Elsie's first dog show

Pretty Elsie

Elsie, aka Miss Yellow, aka Varazs Kedvesem Grand Finale born May 31, 2010 out of our Miska-Brick litter attended her first dog shows this past weekend.  And she picked up 4 points towards her CKC Champion title.  And she was also entered in the Vizsla Society of Ontario's 2012 Specialty Show Puppy Sweepstakes and Specialty Show and did very, very well!  Although she didn't take any points at the VSO shows, she was Best Female Puppy in the 12-18 month-old and was Best of Opposite Sex in the Puppy Sweeps which were judged by fellow Vizsla breeder, Alexandria Richard of Kivalo Vizslas who has bred some lovely Vizslas.

Later at the Specialty Show, Elsie was pulled into first place in the Bred-by Exhibitor class by Hungarian judge, Dr. Tamas Jakkel of Budapest but a late participant in the class (due to an error by the show secretary) usurped her win.  She came 2nd in the Bred-By class and went Reserve Winners Bitch.

At other shows throughout the weekend hosted by the Hamilton Kennel Club, Elsie took her 4 points under judges Lisa Avery (Brantford, ON), Michael Hill (Toronto, ON) and sporting dog breeder and judge, Virginia Lyne of Saanichton, BC.  Way to go Elsie!!

Crating in the Vizsla area.  Where is everyone else?

Elsie stacked & being baited

Gaiting around the ring

Elsie (L) and one of her competitors at the Specialty Show

Elsie is Best of Opposite Sex in the Puppy Sweepstakes

More 9th birthday pics

Here are pictures of Shandy and brother Vadasz and sister Miska turning 9 years young (June 26).  Thanks to Chrissie Diron for the photo of Shandy.  I hope to receive a few more pics from the owners of the 7 other puppies from this litter.

Shandy celebrating!

Vadasz (L) and Miska (R)

Happy 9th Birthday!!

HAPPY 9TH BIRTHDAY!!

 

 

10 puppies born June 26, 2003 sired by our Sasha and whelped by our Nova

Celebrating her 9th birthday today is my darling Miska (pronounced MiSHka), aka Mishky-Mishky, Miska-Monkers, along with her 9 littermates: Amber, Hudson, Katya, Noble, Rachel, Ruby, Shandy, Vadasz and Zsofi.  They were sired by my beloved Sasha and whelped by my playful and fun-loving Nova on June 26, 2003.

Miska, 10 days old, July 6, 2003

Miska - 9 years old

Miska at 9 showing lovely conformation still

Charlie visits

Charlie, aka Mr. Black, aka Tunder, aka Varazs Kedvesem Final Frontier born May 31/2011 out of our Miska-Brick litter, visited last week to attend dog shows.  Here are some pictures of him.  He's a very handsome boy, IMO, even though he didn't pick up any points at the shows because his competition was a lovely female Champion.  He is beautifully trained, largely due to my efforts since I had him until he was about 6 months of age.

Charlie (L) with his Uncle Tyro

Mama Miska and Charlie

Charlie stacked

Shandy earns a High in Class!

Shandy, a littermate to our Miska born June 26, 2003 out of our beloved Nova (dam) and Sasha (Sire) earned her first Rally Excellent leg at the Comox Valley Kennel Club (BC) trials and shows on June 10, 2012. And her score (bteween 85 and 89) warranted a High in Class! Congratulations to her owner and handler, Chrissie Diron.

Shandy with her High in Class rosette and prize

Back to back birthdays

We have two litters with back-to-back birthdays this month.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

On June 16th, we celebrate the fourth birthday of our Miska-Ozzie litter - 2 girls and 4 boys born June 16, 2008.  They include: Diva, Piper, Andras, Blaze, Gunner and Quest. 

On June 17 2006, our litter of 8 puppies was born to our beloved Nova and sired by Ch. Kizmar Touch of Evil (Hudson).  They turn six today.  Here's a photo of the puppies at 43 days of age.  The pups are: Nika, Lucy 1 and Lucy 2, Ruby, Lloyd, Tessie, Tucker and Tyro.

