Bon voyage Miss Red

"So kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you'll wait for me
Hold me like you'll never let me go

'Cause I'm leaving on a jet plane
I don't know when I'll be back again
Oh, babe, I hate to go"

John Denver, "Leaving On a Jet Plane"

Miss Red, now Stella (aka Feist) departed on a WestJet plane last Wednesday along with her new owner and mom, Teri Martin of West Vancouver, BC.  Teri had an opportunity to combine business in Toronto with meeting me and picking up her new puppy so everything worked out really well.  Teri brought with her a crate and blanket so Stella got used to them before she had to depart. Stella joins Riley, a black Labrador Retriever and a cat in her new household.  Teri, your life will never the same now that you own a Vizsla!

Perfect angel

Kisses for my new mom

Pictures of Stella on her last day with her breeder and dog family.

   

10 weeks old

Our Miska-Brick puppies are 10 weeks old today. There are two left, waiting to travel to their new homes out west (Alberta and British Columbia). Here are photos of Bentley (Green male) and Stella (Red female) taken in our garden this afternoon.  The one of Yellow girl, now Elsie) was taken yesterday before she left for Buffalo, NY.

Pretty Stella

Handsome Bentley

Elsie (Miss Yellow) at 9 weeks and 6 days

And for a photo of Will (Turquoise boy), go to his owner's blog at:
http://mosaicworksca.blogspot.com/2011/08/im-officially-obsessed.html

Down to 3

Three puppies have gone to their forever homes now and 3 are still with us but that will soon become two later today. Today was the last day Miss Red (now Stella), Miss Yellow (now Elsie) & Mr Green (Bentley) are together as a family unit as Yellow goes to her new home. I took everyone up the road to the neighbour's farm for a romp to tire them out.

Fun in the field

I call these Muffets because they look like the cereal

Stella watching the others

Bentley looking regal

Stella (Red) 'smokin' a stogie

Bentley likes sticks

Elsie (Yellow) looking pretty

Stella uses Tyro as a seat

Uncle Tyro is very accommodating with Stella

Not much difference in size between Stella & Bentley right now

Beautiful Blaze

Blaze (Varazs Kedves Quasar) is from my 2008 litter. His mother is Miska who just whelped her second (and last) litter in May 2011. I used a stud dog imported from Australia, CH Hubertus Quality Control FDJ, to produce Blaze. I happen to love Blaze and think he is a gorgeous Vizsla with lovely conformation: a lot of substance, good bone, good chest & forechest, a nice head and topline. Of course, maybe I have 'kennel blindness' and am biased since I am his breeder; however, I think I  have a good eye for a Vizsla and I can be, and have been, critical of my own dogs.  He is one that would definitely turn my head in a breed line-up.

Blaze being stacked by handler, Larry Clark; photo by B. Tanko

Blaze hasn't finished his Championship title yet but he is extremely deserving of this title. He is sitting on 6 points and needs 4 more in Canada. All of his littermates finished their championship titles very quickly. One reason why Blaze hasn't finished is that there are virtually no other Vizslas being shown in Calgary and to earn points, a dog has to beat members of its own breed or take a placement in the group (Sporting dog group in this case). From what I've been told, the show ring is very competitive in Calgary/Edmonton although the same can be said of cities in Ontario. However, we have a lot more dog shows and a lot more Vizslas being shown in Ontario which is why his 4 other littermates finished their titles (the fifth is in California) because I showed all of them in Ontario. Unfortunately, the dog show ring can be 'political' and sometimes it's the two-legged creature at the other end of the lead that gets noticed more by the judges than the 4-legged one.  Recently Blaze's owners hired a very expensive professional handler (wow, I couldn't believe how expensive this guy is!) and Blaze did 'make the cut' in the Sporting Group but didn't get a placement.  Anyway, I just wanted to brag about this dog because I think he is a terrific looking Vizsla and is deserving to be labeled a Champion and one day, I know he will finish that title.

Please visit this link to see other photos of Blaze as he has his own Blog.

