DCA National Futurity 2010

What a great start to the week! Monty showed like he's been doing his whole life and managed to get a 3rd in his class (6-9 mth boys). One of Romeo's son's (Chaplin) is also here and in Monty's class and he took a 4th in our class. Then Bow showed well and was given 2nd in the 9-12mth boys. Sky didn't show very well, but she's such a pretty girl that she managed to get a 3rd in her class (6-9 mth girls). So four of our pups were shown today and all four placed! I'm thrilled!! Now I'm hoping to get some sleep.

One VERY LONG Day!

Wind, Snow, Wind, Ice, Wind, Closed Highways, and Wind made for a very long trip to Kansas. From Rock Springs, WY to Denver was white outs almost the entire way thanks to the wind blowing the dry snow. At times we were only doing 15 miles an hour thanks to the high winds and lack of vision. On top of that, the highway was closed this morning, so we didn't get to even start our planned 14 hour day until 11:00am. We arrived at the host hotel at 3:00am. Our new Chevy Uplander handled all the weather very well and I'm happy with it so far. Later today will be Futurity, which will be Monty and Sky's first time ever in the show ring. I'm also showing Bow, so 3 dogs to show today... and one of me, so I'll be busy on my 4 hours of sleep!!

Hitting the road

We hit the long road to Kansas this morning at about 9:30am. I'm taking 5 dogs to the National Dalmatian Specialty in Lawrence, KA. Today we drove 700 miles and arrived to our hotel in Rock Springs, WY at 10:00pm. We made several stops on the way so dogs could have potty breaks and stretch their legs. Tomorrow will be the harder day, over 900 miles before we make our destination. The wind was bad the entire way here, but luckily the roads were good.

Hunter wears the "collar of shame"

Hunter was neutered today, we discussed it with our vet and we decided it was best for him and the rest of us - he is doing remarkably, although he doesn't seem to think so (feeling a bit sorry for himself) - thats OK :) we'll spoil him - Nova is doing well, all healed up from her surgery - she is sooo smart, easy to teach, doing tricks already - Hunter is becoming very protective over me, time for some more puppy classes and socialization. I found a trainer who specializes in teaching trials, and agility - I think they will like it - Hunter has put on 5 lbs (63lbs) and Nova has put on 4 lbs (43) but has grown a bit taller and leaning out - she loves running with us and is getting some muscle definition - Hannah has taken a real liking to Nova and taken her under her wing, so to speak.

Nova's new family

Nova joined Hunter today, both now have a wonderful family to share together. This family lives in Canada where they take full advantage of the outdoors life. These two are very lucky dogs and we look forward to hearing about their lives over the next 12 to 14 years. Take care everyone, it was great to visit with you today.

Final nap together

Tomorrow little Miss Nova will be joining Hunter in Canada. Hunter has told us that his Canadian home is absolutly wonderful and they are willing to open their hearts and homes to another one of our puppies. Nova and Hunter are the two most similar pups we have - and how special it's going to be to have them living under one roof again! Nova had a big day today, getting her pre-boarder crossing check up, shopping for a new collar & leash and then a trip to my office. When she got home she had to take one last nap with her grandpa.

Hunter the hourder

As you can see in the pictures, Hunter likes to have all the toys on his blanket - he just loves the water and has been swimming in our small pound. ~ Sylva

Hunter gets a glimps of the Olympics

Hunter was up early (0400 hrs) to welcome the olympic torch through Mission last week - he was such a good boy in the crowds of thousands of people yelling and cheering, I was very proud of him. He is up to running 7 km in a run and goes out running 3 times a week, plus all our other activities. He is sooooooo good with my grandkidds - my 4 year old grandson walks him, Hunter never pulls, walks real careful - he knows - Hunter is amazing - We love him soooo much - he is a fun dog and smiles with all his teeth (hilarious).
~ ~ Sylvia and Hunter

Update from California

Elliot II is doing well in California. His mom says he loves the water and whenever he sees a body of water he runs right in and enjoys. He's still got a big appetite, just as he did when he was little. He's now about the same size as Sunny and still driving him nuts to play constantly, which Sunny is ready for him to outgrow. Joanna says he's very friendly with other dogs as well as all people - he sounds like a very sweet and fun loving boy. We love getting photos and updates on our pups as they grow up, thanks for sharing Joanna!!