 

Proud Mamas

Like any dog breeder and dog owner, I am very proud when my dogs accomplish something. This past weekend was especially exciting since Miska and her son Bodi (DOB May 31, 2011) each took top accolades at the Oxford Dog Sports United Kennel Club shows and trials.  Bodi took a Best in Show and Miska's rally-obedience scores of 100 and 98 earned her two High In Trial awards.  Here are a few more photos from the weekend, thanks to Corrine Sellars, Bodi's owner.

Ticked pink with Bodi's Best in Show award

Mama Miska and son Bodi with their HIT & BIS rosettes

Proud mama with Miska's 2 HIT rosettes

High In Trial & first UKC rally titles

Miska with her first High in Trial & score of 100 with judge Deb Beean, Ithaca, MI

Anyone who does obedience or rally-obedience likes to earn a High In Trial which means the dog has earned the highest score of all the dogs entered in a trial.  So I was thrilled that Miska earned not one but TWO HIGH IN TRIALs at the Oxford Dog Sports United Kennel Club rally-obedience trials held this past weekend in Princeton, Ontario.  I expected her to do well since she has several other rally and obedience titles but the venue was outdoors and the weather ranged from cool to damp, to drizzling to pouring rain to hot and steamy.  That means expect the unexpected or perhaps the expected since most Vizslas don't like doing anything in the rain unless it involves hunting and most dogs don't do well in extreme heat which we had on day 2.

Nevertheless, Miska didn't let me down and earned her UKC Rally Level 1 (URO1) title with 2 firsts and 1 second place along with the two High in Trials.  She also earned a qualifying score and second place towards her Level 2 title.  And her half-brother Tyro also earned his UKC Rally Level 1 (URO1) title with second and third placements and a Q towards his Level 2 title and a 4th place.

Miska finishing her URO1 title with a HIT under judge Laurie Soutar

Miska and Tyro, drenched after our rally trial

B is for . . .

• Bodi
• Brags
• Best in Show

Bodi is a male puppy from our May 31, 2011 litter sired by Int'l BIS BISS Am/Int'l CH Pirok Tegla MH (Brick) and out of my Miska aka BIS (Veteran) AKC/CKC/Int'l/UKC CH Varazs Kiralyi Kedvesem FDJ, FD, NAVHDA NA Prize III, JH, AKC/CKC CD, AKC CDX, AKC/CKC RE, AKC RAE, AGNJS, URO1, CGN, CGC, TDI.  It's time to Brag about Bodi to my followers and blog readers. 

As of today, Bodi is a mere 1 year and 11 days old and he and his devoted owner, Corrine Sellars, have accomplished the following:

• earned 3 titles before 1 year of age in three different areas - field, rally and obedience:
• Canine Good Neighbour (CGN - CKC), January 14, 2012
• Rally, Level 1 (URO1 - UKC), April 15, 2012
• Field Dog Jr. (FDJ - CKC), May 20, 2012

• placed 1st in his class (9-12 month old puppy dog) at the Regional National Specialty show in Huron OH in conjunction with the Vizsla Club of America's National Specialty events and 4th place in the 9-12 month old puppy dog) class at the VCA's National Specialty show 
• earned 1 leg towards his American (AKC) Rally Novice title
• acquired 9 points towards his Canadian (CKC) Champion title
• awarded Best in Show at an all-breed United Kennel Club show.

Needless to say, Breeder Mom and Mama Miska are very proud of his accomplishments at this tender age.  I've always prided myself on breeding good all-around, versatile Vizslas and Bodi is already proving from a very young age that he's got what it takes to be a Versatile Vizsla in the truest sense of the word - and just like his Mama.

Here are some photos of Bodi.

Completing his UKC Rally Level 1 (URO1) title with a 3rd place

Best of Winners at 6 months of age

Bodi's booty haul from the Regionals and Nationals in Huron OH

Bodi and Corrine earning his first AKC rally-obedience leg

1st place, 9-12 month old class, Regional Specialty show

Ecstatic breeder-mom/handler seconds after being awarded Best in Show

Best in Show (UKC) with judge Joy Leiskau of Baden, ON

 

Oh, SOOOO close!

