Scenes from Wine Circuit

Here are some photos taken while I was at the Wine Circuit shows (Sept 30 - Oct. 3) at Romulus, NY and while staying with Pauline, a friend/owner of Katya, one of my Vizslas who lives in Ithaca, NY. Katya is Cdn CH Varazs Sziv Jump for Joy, Am RE.

Taughannock Falls, Ulysses, NY. After the area got 4-8 inches of rain on Sept. 30, the falls were mighty impressive!

L-R, Sisters Katya & Miska, 7 yr old

Full Siblings: Vadasz, Miska, Katya

Katya with her beautiful head

Vadasz, looking sleepy after getting drops in his eyes for the CERF eye test

My friend Pauline with Diva (2 yr old)

L-R  Quest, Diva (2 yr old & full sibs), Miska & Vadasz (7 yr old & full sibs)
 Miska is the mother of both Diva & Quest.

Gary Krammer with the 2 new title holders: Miska RAE & Vadasz CH

Gary & Vadasz finishing the Honor exercise in Rally Excellent.

 You can see more about Vadasz & Miska on their webpages by clicking on their names.

Vadasz's star finally rose

One to two times per year, I've been taking Vadasz (from our Sasha-Nova breeding in 2003) to dog shows in the USA, trying to earn his second and final major to finish his American Championship.  Sometimes he was too pudgy and other times he was too thin and other times, it was political - he was often the best dog there but not with the 'right' handler.  He was always breeder/co-owner-handled except for two times - when I had had knee surgery and couldn't show him myself and another time when I figured it was political and so hired a handler.

I have always believed in Vadasz and when I saw him recently (after he'd turned 7 years old), I said to his owner, Gary Krammer, "boy he looks great" and "wow, does he move nicely" and "you know, he really deserves to be an American Champion".

My plans kept changing this fall but to make a long story short, I finally decided to go to the Wine Circuit at Romulus NY.  I asked Gary to enter Vadasz in conformation as well as Quest (Vadasz' 2-year old nephew from my 2008 breeding).  This was going to be Vadasz's last shot at his AKC CH. It was now or never ( I was dreading ' never').

Thursday, September 30 at Wine Circuit didn't go as well as hoped. It was raining and the rings were turning to mud. Each dog of mine took second place in the classes but Quest and his sister Diva took Reserve Winners Dog.  Things really improved for Vadasz on Friday.  It was still terribly muddy but  he took Reserve Winners Dog.  And then on Saturday when I did so well with Miska in Rally, I said to myself, "I'm on a roll. Things are looking up." and I really had a feeling it would be a good day (or at least I sure hoped so!). 

Things started to look up  well when judge Linda More of Cary, NC moved Vadasz to the head of the line-up in the Open class and then gave him First.  However, before this happened, she mentioned to me that he was limping in the last go around.  "Oh no!" I thought.  She asked me to check his paws. Well, they were covered in mud and straw because of the terribly wet and muddy conditions at the show grounds.  I tried to pull some of the mud off this paw and hoped and prayed that there was nothing wrong with him.  She made us go around again and finally pointed to Vadasz as her Open Dog.  Then it was back into the Ring!  Again, Ms More pointed to Vadasz as her Winners Dog.   And it was a major!!!!  That's all he needed to finish!!!  5,5 years after getting his first major at this exact same location, Vadasz finally finished his AKC Championship.  I jumped up and down in the mud - I was SOOOO excited and happy.  The judge laughingly said to me, "Don't make the conditions worse than they already are!!!!"

Congratulations to Vadasz (Am/Can CH Varazs Kiralyi Vadaszat FDJ, Can/Am CD, NAVHDA NA Prize II, JH, RN (AKC), RA (AKC), CGN.  You are finally and officially an American Champion at the graceful age of seven!! No chalking, no hair dye or cheating to make you look younger.  Just beautiful you. And to top the day off, Gary Krammer, his owner, earned a second Rally Excellent leg in the morning.  Show photo to follow but here's a photo of Gary and Vadasz with their Rally ribbon.

