Dog parks, a necessary evil

I mentioned in an earlier post that I am not a fan of dog parks, mainly because of diseases and germs that are spread from feces and between strange dogs. And sometimes there are acts of aggression and fights between dogs. So initially I was very nervous taking my dogs to a leash-free park here in Glendale, AZ because they aren't used to this type of situation. And, they are valuable show, competition and breeding dogs. At home in Ontario Canada, they run off leash in wooded areas where we generally don't run into other people and dogs. It's dangerous to do that here in Arizona (cactus, rattlesnakes, broken glass everywhere).

Glendale AZ's leash-free park rules say no treats and no squeaky toys (gets dogs too excited the sign says and this may result in fights) & your dog can be banned if it's aggressive or picks fights. I don't take squeaky toys with me but, no treats? How am I going to reward my dogs for exhibiting good behaviour? I did break that rule at first.

Glendale Foothills park actually has 3 runs. The larger area has a small enclosure for small dogs & a much larger area for big dogs. It is closed on Wednesdays for maintainance. The third area is a little larger than the small run for small dogs & it's used by all dogs on Wednesdays and can get very crowded.

The first time we visited the park was a Wednesday; only the third (small) area was open. Fortunately Michael came with me so we could supervise our 4 dogs carefully. I think another rule is only 2 dogs / owner-handler. Miska is alpha dog/bitch in our household and she's used to bossing our dogs around. Tyro is an intact male. I was most concerned about these two. Miska did try to assert some dominance with a couple of dogs who ventured too close to her but I had to reward her when she showed proper behaviour so sneaked her some treats when she started ignoring the dogs that came close. With Tyro, it was more the case of watching to see how the other dogs behaved with him, especially males, both intact and neutered. Tyro is not an aggressive male. It's neutered males who are usually more of a problem with intact males. Anyway, I was relieved there were no issues or incidents that day. The only 'incident' was the Diva got an upset tummy. This happened twice, both times after visiting the leash-free parks. Coincidence? Who knows.

The next time, the larger park was open again & I went without Michael. I was very nervous and didn't know what to expect. Initially I took two girls out first, supervised them - they always wait to poop at the dog park - in case I had to clean up. When I was comfortable with things, I went back and brought out the other 2 dogs. Fortunately, there weren't many dogs or people there at that time. I guess I break the regulation since I have 4 dogs (1 owner) but my guys are usually better behaved and more responsive than most of the other dogs at the park. Generally, they want to be with me rather than interacting with other dogs.

Diva, however, is a social butterfly - like Nova, her grandma - & wants to visit other people and dogs. Being a puppy, she also really wants to play with other dogs. I don't usually worry about her except she did get grazed by a fat Dachshund who didn't want to play with her. (It was a day when the other 2 parks were closed for maintainance so all dogs were forced into the smaller area. Many of the leash-free parks here have a separate area for small dogs and a much larger park for the big dogs.) Diva was doing her play bow but he didn't want to play & eventually told her so. Her skin wasn't broken but she acted like it was. Tyro also loves to run and chase and so far, there have been no issues with other males.

Unlike some owners, I am constantly watching my dogs & walking around with them so they get exercise because Nova and Miska don't tend to play. They aren't into playing fetch or chasing other dogs. Thus I never sit on the benches or rarely stop & chat with people. It's not that I'm unfriendly but I don't want my dogs getting injured or doing something stupid. Watching 4 dogs is a lot more work than with only 1.

I've noticed some 'regulars' at the park & feel OK with their dogs. A number of people have specifically commented on how beautiful my dogs are - they haven't said 'well behaved too' but I think if they didn't feel positive, they probably wouldn't say anything at all or it would be a negative comment.

So while I still am not crazy about dog parks, I am impressed with the ones they have here as they are well provided for and well maintained. I may visit them once per week, mainly to give my knees a rest from all the walking I do with them on leash. Or when Michael & I have been busy during and I don't have 2 hours to spare to walk them. Then it's off to the leash free park for some fun with other dogs.

Puppy tails, epilepsy study

Before we left for Arizona, I finally had my vet send off the tails from our last litter (born June 16, 2008) to extract DNA for the Vizsla Epilepsy study. I had to wait until all the CKC registrations were complete before I could ship the tails. I also drew blood from Miska and her brother Vadasz (5.5 yr), Tyro (2.5) and Nova who is their mom (9.5 yr.) - all dogs in my breeding program or out of my kennel to send with the tails. To date, none of these dogs have seized but it's still important to participate in health studies like this. It is hoped that one day, a marker will be found for this health problem in Vizslas (as well as a some other breeds).

