here at Nuthatch.

Heres some photos of our trip to Grandmas:

Apologies

2010-05-04T21:13:00.003-04:00

My internet has been down for over a week. I am slowly going crazy. I have hijacked Grandpa's computer so I can communicate lol

Not sure when we'll be back up and running. I have a ton of new puppy photos and all kinds of good news (hint hint, we won enough big yellow rosettes for me to fashion a rather risque costume that nonetheless covered the necessities) but Grandpa is already after me to hurry up and finish this post.

I'll catch up on comments on everyone's blogs soon too. I did mail out our GABE prizes so please let me now they arrived safe and sound.

Heather

Wordless Wednesday

2010-04-28T19:47:00.004-04:00

Raffaello (Dundee x True)

GABE WINNERS!!!!!

2010-04-21T22:29:00.006-04:00

OK, I know we said we`d do one prize for every 25 of you but there`s only 28 and I needed to shop. So, we`re going to do one prize for every 7 which works out to four prizes. Winners were randomly selected using numbers. No dog spit was involved but we offer free samples with every prize if desired.

Our winners are:

1) 3 Doxies

2) the Booker Man

3) Sugar

4) Mayzie, Ranger & that Pirate they live with...

We`re going to try to email everyone in the next day or two but of you see this feel free to email us at nuthatch AT aztec DASH net DOT com

Again apologies for the delays, its been a busy few weeks here.

Oh my doG, what a week...

2010-04-21T21:40:00.008-04:00

As some of you are aware, Grandpa and Grandma are off in Spain and Portugal celebrating their 41st wedding anniversary. This means I have been on my own with the hounds of hell for the last week and a half. It has been fraught with adventure, excitement, and will require much time to recuperate from. So, here goes in somewhat chronological order…

The first afternoon, I had opened the doors to the outdoor kennel as the weather was beautiful. As you may or may not know, all of the middle-aged dogs rotate back in forth between the kennel and the house. The old, the young and the sick all stay in the house full time. This allows me to maximize the attention everyone gets when they’re in the house so that they’re out most of the time rather than in crates. Anyway, back to our story. I was reading my book by the kitchen window when two dogs streaked across the lawn. No one was loose outside (we have a fenced in area but the whole property is not fenced due to size). So, who should be streaking across my front lawn? Why it was Dublin and Cello and nothing more. But Dublin and Cello was more than enough, thank you. There is (or should I say was??) only one pen left in the kennel that they had not escaped from. It now has a gaping hole in the bottom. So, this meant that Dublin and Cello were in the house until Grandpa gets home or I find some handsome stranger who feels like fixing fences. So far, we’re still waiting on Grandpa. Having them in poses problems of its own. Dublin, aka the Monkey Man, hates crate. I have worked him up to small amounts of time in crates with blissful silence and he’s fine if I’m not in the house but otherwise his complete desire is to be with me. This is part of the reason for kennelling him. I’m worried he will develop separation anxiety if I give in to having him loose with me all the time and there’s only so much barking I can cope with. Having him inside for two weeks means he’s bound to be loose a fair amount of the time. This means he has to be able to cope with being with the puppies because he isn’t getting the opportunity to be out with the three girls in season at the moment and he’ll never cope with being locked up through both sets of dogs being loose in the house.

The puppies are now about 11 weeks old and are scarier than a pack of auditors. I normally inflict in very small doses on very patient previously-mother dogs. Not, a young adolescent male of almost 18 months and is just discovering the concept of girls. I am proud to say he’s handled it like a pro and plays gently with them. I watch him with them and I get a sense of pride at what a wonderful young man he is.

All of that happened on the first day and the fun didn’t stop there…

Hamelin and Maelle learned to climb up the stairs. Our house has a raised middle area with additions on both sides. It’s an old place that someone has added on to multiple times over the years. Sadly, they did their own plumbing each time too. While the puppies cannot do stairs there are various refuges from them. Areas where you can safely leave them knowing they cannot follow you and the dogs have somewhere to escape from them. It didn’t stop there either. They learned the couch within a few days as well and then the final blow…Maelle learned how to go downstairs today. Now, there is nowhere to hide. It`s like the blob…no escape.

But I'm jumping ahead of myself, lots happened in between. Ziggy locked herself in Dad`s office. This wouldn’t be terrible except that Ziggy is thirteen, somewhat incontinent and Dad`s office is the only room in the entire household that has carpet in it.

After some discussion with my boss and my doctor, I am taking a temporary leave of absence from work due to my knee. I know this is for the best and I have my boss` blessings but it still feels bad. I feel like I`ve let them down and worse still, the relief I felt when I realized that I didn`t have to keep struggling to cope with the cocktail of pain, pain medication and work that had been my life for the last several months was overwhelming to a degree that I found frightening. I had no idea I was that stressed.

Then I lost the piece that holds Willow`s crate closed so she doesn`t escape at inopportune times. Thankfully, I found that this morning as well. Willow means no harm but she`s a naturally dominant girl who doesn`t believe in sharing me with other girls. Surprisingly this offends some of the girls and the hair-pulling begins when they`re out together.

We`re still in the span of a week and a half here and the fun isn`t over. Some volcano blows its wad in Iceland and now I`m not sure I can get Grandpa and Grandma home and I`m rapidly starting to need a vacation.

Did I mention that Hamelin discovered how to climb out of the puppy playground? and anything else he feels fit to climb is also fair game?

This means that I have no way of leaving them out there either. They are now completely uncontainable except in a crate. They have made good progress with crate training but a few minutes to do my laundry uninterrupted would be nice…

The above picture is a re-enactment for our audiences enjoyment. At the time, I was too busy screaming at her and dirty little feet to grab the camera. The photos of Hamelin are of him actually caught in the act as he had already proven his escape talents and climbing talents several times previously and I, as his ever resourceful (or is that regretful...) breeder was simply waiting with camera in hand for him to do it again. No puppies were harmed in the making of these photos.

I do have GABE winners but I'll save that for another post.

Quick Update & Our Wordless Wednesday Pic

2010-04-13T21:06:00.004-04:00

Mom is trying to adjust to some new medication and she's kind of hazy to say the least. She told me to say she's sorry she's behind in comments and GABE but is hoping things will settle down again in the next few days and she'll get caught up soon. If you haven't commented on our GABE post. Make sure you do, she went on a shopping binge and has lots to give away.

Wordless Wednesday - Warning Squee Alert

2010-04-07T10:21:00.003-04:00

This is my all time favourite photo anyone has ever sent me of one of our dogs...

Spring is here...

2010-04-05T13:45:00.011-04:00

"Spring is here. Spring is here.
Life is skittles and life is beer..." - Tom Lehrer, from Poisoning Pigeons in the Park (honestly, it's a funny song)

Round here, though I like skittles, the dogs are fonder of beer than I am (I know - terribly un-Canadian). The puppies went home on Friday. Peace reigns here at least temporarily. Friday the weather was beautiful. So beautiful in fact that we could finally put up the puppy playground. (See photos below) The puppy playground makes an appearance here as soon as the weather gets warm enough and stays until it is too cold. Good for puppies under 4 months. The centrepiece is my magnificent garage sale $10 purchase. I consider it a masterpiece. Easy to disinfect and the puppies love it. Supposedly (I read this somewhere but don't have enough data to hold it up as a fact), exposing the puppies to the different surface combined with the small tunnels, the slides, different levels, etc (and they do make use of all of it by the end) helps make them more comfortable in different situations as adults, especially if you intend to introduce them to agility. I took a bunch of pictures of them in the playground before they left.

Now, only Hamelin and Maelle remain. Hamelin is the solid liver boy who is going to St Bart's and Maelle will likely be fostered out.