Low to high, Wine Circuit 2010

Well, after getting 4 to 8 inches of rain on Thursday, Sept. 30 in the Ithaca NY area, Friday Oct. 1st  at Romulus NY greeted us with clearer skies but incredibly muddy and soggy field conditions for the dog show and trials.  The start of the show was delayed by one hour in an effort to lay down straw and in a hope that the ground would dry out (NOPE!) so rally didn't get underway until 9:45 AM.  The Excellent B class was the first in the ring.

I don't get any opportunity to train in soggy, muddy conditions.  Miska wasn't happy about all the mud; nor was I as my boots almost got stuck trying to heel around the ring. And of course (as luck would have it), I had a conflict with conformation.  However, the judge allowed me to quickly walk the course before the official walk-through but there were signs that were wrong as I later discovered.  Anyway, to make a long story a little shorter, Miska & I didn't have a great run.  Her heeling was sloppy because she was trying to dodge puddles and the worst of holes and I didn't have her full attention so we repeated several stations. And then I totally screwed up and did the last station wrong, misinterpreting it as an Excellent sign when it was a Novice/Adv/Exc sign so that was an automatic 10 pt loss.  Sigh. And in the honor (a sit), Miska shuffled her bum several times and then stood a few seconds before the exercise came to an end so that was more points off.  In the end, the judge was a bit generous and just squeaked her by giving us a 70 out of 100. That's the lowest passing score a dog can get but it was a Q (qualifying) score!  Then onto Advanced where Miska excelled, getting a score of 99 and second place!  That gave us/her the 9th leg towards her title.

Miska & Sylvia with 1st place ribbons and 2nd place rosette

Saturday was the only other day I entered Miska in rally.  Conformation was on a little later so we (i.e., I) were more relaxed not having the worry of having to dash over to conformation and show.  So Saturday, Oct. 2 started off really well. I even arrived early enough to help the judge set up the ring.  Miska and I warmed up and she was paying attention to me even though the ground was still very muddy and uneven.  The judge was very forgiving of the conditions and only threw in one exercise that involved making the dogs lie down. The honor was a sit again.  Miska scored 96 in Excellent and ended up in first place!  The Advanced class followed Excellent.  I asked to be moved up to be the first handler/dog in the ring because conformation was going to be on and I had to show 3 dogs there.  Miska had a GREAT Advanced run.  I glanced at our score as I high-tailed it over to conformation. 99/100!  Later on, I learned she took first place.  I then thought to myself, "we're on a roll now! This is going to be a good day!"


So that's how Miska completed her last 2 RAE legs and finished her AKC RAE title, exactly where we started two years ago.  Miska is the 3rd Vizsla I've put an AKC RAE on. She follows in the paw-steps of her father (Sasha) and mom (Nova) who both earned this same title ahead of her. This is title #16 for Miska.

Group 4th for Diva

Show business is 'funny'. One day your dog can lose and the next day, emerge a big winner. That's why when I show dogs, I always make it a social and fun event for me and my dog(s) because it can be political and subjective and who needs all that crap in their lives these days?  So sometimes we lose but more than 50% of the time, we win and of course, that's more fun!

Diva, Group 4th

On September 26, perhaps no one was more surprised than I when Diva (Varazs Kedves Quickstep FDJ JH) took Best of Breed (well, that wasn't the big surprise) at the Burlington Kennel and Obedience Club and then was pulled out by Judge Ron Mahon of St. Thomas, ON for a Group 4th.  The group placement was the surprise because it was a very strong line up of sporting dogs and professional handlers!

Diva is the 3rd puppy from this breeding between Ozzie (Ch Hubertus Quality Control FDJ) and Miska (Am/Can CH Varazs Kiralyi Kedvesem JH, FD, NAVHDA NA Prz III, Am/Can CD, Am/Can RE, CGN) to have a placement in the Sporting Group either in Canada or the United States.

