Jasper's Dad sent this to me and I thought you might enjoy reading it, yoo!
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I forgot to tell you about a couple of other things with Jasper in my last message... Since we can only get to the dog park once a week (and sometimes less if the weather has been really bad), I've been trying to get good exercise for him in other ways. Of course, nothing takes the place of a good extended run at the dog park (yesterday we went there and I think the only times he stopped running during the first 30 minutes were when he went into an occasional "puppy bow" to entice another dog to play). But when I can't get to the dog park, I improvise with games in the backyard, supplementing his daily walk.

One aspect I've added to his daily walk, based on reading one of Cesar Milan's (the dog whisperer) books, is carrying a light dog pack. His suggestion is that if you have a high energy dog and you can't let them run flat out, you can have them do some "carrying work" which adds a degree of physical and psychological challenge. My son, John, bought the Kelty dog pack pictured below for Jasper's Christmas present and we've been using it over the last few weeks. It's a saddlebag arrangement (a bag on each side of the dog's body to equally distribute the weight) and I put a one pound bag of rice on each side so that Jasper's carrying a little over 2 lbs total. He doesn't seem to mind it and he's a much better loose leash walker with it on. I get the impression that he is getting more challenging exercise by doing this carrying and I'm keeping the weight light (the recommendation was 10% of the dog's body weight or less). I'd never have him wearing this during field work, but for walks on a lead, it seems to be a great addition.

The other humorous anecdote I wanted to pass on is about our trip to Bass Pro last weekend. I needed to take Jasper with me to fit and purchase a new pair of dog booties for the last pheasant hunting trip of the season that we have planned for Jan 30th and 31st. Our outing on Jan 15th took us through some really rough terrain and the boots that he's been using all season were just shredded by the end of the day so a new pair was in order.

Bass Pro lets you bring your dog into the store, so Jasper and I made our way to the aisle where all of the dog equipment is located. Usually a task like that will take me less than 10 minutes of trying on a couple of different sizes and brands with Jasper and then making a decision. After about 30 minutes, Mary, who was on the lower level of the store was wondering where I had gotten off to. What happened was Jasper kept attracting a crowd! Every time I would start to fit a different set of boots on him, it seemed like a group of people who had passed the aisle would do a double take and then come over to talk - "What kind of dog is that?" "Can we come over and see your dog?" "What a neat looking dog!"

Jasper was quite the celebrity and fortunately he was very well behaved, soaking up all of that attention. I think there were probably six different groups of people that came up to us while we were doing our boot fitting that day. None of them had known about Vizslas prior to that, but all left with a very good impression of the breed - thanks to Jasper's good temperament and good looks!
 Best of luck with the upcoming dog shows! I'll let you know how Jasper closes out the pheasant season at the end of the month.
 Take care,  Brian

Loki Wins His First Major

Catch A Fire's Loki Haust, "Loki" won Winner's Dog this morning at the Rose City Classic Dog Show, for a 4 point major under Judge Dr Ronald Spritzer. He was handled by Suzanne Horvath. His owner, Jamie, was there in attendance but Steve had to be at work. I will post the real picture as soon as it's available.

Halfway Into January

Here we are, halfway through January already. Can you believe it? How's your year going so far?

We are about to begin show season around here; not to be confused with the season both Paloma and Marley have been in for the last month! :)  To prepare, my good friend, Suzanne, and I have taken Loki to handling class. We are getting ready for four glorious days of dog shows (and vendors) at the Rose City Classic! Marley and Paloma aren't escaping my need to become a better stacker either!  I have been randomly stacking them since last week when the trainer called me out on my poor technique! Oops! Suzanne (and I) thought I needed a lesson before this week's class so she brought Devon over for me to practice on yesterday. Poor Devon, what a good sport! Suzanne has been doing most of the work with Loki but I have a feeling it'll be me doing most of the class this week since we go into the ring together on Thursday. Suzanne is showing him on Friday and Saturday and while she's up on the mountain at her ski race on Sunday, Loki and I will go into the ring together again.  Pray my joint supplements keep working because my hip needs them!!