Poor Maelle has the distinction of hearing the first words out of my mouth upon seeing her as "Oh my doG, you are the ugliest puppy I have ever seen." I have since managed to get more used to her unusual head markings and I substitute unusual for ugly. Actually, they do grow on you over time. More importantly, from the neck back Ms. Maelle is most definitely a gold medallist. Lovely shoulder layback, she gaits around the lawn and leaves you breathless. Her brother Kronk (formerly known as Patrick) is much the same and I'm hoping his family lets me show him as well.

I'm a little behind on my blog comments but will try to catch up soon. Anyone know why when I leave comments it sometimes causes an unending series of windows opening until I shut down the computer?? It would be really nice to prevent this as it adds to the time it takes to leave comments and tends to make me wary of leaving many.

Awards, Inspiration, and Photos from Puppy Owners

2010-03-31T16:07:00.017-04:00

Yeah, this one will be a long one lol

We missed a big weekend brag but in our defense, we only just found out. Texas is in a different time zone lol Anyway, Sonnet (NEWPoint Poetry of Nuthatch - Frost's littermate out of Becca and Delceg) took a 4 point major in Texas this past weekend!

First, we want to thank Mayzie for sending us this award:

We have never received an award before so this is especially nice for us. (Mom does need reassurance that folks actually read this.) We want to thank Mayzie not only for the Award but also for bringing a smile to Mom's face every day when she reads your blog.

Here are the rules for the Sunshine Award:

Post the award
Send the award to 12 blogger friends
Post links and leave a comment on the 12 blogs
Put these instructions in your post so they’ll know what to do

We would like to give the award to the following friends who brighten our day frequently. We know we can count on you for a smile and some sunshine no matter how much snow there is outside. We're sure most of you already have them but for those of you who have never met these animals, we strongly suggest you visit them...

Wild Dingo

Tucker

The Bumpass Hounds

Maxdog

The 'Sploring Wolfies

Mango & Dexter's Great Adventures

Honey the Great Dane

Life With Dogs

El'bow and Hauwii

Clive - The Assistance Dog

BeeBee's Chrome Cavalier TTT

Frankly Speaking

Inspiration

We've been reading lots and lots of posts on obedience training and tricks, etc lately and it has been most inspiring. As some of you know, obedience and rally have been on my to do list for ages and I just never seem to find the time to take some classes like I would like. I decided this while a valid point was an excuse none-the-less. So, after picking a likely (and hopefully easy) candidate (Ms Willow - the German Wirehaired Pointer), we have started short (like 5 min/evening) training sessions. Now, it is VERY important to remember and understand that I have absolutely no training skills whatsoever. I'm not easy to train and I have no great ability to train four leggers either (I'm admittedly better with two leggers in this arena). Combine that with very short attention spans for both dogs and owner and you face a serious challenge. This is why I chose Willow. She lives to please me whereas most of the GSPs live to love me and play with me but not necessarily to listen to me. It goes without saying that trying this with a Siberian is just not for novices.

Anyway, we started a few nights ago. I decided we'd start at the very basics. So we started with "sit". By now you're giggling saying - they don't even know how to sit?? but bear in mind, this is a conformation household and the last thing you want a show dog to do is sit in the ring, so we train "stand" from the start much the way most people train "sit". I was mightily impressed with Willow (I'm quite sure the credit belongs to her rather than me and my cheese slices). She picked up sit very quickly and in just a few nights, I've gotten her to the point where she will alternate between sitting and standing on command. I know - it's not exactly like she does the tango but hey, it's a start.

For you obedience afficionados, we have tried clicker training in the past. Found it very easy to teach them all that the click means good things are coming their way and I'm happy with what they did. Not so easy to teach everyone locked in a crate while you train only one dog that they aren't missing out on all kinds of goodness and that there is no need to bark at the top of their lungs to make sure I know that they'd be there too is someone would open the crate door.

Lastly - some photo updates from Riley (formerly Alex - out of True & Dundee):

Global Animal Blogging Event (GABE)

2010-03-31T11:54:00.006-04:00

Our friend Twinkie is hosting an event to help us meet other animal bloggers around the world. She does a much better job explaining it that we do - see her explanation here.

We'll be an active participant. We're really looking forward to meeting other bloggers :) We will be doing giveaways. At the end we'll draw randomly and there will be one prize for every 25 comments. In your comments please make sure you let us know what kind of doggies, kitteh, etc you have/are so we can tailor our prizes accordingly. It will likely be a mixture of toys, treats and perhaps some handmade blank cards.Grandpa is already groaning. He says any excuse is good enough for Mom to take off to buy doggie stuff. Mom just sticks her tongue out at him. She believes in spoiling the ones you love (and we agree!).

For those of you who have never met us before, we are an odd collection of humans and dogs and one poor lone kitteh collectively known as the Nuthatch Gang. We can be found participating in goofy activities of all kinds as well as conformation shows, field tests, and rescue events. We are mainly German Shorthaired Pointers (GSPs) but there are also a few Siberian Huskies (Mom used to breed Siberians) and a German Wirehaired Pointer (GWP - Willow) and a single kitteh (Squishington). We live in southern Ontario, Canada but if you look hard enough you can find Nuthatch dogs across the USA as well as in Australia. We're like Lays' potato chips - salty bol

We hope you enjoy your visit with us. Please make sure you tell us a bit about your crew so we can make sure to find the right prize if you win and, most importantly, we can satisfy our ever-demanding curiousity. (Don't tell Squish though - there is only the one cat here and no one wants it to get killed except the Siberians and they're not allowed near her.)

Wordless Wednesday

2010-03-31T11:23:00.004-04:00

Another Great Weekend

2010-03-29T16:33:00.005-04:00

OK, despite being down with a nasty sinus infection I'm still counting this as a great weekend. We got a call from Iris letting us know that Aurora (pictured below - Nuthatch's Edenstar Aurora - out of Jammer and Bug) went WB in New Jersey for her second major!

In other news, I am trying to get the video uploaded. I got some nice video of them terrorizing the kitchen - now to see if I can make Hsin-Yi's suggestion work for me.

On Good Friday most of the puppies will be going to their new homes. The exceptions are Hamelin who is going to St Bartholomew's and has to wait until he's old enough for a rabies shot (I think I should deliver him in person lol); and Maelle. We're either going to foster or co-own Maelle.

That will be my last hurrah for a bit. The following weekend Grandma and Grandpa are headed off to Spain and Portugal to celebrate their 41st anniversary and I'll be alone with the monsters for a few weeks so no travelling for awhile. Mango Momma mentioned some shows in Springfield but I won't make it in April - maybe in May though. The dogs on the other hand, will likely be there lol

I have accepted two judging assignments in September and those will hopefully be the last ones I need to complete my permit for half of group 3. I'm thinking we'll do part of group 1 next. I started with Siberians and was erroneously told when I started judging that I needed to start with group 3. This was a bit awkward as although I keep many ties to the Siberian community, most people think of me as a Sporting Dog person and the judging requests I get are often for sporting dogs. So, we'll move onto Sporting and return to finish the working group afterwards.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-03-24T21:07:00.002-04:00

Beware of Puppies....

2010-03-22T16:18:00.007-04:00

After a week of beautiful sunshine, it snowed on my day off. I considered trying to take some video of the munchkins playing - it's an action filled event, complete with tuff little barks when someone tries to steal their siblings toys, the patter of thousands (ok, it just sounds like thousands - it's really only 44) of little paws as they race across the kitchen, the sudden tearing noise brought on by a piece of wallpaper disconnecting from the kitchen wall and, most terrifying of all, the sudden scream as those sharp little milk teeth pierce my ankles as I try to wash the dishes. Even their fur mothers won't come into the kitchen when they're loose. Their breeder braves it because the dishes must be washed and poops not caught early rapidly become floor paintings best avoided at all costs. Of course, one can only brave it in socks or (for the truly brave only) bare feet. Shoes can crush wee toes too easily for my comfort. I may never forget the puppy who broke a leg when the owner of an attached sock, attempted to move their foot away. Mind you the pup got caught on the chair and it was one of those freak accidents you suspect will never happen again in your lifetime but that haunts you nonetheless. The pup has gone on to do very well after some very expensive surgery and extensive physiotherapy. She now keeps her family overwhelmed in hugs and kisses.
I will try to upload some photos of them tomorrow. I'm worried about trying to upload video as we are on dial up. If anyone knows how to do it without spending all night trying to upload it - please let me know.