For more information about health issues and research studies in Vizslas, go to:
http://vcaweb.org/welfare/research.shtml

Another ribbon haul for Milo

Hamburg, NY - 11th day of 2009 - Milo the Magnificent Earns his 11th Title

After logging 650 miles and 14½ hours in the car over 3 days between Toronto Ontario and Hamburg, New York, Corrine Sellars and Milo returned home with their AKC Companion Dog (CD) title PLUS two legs towards their AKC Rally Advanced title!!! Corrine emailed to say they also got 3rd place in Novice obedience with a 189-1/2. They had a run-off for 2nd but the judge said R turn but she did an about turn and when he repeated R turn, she went left. She jokingly wrote, "Great Dog - Shame about the Handler". Now Milo is known as Varazs Mokany Ficko FDJ, RN (AKC), RN (CARO), SSGDC, SADC, AG.N.J., CL1-R, AG.N., RACL, CD (AKC), CGN

This was a great accomplishment for this team. In the past year or more, Corrine had some real struggles with Milo 'zoning out' or freezing in agility and also being stressed at rally trials. On Friday, he was a HIT outside of the ring, impressing everyone with his repertoire of tricks. (Playing tricks with your dog is a great way to relax and de-stress.) Milo recovered quickly when something concerned him and he entered and exited both runs with enthusiasm (stays and stand were perfect, good figure eight, improved set-ups. Congratulations Corrine and Milo on a great performance!

Poop, poop & more poop

I am sure that on our street in Glendale, almost every household owns a pet. I hear the dogs bark as I walk my Vizslas along the streets; sometimes they bark at 6 am in the morning when their owners are getting ready for work. I don't often see them though. Maybe they get walked early in the morning or late at night. Clearly some dogs do get walked because I see the evidence - mounds of poop that never gets picked up! There is tons of it around. I am shocked and disgusted at how much dog poop litters the sidewalks, verges and trails here. It reminds me of Italy and France years ago. I couldn't find any "stoop and scoop" regulation for Glendale, other than in the dog parks and on hiking trails in recreation areas. But lots of people still don't bother to clean up on the hiking trails even though there are waste bins and sometimes bags provided.

Most people visiting the leash free parks are pretty good but even there, I've done my civic duty and cleaned up other dogs' waste. Some people totally ignore their dogs at the dog park. One woman was reading her book while her dog played with others and then pooped. I called out, "who owns this dog?" to order to identify the owner so she would clean up after her pet. I'm sure these people wouldn't consider themselves to be irresponsible pet owners. They probably aren't - except for one category.

At one very nice, pet friendly hotel we stayed at in Albuquerque, New Mexico, despite the bags provided to owners, the waste bins, and the signs to clean up after your pet, many guests still didn't.

Dog owners - PLEASE CLEAN UP AFTER YOUR PETS!!! It's not just disgusting to look at, smell, and step in - it's UNHEALTHY to leave dog poop around.

Is your dog worth $1.00?

I just received the following bulletin from the Dogs in Canada Blog. ALL dog owners must help to fight and overturn this legislation. I just donated $50 to the challenge. How about you?

Breed Specific Legislation UPDATE - Supreme Court of Canada Challenge

Breed-specific legislation (BSL) came to Ontario in the form of Bill 132 and became law in August 2005. The bill established restrictions against owning, breeding, transferring, importing or abandoning "pit bulls" (defined as being Pit Bull Terriers, Staffordshire Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers, American Pit Bull Terriers or any dog that has an appearance and physical characteristics substantially similar to any of those breeds).

The Dog Legislation Council of Canada (DLCC) and members of Banned Aid took up the fight against BSL and are now headed to the Supreme Court of Canada, but they need your help to get there.

This fight affects all dogs and fanciers because, "All breeds and mixes are now just a bad news story away, one pen stroke away from being wiped out by our government," states DLCC president LeeAnn O'Reilly.

The DLCC needs to raise $67,000 by the end of January. Thus they launched the Dollars for Dogs campaign and are asking dog lovers to donate a dollar for every dog they own and love.

