August kicked off with a bang and I finished Margery (Maverick X Faith) as my third home bred Champion! Large Marge has had some great wins this year, even over very nice specials, and I am excited to see how she matures in the upcoming years. I fully expect to continue on with this incredibly sound and lovely bitch.
It's a good thing that I can back date these posts, because July was a blur - we were so busy!
We have a new Champion CH Hellfires Gone Rogue, and a new Grand Champion GCH CH Three D First and Foremost "Frank" to brag about.
Also noteworthy this month, 7.5 month old Margery's Best Opposite win over her CH big sisters, Rogue and Marv, for a nice 4 point major in Idaho! Just a couple of weeks later my sweet, little Twinky did the same for her first major at 8 months old. Very pleased by the positive feedback of the judges, and I am super proud of Faith and Maverick for producing my lovely girls.
As always, I had a blast in Casper, Wyoming and I was thrilled when Maverick picked up his SIXTH NOHS Owner Handler Best in Show! Given all our accomplishments over the last four years, it's hard to believe he is my first little brown dog...and my first show dog. In all honesty, I really can't remember a life without him in it - he is a very special boy, indeed. Next year we will be putting the breed rings behind us for good, and moving on to enjoy other things, including more barn hunting and field events.
Our nine Sussex puppies continue to thrive - all are strong and gorgeous. I'm going to enjoy the next two, quiet, peaceful, easy peasy weeks they are in the puppy box, because I know real chaos of rearing nine brown puppies is coming!
The long awaited Tina X Toby kids were born (via frozen semen breeding) on March 27th. Five boys, 2 girls. Huge puppies! She fooled us into thinking she was having ten, but really it was 7 whoppers. Beautiful puppies, very excited to see them come along.
Things are looking good after the Tina X Toby breeding and we should have puppies toward the end of March! I am most likely going to breed Storm to Toby via TCI as well, maybe over summer...she is notorious for tossing me heat cycle curve balls. I do have a few puppy reservations available.
The 2016 Sussex girls Twinky and Margery are looking good! If they both hold their bites through six months old, I may keep them both, if not I may sell one over summer. Regardless, both are definitely show quality. Happy, happy! We may try for a fall litter, if not then I will have two nice bitches (both with good bites) to breed in 2018. We are really hoping to place a few in working or performance homes!
The list of work projects on my house, both inside and outside, is super long this year so dog events are taking a backseat until summer or later. I have everything from agility and hunt tests, to barn hunt, obedience and conformation to somehow squeeze in. It's one of those kinds of years. We are definitely getting a slow start, but will get out there eventually.
Today was a great day to be a field bred english springer spaniel breeder! In November the dog we bred Storm to this year, a dog who had previously won the Canadian National Championship, won the National Amateur Championship. Today he won the National Open Championship and became NFC NAFC CNFC Blackrivers Tanner. We are so happy for his owner Jeff Miller and of course, our Storm X Tanner puppy owners. The last dog to win a triple National Championship status was NFC 2X NAFC CNFC Saightons Scud - a dog that dominates Maia's pedigree.
But it gets better! The dog I bred Tina to, Macks, a dog I bred out of Navy X Toby, finished the National Open with a Certificate of Merit, CM, honoring him as one of the top 10 dogs in the US this year. We are just so happy for his handler Lynn Miller, who has trained, and believed in Macks for a long time, and over the moon happy for his owner's Gary and Mhari Peschel.
Macks is a full brother to Haley - who we are hoping to breed for the last time in 2017...probably to my dog Ice, since I have yet to get a puppy from him.
The Sussex puppies are almost 5 weeks old! Here are some shots of cuteness taken over the weekend.
Our breeding plans are very fluid and uncertain this year! We will for sure be breeding Storm (not sure to who yet) and are hoping Haley will have a normal heat cycle this year (she didn't last year). If I can make it work, I would like to try and breed Tina to Toby (via frozen semen).
There is a good possibility I will be placing a couple spayed young adults and/or retired girls this year.
The Tiki Twins have left the building! Losing Bones so soon after they were born made it a bittersweet day as a piece of my heart left as well. I am sad to say that Tiki herself will soon be leaving. I have found a lovely home for her in Canada, with a Mickey X Mia puppy to keep her company. She is a truly wonderful dog and we will miss her!
The Faith X Maverick Sussex puppies are almost 4 weeks old and all six are strong, active and doing great!