This is a picture of True (one of the two mothers) as a baby...

and as an adult...

and Jeannie (the other mother) as an adult (sorry, couldn't find a baby pic of her)...

Photo Updates

2010-03-20T14:48:00.006-04:00

Not much new here. The puppies are growing like bad weeds and making a much bigger mess than that bol They head to their new homes Easter weekend.

I got some photo updates from Becca (Becca x Dundee)...

and from Garak (Dundee x Shiraz)...

A Very Wordy Wordless Wednesday

2010-03-17T10:05:00.006-04:00

First - Happy Saint Patrick's Day!!

It's been a busy few days so I'm way behind but the rest of the weekend went extremely well. Frost went Winners Dog and Best of Winners on Saturday (5 pts) and Lucy went Reserve Winners dog. It was especially nice as Frost, Lucy and the Winners Bitch are all sired by the Hun, Delceg (Malomkozi Delceg). It was also good in that Dad handled Frost and he was so happy with the results that he forgave Frost for eating the bottom out of his pipe case on the way to show that morning bol Apparently Frost likes leather. Hey, who doesn't?

When we got home, we got a call from Iris and Rory (Nuthatch Edenstar Aurora - Big x Jammer) had gone Winners Bitch, Best of Winners and Best of Breed over Specials at a show down in the US for a 3 pt major.

We topped off this unusually wonderful weekend on Sunday with Frost and Buffy going Reserve Winners and Lucy going Winners Bitch and Best of Opposite Sex over Specials (4 pts) and Dundee going Best of Breed again.

Mango Momma - I spoke with Sarah, my friend from Master Chew Sits who also handles our dogs in the US, and she says she has handled dogs for Dexter's breeder before :) It's a small world.

Speaking of which, as I wandered about the show I kept thinking of all our blog friends. I got kissed by Goldens and thought of Maxdog and the Bumpass Hounds. I watched a fawn mastiff and thought about how much more I liked Mango's brindle than the fawn that seems to be so popular at shows. (It's not surprising really. I like brindle boxers better than fawns too. What can I say, I'm just now a fawn kind of girl.) There were demonstrations of dancing dogs during the lunch break which made me think of Honey and Hsin-Yi (although they all had little dogs, nothing as majestic as Ms. Honey). There were tons of Danes and a few bassets. Puppies with gorgeous long ears and big feet :) There were even a few service dogs wandering around with their owners watching the show. I'll post the pics of our wins when I get them in the mail.

In the meantime, for our wordless Wednesday, we offer...

Show Day ...

2010-03-12T13:31:00.007-05:00

Wordless Wednesday's photo is of Linus. His owners sent it to me and it's one of my all time favourites. I keep telling myself one day I'll take pictures like that.

This morning we rushed out to go to the Purina National Show in Mississauga. Sarah has come up from Master Chew Sits to visit and handle dogs and she has brought our Miss Buffy with her. So, we had Frost, Lucy, Buffy and Dundee entered and it was a good morning. Frost went second in his class and Lucy won her class but the big winners were Buffy - who went Winners bitch and Best of Winners for a 4pt major!! and Dundee who went Best of Breed. It was very nice :)

The I had to hustle back so I could get to work on time lol

Dundee will be in the group at around 2:30pm and everyone will be back in the ring tomorrow morning.

Here's some old pics of Buffy :)

More Weekend Visitor Pictures...

2010-03-11T15:44:00.003-05:00

Wordless Wednesday

2010-03-10T14:59:00.001-05:00

First Visitors & Communal Motherhood

2010-03-09T12:02:00.008-05:00

It was the weekend for future puppy owners to come and meet the little ones. I got several pics of the munchkins playing which I'll post separately. These are the pups playing with some of their visitors.

I have noticed that many fur Moms in the house develop what I call communal motherhood. Once the puppies come upstairs, they seem to become every one's puppies. The Moms reroute any dog they feel is disturbing the pups, sometimes with more than just a bark lashing. They warn people who come to visit that the puppies are not leaving (and shake their heads in sorrow when I eventually disagree and send them home at 8-9 weeks). First time Moms never put two and two together. Puppies in the living room + visitors means that puppies are leaving the house usually sooner rather than later. Old Moms that are now grandmas and great-grandmas make sure that visitors realize that they aren't that naive. They know people are there to take babies away and they do not approve.

This afternoon Charlie, Mr Big, Chanel & Spirit are off to visit our friend and canine chiropractor Gloria. They love going to visit Gloria as it means lots of nice back rubs and massages. They were less than impressed last night though when I announced that they were in dire need of a bath first. Charlie is the only one who looks forward to a bath. Usually it means he gets to go to a show which he absolutely loves. As soon as you open the bathroom door, he hops into the tub and waits for his bath. This is unlike the other three whom I have to pull into the bathroom and then lunge to close the door before they can wiggle out again. Then they need to be lifted into the tub (and they aren't light) and restrained while being bathed one-handed. I do all this while trying to keep my balance (remember I normally walk with a cane and am waiting on knee surgery). Needless to say I ended up just as wet as they were. I think Chanel put it down to fair is fair while Mr Big and Spirit just settled for giving me sorrowful looks with big brown eyes.

News from Willow the GSP

2010-03-04T19:45:00.006-05:00

Kurt & Willow sent me some new photos...

Willow has found a new, hairy friend named Buddy...

She has taken up helping with household chores (apparently the duck needs washing)...

She has a new stick...

She shares sunshine with her toys...

And she is still a silly GSP...

Aspen, the Mushing Team, and the Flu

2010-03-04T17:28:00.004-05:00

OK, so I have lots to catch up on so this will be a long one. A few asked about our Wordless Wednesday photo. That's Aspen. The photo was taken several years ago when I could still drive a sled. I think few things are better than a bright winter afternoon, a dog team, a picnic lunch, good friends and a bottle of wine (there are some funny but humiliating stories about those adventures too but they are for another day...). On that particular day we were out in Northern Ontario having a great time. Aspen was slowing down though and didn't seem in the mood to run. Knowing that Aspen had seizures, I decided not to push him if he didn't seem interested in running. So, I put him in the basket and rigged his harness to it so he couldn't decide with Siberian ingenuity that it was time to take a run and leave Mom to chase. Aspen being the quiet, patient soul he was simply curled up and slept until lunch when he woke up for some foodables and then went back to sleep when we started out again. Below are some photos I took while driving the sled that day. Sadly, all of the dogs in these photos have now crossed the bridge and earned their silver harnesses. If you have never read Andre De Merchant's story of the silver harness, I would strongly encourage you to take a look - it's quite the piece.

My favourite is the one where Reilly decided to drive the sled while I had some lunch. Unfortunately, no one told her I had very firmly anchored the sled and Maverick and Gus had no intentions of going anywhere she wanted to go bol In wheel are Maverick and Aspen, centre are Reilly and Trinity, and in lead are Gus (a rescued Alaskan Husky who came to live with us after a sledding operation went under) and a friends old lead dog.

I'm behind in posting, mainly because I've been fighting the flu for several days. I admit, when I'm sick all I really want to do is lie in bed and play dead. Surprisingly the dogs, who normally cannot possibly get enough exercise and make your average tornado look lazy, invariably choose to curl up around (and on) me at such times and play dead too for hours on end. Even the younger ones will decide it is better to sleep with Mom then to wreak havoc on the house while she sleeps. Sadly, this is not the normal state of things and when mom is well, everyone is willing to wreak havoc while she tries to get anything and everything done .

Wordless Wednesday

2010-03-03T20:33:00.001-05:00

Quick Pupdate...