For more information about the DLCC and their campaign, you can read the Dogs in Canada blog or visit the DLCC's site to learn how to donate.

First anniversary of our Sasha's death

January 22 2009 is the first anniversary of our Sasha's death. It's a hard day for me because I miss him so much. He would have turned 16 on Dec, 31, 2008. It would have been so wonderful if he could have accompanied us to Arizona. He loved to travel and would have enjoyed the warmth of the weather and just being with me. He definitely was a mamma's boy! That wasn't to be but he's in my heart, my soul, and my memories.

Here is Sasha at around 5 months of age. He still needs to grow into his ears!



And a photo of Sasha and me in our younger days, doing obedience in which he excelled. He scored a first in Open A under judge John Harvey who is a tough judge. We were thrilled!



Below is a photo of Sasha with the Tibor Rieter Trophy for Versatility which Sasha earned at the age of 15 from the Vizsla Society of Ontario. This was taken just a day or two before Sasha died.



Our accomplishments were many but what matters more to me right now is just the memory of my wonderful and loving dog, Sasha.

Dear Sasha,

Oh Sasha, I love and miss you dearly but I can smile at my wonderful memories of you and our terrific accomplishments. We did so many great things together. And because of you, your temperament, your accomplishments, others were inspired to achieve various accomplishments so you live on not just in my thoughts and actions but in others' too. You are beyond our physical world in a place where I can't pet you anymore or hold you or feed you or walk you or compete with you in dog sports. But your spirit is here with me and one day, we will be reunited.

All our love Sylvia & Michael

SEPARATE LIFETIMES

We who choose to surround ourselves
with lives even more temporary than our
own, live within a fragile circle;
easily and often breached.
Unable to accept its awful gaps,
we would still live no other way.
We cherish memory as the only
certain immortality, never fully
understanding the neccesary plan....

--- Irving Townsend ---
"The Once Again Prince"

Life for dogs in Glendale AZ

Glendale AZ loves dogs. Regulations allow 4 per household, that's one more than municipalities in Ontario allow, even in the rural areas. And everyone here seems to own a dog, or 2 or 3, judging from the barks/growls I hear while walking along the streets with my dogs. I can't see most of them because the vast majority of fencing is made with solid cement block. That makes for better privacy but dogs don't get to see what's beyond their world, unless their humans take them outside of their yard. Although every household in this neighborhood seems to own a canine, I wonder how many dogs get exercised outside of their 'compound'.

Glendale also has 3 leash-free parks. I've only been to one here, Foothills, and I must admit, it was quite impressive compared to the 2-3 I've seen or been to at home. Foothills Leash-free park is about a 12 minute drive from our rental house. It has shade covers, water, benches for humans, some agility stations, and lots of garbage bins and pooper-scoopers. There's a separate area for small dogs, and a larger area for bigger dogs. By my standards, it's quite large and very well maintained. Here are some photos of our first visit to the Foothills leash free park. Fortunately (for me), it was almost empty as I was quite nervous to let my dogs loose with others that I didn't know.



Life for my dogs is different from at home. They can't run free, not only because of local regulations, but because there are dangers lurking in them thar hills. The biggest danger at this time of year is cactus. At warmer times of the year, a more severe danger is rattlesnakes. Arizona has 13 species of rattlesnakes, more than any other state. And they live in the hills and mountains that surround our area. I have spoken to some dog owners about the rattlesnake danger and one fellow said he found one in his back yard. Another told me I shouldn't worry about rattlers at this time of year. But I'm not taking any chances, especially with Miska and Nova who are avid hunters. They haven't been trained to leave snakes alone because frankly, we don't have many at home, just the occasional, 'friendly' garter snake. I've always tried to discourage them from snakes but having seen them hunt raccoons for example, once their hunting instinct takes over, they don't always listen to mama when she screams, "leave it".

So, it's long leash walks for my dogs. That's not a bad thing, especially for me, because it means I am getting a lot more exercise. I take 2 dogs out a time. There's a hydro corridor a couple of blocks away and some man-made and natural walking trails exist along this corridor. We walk mainly up and down it a few times and sometimes I explore the neighbourhood. There are streets that have wide sidewalks and bike lanes that give us more distance from passing cars. The dogs usually get 50 - 60 minutes of brisk walking / day (that's almost 2 hours for me!). They also get to go in / out into the small yard we have here. Much of the yard is taken up with the pool, which unfortunately isn't heated (the water is freezing cold!) so all I do is stick my feet in after a long, hot walk.