In other news, the pups' Granddam and Marley's Mom, CH Opus One Lena of Dunantul, "Lena", has just earned enough points to get a ROM (Registry of Merit) behind her name. Karen is gathering all the paperwork so she can send it in. A ROM is an award the Vizsla Club of America gives in recognition to a Dam who has progeny who have earned a Championship, Hunting, Obedience or Agility title. In this case, Marley contributed 5 points by earning her Championship (CH) and Junior Hunter (JH) titles. Her brother, Rio, contributed 7 points by earning his Championship, Junior Hunter and Rally Novice titles. The other 12 points were contributed by Zeke, Jasper, Archie, and Jake, who all earned their Championships!  Just so you'll know, the litter breakdown is Zeke, Jasper, Archie and Marley from the first litter and Rio and Jake from the second litter. Both litters were sired by CH Gold Run's Two Thumbs Up CD RN JH AX MXJ.  Way to go!!   

On Our Way To 2010

I have been remiss in posting lately, partially because we have been out of town and partially because we've had company. Please know I thought of each one of you during Christmas and am thinking of you right now as we get ready to usher in a new year.

2009 has been a good year for all the pups and I hope 2010 will be even better. Everyone was healthy and continued to train and become the best members of their households. I hope to get Paloma into the ring more although I'm going to try my hand at showing Loki and then Patriot when he comes back up. I'm sure this will be the year Jasper earns his legs for his Junior Hunter and maybe it will be for Paloma, too. Crawford will be moving to the East Coast and his parents will be living under the same roof again - no more long distance romance! Ziggy has been training for agility so maybe we'll see some awards there, too!

Whatever it is you do this coming year, I hope it is accompanied by good health, safety, and lots of fun.

I love each one of you and remember well the time you spent here at the house. I appreciate all our puppy families and know they are loving you as much as I ever could!

Wishing You A Happy Thanksgiving

Marc and I, along with Hannah, Marley and Paloma, wish all our Catch A Fire Family a very Happy Thanksgiving. We are thankful for each one of you and the love and care you have shown your pups over the last year. You are the best!! :)

Enjoy your Turkey Day wherever you are! We hope you are celebrating with family and friends. We are celebrating in Arizona with our daughter Brianna, Josh and Patriot! 

Hugs and wiggles to all . . . .

Jasper's First Duck Hunt

I just cannot resist sharing this image and story with everyone. What a great picture!  Handsome boy!

Jasper had a successful duck hunting trip with my son, John this last Wednesday (see picture).  He didn't go in the water to do any retrieves (which was not unexpected because he's not much of a water dog at this point - and besides that it would have been too cold) but he found all of the ducks that dropped in the high grass surrounding the ponds where the hunt took place.  I've been out there with my boys before and much of that grass is knee high or higher and we've lost many birds that went down mortally wounded and then managed to burrow deeply into the grass.  My son said that happened with about 6 birds that he and a friend downed and Jasper used his nose to find every one of them!   My son's friend was quite impressed.  And Jasper was quite the happy boy.

Int'l/Am CH Pirok Kirbi MH "Kirby" 3/10/03 - 10/25/09

I received this note from Marty this morning:

I am having a very hard time dealing with this but wanted to let you both know that Kirby died on Sunday.   

We found him collapsed in his kennel and before we could get him to the ER he died.  The vet said that he had died of a major brain aneurysm (stroke).  He said sometimes bad things happen to good dogs for no known reason. 

He was too young and his joyous spirit will be sorely missed.  Roy will craft a black walnut box where his ashes will reside.  It is in our will that our ashes and the dogs are scattered together so we may all be joined in the future in a happier place.

Good bye my "heart dog". 

Marty

Finnrok Vizslas  

I am writing this with tears in my eyes - so young to leave so soon. I had always hoped I would see you one more time, to get a few of the kisses you so sparingly shared and to watch you wiggle butt your way into my lap as you did when we first met. My heart goes out to Marty and Roy, his owners and to Paul and Linda Collins, his breeders. To Cathy Gallagher, who also used Kirby as a stud to her beautiful puppies whom I met at Nationals in Omaha, 2007. I am comforted to know you felt no pain. Play in the green fields of the Lord until we all meet again one day. Kiss your daughter for us.

With love and nuzzles - Audrey, Hannah, Marley and Paloma