Remembering Otis

Varazs Betyar Otis

February 2, 1998 - September 19, 2010

How quickly time passes. At the age of 12.5 years, Otis crossed the Rainbow Bridge in the arms of his loving owners, Maureen Lunney, DVM and John Ivanic.  He would swim like a fish and was a real climber and jumper, just like his dad "Rowdy", Am CH Legacy's Rhythm N Blues. Otis is now sorely missed by his humans.

Otis, spring 1998, with John

Otis at 11 yr.

Help me decide!

Oops!  I forgot one. I added #9 this morning. Somehow I missed it. If you've voted and want to change your vote, pls do so!

I'm going to enter some photos of my Vizslas for various contests.  I've got lots to chose from but am finding it hard to make up my mind which ones to submit. Please tell me which are your Top 3. This means actually leaving a comment on my Blog!!

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Vizsla friends

There was great human and canine camaraderie at the German Short-hair Club of Western NY's hunt tests on Sept . 12-13, 2010. Quite a few Vizslas ran in the Jr Hunter class. Here are a few of them. Thanks to Amy Olsen (middle) for supplying these photos.

Ok guys, time to practice our sit-stay; L - R, Diva, Jack, Ivy, Quest & Vadasz

Now that's better! Diva's doing a perfect stay without mama.

L-R "Ivy" - Lacost's Ivy Blessing; "Diva" - Varazs Kedves FDJ JR; "Quest" - Varazs Kedves Quester

Goodbye Gryphon

Int'l & Am CH Varazs Gryphon's Magical Mist CD JH RN RA RE CGC

February 21, 2001 - September 7, 2010

Gryphon and Elizabeth, spring 2010

2004

After enjoying an annual 8 day hike with his human, Gryphon (Int'l & Am CH Varazs Gryphon's Magical Mist CD JH RN RA RE CGC) passed away on September 7, 2009 at the age of 9 and a half following a brief but serious illness (cause still unknown). Despite doing all they could to save him, his owners, Elizabeth Packer and her family, are heartbroken.

I am extremely grateful to Elizabeth for giving him such a great life and for taking such wonderful care of him. I was fortunate to see and visit Gryphon several times throughout his life even though he lived in California, thousands of miles from where he was born.  Elizabeth traveled up to Canada in 2004 for shows and I visited Gryphon in California that same year. In 2009 just after he had turned 8. Elizabeth and Gryphon visited me in Arizona and came to the Rio Salado Vizsla Club's Specialty show where Gryphon was Best Veteran in Sweepstakes.  He still looked stunningly beautiful and was showing no age.

Rest in Peace sweet Gryphon. You will always be remembered.

February 2009

Elizabeth & Gryphon doing obedience, Woodstock, ON 2004

Diva's awesome weekend

Proud mama with new Jr Hunter "Diva"

Diva (L) with brother Quest (R)

From conformation to hunting - Diva had an awesome 3-day weekend! At the Oakville Kennel Club's all-breed conformation show in Milton, ON on Friday & Saturday, Diva was Winner's Bitch & Best of Winners both days for 2 pts each day. Woo hoo! That takes her up to 7 points; she just needs 3 pts to finish her Cdn Championship. And Sunday morning, I rose at 5:15 AM & drove out with Diva at 5:55 AM to Darien State Park in NY for the GSP Club of Western NY's hunt tests. Both Diva & her brother Quest were entered in the Jr Hunter level. Diva just needed 1 more Q for her Jr Hunter title. She was the first brace up. It had been raining during the night and part of the morning. Everything was soggy, including the quail which didn't want to fly. They really wanted to hide under the cover.

Being the first brace, I think the judges were marking a little harder because they didn't have any reference point. Diva ran fairly well, far better than her brother. She went on a beautiful point but I couldn't find the bird! That was the challenge with all her bird finds. If I manage to find the quail, they were sodden. I was very pleased when she did a lovely honor of her GSP bracemate & she's also retrieving to hand. Because the birds were soggy & not flying, she did catch 2 but brought them to me.

