Things come in 2s?

Things come in twos??

Last weekend was a good one for 2 of our Miska-Brick puppies born May 31, 2011.  Bodi earned 2 Jr Hunter legs at an AKC hunt test in Darien NY after earning his NAVHDA Natural Ability title last weekend and Charlie earned his first2 conformation points at the Oakville Kennel Club show.  Congratulations to the puppies and to their owners, especially Corrine who handled Bodi at her first US hunt test!

Corrine with Bodi

Charlie handled by breeder mom

 

NAVHDA Prize I

I am thrilled to announce (although rather belatedly I am afraid) that Bodi (UKC BIS, CH Varazs Mokany Kiralyi Orban FDJ, CGN, URO1; DOB: May 31, 2011) earned a Prize I in Natural Ability from the North American Versatile Hunting Dog Assoc. (NAVHDA) on September 2, 2012.  While the rest of us were enjoying the long, Labour Day weekend in Canada, owner and handler Corrine Sellars was busy competing in this field test at Luther Marsh ON with Bodi.

Bodi showed great field/hunting apititude as an 8-week puppy, immediately launching into a stiff point when he saw a wing-on-a-string.   He also scented and retrieved a dead quail.  I remember exclaiming to Corrine at the time,  "There's your bird dog!"

Bodi pointing

This is MY bird!

So I was pretty confident that Bodi would dog well in field. He earned his CKC Field Dog Hr (FDJ) in May at the age of one year with one near-perfect score of 97/100.  NAVHDA's Natural Ability tests cap the age of the dog at 16 months so he just made it at 15 months.  Not only did Bodi pass the NA test this time, he ACED it!!! He had perfect scores all seven categories:

1. use of nose
2. search
3. water
4. pointing
5. tracking
6. desire to work
7. co-operation

His seven perfect scores resulted in the highest accolade, a Prize I.  Several Varazs-bred dogs have earned NAVHDA NA titles, but this is the first of our Vizslas to earn a Prize I.  Others have earned a Prize III, including Bodi's mom, Miska. (Prize I is the highest and Prize III is the lowest of the passes.)

VERY, VERY proud owner/handler Corrine with Bodi

Not only was I (as Bodi's breeder), extremely proud of Bodi, I was thrilled for Corrine since she handed Bodi herself. This was Corrine's very first time handling a dog in a field test  since previously, her field trainer, Mike Wilshire of Ruffwood Brittanies, handled Bodi.  I can tell you it's such a big thrill to:

1. see your Vizsla do what it was originally bred to do: find game and establish point
2. handle your own dog in a hunt test.

 CONGRATULATIONS  to Bodi and Corrine!! I am very very proud of both of you!

Old dog, old & new tricks

Everyone knows it's a myth that you can't teach an old dog new tricks.  Of course you can - if you are a good teacher/trainer that is and take into account the physical condition of the dog.  It's not that the  dog can't learn; the human often simply doesn't have the right skills to train a dog - and it's NOT using Cesar Milan's methods!!!!

Anyway, old dogs LOVE performing their old tricks as well as learning new ones. Here are a couple of photos of Kosmo (CH Szuni's Rising Star FD ADC CGC), who is a daughter of our Sasha and bred by Susan Scobie of Szuni Reg'd Vizslas in Vancouver, BC. Kosmo was born in July 1999. These photos were taken last June (2011) at agility trials in BC just before Kosmo's 12th birthday.  Because Kosmo had such a great time competing, her owner, Arlana Taylor, decided she wasn't ready to retire and so the decision was made to enter Agility Assoc. of Canada agility trails later this month in the Okanagan area of BC at Dog-o-Pogo trials. I am so thrilled that this happening!! I didn't ever retire Sasha and he lived into his 16th year and it was one of the best decisions I ever made for a dog.

So here's to senior dogs and all the wonderful things they are still able to accomplish and have fun doing!

Running through grass

Ruby (Varazs Kiralyi Rubicund, DOB June 26, 2003) running through grass during a recent visit to our house.