The pooches seem genuinely tired at night because they sleep most of the evening. The heat also makes them drowsier too. About once / week, I take them to the dog park, mainly to give my knees a break but to give them some fun.

Happy New Year from Glendale, AZ

We were so happy to be settled into our new rental house in Glendale, AZ for New Year's eve. Here is a photo of the dogs with Diva in front and the others snuggled in their Bowser Bed.

Being new to the area, we didn't have an opportunity to research parties or dinners. So we spent a quiet evening in our new house, surrounded by our dogs, and enjoying the warmer weather than at home. I guess we were more tired from our long drive than we anticipated because we fell asleep before midnight. Michael roused me just as AZ was ringing in the New Year with a repeat of Times Square celebrating 2 hours earlier. We had bought a bottle of bubbly but it would have gone to waste so decided to keep it for another occasion.

It was both a happy and sad occasion. We were happy to be in a warm climate, happy to be together but sad to be away from our good friends Colleen & Raynal with whom we have celebrated many a new year and also sad because Dec. 31 was the birthday of our beloved Sasha from our very first Vizsla litter born in 1992 whom we lost in January 2008.

Anyway, a belated Happy New Year & all the best in 2009 from Sylvia, Michael & the Varazs Vizslas.

Voyage to Arizona

High winds and major rain and t-storms originating from the US mid-west had us adjust our itinerary when we departed Moffat, Ontario for Arizona on Dec. 27, 2008. We headed more directly south to Indiana instead of going west to Chicago. As a result, we were fortunate to avoid almost all of the heavy rain, severe thunder storms & high winds that affected several states & Ontario. But the drive through Indiana was very boring - it's very flat, mainly farmland & there were miles & miles of it. T he section of Illinois we drove through was much the same. Oh, I forgot to mention that much of these states were under water due to the rapidly melting snow & heavy rains. There were mini lakes everywhere. Most of the central & mid-west US is pretty uninteresting geographically if you're sticking to the Interstates to get somewhere which we are doing.

Missouri was a little more interesting because of rolling hills & trees. Below, the famous arch in St. Louis and a photo of Busch stadium.




Then Oklahoma was flat again, and mostly farmland. We crossed the entire state of OK from 1 side to another.

Just when we didn't think it could get any flatter, it did in the Texas Panhandle. Boy, it's as flat as I remember Saskatchewan to be. You can see for hundreds of miles in the Texas Panhandle, except there is nothing to see! - apart from windmill farms and vast herds of cattle. What I learned is that the Texas Panhandle has been identified as one of the fastest-growing wind-power-producing regions in the nation over the past decade because of its strong, steady winds. Pretty exciting stuff - not!

Welcome to New Mexico
Once we hit the western part of the Texas panhandle and then into New Mexico, the geography finally started to get more interesting with buttes, mesas, rock formations, mountains, canyons, etc. And there was also some snow.



In Albuquerque we found a brand new, very nice pet friendly hotel, La Quinta Inn Suites. It was the nicest accommodation of our entire trip. The hotel has a lovely enclosed courtyard specifically to run dogs leash free. It's small but it was better than nothing after our dogs had endured 3 days in crates in the car without any walks/runs. Unfortunately, despite the signs, the doggy do bags provided for dog owners, people at this hotel still didn't clean up after their pets!!! I spent time and effort cleaning up after a lot of pet owners, on their behalf. Grrrrr.

Traffic was light on our trip, even in rush hour in major cities like Tulsa & Albuquerque. Traffic in these cities is nothing like Toronto rush hour which last 18 hours/day, 7 days a week. It's awful driving the greater Toronto area at any time of the day now. I hate it.

Our most exciting "events" on the trip were a possible sighting of a bald eagle (or maybe it was a vulture) and a red-tailed hawk carrying a rabbit, flying low over the highway right in front of us. Other than that, it was just millions of acres of land, water, trees, farms, cattle & cars.

As to Tyro and his travel anxiety? Well, a few drops of Lavendar oil were good for about 3 or 4 hours. He never dropped his head or closed his eyes the entire time in the van; nor did he sleep at all. After the 2nd day, I put in a donut bed in his crate, hoping he would at least rest his head. He sort of did, but still didn't close his eyes. At least he didn't pant for the most part. Needless to say once we got settled into the hotel at night, he was out cold. It obviously wasn't great for him, but at least he wasn't so stressed that it was terrible. He 'endured' it.