Anyway, Diva did more than enough to qualify although I think her score should have been higher, especially given her brother's performance. To be frank, Quest just pottered. (I can write that because I bred him & he's 50% my dog.) He really didn't (IMO) show good hunting ability although his other 50% owner and handler said he was much improved over the previous day when all he did was pee on everything (he just missed qualifying by 1 pt). Half the time I couldn't tell what Quest was doing - gazing at the galley, sniffing, nosing the air - was it a point or not? Anyway, I think the judges were tired or trying to make up for the large number of fails the day before or were just in a 'spread the good feeling around" mood by the time they got to evaluate Quest because he just squeaked by and got a qualifying score. So all in all a good weekend for 2 of my dogs but it really was Diva's weekend.  Now she's known as Varazs Kedves Quickstep FDJ JH. Way to go Diva!

L - R: Ivy (new V friend), Diva, Quest with qualifying rosettes

SYTYCD - Canine

So You Think You Can Dance? This dog dances far better than I do. Talk about an exceptionally well trained animal! If this doesn't crack a smile, you'd better check your pulse.

Lloyd, the Model

Lloyd's mom (Lloyd, a.k.a. Ch Varazs Nyar Cigany  is from our 2006 litter between Ch Kizmar Touch of Evil and our beloved Nova) sent me some news about Lloyd.  Lloyd was named for the famous architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, whom his owners (and I) admire. Lloyd was photographed by a Toronto pet photographer - Happy Tails Pet Photography. Follow this link to see some great photos of him.  What a handsome boy!

http://happytailsphoto.blogspot.com/2010/08/lloyd-sneek-peek-toronto-ontario-pet.html

http://happytailsphoto.blogspot.com/2010/08/lloyd-toronto-ontario-pet-photographer.html

True to their word

Talk about FAST Only 2 days after I spoke to the company, today Canada Post delivered a 4 kilo box of beef liver cookies from Northern Biscuit Bakery addressed to "Miska". The company was true to their word!!! We LOVE them! Wow, I just can't say enough wonderul things about their customer service, customer care and high quality product. I encourage you to buy these great cookies for your dogs (and horses too!). They will love you for it!

Northern Biscuit Bakery

I've been buying Northern Biscuits for my Vizslas for years. They get 12 paws up from our 3 Vizslas!  Not only are they proudly Canadian-made ("O Canada, we stand on guard for thee") but more importantly, they are "functional treats baked without preservatives or artificial ingredients" according to their website and "ideal snacks as part of a HOLISTIC diet".  My dogs love these cookies.  I love them because I know what goes into them; I trust the company (very important these days!) and I know they use human-grade quality ingredients.

Since multiple dogs share our house and we often have quadruped Vizsla visitors (relatives and friends), the large bulk boxes (4 KG) are what I usually purchase.  Yesterday I opened up the latest box of beef liver flavoured treats I bought from Ren's Pet Depot (Aberfoyle, ON store).  I must admit, I was rather surprised at what I saw and felt.

1. The cookies weren't enclosed in plastic.
2. There were lots of broken pieces.
3. They weren't as hard-baked as the ones I've bought in the past.
4. They were more floury and felt a little dampish.

For that reason, I didn't give any to my dogs. I intended to return them to Rens but knew the probability of finding my receipt was slim although they could probably look my purchases up in their system.  Instead, I went to the Northern Biscuit website at http://www.northernbiscuit.ca/ and clicked on the "Contact Info" link.  I telephoned the company and - hold onto your hats now - I reached a human being immediately!!!  That in itself was a miracle after having recently dealt with another Canadian superglomerate company whose name shall remain anonymous but begins with B and ends with L and has 4 letters and specializes in telecommunications and whose dealings are enough to drive you to imitating the spectacular finish in "Thelma & Louise".  No prizes for guessing that company.

Anyway, I explained the situation to the very nice gentleman on the telephone. He knew immediately what the situation was - the box shouldn't have been made available for sale to the public. He said the cookies were perfectly OK to serve to my dogs but the reason they aren't supposed to be sold is because many were broken and perhaps it was because they were trying out a new recipe. As an example, he explained they were trying grain-free but finding the mixture wasn't binding well at first so the cookies weren't perfect but certainly edible. But the second I told him they weren't enclosed in plastic, he knew what was up.  It meant they were intended for shelters, humane societies, trade shows etc.  rather than for commercial sale. He also explained that the company doesn't like to waste food and that's why they make their perfectly acceptable 'duds' available to needy organizations.