Yesterday Miska and I competed in two Open (obedience) trials, hoping to earn her last 2 legs for her Canadian Companion Dog Excellent (CDX) title.  Last fall she earned her first CKC leg and then earlier this year she finished her AKC CDX.  So having recently trialed, I was hopeful she would do well enough to get two passes and her title. 

Well, things never quite go according to [my] plan.  But I should focus on the POSITIVE.  Despite very little practice in the last couple of months (because we were focusing more on agility), Miska's first trial went very well.  It was my first time in many years competing in the "B" class which now mixes up the order of the exercises and this was sooooooo refreshing!  Her heeling was pretty good, retrieving and jumping were awesome and she had some very good fronts and finishes.  Only one one exercise did Miska do the unexpected.  There was a very prominent chalk mark on the black floor to indicate where the handler and dog were to set up in front of the high jump.  I was doing a 'finish' after the retrieve on the flat and sent Miska around the back of me which is when she spotted the line several feet away and had to go check it out.  I kept my mouth shut and the judge & I waited to see what she would do.  After she satisfied her curiousity. she returned to heel position.  We lost a mark or two for a poor finish but that was all.  So wasn't I absolutely thrilled to learn she not only passed (yeah!) with a score of 193 but placed 4th in her class!!  Hip hip hooray!! As we were competing in the company of some of Canada's top obedience handlers and dogs, it was quite an achievement to get a placement with such illustrious competitors.

Nice software

At that point, I was feeling confident of a second pass.  We were in a different ring under a different judge for trial #2.   Miska's heeling wasn't as good; for some reason she just didn't like heeling into the corner of this room where the same thing happened the previous night at a class.  However, I felt she'd still pass and she did really well on all the other exercises.  The broadjump has often been our nemesis, with her walking through or onto the jumps but she cleared them both times with great enthusiasm.  Then it came time for the 3 minute our of sight sit-stay which she aced about 40 minutes earlier.  When I returned to the ring, my heart sank.  She had stood up which means an automatic FAIL.  However the judge said Miska had laid down at around 2:34 and then stood up!  Had it not been for this little glitch, she would have had a xcore of 192.5 and her title.  Grrrrr!!!

But what can you do?  Despite the promise of another steak dinner, Miska did it her way.  I think she just likes to see me spend money!!  I KNOW she'll finish her CDX.  It's just a matter of when.

Happy 1st Birthday!

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY to our 2011 litter. 

Minutes to a couple of hours old on May 31, 2011

Happy Birthday and best wishes to the 6 puppies born May 31, 2011 to Mama "Miska" and Papa "Brick". Four boys and two girls (the exact same combination as in Miska's first litter):  Bentley (Mr. Green), Bodi (Mr Blue), Charlie (Mr Black), Elsie (Miss Yellow), Stella (Red) and William (Turquoise).

Bentley, first born and just minutes old

Exhausted Mama Miska with her six newborn whelps on May 31

The following head shots were taken on June 4, 2011 when the pups were four days old.

Bentley

Bodi

Elsie

Charlie

Stella

William

Parade of Titleholders

Miska parading around the ring in Huron, OH

Sasha with his Parade of Titleholders rosette (2003)

At each national event held by the Vizsla Club of America is a Parade of Titleholders.  This is a non-regular and optional event in which one can enter a titled dog and receive a very lovely rosette in return (of course one pays a fee for this!).  The dogs get to parade around the ring to the applause of the audience.  I have done it in the past with our dearly departed and wonderful Sasha and this year (2012 in Huron Ohio) was my opportunity to pay tribute to his daughter, Miska.  I was only allowed to put her American titles on the entry form but below, in full form, is her latest official reg'd name with all her titles (22 in total as of May 20, 2012 - 1 more than she had at the time of the entry).  And below is the blurb I submitted for the catalogue (restricted to 50 words max).

Int'l BIS & RBIS (Veteran), AKC/CKC/Int'l/UKC CH Varazs Kiralyi Kedvesem FDJ, FD, NAVHDA NA Prize III, JH, AKC/CKC CD, AKC CDX, AKC/CKC RE, AKC RAE, AGNJS, CGN, CGC, TDI

"Miska has earned 21 titles in various venues in two countries. She just completed her CDX and will start competing in agility.  Since Miska loves to retrieve the damned bird before another dog does, she would have had her SH by now. Miska is a joy and taught me to be careful about what behaviors I reinforce!"