2010-02-25T17:22:00.004-05:00

It's been snowing here...

Both litters now have their eyes and ears open. They've had their first non-Mom meals (pablum mixed with warm goat's milk) and learned to make serious messes. They'll be moving upstairs to the living room this weekend where they will entertain their first visitors from outside the household.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-02-24T14:36:00.004-05:00

Some New Photos ...

2010-02-20T08:58:00.005-05:00

This one is of Mochi - she is Beans' littermate and lives with the Ho family.

These are of Stella (Austr Ch Nuthatch's Star Crossed Luv). Stella lives in Australia with our friend Christine and her husband Peter. Stella is out of my dearly missed girl, the late Cupid (Can Ch Bruneau River Thing Calld Luv FDJ) and Teak (Am Can Ch Ersehnen Border Patrol).

And this is Decca (Knusprig Blankety Blanks), Stella's daughter by Christine's dog Linus (Gr Ch Knusprig Plum Tukkadout ET).

Oakhill Pottery

2010-02-19T18:43:00.006-05:00

I have no shares or financial interest in Oakhill Pottery. There that's my disclaimer.

I was thrilled that we did so well on Sunday at the specialty because the prizes consisted of pottery from Oakhill. I already have a few pieces of their work which have been given to me by various clubs as judge's gifts after doing specialties for them and it's beautiful work.

For 1st Prizes, we received were mugs with hand-painted German Shorthaired Pointers on them:

For Buffy's Reserve Winners Bitch, we got this lovely platter:

Other pieces already in my collection include:

a bowl - also from judging at a Vizsla specialty

and a lovely ornament from doing a Weimaraner specialty

Frankly, I love this stuff and pottery is not normally my thing. So, if you are a pottery fan I would encourage you to check their website out. They also offer great deals for clubs looking for specialty prizes, etc.

Long Island...

2010-02-18T17:41:00.013-05:00

The trip to the Garden Association Specialties is one that Mom and I look forward to every year. They're usually held in Secaucus, New Jersey. This year there were some complications and the show was moved to Nassau Coliseum - home of the NY Islanders.

We had been very worried about the drive as the weatherman kept mentioning snow storms but the roads and skies were clear. Both Frost and Lucy went with us and were very well behaved in the van. This could possibly have been due to eating lots and lots of Timbits and then sinking into a sugar induced coma. The drive took us just over 9 hours so it is a long trip for both two and four footers.

People often ask if we ever have problems travelling across the border with the dogs. Not usually. I make sure I always have every one's vaccination certificates with me and it usually is not a problem. I admit to worrying heavily that someone is going to growl at a customs agent one of these days and we'll have an issue but so far so good.

We usually stay at a Red Roof Inn on the water in Secaucus. Red Roof Inns are great - very dog friendly, clean, and comfortable. This time the host hotel was a Marriott. I admit to being hesitant when I made our reservations. I've stayed in Marriott's before and while they are always exquisitely nice hotels - they aren't where you would normally stay with a dog and indeed most don't allow pets. They're a little more upscale shall we say. But as a favour the Marriott had opened its doors to our shows and their sudden change of venue and I cannot thank them enough. They were absolutely fantastic. Staff were great - offering to help haul crates, holding doors, and just being extremely nice and courteous. The room was great - all the little things - lots of pillows, cozy duvet, fancy soaps and shampoos, etc. - that make staying in an upscale hotel so enjoyable.

One of the best things about being involved with dogs and dog shows has been all the wonderful people we've met over the years. I now know people from one end of the world to the other and what binds us together is our love of animals. The nice thing about these shows is that they are very big and I often get a chance to reconnect with friends from all over the US and sometimes further abroad. This weekend was no exception. We got extra lucky as Christine from Australia was also there. As you can imagine, we don't get to see Christine in the flesh very often so this was an especially nice treat.

When you go to specialties, it is not about winning or losing (although don't let anyone ever tell you they don't want to win). It is about getting a chance to see what other breeders are producing and showing off what you've worked so hard to produce. Feedback is always wanted although not always graciously accepted. The opinion that matters most in the end is not the judges but that of your peers. Mind you, I've never seen anyone complain that the judge really liked their dog lol

So, it is with tremendous pride that I enjoyed the various compliments about our dogs, particularly Miss Lucy. We had the only solid liver dogs there with the exception of one day when there was a very nice solid liver special (ie champion) also entered. I was not adverse to the judges' compliments either :)

Nuthatch Results:

Friday: German Shorthaired Pointer Club of America Regional Specialty

Best of Opposite Sex in Sweepstakes:
Nuthatch's Edenstar Aurora (Bug x Jammer) - bred by us and owned by a wonderful mother and daughter in NY

2nd in the 12-18 month bitch class:
Nuthatch's Awakenings (Lucy - Delceg x Kaylee)

Saturday: Long Island German Shorthaired Pointer Club Specialty

Reserve Winners Bitch:
Nuthatch's Edenstar Aurora (see above)

1st in the 12-18 month bitch class:
Nuthatch's Edenstar Aurora

3rd in the 12-18 month bitch class:
Nuthatch's Awakenings

3rd in the Open Bitch Class:
Nuthatch's Unforgettable (Buffy - Kenny x Jeannie)

Sunday: Sleepy Hollow German Shorthaired Pointer Specialty
Best of Opposite Sex in Sweepstakes:
Nuthatch's Awakenings

Reserve Winners Bitch:
Nuthatch's Unforgettable

1st in the 12-18 month bitch class:
Nuthatch's Awakenings

I also want to thank those of you who offered to purchase Miss Lucy. I was very flattered. It reinforced my pride in her and tickled my ego something fierce. She is staying at Nuthatch although we may yet be co-owning her with some close friends.

I also like to scout for potential stud dogs that will compliment our lines when I am at specialties. Photos are nice but it is always a good idea to see a dog in the flesh. To that end, I did see a few dogs I really liked that will bear more investigating. One dog in particular caught my eye and I think he will be Bug's next beau.

Now on to some pictures:

I took some of the dogs in the ring but my little camera doesn't do well in areas with that kind of lighting so the pictures all came out too dark. I did get some of Frost & Lucy in the hotel rooms:

Frost (Becca x Delceg)

Lucy (Delceg x Kaylee)

and this nice one of my Mom (ie Grandama, on the right) and our good friend Sherri G. Sherri had an excellent weekend as well. Diva - BIS/BISS Am Can Ch Flwr Creek Marquis Going For Gold - won the entire specialty on Sunday!!

Almost Fixed

2010-02-18T17:18:00.010-05:00

They tell me my internet connection is being fixed as I type this and that soon I will once again be able to upload photos from the home PC. At that time I will send you all the nitty gritty from our recent adventures on Long Island.

In the meantime, I'll finish off the last of my Crufts posts. This one is just to show you the various HPR breeds that are recognized by the UK Kennel Club but rarely seen over in North America. HPR stands for Hunt, Point, Retrieve. Here in North America we refer to them as versatile hunting dogs. These are the poor man's dogs of the dog world - meant to fulfill everything a hunter needs in just one dog as he can't afford one dog to point, one to flush, one to retrieve, etc. The breeds commonly recognized in North America in this category include the Vizsla, the German Shorthaired Pointer, the Weimaraner, the Brittany Spaniel, the Italian Spinone, and the German Wirehaired Pointer. Here's a few you likely haven't encountered before:

The Bracco Italiano (the Italian Pointer) - I really liked this breed.

The German Longhaired Pointer

The Korthal Griffon

The Large Munsterlander

The Slovakian Roughhaired Pointer

The Wirehaired Vizsla

Vale Chance - Nuthatch's The Negotiator

2010-02-17T10:25:00.006-05:00

Suddenly, yesterday afternoon. Chance had slowed down dramatically over the last year, particularly after the passing of his mother and best friend, Holly, last year. He will be dearly missed.

I Did Not Die

Do not stand at my grave and weep.

I am not there. I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow;

I am the diamond glints on snow.