So he said another bulk box would be on its way to me for my dogs. He asked the name of my dog and I said, "I have 3 of them".  "Who's Top Dog?", he asked.  "Miska is!". So the box will be addressed to Miska but she has to share the contents with her half-brother Tyro and her daughter Diva and any other Vizsla relative or friend which visits before the cookies run out.

All I can say is, "What a GREAT company Northern Biscuits" is!!! They care about their customers - the quadrupeds that eat their biscuits and the bipeds that buy them.  I'm sorry I didn't get the name of this nice man.  (Maybe he was the CEO!!)  Of course, if their replacement cookies don't arrive, I may have to change my tune but I'm singing their praises right now.  "O Canada!" I am so grateful for the Northern Biscuit Bakery!

PS - I now haul 2-3 four Kilo boxes of Northern Biscuits to Arizona since I can't buy them there.  Definitely beats anything I can buy down there.

Group 2nd for Quest

CH Varazs Kedves Quester handled by breeder Sylvia Dorosh

In only his second weekend out as a "Special" (all my dogs are special of course; this term means a Champion in dog show language), Quest (Ch Varazs Kedves Quester) achieved far more than I had ever expected! In addition to taking 5 out of 6 Best of Breeds, he placed 2nd in the Sporting Group under Judge Harry Tast of Finland at the St. Catharines dog show in Beamsville, ON on Saturday August 21/10. This placement catapulted him from nowhere to somewhere, i.e., 8th place for Vizslas in Canada in 2010 according to www.canuckdogs.com. (With his Best of Breed wins, he's closer to being in 5th place right now but the count isn't exact.)  Being from Finland and doing a lot of judging in Europe, Mr Tast has seen a lot of true Hungarian Vizslas.  Mr Tast complimented me on Quest by saying, "Now that's a Hungarian Vizsla."

Mr Tast also liked Quest's sister, Diva (Varazs Kedves Quickstep FDJ) giving her Winners Bitch, Best of Opposite over a Specials (champion) bitch for a 2 point win and Best Bred by in Breed (a special category offered by the club on Saturday.)  Thank you to Mr Tast for a wonderful day!

Age is just a number!

We're sooooo proud of Sasha's daughter Mila ( M-OTCH Szuni's Shooting Star CD CDX UD FDJ FD FDX TD AGN AGI AGDC AADC CGC.  At the "young" age of 11 dog years, Mila burned up the agility course at the AAC's (Agility Assoc. of Canada) 2010 Nationals held in Calgary, AB on August 7 & 8, 2010. Don't let the white on Mila fool you! She's still capable of showing up the younger dogs.  Her owner, Susan Scobie, of Vancouver, BC took the trip to the Natinals "just to have fun on a final agility fling”.  Well, the event turned into a bigger ribbon haul than ever expected!  

On Sat, in their 3 runs, Mila placed 5, 6, and 37 out of 45 dogs in the Double Drop Veteran group.  On Sunday, they placed 2, 3 and 13th!  Mila & Sue's overall placing was #7 which got them to the foot of the podium.  Below Susan's sister helps with all the rosettes this dream team won.

 In Susan's words, "Mila, what a dog – and isn’t she just the cutest?   Being on her team has been such a blast for the past 11 years!  Thanks yet again, Mila!" And of course, we can't be any prouder because she's one of our beloved Sasha's kids. I know he's wagging his tail furiously in doggie heaven, thrilled with her latest accomplishment.  HUGE congratulations to Susan and especially MILA!!!

Thorny issue

Diva's walk was cut short yesterday when she came up lame on her L front leg about 15 minutes into our jaunt through the deep woods. I checked her paws and didn't see anything but it was obvious she was in considerable pain because she limped badly. Fortunately we hadn't gone very far or it would have been a very long trek back to the car.  Later in the evening, on closer examination Michael spotted a very tiny mark on her pad, like a minuscule pin head. The head of it was far too tiny for needle nosed pliers so I decided to soak her paw in Epsom salts first. Then I used my regular eyebrow tweezers and finally managed to get a hold of it & pulled.  Out came a 1 cm. thorn! It had gone straight into her paw. Boy, did she feel a whole lot better without that in her foot!