2 Agility titles!

For the first time in 8 years, I entered and ran some agility trials.  The hiatus was largely due to:

1. knee injuries involving surgery and  casts
2. too busy raising and showing puppies
3. too busy doing other stuff with my 3 dogs such as rally, conformation, field and obedience.

So it was really wonderful to return to competition with 8-year old Miska and her 3-year old daughter, Diva at the same venue in Kitchener-Waterloo ON where I had previously trialed with my Vizsla, Keira who was awesome at agility.  In all, despite very high heat and lots of sun this past weekend. we survived our first weekend of agility trials, returning home with 2 new titles and 2 legs towards another title for both Miska and Diva.

Miska

In the five trials Miska ran (the club screwed up our sixth), Miska placed 1st every time! And she had 3 clean runs. 

May 19, Judge Danielle Levangie. Trial 1, Novice Select, 16": 100/100 & 1st place. Trial 3, Novice Jumpers with Weaves Select - 100 & 1st.  

May 20, Judge Joan Greenwald, Trial 4: Novice Select, 16": 90/100 & 1st. Trial 5, Novice JWW Select: 90/100 & 1st.  Trial 6, JWW: 100/100 & 1st. New title: Agility Novice Jumpers - Select (AGNJS).   This is Miska's 22nd title.

Miska with her 1st place rosettes and finishing title rosette

Here is Miska running her final Jumpers With Weaves run for her title.  She misses the entrance to the weaves but did them successfully.

Diva

Diva ran 6 trials and she's got lots more speed than her mom but she needs more focus on me and also needs to perfect her turns, contacts and jumping technique.  So she actually didn't do as well as her Mom Miska but still managed to get 5 Q's with two 1sts and 3 second place finishes along with a new title of Agility Novice (AgN) so I was very happy.

 

May 19, Judge Danielle Levangie. Trial 1, Novice B Standard, 20": 85/100 & 2nd place. Trial 2, 100/100 and 1st. Trial 3, Novice B Jumpers with Weaves DNQ - overtime. 

May 20, Judge Joan Greenwald, Trial 4: Novice B Standard, 20": 90/100 & 2nd. Trial 5, Novice B, Jumpers with Weaves: 100/100 & 1st.  Trial 6, JWW: 90/100 & 2nd.

Diva with her agility rosettes

Mother's Day

In addition to honoring two-legged mothers on this special Mother's Day, I want to pay tribute to our four-legged mothers (or dams as they are referred to in the doggie world).  All of these female Vizslas, owned and/or bred by Varazs Perm. Reg'd Vizslas, were wonderful mothers to their puppies, which is such an important contribution to the offspring's temperament and behaviour as future adult dogs. 

Here's to you: Nekah, Abby, Tasha, Nova and Miska!!  Thank you for being such wonderful dams to your whelps and for producing such beautiful and wonderfully talented offspring. (Notice that each of these female Vizslas is titled at both ends of their names which means they meet and/or exceed the breed standard and are versatile and talented in performance events.)

Our foundation dam, Am/Can CH Maritza of Kezdet Nekah Am/Can CD, CGC, "Nekah" who produced 21 puppies.

 

Nekah with her first litter, born Dec. 31, 1992

Nekah winning the Brood Bitch class with daughters Keira & Abby at the 2000 Vizsla Canada Specialty Show

2012 VCA Nationals, Vadasz

It's taking me a little while to post since we just arrived back in the Great White North from a long sojourn in AZ and I am still unpacking and getting settled in.   On our way back to Canada, we did a detour via Huron Ohio where I attended the Vizsla Club of America's 2012 National Specialty show with two Vizslas from my 2003 litter, Vadasz and his sister Miska.  And Miska's son, Bodi, from her 2nd litter was also there.  More about Miska and Bodi later!

Here is a tribute to Vadasz whom I showed in Veteran Sweepstakes and the Best of Breed competitions.  What a sweetie he is!

Here's a link to the Youtube video if the link below doesn't work for you (it won't open on my computer for some reason).