Welcome to Arizona!
Dec. 30th, 6:30 pm - we finally rolled up to our new temporary digs in Glendale. AZ. It took us the better part of 4 days to reach our destination safely and without incident. We are so looking forward to our sojourn.

I'm slowly catching up on our blog stories and there will be more about our life here in AZ soon.

Finding a pet friendly rental home

Having decided to venture to Arizona meant finding a pet-friendly rental home that would accept 4 Vizslas. Yikes! I know it's hard finding places that will accept animals because there are a lot of irresponsible pet owners out there. I found that most landlords only accept 2 (small) dogs. I had 4 Vizslas I wanted to bring. Would I find the perfect place?

I found a few websites for rental homes but many restricted the number and size of dogs they would accept. Interestingly, when I was able to talk to prospective landlords on the phone and told them that our dogs are show dogs and that they train and compete in obedience events, and they travel with me to hotels & so have to be well behaved - which is all true - that made a big difference. Landlords generally became more open to hosting us and our dogs. Of course, they had to accept my word on face value but it did ease some initial potential resistances. I wanted to be honest with these people about our dogs but I also didn't want to be turned down.

In the end, I found a great pet friendly home in Glendale AZ. It even has a pet door. My dogs are not used to a pet door and quite frankly, I prefer to supervise their coming and going because I want to teach my dogs not to go through a door without permission. I need to know what they are doing outdoors, especially because this home has a pool. I don't have a high opinion of pet doors. I lump them in with Flexis. (I've got my flame suit on, just in case.) I also watch what my dogs do outdoors. I don't want them eating stuff they shouldn't and I also don't want them barking unwarranted. My dogs aren't used to living in a city so I wasn't sure what to expect. It will all be a new experience for all of us. Can't wait to get to Arizona!

Tyro's travel anxiety

Having made the decision to spend January and February in Arizona and buying a new van, the plan included driving, rather than flying, and it also meant taking our dogs with us. However, we deliberated leaving Tyro behind with my good friend Joan White. Joan has dogsat Tyro several times. The reason for our indecision is that Tyro is not a good traveller. He wasn't always that way. For the first year of his life, he was fine in a car. Tyro and Sasha always went together in the car for their swims at Luv My K9's. But it was after we lost our Sasha that Tyro began to get anxious in a moving vehicle. He's fine when it's stopped but the motion now upsets him and after about 5 minutes sometimes, he starts to pant.



But two months is a long time to be separated and I knew it would be hard for Joan to give him up when we return. However, traveling for 4 days straight, about 9 hours/day over 2000 miles is a long time for a dog that is anxious. I had to find a solution. Rescue Remedy didn't work for him, nor did a prescription anti nausea medication. I had read in Dogs in Canada magazine about the therapeutic effects of lavender oil. The scent has a calming effect which may aid in relaxation and the reduction of anxiety. Also, lavender can be used to prepare for meditation because it balances mind and body, promoting a sense of stillness, according to Wikipedia. So I experimented with it on short trips. It worked! I couldn't believe it. A couple drops of lavender oil virtually stopped Tyro's panting. But, would it reduce his anxiety enough for 4 days of traveling? More in another post.

New Vizslimo

Much of late November and December was spent looking for a new van. We had decided to venture to Arizona in search of better weather for January and February. Our (now former) 2000 Toyota Sienna racked up almost 240,000 km in the 6 years we had owned it; much of that mileage was traveling to/from dog shows. We didn't think this van would make it to and from Arizona from Ontario, Canada - the round trip is 7,200 KM or 4,470 miles - plus all the driving while in Arizona.

Like many dog-owning humans, we make many purchase decisions to accommodate our four-legged family companions. I go to a lot of dog shows and trials with multiple dogs so our vehicle has to have a lot of space to carry all the dog equipment.

It was a great time to buy a car because of the worsening economy. We decided to stick with the Toyota Sienna although we were tempted by the Honda Odyssey which has very good ratings and reviews. But the newer Siennas have a bit more cargo space than the Odysseys and we needed every extra inch of space we could get for this trip. Having traveled with dogs before, I know that their crates and other stuff take up most of the cargo area, living little extra for humans' luggage.