Canine good neighbour

Our Tyro became our newest Canine Good Neighbour (CGN) today at a test held by the Vizsla Society of Ontario at their annual Fun Day. Despite the pouring rain drumming down on the fibreglass roof of the training centre and the swallow or swift doing flight circuits indoors and driving many dogs crazy, Tyro gave me great focus on the heeling pattern, did a fantastic recall & sit stay, showed no fear or excitement walking through a crowd of strangers with buggies, crutches, hats, etc. In other words, he aced all the tests with the exception of one - during the 3 minute stay with me out of sight, he got up from his down position and started to wonder where I was. However, this still qualified as a pass and now Tyro can add the letters CGN to his official registered name. Woo hoo Tyro! Great work.

Lucky 7 for 10!

Happy 7th Birthday to the 10 puppies from our 2003 litter born June 26, 2003. 

Here's to Amber, Hudson, Katya, Miska, Noble, Rachel, Ruby1, Shandy, Vadasz and Zsofi who turn 7 years old today. Barks & wags to all of you! The wonderful parents of this litter were our treasured Sasha (BPG Am/Can CH Varazs Kiraly Sassy Sasha Am/Can CD, Am/Can CDX, FDJ, RN, RA, RE, RAE, TT, CGC, CGN) and our beloved Nova (CH Ferngold Varazs Innovation Can/Am CD FDJ, JH, Am/Can RA, Am RE, Am RAE, CGN).

Last Sunday, all 3 Birthday dogs in our house celebrated their birthdays with a long walk in the woods with Gunner, Miska's son. He couldn't stay for cake but enjoyed the outing before his 'tutoring' surgery the following day. Diva and Miska wore bling & Tyro sported his finest tie for the cake. Here's a photo of the doggie cake (melting in the blazing sun).  That's supposed to be a heart on top. :-)
 

Today, Miska will celebrate her big day by attending the Vizsla Fun Day sponsored by the Vizsla Society of Ontario.  I don't know how much fun she'll have since major rain is in the  forecast.

On Vancouver Island, Shandy will also celebrating with a big cake and a pool party.  Here she is, salivating over her cake.

Puppies turn 4!

Happy 4th Birthday to Lloyd, Lucy 1, Lucy 2, Nika, Ruby, Tessie, Tucker (formerly Chili) and Tyro from our Hudson-Nova litter born June 17, 2006. 

Nova was bred to Am/Can CH Kizmar Touch of Evil JH RN ("Hudson). This was our Nova's second and final litter. There were 8 puppies in this litter, 4 girls and 4 boys. I'm happy all the puppies from that litter are celebrating a birthday. Woo-hoo!!!

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Miska-Ozzie puppies turn 2!

Happy 2nd Birthday to our Miska-Ozzie puppies born June 16, 2008. 

This was a breeding between Ch Hubertus Quality Control FDJ (Ozzie) an Australian import into Canada and our beloved Miska (Am/Can CH Varazs Kiralyi Kedvesem FDJ, FD, NAVHDA NA Prize III, JH, Am/Can CD, Am/Can RN, Am/Can RA, Am/Can RE, CGN).  It produced 6 puppies, two females: Piper and Diva and four males: Andras, Blaze, Gunner and Quest and all are titled in conformation or field.

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Tyro visits Tessie

Since I was in New York state for a hunt test on Sunday June 13 (nothing positive to report about that!), I was only about an hour's drive away from where Tessie (CH Varazs Nyar The Contessa) lives. Tessie is a littermate to our Tyro. I hadn't seen Tessie and her humans for about 2 years so it was wonderful to see everyone and especially wonderful to be able to give Tessie some early birthday kisses & hugs.

 Tessie (L) with brother Tyro

L - R Miska, Diva, Tyro & Tessie