I am the sunlight on ripened grain;

I am the gentle Autumn’s rain.

When you awaken in the morning’s hush.

I am the swift uplifting rush

Of quiet birds in circled flight.

I am the soft star that shines at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry.

I am not there;

I did not die.

- Anon -

Still More Pictures...

2010-02-10T11:03:00.018-05:00

Here are a bunch of random pictures, character exposes if you will in some cases, from the other evening...I'll apologize in advance for the floors. When you have 60 feet going through the house at a time you will be welcome to criticize when the floors are in need of a good mopping but you'll also realize that if I waited until I had mopped I'd be too tired to take pictures. That being said, don't tell Grandma, as she'd die if she knew you saw the floor looking less than spotless bol

Becca & Beans (Dundee x Becca) - another mother and daughter moment

Here's a few more of Becca. She gives Delceg the evil eye, then steals the toy, then curls up beside it for safe keeping while he plots on ways to steal it back. Who knew purple lizards were such a prize?

Cello (Mac x Shiraz) enjoying the spectacle

and Cello checking to make sure I cleaned the sink out properly...can't have that now can we?

Chanel - my 13 year old baby and retired boss bitch

Chanel & Emily (Charlie x Chanel, now 9 years old) enjoying mother-daughter time

Chanel and her littermate Spirit spending sister time together...

Delceg - and he recaptures the purple lizard...

and he also takes care of the house, ensuring that no food bowls still contain food which might attract rodents. It's amazing how cleanliness-oriented my dogs are...

Dublin (aka the Monkey Man)

sharing secrets with his hero Delceg...

trying to put the moves on Emily...

and trying to put the moves on Spirit...at least he's persistent

Dundee - trying to assist Mom with the camera

and realizing there is more mischief to be had in the living room...

Emily (Charlie x Chanel)

and Emily giving Dublin a dirty look for his flirty moves earlier in the evening...no December May romances here...

Riot at the water bowl...

Spirit - also 13 years young

Lucy (Delceg x Kaylee) attacking her water - it's important not to let the water get the upper hand

Limerick (Frost x Jeannie) trying to show Lucy how a lady drinks with no success, funny this is the only lady-like thing Limerick has ever done...

Lucy & Limerick playing tug

Willow

dancing for joy - someone left a kibble on the counter, surely it was meant for her

I hate to guess what she's thinking right now...

Finally - pictures of Jeannie's crew and some important links...

2010-02-10T10:54:00.005-05:00

I'm still having ongoing issues with my internet service provider. I finally resorted to having Grandpa upload these photos for me. So, here are the long promised pictures of Jeannie and her babies, including Clara. But first some requests on behalf of our doggy friends...if you have a few moments to spare (bring tissues), please drop by and offer your support to Max and Chandler, both of whom are very ill, and also to Harry and his Dad as they've lost a very special woman in their lives to cancer. For those of you who participated and/or simply enjoyed watching MangoMinster, you might also wish to check out Frankie's blog.

OK, picture time...

Thank you...

2010-02-05T11:39:00.003-05:00

to everyone who sent notes of sympathy regarding Clara's passing. Unfortunately when puppies are born as small as Clara as compared to their littermates it is often a sign that something else may be wrong - an internal issue that may prevent absorption of nutrients, prematurity of birth, poor placement in the uterus, etc. Even with nothing wrong, a 5oz GSP is very difficult to keep alive as the slightest bit of dehydration, chill or diarrhea can lead to death very quickly. We were feeding Clara every half hour to try to keep her hydrated and with some nutrients in her stomach. I had checked on her less than fifteen minutes before she was found and she seemed to be doing well. She had a full tummy and was keeping warm near the heat lamp. When I returned to the room, she had passed away.

To some it will sound strange to grieve for an animal who was only in your life for a matter of a few days. I don't know if it's because you work so hard with small pups like Clara to try to help them succeed or just something innate that breeders feel - perhaps a sense of responsibility for the lives you bring into the world. Why you love someone is a hard thing to answer. There are always reasons but in the end they never cover the whole of it. If you asked me why I love the music man I could give you lots of great qualities he has. Is this why I love him? Partly but most of it I can't explain - it just is. The dogs are the same way, regardless of how short their time with us is. Do I love Clara like I love Chanel who has been in my life for almost thirteen years now? No, it isn't comparable but I do love Clara and grieve at her passing. On the other hand, I don't know how I will cope when Chanel crosses the bridge. The old witch is one of the rocks upon whom Nuthatch is based and a huge part of my life.

Moving on to happier topics...

I took a ton of pictures of the dogs goofing off in the kitchen and living room last night. For reasons unknown I can't seem to upload them. I will try again tonight. I will also upload the pictures of Jeannie's babies including the ones of Clara. I also received my copy of the nice Kenneth Reed photo of Sara and Lucy which I'll post as well.

I have been asked if I have ever considered letting the dogs have their say on the blog. I'm not sure to be honest. I read several blogs by dogs that I really really enjoy. I'd like to think my guys can be just as literate although maybe not in some cases. But who would get to speak? Should it rotate or will I have to watch them fight over the honour? Should they have their own blog or just contribute to this one occasionally? I need some help here so please let me know your thoughts.

Finally, the preparations are under way for our trip next week. Mom, Frost, Lucy and I will be venturing down to Long Island, New York for the GSP specialties there. We're driving down on Thursday and we'll be staying through to Monday. Buffy and Sara will be meeting us there and we'll also get to see many great friends from across the US. This is a trip Mom and I look forward to every year. Win or lose it is always a really good time.

Clara

2010-02-03T12:11:00.003-05:00

I'll make this brief as I'm not really up to talking about it but Miss Clara lost her fight in the wee hours of this morning. Her mother and I sat in the whelping box and grieved together for quite some time. Rest in peace little Clara.

Pupdate

2010-02-02T11:29:00.003-05:00

All of True's are doing very well including the smaller girl. I haven't taken any more pictures of them yet and since we'll be banding tails shortly, I won't be putting any up for awhile until the tails are off.

Jeannie's wee girl is still holding on and has started to suck at the nipple. At first she couldn't seem to grasp how to latch on properly but now she seems to have the hang of it. She's not out of the woods by any means but she's shown she's going to be a fighter. I want to call her Clara, after Clara Hughes who also got off to a rough start according to some articles I've read on her. I took several pictures of Jeannie's crew and Clara including a few to show you how much smaller Clara is than her siblings. I need to get them off the camera and upload them which I will try to do tonight.

I'm liking the Olympian theme. The Muhvic boys have pointed out that I missed some key hockey players, chief among whom is Jerome Iginla. As a fan of Jerome's I feel the need to correct this error. With apologies to Justin Lamoureux, we will be replacing him with Jerome. Mind you if the boys had their way, we'd have named all the puppies after hockey players lol

Please keep sending good thoughts Clara's way.

This Might Be A Bit Of A Risk...

2010-02-01T16:24:00.004-05:00

but I've used the blog to announce this litter on my GSP lists that I belong to. I'm always leery of doing things like this as people can be quick to judge. After many years of working with rescues, nothing makes me cringe like the word puppy mill. If you've ever seen one you'd understand why I react like that. I'd like to think that Nuthatch is nothing even remotely like that.

Yes, there are a lot of dogs here and the numbers can be higher when I'm actively rescuing dogs. Anyone who has visited can tell you that you're always welcome to visit and meet everyone here and that they are very well cared for and loved dearly. There is someone here twenty-four/seven as a general rule to be with the animals.

Yes, we do breed dogs. I have lofty goals for Nuthatch GSPs and you'll find that when I have a litter I almost always keep a puppy out of it. Whether the puppy lives with me or is fostered out to someone else, it is meant to bring me closer to my goal. If this offends you, I am sorry. As you'll notice from the post below, I generally have a waiting list for puppies born here. I do not have puppies for the sake of having puppies and my accountant can guarantee you that I spend far more on them than they ever make in puppy sales. My vet has his own plane - I'm sure that I bought a wing of it.