Bow's photos arrived

The first photo is Bow winning Best In Sweeps, the second is his 4 point major win, going Best Of Winners at the 2010 Mt. Hood Dalmatian Specialty show in Portland Oregon. The next day Bow took Best of Winners again but we didn't have a 3rd photo taken ($40 per photo... 2 was enough!!). :0

Hunter is clearly in love

A photo says a thousand words as they say... I'm not sure if Hunter is saying that many words, but I think it's clear that he adores his mommy!

Indy's on the trail

It's no wonder Indy has so much muscle on him, this lucky boy gets to go run and play in the snow frequently thanks to a very devoted Dad (then head back down the mountain where snow is practically unheard of).

We hope you know how lucky your are Mr. Indy!

Final Show Day

It's been a fun week and it's flown by. Today Ti won his class once again and Bow went Reserve Winners Dog again. The boys have performed very well for us this week and we are extremely proud of them, but all of us are happy to be home now. Adrian and I think the boys were convinced we were living in a hotel room from here on out! Now we get the less fun job of unpacking everything, doing TONS of laundry and heading back to work tomorrow morning.

Boys go 1st again

Today both boys took 1st in each of their classes again. They are still amazing us as to how well they are doing with all of the excitement of the dog shows.

After we were finished showing today Bow and I walked around through all the booths and shopped while Adrian and Ti did what men do best, stood around talking with anyone who would listen while waiting for us to finish shopping. :)

The biggest news of today was when our friend Jordan and Krash won Best of Breed today! It was a huge win and we were just thrilled for them! Unfortunately today is the first time in several years that Animal Planet wasn't at the show filming, otherwise Jordan would have made it onto TV!! Oh well, it was still lots of fun to cheer her on, even if she didn't get to be a TV star. :)

Mr. Joe C Walton's opinion

Well today the boys showed well and we had a good time, but they didn't do quite as well in the judge's eyes. Ti took 1st in his class and Bow took 2nd in his class; but that was it today. All of us still had a good time at the show and an even better one after the show - everyone got to go to the nearby fairgrounds for a good run, some wrestling and tracking.

Bow gets 2nd major!!

We are blown away!!! Ms Barbara J Wood was our judge today, with 25 Dalmatians (8-10-4-3) and Bow went Best Of Winners again for another major!!! I guess he's definitely a show dog now.

Seeing Bow now has both his majors and the hard part is done, we'll be looking for a home who's looking for their first show dog. Bow is for sale and he'll now be the perfect boy for someone who's just getting into dog shows, he'll be very easy to finish now (gain his Champion title).

Bow gets a MAJOR!!

Just like his grandmother, Jazz ~ Bow managed to win Best Of Winners at the Specialty after winning the Sweeps! This was a 4 point major for him... the boy's on a role now!! Ms Sandra Goose Allen was our judge and put him up over 21 other class dogs & bitches for this huge win.

Family Tradition Continues...

Bow did a fantastic job today. 8 Dalmatians were entered in the Mt. Hood Dalmatian Club's Sweepstake, with Mrs. Linda Riedel as the judge. Both boys received complements, but both were in the 6 to 9 month puppy class, Adrian handling Ti and me handling Bow ~ Bow went Best In Sweeps!! This is the 3rd time in the last 4 years we've won at the Mt. Hood's January Specialty... Jazz took Best Jr In Sweeps, Willow took Best In Sweeps and now Bow! What a great family tradition!!

Bow's show career has started.

Today is the last day of the Puyallup Dog Show, both boys won their classes again, then Bow won Winners Dog for 1 point and Ti was Reserve Winners Dog.

Hunter update

Today we received a wonderful note from Hunter's new family: "Hunter and I had a very busy day - we went for a 4km run and then to the vet - he ran beside me like a pro, just had to correct him a couple of times on which side I wanted him to run, he got it right away and never pulled once, stayed very focused on me and the run - never got out of breath (wish I could say the same for me)."

We are so proud of Mr. Hunter for behaving himself and being a good running partner! He's such a wonderful boy that it makes us thrilled he has this great home all his own (well, his and Hannah's).