In the end, we got a good deal on a very low mileage, 2006 Sienna that was imported into Ontario from Florida. The body was rust-free as it hadn't been exposed to winter salt. It also has lots of features our old van didn't have, including stow-n-go rear seats, an automatic side door (that's really neat), and side windows that open - a real plus when you own dogs. Corrine Sellars who owns Milo, sent me this neat website http://www.dogcars.com/ to help you select a vehicle for dogs. The latest model got the paws up. I am thrilled with our new "Vizslimo".

Puppy update - Quest and Piper, Dec. '08

Here are some recent shots of Quest and Piper from our last litter born June 16, 2008. Quest is still looking thin from some bug that he contracted but he's putting on weight again. These photos were taken at our last puppy class in mid-December.

I visited Piper and her family just before Christmas. Her owners, Cynthia & Greg, took these lovely shots of her with her holiday bells on. Piper is a very pretty girl, nice and compact, with lots of growing still to do.

Chloe is a senior Vizsla

Chloe (Varazs Chloe's Spring Cantata) is out of our June 1997 litter. She will be turning 12 in June of 2009. Her owner, Lana Pavelick of Winnipeg Manitoba, sent me this recent photo of Chloe at Christmas time. I love the senior dogs. Chloe is just as pretty with white hair on her face as she was when she was younger. Thanks Lana for sending me this beautiful picture of Chloe.

Kaiser takes Best of Breed!

On December 12 and 13, I had the priviledge of showing Blackbullet Jumpn Crackerjack aka "Kaiser", bred by Sherryanne Farr and Wes Daniels of Alberta Canada, at the Orangeville dog show in Ontario, Canada. Kaiser is actually 'family' to my dogs. His dad is Am/Can/Int'l CH Kizmar Touch of Evil JH, RA "Hudson" who sired our 2006 litter with CH Ferngold Varazs Innovation etc. "Nova". But Kaiser is also closely related to our dogs on his mom's side as he is a son of CH Blackbullet Varazs Legacy NAVHDA NA "Jewel" who is a daughter of CH Varazs On Point At Blackbullet "Amber", whom I sent to Sherryanne almost 11 years ago to become her foundation Vizsla bitch.

Kaiser's lovely family recently moved from Alberta to Ottawa, Ontario. Sherryanne asked if I would handle him as he still needs several points to finish his Cdn championship. I agreed and finally had the opportunity to meet Kaiser and his owner, Carey in December. Carey had done a fabulous job training him for the show ring so he was a delight to handle and he also has a fabulous temperament, just like his half-brother, Tyro, who is one of my dogs sired by CH Kizmar Touch of Evil JH, RA "Hudson".

There was only 1 other Vizsla entered on Saturday and Sunday and it was a champion. For Kaiser to pick up a point, he had to beat this Champion and take Best of Breed. Fortunately, that's what happened both days and so we added 2 more points to his tally. I think Kaiser is up to 5 points now. Next spring/summer, Carey and her husband will make the trek south from Ottawa for more dog shows and hopefully, we'll finish his championship.

Lloyd's Ball(s)

On December 7, Lloyd's owners threw a party for him. The theme was "It's a Ball' to 'celebrate' his neuter surgery since Lloyd wasn't going to be used for breeding. Lloyd (CH Varazs Nyar Cigany) was born June 17, 2006 and is out of our Nova-Hudson breeding. The party was a fun idea, particularly as it was nearing the holiday season, and guests were encouraged to bring food items that were balls like meat balls, melon balls, etc. As it was so close to Christmas, candy prevailed as the foodstuff of preference to bring so needless to say, Kristi and Mike probably didn't need to buy anything sweet for the holidays. Lloyd's Christmas presents included a 'chuck-it' and door bells to ring when he needs to go (from his breeder mom) and a Bowser's Bed from his human grandparents.

Here's Lloyd.



"How come I'm here, and everyone else is indoors partying?"



The colours of Vizsla.

VSO Booster show, Dec. 6, 2008

On December 6, 2008 I went to watch the Vizsla Society of Ontario's Vizsla Booster (supported entry) show. I was particularly curious to see the entries and what the judge would pick. The judge was Carmen Haller, a former Vizsla owner/handler whose dog, CH Vizsta's Royal Pacesetter
set many records in Canada in the late 1980's and early 1990's.