Anyway, comments are always welcome. As always the dogs come first and foremost...

One puppy, two puppies, three puppies, four...and it just kept going...

2010-02-01T15:16:00.014-05:00

Yes, you read that right, both True and Jeannie had their puppies this weekend. True went first on Friday producing 8 puppies - 4 girls (1 ticked and 3 solid) and 4 boys (2 solid and 2 ticked). Everyone is doing well including the wee solid girl. Proud Daddy Dundee, is completely oblivious but more then willing to take the extra dog cookies. Pictures below.

The on Sunday evening, Jeannie went into labour. The beloved hussy had only four puppies from her affaire de coeurs (affair of the heart) with Frost. There are 3 girls (2 ticked and 1 solid) and 1 boy (ticked). The solid liver girl is very tiny - only 5 oz and I am unsure that she will make it. She is much less than developed than her siblings who were all more than double her weight. I have some pictures of these guys as well but haven't got them off the camera yet.

I am thinking that given the timing, we will name both litters after Canadian Olympians headed to Calgary this winter. My current favourites for names are Patrick (Chan, figure skater), Tessa (Virtue, another figure skater (ok, I like figure skating)), Maelle (Ricker, snowboarder), Jasey Jay (Anderson, snowboarder), Clara (Hughes, speed skater), Sydney (Crosby, hockey), Hayley (Wickenheiser, hockey), Zina (Kocher, biathlete), Manuel (Osborne-Paradis, alpine skiier), Justin (LAmoureux, snowboarder), and Kelsey (Serwa, freestyle skiier).

For those who may be interested, I believe that all of these puppies already have homes. I will be double checking my list as there may be one or two available at most. If you had contacted me and didn't put down a deposit, you need to contact me soon.

Last but not least, it's picture time. Here are some pictures Grandpa took of Beans (Dundee x Becca) and her mother, Becca.

These are from Newfoundland, where the other Becca (Dundee x Becca) is having a great time with her friend Tippy, the english setter.

Delceg in the Doghouse...

2010-01-27T15:16:00.005-05:00

It is absolutely okay for you to complain I don't take enough pictures but please - and I mean please - do not tell Delceg that. My big goof decided to try to remedy that and take some pictures of his own this morning.

Unfortunately, the camera case was zipped close...

Fortunately, it can be chewed open.

Unfortunately, Delceg has no hands to hold the camera with.

Fortunately, his teeth will work just as well.

Unfortunately, this cracks the view screen.

Fortunately, you can still make out teh image, it just takes a little more work.

Unfortunately, Delceg has no fingers to turn it on.

Fortunately, he manages to squish one toe in and turn it on.

Unfortunately, this permanently damages the on/off switch.

Fortunately, Mom finds him on the couch at this point attempting to shoot pictures of Becca.

Unfortunately, Mom can't find the extra memory card that was in the camera case.

Fortunately, she finds the extra batteries.

Unfortunately this leads to a very long and stern lecture to Delceg about doing his own picture taking.

Fortunately, his mother loves him and forgives him eventually.

The Current In-House Members of the Nuthatch Gang

2010-01-27T11:59:00.018-05:00

I apologize well in advance as some of these photos are quite old and a number of these dogs are now 8+ years old. Tp the person who asked for a complete list of who is in residence at the moment. Note we're taking a break from rescues for the moment until I'm back on my feet post surgery. Ready to be unnerved by our motley crew...

The Two Remaining Siberians:

Michael - Can Ch. Bain's Northern Riverdance

Cheyenne - Nuthatch's Cheyenne

Ok, I can't find a decent picture of Cheyenne at the moment but here's one of her mother Sharky (now passed on) to whom she bears a striking resemblance...

The Sole German Wirehaired Pointer

Willow - Darnelle's Makin You A Believer FDJ

The Shortbrains...

Chanel - Can Ch Ersehnen By Design

Spirit - Can Ch Ersehnen Blythe Spirit

Becca - Am Can Ch Shomberg N Partridge Run Tribecca

Emily - Can Ch Nuthatch's At Last (Charlie x Chanel)

Delceg - Am Can Hung. Lux. World Jr Ch Malomkozi Delceg

Dundee - Am Can Ch Nuthatch's Snowy River Rider (Cruise x Sally)

Jeannie - Nuthatch's Simply Irresistible (Charlie x Chanel)

Lucy - Nuthatch's Awakenings (Delceg x Kaylee)

Before anyone starts to panic and think I do not respect copyrights, I have purchased this picture from Kenneth Reed - it just hasn't arrived yet in the mail and all my other Lucy pictures are from when she was a baby.

Limerick - Nuthatch's Funny Girl (Frost x Jeannie)

Beans - Nuthatch's Black Coffee in Bed (Dundee x Becca)

Charlie - Mex Latin Am FCI Int Can Ch Nuthatch's Presumed Innocent (Andy x Cassie)

Mr. Big - Nuthatch's Witness (Charlie x Chanel)

Bug - Can Ch Nuthatch's Truly Madly Deeply (Charlie x Spirit)

Dublin - Gamebourne King's Ransom

Cello - Nuthatch's Tequila Sunrise (Mac x Shiraz)

Frost - Nuthatch's The Road Not Taken (Delceg x Becca)

Mac - Am Can Ch Nuthatch's Chase The Sun (Morgan x Emily)

Dalwhinne - Nuthatch's Q.E.D. (Morgan x Emily)

Ziggy - Can Ch Robinhoods Ziggy Stardust

Chance - Nuthatch's The Negotiator (Andy x Holly)

Buffy - Nuthatch's Unforgettable (Kenny x Jeannie)

Crufts - An Affair of the Hound...

2010-01-25T15:58:00.012-05:00

Not surprisingly, I have always had a weakness for hounds - both sighthounds and scenthounds. In Europe there are many different continental hounds that we never see here in Canada. One of my favourite parts of Crufts was wandering around and seeing all the breeds I had never seen before. With the exception of the HPR (Hunt Point Retrieve - ie versatile hunting dogs like our GSPs and GWPs), I've included several of them here. With a few exceptions, most are hounds. I'll do the HPRs separately.

Hamiltonstovare

This is by far my favourite hound. I had seen a few photos of them before but had never seen one live in the flesh. A medium sized hound, they have a beautiful elegance while still being all scenthound. I would love to import one of these. (Now you know why Dad shakes his head everytime I see a breed I like lol)

Azawahk

Basset Fauve de Bretagne

These were cute little guys.

Bleu Gascogne Basset

Bleu Gascogne Grand

As with these last two breeds, it is a common thing for many hounds, particularly french ones, to have a small (Basset) size and a large (Grand) size.

Bavarian Mountain Hound

Cirneca d'ell Etna

Hovawart

Kooikerhondje

Lagotto Romagnolo

Lancashire Heeler

A typical feisty heeler - one of the few non-hounds in this list. This is a breed native to England.

Portuguese Podengo Rough

Portuguese Podengo Smooth

The Podengos were just adorable. As their notes said - why tango when you can podengo?

Sloughi

Segugio Italiano

And for those who asked my favourite part of heathrow...

Lucky Nikita

2010-01-25T15:49:00.002-05:00

I received an email today about Lucky Nikita, a much loved Siberian out of our Sharky and Michael. She passed in October after what sounds like a wonderful life. I may love my GSPs & GWPs to bits but I have to admit, they have nothing on the Siberians when it comes to sheer beauty.

More Crufts Photos...

2010-01-25T12:25:00.010-05:00

The Golden Retriever Demo Team

The Friends for Life

International Juniors Competition

The Sporting Group

The Cut for the Sporting Group

(for those non-exhibitors, these are the judge's preferred dogs from the group, he will choose his winners from the cut)

The Sporting Group Winner

This Vizsla (Sh Ch/Aust Ch Hungargunn Bear It'n Mind) from Australia but not competing in the UK was extremely impressive. Any of the dogs in the cut could have won; it was a stunning lineup. I still favoured the Bracco Italiano, the GSP and the GWP but I couldn't fault the Vizsla.