Blaze the Vizsla: Few photos from the latest dogshow

Flower power

Our feisty, fun-loving Miss Red (now called Stella) took great exception to a coneflower and decided to attack it.  Later Mr Green (Bentley) thought he'd give it a try too, but he was far more restrained.  Anyway, Miss Red gave me a very humorous act which I caught on video.

I'm talking to you!!

If you won't listen, I'll eat you!

Crate(r) expectations

Here's evidence of the power of shaping impulse control in dogs, in this case using Susan Garrett's Crate Games strategy. These Vizsla puppies are 9.5 weeks of age and managing to sit still - unrestrained - in their crates with the door open, waiting to be released.  How awesome is that?  Pretty darn awesome.

Country fun

 I took Miska, Tyro and Diva along with the four remaining puppies (2 have gone to their new homes) which turned 9 weeks old on August 2 to our neighbour's farm.  The wheat or hay had just been harvested so it was possible for me to take them into a large field and keep track of where these little guys went. Unfortunately it was a dull, overcast and drizzly day; otherwise the rust colour of the pups against the golden stalks would have been much more dramatic.

Group transport

Turquoise's ears a-flyin'

New smells

Miss Red and the flowers

Wheee!!!

Turquoise boy

Gorgeous Mr Turquoise

Miss Red about to pounce

Diva

Crate expectations

I've been "playing" Susan Garrett's Crate Games with the puppies so that they learn to love their crates. In addition, they are now getting fed their meals in their crates so that the crate has become a very positive place to be. Oh, I forgot to mention that they have been sleeping along in their crates for almost 1 week now. Mind you, the crates are stacked side by side but still, they don't have the warmth of another body under or over them for placation, 

Anyway, this 'game" (i.e., training) is clearly making a difference because when the food bowls appear at meal time, they now eagerly clamber into a crate with no command.  Miss Red, Green (Bentley) and Mr Turquoise were the quickest to learn; Miss Yellow struggled a lot but is almost on par with the others. And that's the whole point of shaping behaviour - you want the dog to make the 'choice' rather than forcing them to do something because you have reinforced the dog greatly for the behaviour.  So while the cue of the food bowls wasn't too surprising, what did surprise me was when I reached to get each a little baby cookie to give them, they immediately ran inside their crate to get their reward!! The mere sound of extracting a cookie from the glass container was enough to cue them into a behaviour.  Well done puppies!!!

Farewell Rita

"Rita"

Lyons Keiralea Of Varazs

October 28, 1996 - August 4, 2011

Rita at age 14

Rita (L) in 2000

I just received word this morning that Karen Johnston and Doug Wheeler said goodbye to Rita today. She would have been 15 in October.  I imported her in January 1997 from US breeder, Joy Lyons of Lyons Vizslas in Florida and later placed her with Karen and Doug.

Rita at 6 months old

Life is too short for dogs.  We get to watch them as puppies all the way through old age.  A dog will give its entire life to pleasing its humans. 

Rest in peace Rita.  You will be greatly missed by 
Karen, Doug, Hannah and Emma.

Good hunting prospects

It looks like we have some very good hunting prospects in this litter. You'd think so since the sire, Brick, has his AKC Master Hunter title and the dam, Miska, carries several hunting titles and loves to hunt!  All the puppies were tested with a wing-on-a-string and a frozen quail. Mr Black and Mr Turquoise had the strongest pointing instincts of the 6.  Each of these puppies locked immediately on point when they saw the wing and Turquoise even pointed a tiny feather on the ground.  All pointed and all were very interested in the frozen quail. It certainly would be nice to see each of these 6 puppies get at least a junior hunting title although I know that won't the case.  (And notice the nice tails on these puppies when they point!)

Mr Green (Bentley) on point

Intense pointing from Turquoise

Miss Red has lovely style

Hey, where's the rest of the bird?

Yellow on point

I ain't moving if it doesn't move

Mr Black finds the quail

I think I'll have a little taste

Black thinks the feet smell or taste good

Turquoise likes this sport!