Entered were 2 puppies, Reese and Dexter, that are half-brothers to my Miska-Ozzie litter, Ozzie (CH Hubertus Quality Control) an import from Australia being the sire of these puppies that were born 10 days before Miska's litter. Reese and Dexter just turned 6 months old and this was their first show; they were in the 6 to 9 month class. Carmen picked Reese as the winner of this class and then she picked him as her Winners' Dog and also Best of Opposite Sex over a male Special for 3 points! A very nice win for this young puppy at his very first show.

Here's a photo of Reese:


Here's a photo of Dexter:


For her Best of Breed and Group 4th, Carmen picked CH Gardenway Lienroc Beatrice an English import whose sire is Hungargunn Bear Itn Mind (Yogi), a very famous Vizsla in Australia and England. Carmen appeared to like the bone and substance of her BOB and WD/BOS.

And I was also delighted to see 11-year old CH Gardenway Celtic Breeze entered as a Veteran. Bree is the mother of my Nova and grandmother to my Miska and great-grand dam to our June 2008 litter. She was handled by Jr Handler, Erin Wilkes, Eileen Wilke's daughter.

Susan Garrett's Puppy Camp, November 2008

I'm sure you're wondering what the heck happened to me & my dogs for the past 6 weeks? Well, lots; too much in fact which is why I didn't have time to update my blog.

At the end of November 2008, Diva and I were fortunate to attend a 3-day Puppy Camp at Susan Garrett's Say Yes training facility. This is the second time I've been. Two years ago I took Tyro when he was a puppy. The great thing about Susan's workshops is that she is always learning and passing on her new knowledge, experiences, and ideas to others. Although there was lots of information that was 'old hat' for me, it was still a good review and refresher. Much of her theory is based on operant conditioning and the work of Bill Bailey whose DVD's I bought a year ago from Clean Run. And Susan really emphasizes motivation and building a relationship with your dog. "Work is play and play is work." is one her well-known phrases that I have memorized to heart.

Of course, for Diva who wasn't quite 6 months of age, the workshop experience was all new. Much of the first day was spent in the classroom but days 2 and 3 were a lot of activity with handlers and their dogs. You'd think that 3 solid days would be enough time to cover everything, watch Susan demo, and practice lots but it wasn't. We really could have used 2 more days but since this camp is for puppies, the puppies were quite exhausted at the end of it, as were many humans. Nevertheless, I found it very energizing and worth while and was so glad I had the opportunity to attend. After training with Susan and her assistants, the one thing I will say is that it makes it impossible for me to go back to training with 'traditional' trainers but perhaps more about that in a future post.

Susan Garrett's Blog

Susan Garrett has a Blog and I'm going to add it to my "Other Woof Stuff" list on my Blog but just want to draw your attention to it with this post. Here's the link. http://susangarrett.wordpress.com/

For those who aren't familiar with Susan Garrett, she's one of the world's foremost dog trainers & agility competitors and she happens to live in Ontario, Canada - about 45 minutes from where I live (I am so lucky!!). When I attend classes, workshops, camps at her school, I have to sign a waiver saying that I will absolutely NOT use any force or corrections - verbal or physical - on my dogs or I will be kicked out (those are my words but that is the gist of her waiver). The use of NO FORCE / CORRECTIONS is the important point in her training program because it means you have to think about how to set your dog up for learning and success. It also means that there is no "one way" or a single method to train your dog because she by and large uses shaping - which I have also adopted for my dogs.

Here's a link to a post she wrote about the Puppy Camp that Diva and I attended in November 2008.
http://susangarrett.wordpress.com/2008/12/02/you-only-get-one-chance-to-make-a-first-impression/

Gunner - Mr Black

On November 23/08, we joined Eileen Wilkes who is Nova's breeder and the owner of Bowsers Beds, and other Vizsla owners, for a walk. Joining us was Gunner and his humans. Gunner was Mr Black from our June 2009 breeding between Miska (Am/Cdn CH Varazs Kiralyi Kedvesem Am/Cn CD, FD, JH, Am RE, Cdn RA, NAVHDA NA Prize III, CGN) and Ozzie (CH Hubertus Quality Control FDJ). Mr Black was the fearless puppy who was so curious to meet our older males, Chili and Tyro. Chili didn't feel the same way and was quite scared of the puppies. Anyway, Gunner is turning out to be a very nice looking boy!