The Working Group Cut

The Working Group Winner

My Friend Elaine Competing in the Working Group with a Bouvier des Flandres of her breeding.

The non-Crufts part of the trip

2010-01-22T17:04:00.011-05:00

Although most of the trip was taken up at Crufts there are a few other excursions and particularly people that I want to mention.
I stayed with a wonderful lady named Anne and her husband. The bred english setters and currently have two field spaniels. Field spaniels are fairly rare in Canada and up until then I had only seen a few in my lifetime. Robbie, the field spaniel they had at the time (the new puppy hadn't arrived yet), is a gorgeous dog and beyond sweet. If I could deal with the grooming I'd have one of these too. (Face it, there are few breeds I wouldn't like to try at least once with the possible exception of terriers and toy breeds which are just not my bag of tea). They also had an old English Setter, Evie, who passed after my visit.

Evie

Robbie & Ann

My host, Karen, is Dublin's breeder. We did some sight seeing together, going out to see Skipton castle and wander a bit. It was quite amazing to see. Very different from the castles I saw in Spain which owed much to a hot climate and the Moors. In Skipton the importance of keeping warm became obvious along with the various strategies of defence. Here's some pictures of Karen and the castle:

Although the whole trip was great, the highlights were definitely Dublin and all the great people I met. I firmly think I'll just have to go back just to visit again and do some more sightseeing.

Dublin & Ann

Crufts - Part 2

2010-01-22T16:43:00.002-05:00

The next day was spent shopping – there were tons (by which I mean literally hundreds) of booths to see. They also have a huge section called “Discover Dogs”. This area features booths manned by breeders/fanciers and at least one dog for each and every breed recognized in England. This is where I was really able to get up close to many of the gundog breeds we don’t have here as well as many other breeds, particularly the continental European hounds. I'll do a separate post on them too.
That evening we attended Best in Show. As with the previous evening, they started out with a variety of dog sports demonstrations and competitions. These were followed by something called “Friends for Life”. The latter features approximately six pairs of composed of a person and a dog. Often the dog and person are work partners such as police officers or service partners such as a disabled person and their service dog. The stories of each pair are broadcast throughout the four day shown and the audience votes for their favourite via cell phone and online voting. The evening of Best In Show the award is presented to the winning pair. This year it went to a search and rescue dog that focuses on searching for Alzheimer’s patients and his handler.
They then did the two groups from the day – Working and Pastoral. After that they had a brief break and then there was Mary Read’s performance of musical heelwork to the music of Riverdance. I’m not normally a big fan of musical heelwork but this was truly exceptional. Apparently she has been doing this each and every year for the last twelve years of Crufts.
Finally, Best in Show. Of course there were lights and music and excitement in the audience, just like at Westminster. In the end I felt totally justified when a Canadian bred dog – the Sealyham Terrier Am/Can/Swedish/World Ch Efbe’s Hidalgo at Goodspice – went Best in Show. Runner-up BIS was the Standard Poodle.
All in all, it was a fantastic trip and one I would recommend to any dog lover.

Crufts - Part 1

2010-01-21T16:07:00.008-05:00

When the opportunity to attend Crufts last year came up, I was beyond excited. After all, the world’s largest dog show, what conformation enthusiast wouldn’t be? While in England, I would be visiting friends and visiting some English GSP kennels that had dogs related to my new puppy, Dublin aka Gamebourne King’s Ransom aka the Monkey Man. My hosts had arranged for us to spend two days at Crufts as well.

Whenever people talk about Crufts they always mention the sheer size of it. When we first got there I was completely overwhelmed. It dwarfed any show I had ever been to and the whole day was devoted to nothing but gundogs. Gundogs represented the largest group at Crufts that year with an entry of over 5600 gundogs. It is a benched show so all the dogs must be present and on their benches except when in the ring. So, you can wander to your hearts content and see as many sporting breeds as you’d like. The UK recognizes many more breeds than we do so it was an opportunity to see a number of breeds I had heard of and many that I hadn’t even heard of before. I’ll do another post in the future featuring photos and descriptions of the gundogs I saw that are not recognized in Canada or are very rare here as there were quite a few.

With an entry of over 260 GSPs, we spent most of Saturday watching GSP judging. The rings were of an average specialty size but judging there is quite different in terms of classes. The younger dogs are broken down by age. Champions compete in the open class with the class dogs. A Dog CC (basically Winners Dog) and a Bitch CC (Winners Bitch) are awarded. Best of Breed is chosen from the two of them. This makes earning CCs very challenging for a young dog. I took several pictures of the dogs in competition but unfortunately the lighting was not bright enough for my little digital camera so I have none to share from GSP judging. Dog CC went to MacGregor Pyzartyst With Moregin JW. I quite liked this dog, enough that I've toyed with making further inquiries occasionally. Bitch CC and Best of Breed went to Sh Ch Barleyarch Pickpocket. Pickpocket is the breed record holder for CCs. She is owned and bred by Sue & Mike Harris of Barleyarch GSPs, and handled by Sue. She went on to make the cut in the group in the evening. Now, I've long been a fan of the Barleyarch dogs so it was a real treat to see so many of them in the ring and later to spend an evening with them.
In the late afternoon we went and found spots to watch the group and other entertainment in the main arena (there are five halls plus the arena – all devoted to the show). The evening show demonstrates how much more rounded Crufts is as compared to most other big shows. Westminster and our Show of Shows tend to focus almost strictly on conformation. At Crufts there was obedience, agility (both of them having individual and team events), as well as demonstrations on everything from dog/child safety to health care to therapy work. In the evening the winners of such events put on demonstrations for the public. One of the highlights was a team of Golden Retrievers that did group obedience displays together to music much like the horse displays that are found at higher levels at equine events.

Another class that was done in the evening that I found very interesting was the gameskeeper class. All dogs competing must work a minimum number of hours on a working game farm each year to be eligible to compete in the class. Many of the dogs were shown by the gameskeepers themselves. A lovely young lady and her German Wirehaired Pointer won. She is a fourth generation gameskeeper.

The group itself featured some truly stunning gundogs. Some breeds look quite different from their North American counterparts, particularly the coated breeds like the setters and the spaniels. Others, including the GSPs, would be right at home and do well in any North American ring. A few breeds, including Vizslas and German Wirehaired Pointers, stood out for the extreme quality of the entries as compared to the average seen here. (I’m sure that comment will get me in loads of trouble here :) In the end the Vizsla went on to win the group. Personally I liked several of them but the GWP - Freddy and the Bracco Italiano (ie Italian Pointer) Axel really stood out to me. I'm thinking there may be a bracco here one of these days as I was totally taken with the breed.

Freddy - Freddy von Kapellenhof at Bareve

Axel - Axel del Monte Alagro

Judging, Popular Sires, Crufts, and More Pics

2010-01-21T08:31:00.010-05:00

At this time last year I was driving everyone around me crazy as I prepared for my trip in early March to the UK, Crufts, and most importantly to pick up the Monkey Man (aka Dublin) and meet his family. Obviously that's not in the cards this year. But it makes this a perfect time to share some pictures from my trip and all the fun stuff and great people I met there. However that's for another post - possibly today, possibly tomorrow.

As I sat at the kitchen table the other night with the Monkey Man at my feet, I wondered why I wasn't berating him for putting a huge hole in the top of a 400 varikennel. He had stuck his head through that hole (yeah, it was that big!) and was waiting for me when I got home looking like a strange, unwatered Chia pet. I know he isn't fond of crates but in a household with this many dogs you have to spend some time in a crate, particularly when there's no one home. Face it, I have a real weakness for the Monkey Man no matter how much trouble he gets into and he gets into lots and lots of trouble. I've been thinking that it was time to get him into the show ring as he is slowly starting to fill out and lose that teenage lankiness. We practise stacking and baiting but not gaiting as I can't run at all at the moment. Anyway, back to the other night. I realized that I really want to show him myself. I know Dad and Lindsay would be glad to show him but I want to do it myself. I haven't been able to comfortably show a dog for a long long time and I'm really looking forward to it. So, the Monkey Man will be my first show dog post-recovery. I bet we knock the socks off everyone :)

I have been invited to judge Sweepstakes for a giant schnauzer club this summer. I'm really looking forward to it. I'm not yet approved for giants so a sweeps is a nice way to work with the breed in the ring. It's also a chance to see more than the occasional giant entered at a show. We have very few giants at least in my part of Ontario so seeing more than one or two is always a treat. They warned me the entry would not be large as the total specialty entry is likely to be quite small but I'm excited about it nonetheless.

Popular Sires

(Warning this is where I get on my soapbox so you may want to ignore it!)

In many breeds, including GSPs, you will often that a dog does a lot of winning and suddenly becomes the dog to breed to; the flavour of the month so to speak. If the dog is a really good specimen (which sadly is not always the case although it often is) this is not necessarily a bad thing. He may have traits that many breeding programs are weak in and be a good match for the bitch being bred. However, more goes into choosing who sires your litter than just how he looks. Or at least it should but too many folks get caught up in the "he won lots and therefore if I breed to him my puppies will win lots too" and there are too many breeders out there who have producing big winning champions as their goal as opposed to producing the best GSP possible. You need to be looking in both sire and dam at weaknesses (and all dogs have weaknesses) in conformation, pedigree, health, temperament, what they consistently produce and how they age. The latter may seem like an odd thing but the vast majority of GSPs produced will be pets and all dogs, no matter what their heritage, deserve to age comfortably with as little deterioration of the joints and discomfort from weak rears, etc as possible. Breeding is as much a science as it is an art and while there are lots of things we cannot predict due to the complexity of genetics, we owe it to the dogs to research and understand as much as possible about what we predict with relative accuracy. For instance, you can breed generations of beautiful dogs with OFA fair hips (a poor rating for those of you unfamiliar with OFA, the dog is not dysplastic but the hip conformation is not particularly good either). If you keep linebreeding on those dogs it stands to reason that eventually you will produce bad hips. It's just plain logical. It's not only stupid to do it it also subjects the product of that linebreeding to years of discomfort due to bad hips.

OK, I'll get off the soapbox...sorry for ranting, it bothers me when people just put together dogs willy-nilly without doing their research first.

On a nicer topic - here are some pictures of the newly named Becca (formerly known as Beans) from Newfoundland:

You Asked For It...

2010-01-18T11:52:00.013-05:00

The show went well. Lucy went Winners Bitch on Saturday for her first 2 points twoards her Canadian championship and got lots of compliments from other breeders so I was very happy. Frost went Reserve Winners Dog both days so no points but he did well and I was very happy with him. I didn't have a win photo taken of Lucy as I have a really nice professional one taken ringside from when we were in Rhode Island that should be arriving soon. I took a few pictures at the show which I've put below including one of Dad kissing a Siberian.

Frost (Becca x Delceg)

Frost is from the first litter Delceg sired here at Nuthatch. I co-own his sister Sonnet, who lives in Texas. He is finally starting to fill out and turning into a very handsome guy. Sadly, he's also entered the teenage years where he thinks he's a big stud and the girls are forever reminding them that he is dirt under their toe nails. Like every good boy though her remains undeterred.

I had judged Siberians last year and made a decision that generated some controversy. My Best of Breed choice was not the puppy who was doing all the winning but instead a more mature dog that I honestly felt was a better Siberian. At the time I took a lot of flak from people who don't know the breed that well. They felt I had made the wrong decision. I stood my ground and disagreed. The puppy apparently didn't do as well after that and has started to fall apart physically. Not literally but as you grow things can become less balanced (things of lanky teens that are all legs and feet and you'll know what I mean, we don't all grow evenly). The puppy was very pretty but not as balanced as I would have liked. When I say he fell apart, I mean that the lack of balance has become more pronounced to the point where he is unlikely to do anywhere near as much winning. I have to admit, when someone from the Siberian community told me that this weekend I felt a certain vindication. Sometimes it is nice to be right lol

In non-show news, the weather has been very mild here, hovering around zero degrees celsius. So, the dogs and I have been out playing in the snow. Shown below are pics from the weekend taken both indoors and out. Oh, and its official, we'll be naming the newly renamed Beans Nuthatch's Black Coffee In Bed.

Ziggy (she'll be 13 tomorrow, Michael x Darby)

Chance (11 this year, Andy x Holly)

Beans (Becca x Dundee)

I wanted stacked pictures of the munchkin but she wouldn't hold still at all. It was hard enough to get these.

Limerick (Jeannie x Frost)

Limerick - also known as Lime Ricky, is out of Frost's first litter and will be a full sibling to the accident litter on its way. She reminds me intensely of Lucy which pleases me a great deal.

Limerick & Cello (Limerick is the solid liver and Cello is the ticked bitch, Cello is out of Shiraz and Mac)

Delceg (the Hungarian stud muffin - Foks x Malomkozi Saba)

For those of you who have never met Delceg before, he is our visitor from Hungary via Oregon. He's been with us just over two years now and has worked his way into everyone's hearts.

Emily (she'll be ten this year in September, Chanel x Charlie)

Miss Emily remains the boss bitch of the household and there is no one who doesn't tow her line anymore.

Demanding Followers

2010-01-15T14:25:00.007-05:00

Has anyone ever told you guys you're demanding lol

I will transfer some pics we took the other day of Ziggy & Chance from the camera tonight if I have time although I likely won't post until Monday.

We're going to the Elgin County shows tomorrow (Saturday) & Sunday. Frost & Lucy are entered. I'd have entered more but Dad is only human and I'm kind of useless at the moment. Good news though - they've scheduled my knee replacement for March 18th. I can't explain how happy I am to finally have a date for it. I think we're going to concentrate on finishing Frost & Lucy up here first as both are destined for foster homes eventually and it is a little cramped here at the moment. Having had said that, I'd miss both terribly. Dundee is leaving for a foster home later this month and I'm dreading it. I know it's the best thing for him but I'll really miss him.

I will try to get some photos at the show as well.

In the meantime, here are some more pictures of Moose (Wicca x Josh)

and his brother Simon, a GSP from Crystal Kennels in the USA

Beans has moved to NFLD

2010-01-14T16:32:00.002-05:00

Beans left for her new home in Newfoundland yesterday. They are going to call her Becca, after her mother. Most appropriate as they look very much alike. Hopefully, i will have some new pictures of her soon.

This left poor Latte all by her very loud and lonesome self. I'm finding Latte difficult - her name just doesn't flow off my tongue. So, we are renaming her Beans. (Yeah, I liked the name Beans from the get go.) Besides, Beans suits her - she is just full of beans. The newly named Beans is very lonely and as a result is getting very very spoiled because everyone feels bad for her. She's also getting very very cute. Really nice and smooth over the shoulders, compact with a beautiful topline, and a face full of mischief. What more can you ask for?

Oops, forgot some photos...

2010-01-12T14:01:00.006-05:00

If you've been around a long long time you may remember that we used to have a gorgeous Belgian Shepherd Dog named Dusty whom we bred and showed. I got these pictures of her son Jack yesterday.

Dusty was a beautiful girl. She used to accompany me around the province when I worked for the co-ops. We did presentations for schools among other things and as I talked she would circulate among the students, letting them pet her. Unfortunately, when I stopped working due to illness, she had no job to do and she created her own job - herding Siberians. Herding GSPs is great - they think it's a game. The Siberians find it offensive and set out to put a stop to it. For her own safety we eventually ended up placing her with my cousins in the Ottawa Valley where she herded cattle until she passed a few years ago from a spinal tumour.